How do you know which They Ask, You Answer Mastery package is right for me?

IMPACT’s They Ask, You Answer Mastery program is designed to help you take ownership of your content marketing in-house so that you can optimize your sales process and avoid paying outside agencies for lackluster results.

In order to gain that independence, you need training. Our program is designed to be comprehensive and completely personalized to your needs. 

You will begin with a 45-minute consultation between your company’s leadership and an IMPACT coach. From there, that coach (along with your account manager) will orchestrate the coaching and training sessions that are specifically tailored to your business’ needs and growth goals. 

They Ask, You Answer Mastery follows a 12-, 18-, or 24-month schedule, and each track combines strategic coaching and planning sessions with tactical training for members of your sales and marketing teams. 

Which timeline you follow will depend on the speed you’d like to move and our team’s assessment of your company’s readiness. Chris Duprey, IMPACT’s chief learning officer, puts it this way: “we look at your anticipated timeline and we evaluate your capacity to do the work.”

Together, we determine the best path forward.

🔎Related reading:

• The consequences of not insourcing content creation
• Outsourcing is broken: Why we need to rethink the traditional agency model

What’s the difference between the tracks?

Each They Ask, You Answer Mastery track is rigorous. Our most popular package, lasting 18 months, is an appropriately challenging undertaking for most businesses. We advise most businesses to choose this package.

However, some businesses want to move even faster — especially if they’ve already got a knowledgeable internal team in place. Others might want to move slower.

Your IMPACT coach will work with your leadership team to determine the best path forward. 

The different Mastery packages are essentially identical. The only variable is the number of subject matter expert training sessions you can expect each month. The faster the program, the more frequent the training.

Every Mastery client will have these meetings:

Annual planning session (Once a year, 2-4 hours): Your annual planning sessions 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.

Leadership coaching sessions (Twice a month, 45-90 minutes): 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. 

Quarterly planning sessions (Once per quarter, 1.5-2 hours): Your quarterly planning sessions will utilize both scorecard review and priority review to help you plan for your upcoming goals. You will also brainstorm priorities as you develop your next quarterly plan.

Subject matter expert (SME) training sessions

Additionally, you will have subject matter expert training sessions (each lasting 30-45 minutes). 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 trainers will review your team’s progress and task completion, and assign lessons to ensure further skill development.

However, the frequency of these meetings depends on the duration of your program.

• 12 months: three SME meetings per week
• 18 months: two SME meetings per week
• 24 months: one SME meeting per week

This cadence is the only difference between the different tracks.

*Note: Although this meeting cadence is reflective of most clients' experience, your actual meeting schedule could vary slightly based on your needs and your coach's discretion.

🔎Related reading: What's included in IMPACT's They Ask, You Answer Mastery program?

How do you know what package is right for me?

During your initial consultation, you and your coach will decide together on the package that best meets your needs and suits your circumstances. 

A big part of owning your digital sales and marketing in-house is building up the internal team necessary to do so. We will recommend hiring a content manager and a videographer. If a company already has these two roles filled, it is more likely that they will be able to move quickly. 

Chris says, “if I'm talking to a company that already has a videographer and a content manager — and their leadership team is engaged, I’m going to recommend the 18-month plan or maybe even the 12-month plan.”

Considering that such a big part of Mastery is subject-specific training, Chris recognizes that such a company “would be ready for full-time training in two areas immediately — content strategy training and video content strategy.”

Conversely, if a business is not planning on hiring either of these roles in the next six months, they’re more suited to engage in the 24-month program track.

They Ask, You Answer Mastery is a collaborative initiative between your team and ours. The right program needs to fit everyone’s needs, balancing ambition and practicality.  

Can I change tracks if I want to move faster or slower?

IMPACT strongly recommends that once you choose a Mastery track, you stick with it. 

The program is rigorous and demanding no matter what track you select, so the only circumstances that would call for speeding up would be if, for example, you were suddenly able to hire a videographer much earlier than you previously thought. 

Similarly, you would only be in a position to slow down if you suddenly lost a key employee and had to hire to refill the role.

In all other cases, only a significant change of circumstance would necessitate a jump from one track to another. If your company is suddenly in financial difficulty, please reach out to your coach to determine the best path forward. 

Getting started with They Ask, You Answer Mastery

As a team of experts who works with hundreds of businesses across dozens of industries, both in the U.S. and abroad, IMPACT is familiar with what characteristics will best predict successful completion of They Ask, You Answer Mastery. 

In our first 30 minute consultation, you and your coach will work together to determine a timeline that makes the most sense. 

From there, you will embark on the program that will allow you to take ownership of your digital sales and marketing.

Whether you reach mastery in 12, 18, or 24 months, you can expect nearly identical curricular elements that share a common goal but are unique to your organization’s needs.