This is your playbook for the most important hour you'll spend with a new client. Follow the sections. Ask every question. Record everything. Their answers become the show.
Use a high-quality external webcam if possible. Built-in laptop cameras are a last resort. Check lighting — your face should be evenly lit, no shadows, no backlighting from a window behind you. Ring lights are your friend.
Download Fathom (fathom.video) and add the Chrome extension. It auto-records, transcribes, and generates AI summaries. Start it BEFORE the client joins. This becomes our notes, our CRM data, and our reference for Story.
Start the Google Meet session. Hit the record button BEFORE the client joins. This recording doubles as potential content — B-roll of the client talking about themselves, their business, their story. We may use clips from this in their show (with permission).
Pull up their audition submission. Know their name, what they do, what they sell, and what they wrote for their story. Reference it early to show you actually read their application. Nothing impresses a new client more than feeling remembered.
Background should be clean and intentional. No messy rooms, no kitchen tables, no car calls. If you're in a home office, make it look like you meant it. A branded backdrop or simple bookshelf is ideal.
Stand up and stretch before the call. Smile before you unmute. Your energy sets the tone for the entire relationship. This person just committed to being on camera — show them what good on-camera energy looks like by example.
Smile when they join. Smile when they talk about something they're proud of. Your face is their mirror — if you're engaged, they'll open up.
Look at the camera lens when you're speaking, not at their face on screen. This creates direct eye contact for them. Glance at screen when they're talking.
Good posture signals confidence and attention. Lean forward slightly when they're sharing something important — it shows you're invested.
No checking phone, email, Slack, or other tabs. They can tell. This hour belongs to them. Close everything except this guide and their file.
When they're on a roll, let them go. The gold is in the tangents. You can redirect later — but the raw, unfiltered answer is what Story Producer needs.
This guide is a framework, not a script. Paraphrase. Follow up naturally. If they say something interesting, chase it. The questions are here to keep you on track, not to replace a real conversation.
Drop the Fathom link in the client's Updates feed in the Base44 dashboard. Tag the Story Producer and Account Manager.
Download and upload to the client's Google Drive folder. Label it "Onboarding Call — [Date]". Flag any moments that could be content.
Post in the client discussion wall: Who they are, what makes them interesting, what the show should be about. This is the brief for the entire team.
Question 7.6 — what they want people to feel when watching their show. Write it down verbatim and pin it in their project dashboard. Every piece of content should point back to this.
Check off "Conduct 90-min intake call and document all business details" in the client's deliverables dashboard.