A 1–2 week pre-build engagement where we figure out which CMS earns the work. The output is a written recommendation you can act on, even if you don’t hire me to build it.
What you get
- One 90-minute discovery call covering goals, audience, content ops, integrations, team, budget, timeline.
- A written recommendation document — which CMS, why, what tradeoffs, what NOT to use and why.
- Phased build outline if we’ll work together; honest “go elsewhere” advice if we won’t.
- Follow-up call to walk through the recommendation + answer questions.
What it doesn’t include
- Design work or wireframes (separate engagement).
- Vendor outreach or platform demos (you can find those).
- A 60-page deck. The rec is 6–10 pages of substance, no filler.
Who it’s for
Founders, marketing leads, and agency partners who are about to commit a meaningful budget to a CMS choice and want a senior outside opinion before they do. Especially valuable when the team is split between two platforms or hasn’t built one in the last 5 years.
Pricing posture
Flat-fee, scoped during the intro call. Credited against any subsequent build engagement we do together — so if the rec leads to me building, the strategy fee disappears.
