The engagement
Four phases.
Four gates.
Every phase ends in something you can hold and sign off — a report, a strategy document, a working system, a number. You always know what has been built, what it cost, and whether to keep going.
How an engagement runs
Four phases. Four gates.
- 01
Diagnostic
Weeks 1–2
- Answer-surface audit across four engines
- Attribution and CRM teardown
- Buying-committee and territory map
- Claim and compliance review
- Channel economics model
Gate
The diagnostic report, with a do-not-fund list.
- 02
Architecture
Weeks 2–4
- Attribution model and UTM standard
- ICP and segment definitions
- Channel plan and budget shape
- Content and editorial line
- The measurement contract
Gate
The strategy document, agreed before a dollar of media runs.
- 03
Build
Weeks 4–6
- Tracking live and validated
- Domains warmed, deliverability set
- Sequences written and loaded
- Campaigns built, creative approved
- Dashboard live and reconciled
Gate
A working system, documented, in accounts you own.
- 04
Operate
Ongoing
- Weekly execution and monitoring
- Monthly SQL and cost-per-SQL report
- Quarterly pipeline review and re-plan
- Continuous list and sequence iteration
- Content and answer-engine cadence
Gate
Monthly on SQLs. Quarterly on marketing-sourced pipeline.
Minimum term is three months. Long enough to build the system honestly. Short enough that you are not trapped inside it.
The trajectory
Build the engine. Then let it compound.
What the first year looks like when the infrastructure is built before the campaigns. The shape is the argument; the numbers are illustrative.
The flat part
Infrastructure, not output.
The line is flat because the work is underneath it. We say so before the contract, not at the first quarterly review.
The compounding part
It's not a campaign, it's an engine.
Content, audiences and attribution history all accrue. Month twelve starts from month eleven.
Marketing-sourced pipeline
-
Month 1
Diagnostic + Architecture
Evidence base, then the measurement contract.
-
Month 2
Build
Tracking live. Sequences send. Campaigns launch.
-
Months 3–7
Operate — find what works
SQL volume steadies. The first honest cost per SQL.
-
Months 7–12
Operate — dial in and compound
The system is worth more each quarter than it cost to build.
Illustrative trajectory, not a forecast. Real pace depends on category, sales capacity and existing infrastructure. Your baselines and targets are set in writing during Architecture, before any media runs.
Proof
The system works.
Here’s the proof.
A respiratory medical device manufacturer grew marketing-sourced pipeline from $400K to $5M over three years — with two sales reps. Built once, operated continuously, stronger every quarter.
Read the case study →Questions
The honest answers.
What is a gate, exactly?
A deliverable you sign off before the next phase starts. The diagnostic report, the strategy document, the working system, then the monthly and quarterly reporting. Each one is a real artifact you keep, and a point where you can stop. It means you are never several months and a large invoice into work you have not seen.
Why does nothing launch for the first month?
Because launching first is how spend becomes untraceable. Until tracking is live and the attribution model is agreed, every dollar of media produces numbers nobody can defend later. We build the measurement before the campaigns, then the campaigns have somewhere honest to report to.
What is a do-not-fund list?
The part of the diagnostic that tells you where to stop spending. Most audits only recommend additions, because additions are billable. Naming the channels, tools, and campaigns that are not earning their place is usually the fastest money we find you.
Do we own what gets built?
Yes — all of it, in your own accounts. Ad accounts, CRM, tracking, domains, sequences, dashboards. If the engagement ends, the system stays with you and keeps running. Nothing is held hostage in an agency account.
Why a three-month minimum?
Diagnostic, Architecture, and Build take about six weeks, so anything shorter would end before the system had a chance to operate. Three months is long enough to build it honestly and see it run. It is also short enough that you are not trapped inside it.
What do you report on?
Monthly: SQLs delivered and cost per SQL. Quarterly: marketing-sourced pipeline. Not impressions, not sessions, not MQLs. Your baselines and targets are written down during Architecture, before any media runs, so nobody gets to move the goalposts afterward.
Want to see what the diagnostic would turn up?
It is the first phase for a reason. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right fit before anyone signs anything.
Book a Call