1) Your 3 outcomes for this call
By the end, you want:
- Clarity on the real goal (impact-only vs measurable acquisition vs both) and what “success” means in 90 days
- Agreement on a simple operating cadence (2 episodes/month) + who does what
- A “yes” to either:
- a package, or
- a 30/60/90-day pilot roadmap + next-step logistics
2) The frame to open the call (30–45 seconds)
Use this to set control + reassure him it’ll be concrete:
“Tim, today I want to do two things: (1) confirm where you want the podcast to fit in the business, and (2) walk you through a simple roadmap that solves the production gap and makes growth measurable — especially given your audience constraints and compliance realities. We’ll keep it practical: cadence, workflow, content formats, distribution, and what we’ll track.”
3) Fast recap of what you already learned (so he feels heard)
Hit these bullets verbatim-ish:
- Podcast is mission-driven: help widows make financial decisions without feeling sold to
- Audience is hard to reach because “you’re not a widow until you become a widow” + older widows may not be podcast-native
- He wants audio + “on paper” (readable)
- LinkedIn is a dud for widows; email exists; FB group/page exists; IG is tough
- Paid ads produced spam/trolls; he’s skeptical of ads
- Production partner is gone; show branding is outdated (co-host on artwork, intro, etc.)
- Goal: 24/year (2/month), and he wants it to become a trackable benefit, not just a hobby
Then transition:
“So the plan needs to do three things at once: keep the show easy to produce, meet widows where they already are, and make it trackable.”
4) The agenda for the call (clean, confident)
20–30 min version
- Confirm the goal + constraints (5 min)
- Walk through the operating system (production workflow + comms) (7 min)
- Walk through growth engine (distribution + conversion) (10 min)
- Packaging + next steps (5 min)
5) Discovery questions you should ask (only the high-leverage ones)
These are the questions that determine what you recommend — and they don’t feel “salesy.”
A) Audience + positioning
- “Do you want to focus primarily on newly widowed (‘in the storm’) or also include ‘just past the storm’ and ‘new horizons’ equally?”
- “Do you want the show to be faith-forward (it comes up a lot in episodes) or faith-friendly but broader?”
B) Acquisition + tracking
- “What’s the one conversion you want to measure over the next 90 days?”
- Survival Guide downloads?
- booked ‘complimentary conversation’?
- email signups?
- “Roughly how many new clients would make this feel undeniably worth it in a year?”
C) Compliance + distribution reality
- “What are your compliance boundaries for social/email?”
- testimonials? performance talk? case studies?
- “Are you allowed to do webinars / workshops for widows without it being construed as solicitation?”
D) Capacity
- “Who will be the day-to-day point person — you, Grace, or someone else?”
- “How quickly can you review an episode? Same day? 48 hours?” (You need review SLAs.)
6) Your recommended roadmap (the meat of the call)
Part 1: Fix production + make cadence effortless (2 episodes/month)
Use your deck flow, but customize the cadence language:
- Record (they record; you provide a simple checklist and Dropbox workflow)
- Production (edit + clean up; create final episode + supporting assets)
- Review (they approve)
- Publish (you schedule and publish)
Immediate production clean-up (Week 1–2)
- Replace co-host branding: artwork, intro/outro, show description
- Create “widow-safe” structure: consistent opening, what they’ll get, gentle CTA, disclaimer-friendly close
- Create a repeatable template for show notes + transcript delivery
Positioning line you can use:“The goal is that you only have to show up for the conversation — and everything else becomes a system.”
Part 2: “Audio + readable” is not optional — it’s the strategy
He literally told you the core insight: many widows aren’t podcast listeners.
So propose a standard deliverable stack per episode:
- Episode audio (podcast platforms)
- Transcript (already in your flow)
- A clean blog post version (“on paper”)
- A 1-page printable PDF summary: “If you only read one thing…”
- 3–5 short clips or audiograms (depending on what’s most realistic for them)
Important: This becomes the bridge from “content people feel” → “content people can find + share.”
Part 3: Growth that doesn’t depend on ads (and avoids trolls)
Given their experience with paid traffic, you want distribution through trusted pathways, not broad targeting.
Recommend 4 channels (simple, doable):
- Email: every episode turns into an email that points to the readable version + PDF
- Facebook: post the “printable summary” + discussion prompt in their group/page
- Partner distribution: widow orgs, grief groups, churches, counselors, estate attorneys — they already have trust
- SEO + website structure: their site already has a Survival Guide and Resources section — make every episode strengthen those pathways
Partner play (easy version):
- “We create a ‘Partner Pack’ per episode: a short blurb + link + 1 image + PDF.”
- Grace can send it to 10 aligned orgs/month. (Or you can, if they want you to handle outreach.)
Part 4: Turn it into a measurable acquisition channel (without feeling salesy)
This is where you tighten the CTA and reduce friction.
Right now the CTA is “website + phone number + address.” That’s high friction.
Recommend one primary CTA for 90 days:
- “Download the Widow Survival Guide” (or similar)
- Then the email sequence nurtures into:
- “Book a complimentary conversation”
Tracking plan (simple):
- track survival guide downloads
- track booked calls from those downloads
- track which episode drove the action (UTMs)
Language to keep it aligned with his values:“This keeps the show generous. People can benefit without contacting you — but if they want help, there’s a clear next step.”
7) How to use your deck without it feeling generic
Your deck already supports the “system” story:
- production process flow
- Slack communication
- Notion dashboard hub
- guest sourcing/outreach/research options
Customizations you should explicitly call out in the meeting:
- “Your cadence is 2/month, not weekly — we’ll scope deliverables accordingly.”
- “Your niche needs audio + readable + printable, baked into the workflow.”
- “Your growth plan is partner-first, not ad-first, because trust matters here.”
8) Objection handling cheat sheet (the likely ones)
“Our audience doesn’t listen to podcasts.”
Agree + reframe:
“Exactly — so we’ll treat audio as the source, and the readable/printable formats as the primary distribution.”
“We tried ads and got spam.”
“Totally. We won’t rely on ads. We’ll focus on trust channels: partners + email + your existing community.”
“This is regulated.”
“Understood. We can build a compliance-friendly workflow: templates, pre-approved phrasing, and conservative CTAs.”
“I’m busy in our busiest season.”
“Then we keep your time to the recordings + a fast approval loop. Everything else is handled.”
9) Close the call with a clear decision path
Give him two clean options (reduces ‘let me think’ drift):
Option A: 90-day pilot (recommended)
- 2 episodes/month
- full production system + readable/PDF stack
- partner pack + email cadence
- monthly metrics check-in
Option B: Ongoing retainer (if he’s ready)
Then end with:
“If we start this week, the first milestone is: refreshed branding + episode pipeline + a content template that’s repeatable.”
10) One last detail that will make you sound
extra
prepared
Mention this gently:
- Their content is emotionally powerful (stories, grief, 2am anxiety).
- Your job is to keep that human, while packaging it in a way that is findable + shareable.
That’s the thesis of the strategy call.