Ken 'Spanky' M.
Thousands Spent, Months Of Trying, ZERO Qualified Leads or SALES
Great Team, Just Couldn't Find Our Fit I chose Ad Outreach based on trust built through years of knowing founder Aleric Heck in the same business ecosystem. That relationship history was the primary factor in my decision. THE INVESTMENT Over several months, our investment was substantial: Ad Outreach management fees: Thousands in done-for-you service costs YouTube ad spend: Thousands per month Total investment: Well over $25,000 combined Return on investment: $0 in attributable revenue. NOT FOR LACK OF EFFORT Here's what I want to be clear about: the team at Ad Outreach did everything in their power over the months we worked together to find our audience. They were responsive, willing to test new approaches, and genuinely invested in making this work. When they requested special videos, we produced them. When they wanted to test new approaches, we provided immediate access and implemented changes. They just couldn't get it dialed in for our specific business model. I know they have success with others—they just couldn't crack the code with us. THE ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE We did experience some account manager turnover during our engagement. While our lead Media Buyer remained consistent and maintained strategic continuity, the transitions still required some re-explanation of context. This is worth noting, though it didn't prevent the team from delivering excellent service and effort. THE SECOND CHANCE A month ago, I decided to end our partnership. Dave Anderson from Ad Outreach reached out with a retention offer, expressing genuine belief they could turn things around and requesting 60 more days. I agreed, recognizing breakthrough moments sometimes happen after extended testing. They did make progress—achieving a 25% decrease in cost per lead with additional tests underway. However, after careful consideration at the 30-day mark of that extension, I decided the continued investment wasn't aligned with our current business priorities. WHAT I'D DO DIFFERENTLY Some responsibility lies with me for not asking targeted questions during vetting. Critical questions I'd ask any agency: Have you worked directly with businesses in my specific industry? How many clients and what were their verified results? Can you provide detailed case studies? Performance Expectations: What are realistic timelines for initial results? What's your process when campaigns underperform? FINAL ASSESSMENT Ad Outreach is a capable agency with a dedicated team that genuinely cares about client success. They worked tirelessly to find the right approach for our business. Sometimes, despite everyone's best efforts, an agency-client fit just doesn't materialize—and that's what happened here. This reinforced an important lesson: not every capable agency matches every business model, regardless of effort invested on both sides. For potential clients: Do thorough due diligence around their direct experience with your industry and business model. Ask for specific case studies and establish clear performance milestones. If your business aligns with their proven success areas, you'll likely have a very different (and positive) experience than we did. Would I recommend Ad Outreach? Yes, with the caveat that you should verify their specific experience with your business type during vetting. They're a hardworking team that delivers results for many clients—we just weren't the right fit.
Response from AdOutreachOct 17, 2025
Hi Ken, We’re sorry to hear that the experience didn’t meet your expectations, and we appreciate the time you took to share your feedback. From our side, we’re proud of the level of service, strategy, and collaboration that our team brought throughout the partnership. We truly valued the trust you placed in us and worked hard to match that with care, speed, and execution. While there were a couple of small changes within our team, your lead Media Buyer remained your consistent strategic partner from start to finish. He carried the full context of the account and guided all testing and optimization efforts throughout the entire engagement. At no point did transitions impact continuity, strategy, or execution. As part of the 60-day extension we agreed to, we were still actively optimizing your campaign. In fact, we had already seen a 25% decrease in cost per lead, with additional creative and funnel tests underway. We were under the impression that there was still time remaining in that extension, and we believed there was strong potential to keep improving. We understand your decision to step away, and we continue to wish you all the best. If you ever want to revisit the conversation, we’re here to support you and your team. – The AdOutreach Team



