Preparing a Strategy Call: Questions That Turn Advice Into Action
A one-hour strategy call can feel like a rare opportunity, and that feeling is exactly why many people waste it. They arrive with a vague sense of being stuck, spend the first twenty minutes explaining their situation, and leave with a few encouraging notes and no clear next step. The difference between a productive call and a forgettable one is rarely the other person's expertise alone. It usually comes down to preparation: knowing what you are trying to decide, what evidence you have, and what kind of help would actually move your work forward. This article walks through a preparation method that applies to any founder, creator, or operator considering a call with a mentor, advisor, or peer, including calls offered through ToddMichael.tv's Book a Call page. Nothing here guarantees a particular outcome. The goal is to help you use whatever time you get.
Start With One Decision, Not a Feeling
The most common opening line on a strategy call is some version of 'I'm not sure where to start.' That is an honest feeling, but it is a poor agenda. Before you book anything, write down the single decision you are trying to make in the next thirty days. Examples include whether to rebuild your product page before running ads, whether to automate a weekly report or keep doing it by hand, or whether to narrow your offer to one customer type. A decision has two options or more and a deadline, even an informal one.
If you cannot name a decision, spend time on the situation first. Write three sentences: what you are working on, what result you currently see, and what result you want. The gap between the last two sentences is usually where the decision lives. A call is far more useful when it narrows a choice than when it tries to survey your entire business at once.
Bring Evidence, Not Just Narrative
Advisors can only respond to what you show them. A story like 'sales have been slow' invites general advice that could apply to anyone. A set of numbers, such as visitors over the last six weeks, the conversion rate from visit to inquiry, and the number of inquiries that became paying customers, gives the conversation something to work with. You do not need a perfect dashboard. A simple table in a document you can share on screen is enough.
Include what you have already tried and what happened. A list of attempts, with dates and outcomes, prevents the call from re-covering ground you have already tested. It also reveals patterns. You may discover that three different experiments all stalled at the same step, which points to a single bottleneck rather than three separate problems. Evidence also protects you from a common trap: treating a single bad week as a verdict on the whole project.
Write Questions That Can Be Answered
Questions like 'How do I grow?' or 'Is my idea good?' are hard to answer in an hour. Better questions name a specific choice and a specific constraint. For instance: 'If I can spend ten hours a week on distribution, should I spend them on short video or on email outreach to past customers?' Or: 'My ecommerce margins are thin after shipping. Which should I examine first, supplier pricing or the shipping threshold?' These questions invite a concrete recommendation you can test.
A useful habit is to rank your questions. Put the one that would change your next action most at the top. If time runs short, the most valuable question should already have been asked. Some people also prepare a 'what I will not ask' list to keep the call from drifting into topics that are interesting but irrelevant to this month's decision.
Separate Advice You Can Test From Advice You Must Trust
Good advice is specific enough to test. 'Rewrite your offer so the first sentence names the customer's problem, then run it for two weeks and compare response rates' is testable. 'Be more authentic' is not. During the call, try to translate each suggestion into a test with a measurable result, a time frame, and a stopping rule. If you cannot describe how you would know the advice worked, ask for help making it concrete before you leave.
Some advice you will need to take on judgment, especially in areas like hiring, positioning, or how a brand should feel. That is fine, but label it as judgment in your notes so you do not later mistake it for data. A simple two-column note, 'tested' and 'taken on trust,' keeps your future decisions honest.
A Practical Pre-Call Checklist and Follow-Up
Before the call, confirm that you have a single decision stated in one sentence, a one-page summary with your key numbers, a ranked list of three to five questions, and a short description of what you have already tried. Decide in advance what a useful outcome looks like, such as a chosen option, a test to run, or a person to contact.
After the call, write the summary within a day while the details are fresh. Record the decision you made, the first action with a date, the metric you will watch, and the question you still have open. Then schedule the action on your calendar. The call creates value only when it changes what you do next week. A strategy call is an hour of input; the follow-up is where that input becomes a result you can measure.