20 Client Intake Brief Global

Client Intake Brief (Global, Generic)

> Role of this skill: This is the input gate for every marketing engagement. > > Other "brief" skills are produced by the agency for internal teams or vendors: > - 02-campaign-brief-global — agency drafts for execution team > - 06-ugc-egc-brief-global — agency drafts for creators > - 12-landing-page-brief-global — agency drafts for designers/devs > > This skill is different — it is the document the client fills in for the agency so the agency has structured input to plan from.

> Note on industry variants: v2.5 ships a single generic English template. Industry-specific variants (SaaS, DTC, healthcare, real estate, etc.) may be added in v2.6+ based on demand. The generic template is designed to work across categories — agencies should add 1–2 industry-specific questions in Section B and Section I as needed.

---

For Newbies

A bad intake produces a bad plan. Most agency-client relationships fail in the first 30 days because the agency built a strategy on assumptions instead of facts.

This brief is your insurance policy. It forces the client to write down what they often only carry in their head — their actual customer, their real budget, what success means to them, what they've already tried, what's off-limits.

Two failure modes to avoid:

1. Brief is too short — agency starts work with 5 lines of context, makes wrong assumptions, three rounds of revisions follow.
2. Brief is too long — client abandons it halfway, fills the rest with "TBD," agency starts work blind anyway.

The 11-section template below is the minimum viable intake — designed to be completable in 30–45 minutes by a non-marketer founder.

---

When to Use This Skill

| Situation | Use this skill? | |-----------|----------------| | New client inquiry — collect info before quoting | YES | | Starting a new marketing project — need structured input | YES | | Re-brief when client expands scope or pivots goals | YES | | Onboarding a long-term retainer client | YES | | Already have full context from extensive discovery calls — go straight to 00-marketing-plan-global | NO |

---

Step 0 — Read Context

Read .agents/product-marketing-context-global.md if it exists. The agency may already have brand-voice or template preferences captured.

---

Step 1 — Information Gathering

Ask the agency lead up to 4 questions:

1. What is the client's industry? (SaaS, DTC ecommerce, healthcare, education, real estate, professional services, etc.) — used to tailor Section B and I
2. Client size? (Solo founder / SMB / Mid-market / Enterprise / Agency-of-record relationship)
3. Project type? (Launch / Re-launch / Scale / Long-term retainer / Single campaign)
4. Delivery format? (Fillable .md sent by email / Notion doc / Google Form / Typeform / printed in-person)

---

The 11-Section Intake Template

Designed to flow from easy (basics) to hard (strategic decisions), so the client builds momentum.

A. Business Overview

The "who are you" section. Quick to fill, builds confidence.

• A1. Legal company name (and trading name if different)
• A2. Year founded
• A3. Founder(s) and key leadership — name, role, LinkedIn
• A4. One-sentence description of what you do
• A5. Annual revenue range — checkbox: pre-revenue / open-ended
• Prefer checkboxes and radio buttons for structured data
• Use 2–3 column tables for comparable items (competitors, products, team)
• Reserve long-form text only for persona, story, and constraints

3. Easy → hard ordering

• Start with simple business basics (Section A)
• Build up to strategic and budget decisions (Sections E–F)
• End with reflective questions (Section K)
• Client builds momentum, doesn't quit on question 3

4. Time-respectful

• 30–45 minutes total to complete
• Add a progress indicator ("Section A of 11")
• Optional sections marked clearly so client can return later

5. Closing commitment

• Client signs off that information is accurate
• Agency commits to confidentiality and use limitation
• Clear timeline (24-hour confirmation, 5–7 business day plan v1)

---

Red Flags Checklist (review the returned brief)

When the client sends the brief back, scan for these warning signs before quoting:

• [ ] "TBD" in too many fields — they haven't done the homework. Schedule a working session.
• [ ] Budget mismatched to goals — "$5K to launch internationally" requires re-scoping or re-targeting.
• [ ] No measurable KPIs — Section E filled with adjectives ("more leads"). Force numbers before quoting.
• [ ] Timeline impossible — wants results "in 2 weeks" with no audience, no list, no creative. Re-set expectations.
• [ ] Decision-maker not engaged — brief filled by junior staff, principal hasn't seen it. Pause until you have leadership alignment.
• [ ] Conflicting stakeholders — Section I "do's" contradict each other (e.g., "premium luxury feel" + "aggressive discount campaigns").
• [ ] No data, no tracking — Section H mostly blank. Plan needs to budget for measurement setup before optimization work.
• [ ] Recently fired previous agency — Section G mentions a prior agency relationship that ended. Get the why before signing.
• [ ] Compliance landmines — Section I mentions a regulated category (health, finance, alcohol, gambling) without legal contact. Add legal review to scope.

---

Quality Checklist (before sending to client)

Content

• [ ] All 11 sections (A–K) present
• [ ] Each question has an example answer or industry-relevant prompt
• [ ] All terminology accessible to a non-marketer
• [ ] "Don't know — advise" option present on expertise-heavy questions
• [ ] Tone matches agency brand (formal / casual / boutique)

Structure

• [ ] Header includes agency contact, send date, return-by date
• [ ] All tables have clear column headers
• [ ] Checkboxes use consistent Markdown format
• [ ] Next Steps section at the bottom
• [ ] Confidentiality statement included

Industry adaptation (if applied)

• [ ] Section B has 1–2 industry-specific product/service questions
• [ ] Section I includes industry-specific compliance constraints
• [ ] Persona examples in Section C reflect the client's category
• [ ] Competitive examples in Section D are realistic for the industry

---

Linked Skills

• 00-marketing-plan-global — once the brief returns, build the full marketing plan
• 02-campaign-brief-global — turn the plan into specific campaign briefs
• 08-competitor-research-global — expand Section D into detailed competitive intelligence
• 09-customer-insight-global — expand Section C into deep persona research
• 10-reverse-kpi-calc-global — turn Section E targets into reverse-engineered funnel math

---

Notes for v2.6+

Industry variants planned (if demand justifies):

• SaaS / B2B software
• DTC ecommerce (apparel, beauty, F&B)
• Healthcare & wellness
• Real estate
• Online education & coaching
• Professional services (legal, accounting, consulting)
• Restaurants & hospitality

Each variant would override Sections B and I with industry-tuned questions while preserving the 11-section A–K structure.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: minhnv0807
• Source: minhnv0807/ai-business-skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://opa.business

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.