A leaner version of the full program — designed to generate 4 placements per month, validate the channel, and give you a clear on-ramp to doubling it when you're ready.
This isn't a watered-down plan. It's the same strategy with a smaller ad spend and a 60-day window to see what the market returns before committing to full scale.
Positioning, channel strategy, keyword targeting, landing page quality, and intake process are identical. The only variable is volume — how much fuel we put in.
Ad spend starts lower ($3–4K/month instead of $8–10K). Target is 4 new clients/month instead of 8. The program takes a few more months to reach full velocity, but the risk is proportionally smaller.
At $3–4K/month in ad spend, you're generating roughly half the traffic — but the conversion logic is identical. The funnel is just narrower, not broken.
Projected at $3–4K/month ad spend. Same conversion assumptions as full program.
Lower spend means less data, which means slower optimization. It'll take 60–90 days to get statistically meaningful signal instead of 30–45. That's the cost of starting smaller — not a reason not to start.
That the channel works. That the positioning resonates. That your close rate holds. Once those three things are confirmed at $3–4K, scaling to $8–10K is just turning up the volume — not rebuilding the engine.
At 4 placements/month: $60K revenue against ~$6K in total monthly program cost. That's a 10:1 return — enough to fund the full program out of the first month's revenue.
The starter program actually has a better ROAS than the full program — because CPA drops when you're targeting tighter, higher-intent keywords at lower volume. Efficiency before scale.
CPA improves further as campaigns optimize in months 2–3.
| Component | What it covers | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy & Setup One-time, due at kickoff |
Positioning, keyword research, campaign architecture, landing page brief & copy. Identical to full program — the strategy doesn't shrink. | $2,000 |
| Monthly Management 90-day minimum |
Full campaign management, optimization, reporting. Same hands-on execution at lower volume. | $2,000/mo |
| Performance Fee Per closed placement |
$500 per placement sourced from campaigns I manage. Slightly lower than full program — reflects the starter scale. | $500/placement |
| Ad Spend Passed through at cost |
Google Ads budget, no markup. Start at $3K, flex to $4K as data improves. | Cost only |
First bill: $2,000 strategy fee + $2,000 retainer + $3,000 ad spend = $7,000 to start. At one placement in month one, you've already recovered half of it.
The 90-day starter program is designed with a single built-in decision point: does the data support scaling? If yes, the upgrade is mechanical — more spend, same infrastructure.
Campaigns live. First leads in. Optimizing toward what converts. Ad spend $3–4K. Target: 2–4 placements.
4 placements/month confirmed. Data shows which keywords and landing page variants are converting. Decision point: hold or scale?
If CPA is at or below $1,500 and pipeline is healthy, we increase ad spend to $6–8K. Target moves to 6–8 placements. Retainer adjusts to $2,500.
SEO content layer activates. Google retargeting added. LinkedIn outbound introduced. Program running on multiple cylinders.
The starter program answers the only question that actually matters right now: does this channel work for your business? Everything after that is just volume.