If you’re considering working with us, you probably already know the outcomes you want. Now you need to know the nitty gritty — when we will meet, for how long, what’s expected of you, when you’ll see the first concrete thing, and what happens in between. Read below for all the details, and send me a quick note if there is a question left unanswered: katie@kateturnermarketing.com
Before We Start
Let’s start with a free strategy session. We’ll talk about your current situation and determine where you are getting stuck. I’ll ask about your offer, your ICP, what makes you different, the space you are competing in, and the kind of business you are building.
If we both think the engagement is a fit after that conversation, you’ll have a proposal within a few days. From signed proposal to kickoff is usually about a week, depending on calendars.
The Strategy X Story System
The engagement has two parts. The Strategy is the foundation. The Story is the activation. We start with The Strategy. Some continue straight into The Story. Some do The Strategy and let it settle for a quarter or two before adding Story work. Some never do The Story at all, and the foundation still holds on its own.
Here’s how it looks:
The Strategy (6-8 weeks). Align,Tune, Build. Building or rebuilding the foundation your marketing depends on.
The Story (10-12 weeks). Establish. Activating the foundation through content buyers recognize.
The working rhythm in both is weekly or biweekly strategy sessions, with async access by email or Slack between them. If speed is a factor — we can structure it as a sprint. The Strategy is thinking-heavy. The Story is execution-heavy.
Phase 1: Align (Strategy, weeks 1-2)
What we’re actually doing
This phase looks like a conversation, but it’s the most important strategic work of the engagement. We’re figuring out where the gap actually is. Most founders walk in convinced it’s a messaging problem. Most of the time, the messaging is downstream of something else. The offer is broader than it should be. The ICP is two or three buyers blurred together. The positioning is solving for a category instead of for a specific buyer’s situation.
Without doing this phase first, every choice downstream is built on a guess.
What you’ll spend time on
One working session weekly or biweekly, roughly 1 hour. The work isn’t homework-heavy. It’s thinking-heavy. I’ll audit your current content, messaging, and marketing channels like your website, LinkedIn, and blog.
What you’ll see at the end
A documented diagnosis of where the actual misalignment lives, and the working hypotheses we’ll sharpen next. The strategic floor everything else stands on.
Phase 2: Tune (Strategy, weeks 3-5)
What we’re actually doing
Sharpening the strategic foundation. Offer, ICP, and positioning, each one tested against the others. This phase is where the most uncomfortable conversations happen, because clarity about who you’re for usually means getting honest about who you’re not.
What you’ll spend time on
Same rhythm as Align. One working session weekly or biweekly. Lots of thinking, and I’ll press you to make decisions about direction, constraints, and strategy.
What you’ll see at the end
Your positioning statement, your ICP definition (the version a stranger could read and recognize), and your offer architecture in easy to explain language.
Phase 3: Build (Strategy, weeks 5-8)
What we’re actually doing
Translating the foundation into language. The words buyers will recognize themselves in. The frame that holds across your website, your sales conversations, your LinkedIn, your decks, your content. This is where the strategy stops being internal and starts being external.
What you’ll spend time on
Your time commitment drops because the building work is mine. Expect a biweekly working session plus reviews of drafts as I send them.
What you’ll see at the end
Your foundation library. It includes:
- A messaging guide buyers can recognize themselves in
- POV architecture (the positioning narrative that anchors how you think about and approach the problem, ideal for training your AI tools)
- FAQs, objections, and soundbites for use in conversations and content
- Core content themes plus 5-7 specific content topics to anchor your voice
What happens after
For some clients, this is where the engagement ends, and the foundation does its work from there. For others, it’s the launching point for The Story.
Phase 4: Establish (Story, 10-12 weeks+)
What we’re actually doing
Activating the foundation through content. The pieces buyers actually read on the way to deciding. The website copy that sets the frame on first impression. The thought leadership that builds your point of view in your space. The bottom-of-funnel content that helps buyers move from “interested” to “in.” A workflow that lets you keep producing this content without rebuilding from scratch every time.
What you’ll spend time on
Biweekly content mining sessions with me, plus review and approval of drafts as they come together. The thinking work is largely done by this point. What’s left is direction, judgment, and decisions.
What you’ll see After 3 Months
- 3-5 bottom-of-funnel content pieces (typically blog posts, comparison guides, or web pages)
- 3-5 top-of-funnel pieces (typically long-form essays or articles)
- Copy-paste-ready content for your homepage, services page, and offer doc
- A workflow for ongoing content production, including how to use AI without losing your voice
What happens after
After the first 3 months, you have few options:
Take the work and run with it. You’ have a set of core content assets plus the strategy you need to update your own materials, brief your own team, or train your AI tools.
Move into ongoing content creation & strategy advisory. Many clients continue working with us for ongoing content creation and strategic advisory, watching for messaging drift over time, continuing to create new content (thought leadership, articles, newsletters, and more), and helping you think through business and marketing decisions based on your positioning strategy.
What’s expected of you:
- Showing up to working sessions and engaging fully.
- Being willing to make hard calls about who you’re not for.
- Having someone who can implement the changes once we have them, or budgeting for ongoing support if that resource isn’t in place.
- Reviewing drafts and providing feedback — you are the subject matter expert, and I need your input.
How to start
Book a free strategy session. We’ll talk for 30-45 minutes and even if we do not end up working together, you will walk away with a valuable new perspective on where to focus your marketing energy.
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