Getting started: What happens after I sign up for They Ask, You Answer Mastery?

Getting started with They Ask, You Answer Mastery means embarking on a cultural, tactical, and strategic learning experience that will transform your business.

No doubt you’re eager to get going. Once you’ve worked with your account executive to iron out the details of your program and met your coach, you’re on the cusp of getting started. 

This article will explain what you should expect as you embark on Mastery with IMPACT — who you’ll meet, when you’ll meet them, and what happens next — after you sign on the dotted line. 

To find out what to expect after the introductory time period, read here about weekly expectations once the program gets in full swing. After about 30 days or so, your Mastery program will settle into a predictable rhythm of strategy meetings, coaching and training sessions, and metric review. 

But for now, let’s take a peek behind the curtain to see what happens once your program gets underway.

After you sign on the line and submit payment

Signing your contract and submitting your initial payment sets the whole program in motion. Immediately, IMPACT team members start working behind the scenes to set up the back-end framework that allows us to service your account well. 

This means creating places for your team in Basecamp and IMPACT+, and building a schedule for your initial meetings. 

So, what should clients anticipate in these first few days? Clients should expect a kickoff meeting to happen within a few days, and a larger planning session within one to two weeks. 

What’s more, clients can expect to receive homework after their kickoff meeting, usually including one article to review and two free courses to complete in IMPACT+, our education platform. These resources create a shared baseline of knowledge and allow for quicker progress once things get going. 

To this end, we recommend having your team members sign up for IMPACT+ accounts as soon as possible so they can explore the platform. That way, they can hit the ground running after the kickoff meeting. 

Within a few days of getting started, formal meetings begin with the IMPACT team, starting with the kickoff meeting to introduce you to who you’ll be working with. 

Getting to know the IMPACT team you’ll be working with

During the Mastery program, you can expect to work with several IMPACT team members: Your account executive, your member success manager, your digital sales and marketing coach, and several subject matter experts who serve as trainers. 

• Your coach handles all of your initial conversations and makes sure we prescribe the best solutions for your business. 
• Then, your coach works with your senior leadership team and guides you through your digital sales and marketing transformation. Your coach identifies your biggest areas for improvement and helps you set priorities. You likely met your coach during the sales process as well.
• Your member success manager is your go-to person for anything related to IMPACT+ or Basecamp. 
• Your trainers will help you optimize your HubSpot portal, build a content strategy, implement video in your sales process, and much more. 

By the end of your first official meeting, you will know everyone except the subject matter experts, who will work with your team once a cadence and curriculum have been established. 

Kickoff meeting cadence: Who, what, when

Within a few days of signing your agreement and submitting payment, you can expect a one-hour kickoff meeting that will be run by your coach. Your coach will go over the scope of the program and field any questions you have.

You’ll also get to know your member success manager, who will cover the logistics of managing your program with IMPACT. This means going over Basecamp, IMPACT+, and any other logistical information to ensure a smooth onboarding process. 

You may meet some of your trainers as well.

After the kickoff meeting, both teams prepare for the first significant undertaking: The four-hour planning session. 

Scheduling the planning session often depends on client availability, but it usually occurs within one to two weeks of the kickoff meeting. 

At your planning session, expect a deep dive into the current state of your company’s sales and marketing programs and goals, with a heavy focus on building a strategy (and associated priorities) that will chart your path forward. 

When does the program settle into a rhythm?

After the kickoff meeting and the initial planning and strategy session, you will be quite familiar with your coach. You will have taken in a ton of information about They Ask, You Answer and started to talk about training plans, staffing needs, and more.

After that, the program will start to feel more routine. Although coaching and training sessions will be unique to your team’s needs and progress, the meeting cadence and homework assigned will begin to feel familiar.

We find that for most clients it takes about 30 days to feel settled into the program. 

Once you get into a rhythm, you can expect the following regular sessions.  

(Remember, the Mastery program operates in three different durations — 12, 18, or 24 months — and the one you choose will affect some meeting frequency, as noted below.)

1. Quarterly planning session (4x a year, 2-4 hours)

Who you should bring: Your leadership team, head of sales, head of marketing

Who we bring: Your IMPACT coach

What to expect: As outlined above, your first planning session is a major first step in the Mastery program. Each planning session will be a deep dive into your company’s health and goals. Your IMPACT team will utilize the digital sales and marketing scorecard to help set priorities, develop your one page strategic plan (OPSP), work on goal setting, and build a quarterly plan.

2. Leadership coaching sessions (usually twice a month, depending on client needs; 45-90 minutes)

Who you should bring: Your leadership team

Who we bring: Your IMPACT coach

What to expect: Your leadership coaching sessions will focus on detailed strategic work with your IMPACT coach. You can expect to review progress on quarterly priorities, initiatives, and learning objectives. This will also be a time to address impediments and decisions your company has made. 

3. Subject matter expert coaching sessions (30-45 minutes)

Note: The frequency of these meetings depends on the needs of the client and the discretion of the coach.

Who you should bring: Your HubSpot manager, content manager, videographer, or other staff as needed

Who we bring: IMPACT trainers

What to expect: These highly tactical training sessions will help your internal team develop mastery of core skills related to all aspects of digital sales and marketing. Your SME trainers will review your team’s progress and task completion, and assign lessons to ensure further skill development.

The first steps on your journey

Don’t feel alarmed if the first few days or weeks of  Mastery feel intense. That’s by design. You have a lot to learn in the early days of the program to build a shared foundation of terminology and expectations. 

Know that dozens of companies have gone through it before you — and you can always reach out to your coach if you have any questions or concerns.

You’re taking your first steps toward marketing independence and true sales proficiency. You will get there, and we’ll be with you every step of the way.