By Robert J . Hoglund President and Founder of Hoglund Advertising & Analytics General Partner and Owner of Hoglund , Chwialkowski & Mrozik , P . L . L . C . Roseville , Minnesota

All too often , digital advertising sales reps may not be disclosing everything . When you hire an advertising agency to run digital ads for your law firm , it ’ s good to have some background information . Knowing some key insights can help you make informed choices – and avoid costly errors . Here are nine things your salesperson may not want you to know .

1 . Your ad agency may be working with your competitors . When you ’ re running digital ads , you want your law firm ads to appear at the top of the search results . You need to grab potential clients ’ attention right away . Your agency should be putting their full energy into making your ad appear prominently – while making smart use of your budget . How can an agency use its best efforts to help you , when it ’ s also working with your competitor ? Surprising as it is , some agencies will work with competing law firms in the same geographic location . In order to avoid this egregious conflict of interest , ask for exclusivity in writing .

2 . Your agency might not let you control your website . Many digital advertising agencies can build your website and landing pages , as well as set up your ads . It ’ s smart to have a unified look and feel throughout your digital marketing , and your ads and web pages should definitely work together . It ’ s also important to find out who really owns your website . Can you log in to your website and make changes when you need to ? If you change ad agencies , will you own your website content ? If you decide to change your website down the road , will you have rights to the text , or will you need to completely rewrite it to avoid issues ? These are questions to ask ahead of time .

3 . Sales reps may take advantage of relationships . Once a company or an individual has gained your trust , unfortunately they may use this relationship to sell you products that are not in your best interest ( or at a price that is not reasonable ). There are many fine individuals in sales who treat their customers honestly and with respect , but unfortunately , sometimes people may sell you products just to make their quota . And that leads to the next point …

4 . Many agencies set aggressive monthly quotas for their sales staff . Sales reps are often quota-driven . They may need to sell certain dollar amounts in order to earn a commission or keep their jobs . They may overpromise . It ’ s not unheard of for a rep to promise that a product will be able to perform a certain action , only to leave behind-thescenes personnel pulling their hair out later trying to fulfill these promises . To be fair , sales reps are under a great deal of pressure to make their numbers . Of course they want to hit their goals : They need to provide for their families . But be aware that quotas may drive reps to push advertising you do not need .

5 . All analysts are not the same . People who have years of practice running digital ad campaigns are in high demand . Finding these skilled Search Engine Marketing ( SEM ) analysts can be challenging – as well as expensive – for ad agencies . Not all agencies have experienced , well-trained analysts working on accounts , so it ’ s important to

52 CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL Summer 2017 National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys