Agency Workflows & Quality
Brief a client for a lead magnet in one call.
Ask seven questions, write the answers in the client's own words, and you have enough to draft without guessing.
Most rework starts before anyone opens a design tool.
Two revisions into a lead magnet, the reader has changed, the promise has drifted and nobody can say which facts were approved. The design was rarely the problem; the brief was.
One intake call of about half an hour removes most of that risk, provided you ask the same seven questions every time and write the answers in the client's words. Below is the script, the record to keep, and what to do when a client cannot answer. Drafting starts only after the client confirms the record.
Build your brief as you read.
Use the free 21-page fillable Lead Magnet Brief Builder: 15 lettered worksheets from finding an idea to a one-page brief and a readiness check, with three fictional worked examples.
Free: we send you a short email first. Reply VERIFY to it and we email you the workbook, then four short follow-up emails over two weeks (the last one names our own $79 Workflow Pack). Every email has an unsubscribe link.
1. Who is the reader, exactly?
Ask: "Who is the one person you want to read this, and what is their job?" Then ask what they already know and what they have already tried.
You are listening for one role in one situation, such as an operations manager who has just inherited a supplier list. "SMEs and enterprise buyers" is not one reader; it is two briefs. Record the role, the organisation type and the reader's existing knowledge. If several readers come up, ask which one matters most for this resource and keep the rest as ideas for later.
If you cannot picture one person reading this on a phone between meetings, the reader is still too broad.
2. What problem are they trying to solve now?
Ask: "What is going wrong for them at the moment, in their words?" Follow with: "What usually happens just before they start looking for help?" That trigger is what the resource should meet.
Write down at least one phrase the client actually uses. Those words often become the title and the opening line. Watch for a problem that belongs to the client rather than the reader: "We need more leads" is a business goal, while "I cannot tell which of these two quotes is cheaper over three years" is a reader problem you can build around.
3. What should the reader be able to do afterwards?
Ask: "If this works, what can the reader do that they could not do before?" Aim for one observable task: compare two quotes line by line, write a one-page brief, run a 20-minute handover. Agree what the resource will not cover, because a stated boundary keeps the file short.
Record the outcome as a single sentence beginning with a verb. If the client answers with a format such as "a PDF", ask again what the reader does with it.
4. Which sources are approved, and which facts are unchecked?
Ask which of the client's own documents, notes or recorded explanations the resource should be built from. Then ask which statements would need a source, a figure or a legal check before publishing. Keep two lists: approved sources, and facts to verify. Anything the client cannot source is either cut or rewritten as a description of their own practice. Our free Source & Claim Review Checklist gives ten checks and three claim records you can reuse for each draft.
If the client supplies images or templates, check the licence before use. Canva's Content License Agreement, for example, licenses Pro Content for a single Canva design and sets conditions on transferring a design to a client. Read the current agreement rather than assuming a subscription covers every use, and ask a qualified adviser where a licence question affects what you can deliver.
5. Which format fits, and what is the one next action?
Ask how much time the reader has and what they will do with the file. A checklist suits a reader in the middle of a task; a worksheet suits a reader preparing for a conversation; a short guide suits a reader who needs the reasoning before acting. Choose the format on the call and name the one action the resource ends with. Our guide to checklist versus mini-guide formats sets out how to decide before software enters the conversation.
6. Which offer does it lead to?
Ask which offer the resource naturally leads to and what the reader would need to believe first. Record the offer name, who it suits and one bridge sentence the resource can end with.
The resource must be useful on its own: a reader who never buys should still finish the task they came for. Note who the offer is not for as well; saying so keeps the bridge specific.
7. How will it be published, and who signs it off?
Ask where people will find the resource and how they will get the file. An open download needs a page and a file. An email request adds a form, a delivery email and a privacy notice that describes exactly what you collect. If you collect addresses, say plainly what people will receive: For example, when you request our Brief Builder and press “Send my confirmation email”, we send you a short email; once you reply VERIFY, we email you the link, then four short follow-up emails over two weeks (the last one names our own $79 Workflow Pack). Every email has an unsubscribe link.
Finally, name one approver and the brand rules: logo use, tone, colours and any compliance wording the client insists on. Without a named approver, feedback arrives from three directions and the brief changes after drafting has started.
Keep one intake record, not seven sets of notes.
Write the answers into a single table while the call is running. The right-hand column is an illustrative example of a completed record for an agency client-kickoff resource; it is not a client result.
| Question | What to capture | Illustrative answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Reader | Role, organisation type, existing knowledge | Operations manager at a manufacturer who has just taken over supplier onboarding. |
| 2. Problem | The reader's words and the trigger | Kickoff notes live in three places and nobody can say what was agreed. |
| 3. Outcome | One task the reader can complete | Run a 30-minute kickoff call and leave with a one-page brief the client confirms. |
| 4. Sources | Approved documents; facts to verify | Two of the client's own onboarding templates; one delivery-time claim to check. |
| 5. Format | Format, length, one next action | One-page fillable checklist; next action is booking the kickoff call. |
| 6. Offer | Offer, who it suits, bridge sentence | Their onboarding programme; bridge sentence to be confirmed by the client. |
| 7. Publish | Access route, approver, brand rules | One landing page, email request, approved by the client's marketing lead. |
Illustrative example only. No client work, result or outcome is described here.
Send the brief back before anyone drafts.
Turn the record into one page and send it to the client with a single question: "Have we got this right?" People correct a draft faster than they compose an answer, and the correction is the approval you need.
A two-line covering email is enough (illustrative wording; adjust the date):
Here is the one-page brief from our call.
Reply with corrections or OK by [date]; drafting starts after your OK.
The free Lead Magnet Brief Builder is a 21-page fillable workbook built for this step: Worksheet K1 is this seven-question intake call with what to listen for, K2 is the intake record, H is the one-page brief you send back, and J is the readiness check and approval. It also has a completed agency client-kickoff example, and comes as a Word file and plain text. It is an email request: we send you a short email first, and once you reply VERIFY we email you the link, followed by four short follow-up emails over two weeks on using it (the last one names our own $79 Workflow Pack).
Keep the confirmed brief with the project files. When the client asks for a change in week three, the brief is the reference point rather than memory.
What to do when the client cannot answer.
Some questions land badly on a first call. Three approaches work better than pressing:
- Ask for one real example, such as a customer question, a support email or a note from a sales call, and run a second short call around it.
- Write a draft answer yourself and ask the client to correct it. Editing is faster than composing.
- Record the gap as an open question in the brief and draft around it, clearly marked.
Never fill a gap with an invented statistic, quote or outcome. An open question in the brief is cheaper than a claim you have to withdraw.
Signals that the brief is ready.
You can start drafting when the record answers all of these:
- One named reader in one situation.
- The problem in the reader's words, with a trigger.
- One outcome that starts with a verb.
- Approved sources and facts to verify listed separately.
- Format, length and one next action agreed.
- The related offer named, with a bridge sentence.
- Access route, approver and brand rules recorded.
If two items are still blank, draft only the sections they affect and leave the rest until the client replies. Briefing is the cheap part of the work; guessing is the expensive part.
Quick questions
How long should the intake call take?
Plan for around half an hour for one resource. If it runs much longer, the scope usually contains more than one lead magnet and is worth splitting.
Can I send the seven questions by email instead?
Yes, when the client writes more clearly than they speak. Ask for the answers in their own words, then send a one-page summary back for confirmation. Written answers rarely carry the phrasing you would have heard on a call.
Here is the same seven-question script as an email you can copy, edit and send. Replace the words in square brackets.
Subject: Seven questions before we draft your lead magnet
Hi [client name],
Before we draft anything, please answer these seven questions in your own words. Short answers are fine, and “not sure yet” is a useful answer too.
1. Who is the reader, exactly? Who is the one person you want to read this, and what is their job?
2. What problem are they trying to solve now? What is going wrong for them at the moment, in their words?
3. What should the reader be able to do afterwards? If this works, what can the reader do that they could not do before?
4. Which sources are approved, and which facts are unchecked?
5. Which format fits, and what is the one next action?
6. Which offer does it lead to?
7. How will it be published, and who signs it off?
I will turn your answers into a one-page brief and send it back for you to confirm before drafting starts.
Thanks,
[your name]
What if the client wants three lead magnets at once?
Brief one at a time and keep a separate record for each. Shared decisions about readers and offers quickly blur when several resources are briefed together.
Sources & editorial notes
- Canva Content License Agreement, retrieved 13 October 2026. Used for the points about Pro Content being licensed for a single Canva design and the conditions for transferring a design to a client.
- Resource contents described from this site: Lead Magnet Brief Builder and Source & Claim Review Checklist.
- No tool was tested for this article. The call script, the record and the completed table are a planning framework and an illustrative example. Verify current licence terms before relying on them, and ask a qualified adviser where a licence question affects what you can deliver.
Examples are illustrative. See our Editorial Policy, Review Methodology and Affiliate Disclosure.
Run the call, then fill the brief.
Use the free Brief Builder to turn your call notes into a one-page brief the client can confirm before drafting starts.
Free: we send you a short email first. Reply VERIFY to it and we email you the workbook, then four short follow-up emails over two weeks (the last one names our own $79 Workflow Pack). Every email has an unsubscribe link.