An accounting firm got fewer leads and twice the clients.

The situation

The firm wanted small business clients on monthly contracts. The campaign was bringing a mix of businesses and individuals looking for one-off help.

The monthly report counted forms received. It looked healthy at around 50 a month, but nobody could say which of those forms had become a contract.

What I found

• Business and personal services were mixed in the same campaigns.
• There was no first qualification step before the team spent time on a lead.
• The source of each signed contract wasn’t recorded anywhere.

What I changed

• Campaigns focused on business owners.
• A short qualification step at the start.
• The origin of every signed contract recorded, so the ads could be judged by clients, not forms.

The numbers

Three months, to account for the time between first contact and signing.

Why it worked

Lead volume went down by almost a third, and that was the point. Fewer of the wrong inquiries meant more time for the right ones, and the number that pays the bills, signed monthly clients, doubled.

An ads report that only counts forms would have called this a worse month.

Real clients. Names and identifying details are withheld, and numbers are rounded. Ad cost figures are media spend only, without the management fee. Results depend on the market and are not a promise of future results. Work done by Leo Agostini.