• Ask the capacity question before the budget question. Under five new appointments a quarter, Essentials churns.
• Quote fee plus spend as one number. $3,735/mo for Essentials (about $4,235 from month 7), $7,700/mo for Pro.
• Raise ad spend in the first conversation, not the proposal. Give the number, not a range.

• Never discount the fee to cover missing ad spend. A funded Fundamentals beats an unfunded Essentials for both sides.
• Name review turnaround as the timeline dependency up front — it protects the launch date.
• A downgrade you explain keeps the relationship; an upsell they can't feed does not.

1. They get a new website

Basic and Fundamentals get an SEO-optimized template (choice of seven, ~20 pages). Essentials and Pro get a custom build of roughly fifteen pages. Essentials is not "Fundamentals plus advertising" — the site itself is a different deliverable.

2. Shared content is swapped for original content

Fundamentals gets fifty-two white-labeled evergreen pieces shared across advisors. Essentials and Pro get original content written for the practice, plus 26+ article packages and eleven white paper campaigns a year. The white-labeled library is replaced, not added to.

The advisor provides

• Meta access — admin on the right Business Manager and ad account.
• Payment method in Meta — spend is billed by the platform.
• Budget approval before advertising begins.
• Follow-up on every lead inside 24–48 hours.
• Content and compliance review inside a week.

Our team handles

• Strategy and setup
• Meta Pixel and conversion tracking
• Conversion API, when applicable
• Paid ads landing pages
• Audience development
• Ad creative and copy
• Launch and management
• Performance monitoring
• Quarterly reporting and recommendations

Say

• "Ad spend goes straight to Meta from your own account. We don't mark it up and it isn't our revenue."
• "Your true monthly is $3,735 — $2,735 program plus $1,000 minimum in media."
• "Engagement runs first, then lead gen, then discovery calls. Expect flow to build across the first quarter."
• "We control the system and how efficiently spend converts. You control follow-up speed and close rate. We report on all of it."
• "Three events a month is a ceiling we're proud of — past that, the same local audience stops responding."
• "One advisor went from about 12 registrants an event to 20, and cost per registrant fell from $123 to $75, as the campaigns learned."

Don't say

• Any lead volume, appointment count, or return figure as a projection.
• Results inside the first 30–60 days.
• That Essentials promotes seminars or events.
• That the minimum is a suggestion, or that FIG bills media.
• That we can advertise more than three events a month, or promote an event inside the onboarding window.
• The SecureNet name, without that advisor's permission — say "an advisor in central Florida."
• A launch date that assumes instant content and compliance turnaround.

Two events → three events

A standing three-event plan is $4,900/mo with a $5,000 media minimum. A one-off third event in a single month is $500 management plus its ad budget. Never more than three.

Scoped add-ons

Additional advisors, extra markets, and custom builds are scoped outside the base fee. Escalate for multiple markets or advisor counts beyond the base program.

The cheapest upgrade in the portfolio

An Essentials advisor moves to Pro for a $3,000 setup and about 6 weeks (4 for events, 2 for the 12 additional article packages) — $53,400 year one in fees. Pro opens Q1 2027 with two spots a month, so book start dates early.

Test Pro where events fit

The fit assessment flags the two top performers (PPS at 40.5x and Bencor at 27.2x, both $20M+) as "Hold, or test Pro if events fit." Start there.

$739,193 in fees to date. Don't let affordability math override measured return: an advisor returning 9.4x is not a downgrade candidate.

Diagnose funnel or fix conversion before any tier change. Ask for AUM data — B. A. Schrock moved from 1.7x to 2.3x once AUM was included.

One mature advisor at 0.9x (downgrade to Fundamentals) and three below the $2.5M floor (downgrade or exit). They were enrolled into the wrong package.

12 months, every package

Every advisor on Basic, Fundamentals, Essentials, or Pro commits to 12 months.

Starts at launch

The agreement begins when the website and marketing program launch — not at signature or kickoff.

Renews on the 1st

It renews each year on the first of the month the launch date fell in. Example: launch on March 17, 2027 → renews March 1 each year.

No outside hosting

Advisors may not host their FIG Digital site anywhere other than FIG Digital.

Non-transferable

Sites created by FIG Digital are non-transferable if the advisor parts ways with FIG. The advisor doesn't take the site with them.

Say

• "Every program is a 12-month agreement that starts when your site and marketing launch."
• "You can ask to move up any time during the year — moving up costs a fraction of a new setup because everything we built carries forward."
• "We don't do downgrades mid-term, so let's pick the program that fits now."
• "The website lives with FIG Digital. If you ever leave, we'll keep it hosted while your new site is built."

Don't say

• That an advisor can cancel or downgrade mid-term without paying the remaining balance.
• That an upgrade is guaranteed — the FIG Digital Marketing Team approves it.
• That the advisor owns the site, can move it to another host, or can take it with them.
• That interim hosting is free, or available without the $3,500 retrofit.

What we sell

Basic and Fundamentals: a chosen site design of ~20 pages, a full marketing database, and a limited content program. Essentials and Pro: original articles and emails, managed client-acquisition programs with paid media, and a custom website.

What they sell

Marketing software with a content library, and at their top tiers a done-for-you service that executes organic marketing — email, social, and blogs.

Why it matters

Comparing Essentials to Freedom360 on price compares a lead-generation and content program to just a content program. Reframe the comparison before defending the price.

Where they are ahead

Entry price and speed to launch. A template with pre-written copy is a lighter build than a migration plus integration. Concede this cleanly.

Includes

• Two SEO-written blogs a month plus a matching email
• A monthly podcast script
• Dedicated concierge and a monthly planning call
• Quarterly event ideas with organic promotion support
• 30+ pre-built automation campaigns

Limits (both platforms)

• FMG caps contacts: 1,000 on Essential, 2,000 on Premium and Do It For Me
• FMG tailored website copywriting is a $699 add-on; no database management
• Snappy Kraken meters web dev time: none on Foundations, 1 hr/mo on Grow
• Snappy Kraken: additional advisor workspaces $99 on Grow, $699 on Freedom360; contacts capped at 10k / 50k / 100k
• Neither publishes managed paid advertising in any tier

Managed assets aren't captured

Insurance commissions only. For hybrid and fee-based practices, true return may be materially higher. Ask for AUM before any downgrade.

Production is annualized from tenure

Premiums ÷ months enrolled × 12. Seasonal or short-history advisors are estimates, not measured years.

Budget and capacity are absent

Gates 2 and 3 are the strongest predictors of success, and neither is in the data. Every action is provisional until confirmed with the advisor.

Attribution is probabilistic

Organic, Influenced, and Engaged tiers carry 100/50/10% weights. Low attribution can mean the funnel isn't the channel — or email matching missed contacts using another address.