No mystery. Six concrete steps from the first 30-minute call through the monthly retainer rhythm. Every step has a written artifact, a clear timeline, and an honest exit point if it's not a fit.
01
Discovery
30 minutes
We talk about the business, where calls are coming from, what's breaking, and what the next 90 days need to look like. I tell you honestly whether the fit is an audit, a Local SEO retainer, a Behavioral Health retainer, a Custom Build, or no-fit. No deck, no pitch — just the honest read.
Artifact
Calendly call → written recap email within 24 hours
02
Optional: Audit
5 business days
When the fit is unclear or the buyer wants a paid deliverable before committing to a retainer, I run a full audit: technical SEO, on-page, GBP, competitor gap analysis, top 10 ranked fixes, and a 90-day roadmap. The $1,500 fee credits 100% toward the first month of any retainer that starts within 30 days.
Artifact
Branded audit PDF + 30-min walkthrough call
03
Proposal & Contract
1-3 business days
I send a productized proposal naming the engagement tier (Local SEO Starter, Growth, Behavioral Health & Regulated, or a fixed-price Build), the scope-in / scope-out language, the $125/hr change-order clause, and the SLA. On acceptance, the MSA gets signed and the first invoice goes out via Stripe ACH or card.
Artifact
Proposal PDF + signed MSA + Stripe invoice
04
Onboarding
Week 1
Welcome email lands with an intake checklist (GBP / Search Console / GA4 / CMS / CRM access, brand details, target keywords, compliance reviewer for behavioral health). 30-min kickoff confirms scope, locks priorities, and exchanges credentials. The 30-day install plan becomes the shared checklist.
Artifact
Intake doc + kickoff agenda + 30-day install plan
05
First 30 Days
Weeks 1-4
Week 1: audit + access setup. Week 2: cleanup sprint on homepage / priority service pages / GBP / citations. Week 3: first content live, GBP cadence active, tracking QA. Week 4: first monthly Looker Studio dashboard. By end of Month 1, the recurring cadence is fully running and you can ignore Ashfield except for the monthly report.
Artifact
Weekly Friday email + Month 1 Looker Studio dashboard
06
Recurring Cadence
Every month
Weekly GBP posts, monthly SEO content (1 or 3 depending on tier), ongoing citation work, 1-2 on-page optimizations per month, and the monthly Looker Studio dashboard delivered on the 3rd. P1 issues get a 4-hour response. Change orders for anything outside scope are written, scoped, and billed at $125/hr in 4-hour blocks with email approval.
Artifact
Monthly Looker Studio dashboard + plain-text summary by the 3rd
No junior account manager handing work to subcontractors. The person who signs the proposal does the work, owns the SLA, and writes the monthly report.
Retainer tiers and fixed-price builds. Change orders written, scoped, and approved by email before work begins at $125/hr in 4-hour blocks. No mystery invoices.
No guaranteed rankings, no guaranteed revenue. I show what shipped, what moved, and what's blocked. Real attribution where it exists, named blind spots where it doesn't.
Behavioral health engagements run with Florida § 397.55, NAATP, and LegitScript posture baked in. No per-admission compensation (Florida § 817.505). Human review on every claim-sensitive piece.
Every retainer client gets the same five things on the same cadence. If any of them slip, the SLA kicks in and I owe you a written explanation.
Written recap email within 24 hours of every call
Friday email weekly during onboarding showing what shipped
Monthly Looker Studio dashboard delivered by the 3rd of the next month
4-hour P1 response, 24-hour P2 response, 5-day P3 response during business hours
30-day termination either way with full credential and data handoff
30 minutes, free, scheduled via Calendly. We talk about the business, where calls are coming from, and what the next 90 days need to look like. No deck, no pitch, no obligation.