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Prior to your meeting, you’re going to want to research the brand thoroughly.
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Alert alert alert. You do not need to use this checklist for every single call you jump on. It’s a whole lotta work if you have a suspicion the call won’t go anywhere. This is specifically for creators feeling very nervy about a discovery call and want to feel as prepared as possible.
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Write down basic notes of any important points you want to clarify. Look at their current ads using the Facebook Ad Library and be conscious of any obvious errors or gaps. Have an overview of their main competitor and their approach to advertising.
This is a discovery call, so you’re ultimately going to be asking the brand to tell you this info. You technically don’t need to know this, but by getting ahead of them you can pre-empt the problems they’ll want you to solve.
BRAND RESEARCH
Website:
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Social media handles:
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Current current strategy?
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Are they running ads? Where and what?
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Who is the target audience?
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Who are the main competitors? What does their content strategy look like?
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Basic brand prep done, and now it’s time to do the work that makes the brand call feel easy. This includes reminding yourself of your own rates: what do you want charge? What have you charged in the past? What’s your lowest rate? Your maximum monthly video production? These are questions that might crop up and having them in front of you reduces the chance of saying something completely wrong that you can’t walk back.
You don’t want to tell a brand you can comfortably produce 55 pieces of creative a month if you can’t.
You also want to revisit your past work or collaborations. By having examples - numbers, names, strategies that have worked in the past - to back up anything you say you position yourself as an expert. Having these in front of you will give you the confidence you need to speak with conviction.
Prep done, it’s time to just do the thing…
A LITTLE REMINDER
Typical starting rate per video:
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Typical packages similar brands take:
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Potential products/services:
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Desire for long-term partnership? (Yes/No)
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Maximum monthly video production:
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CREATIVE CONCEPTS TO WEAVE IN
Potential creative directions:
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Specific strategies you've successfully with our clients that could apply:
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Relevant past experience/testimonials:
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Tip: Have top-level ideas ready, not detailed strategies. Confidence in your approach helps position you as an expert.
Prep done, it’s time to just do the thing…
With every call, aim to run through the same outline. You’ll go off track as the conversation flows naturally, but try and ensure you’re ticking off the standard questions within your outline.