How to write a brief that gets a sharper plan.
Sixty seconds of structure now buys you a much better 30-day plan later. Here's what to put in — and what to skip.
Five things that change the output.
- 01
What you sell, and to whom.
The model can't pick the right lever for your business if it doesn't know what business you're in.
Weak
“I run a SaaS product.”
Strong
“I run a B2B SaaS selling appointment-scheduling tools to medical clinics in the US.”
- 02
Rough size — revenue, users, or team.
Advice for $10k/mo is different from advice for $200k/mo. Numbers anchor everything.
Weak
“We're growing.”
Strong
“$22k MRR, 140 paying clinics, 4-person team, 18 months in.”
- 03
The specific thing that's stuck.
“Help me grow” gets generic advice. “Lead flow stalled at month 4” gets a plan.
Weak
“Sales aren't where I want them.”
Strong
“Outbound is converting at <1% and our content stopped driving signups 3 months ago.”
- 04
What you've already tried.
So the model doesn't waste a recommendation telling you to do the thing you already did.
Weak
“We've tried lots of things.”
Strong
“We tested two outbound sequences (both flat) and ran a $4k LinkedIn ads test (CAC $1,200, payback 14 months).”
- 05
What “winning” looks like in 30–90 days.
Anchoring success makes the 30-day plan actually point somewhere useful.
Weak
“Just want to grow.”
Strong
“Get to $35k MRR by end of Q3 without doubling spend, or at least find one repeatable channel.”
Same business. Two briefs. Two very different plans.
A 6-person marketing agency with a churn problem. The strong version writes itself in under a minute.
Weak brief
“I run a marketing agency and we have churn issues. Want some advice.”
- Triggers generic follow-ups
- No numbers to reason about
- Plan ends up generic too
Strong brief
“I run a 6-person marketing agency. We’re at $50k/mo retainers but clients keep churning at month 4 — we’ve tried longer onboarding and a senior strategist sitting in on calls, neither moved the needle. I can’t tell if it’s results, communication, or pricing. Goal: get average tenure from 4 → 9 months by end of next quarter.”
- Pinpoints the diagnosis space (results / comms / pricing)
- Tells the model what's already been tried
- Anchors the 30-day plan to a real target
You don't need polish.
You don't need full sentences, jargon, or perfect grammar. Bullet points, fragments, run-on sentences — all fine.
The model only cares about specifics: numbers, timelines, what you've tried, what's actually stuck. Everything else is decoration.
And if you skip something important, the follow-up questions will catch it. The brief is a head-start, not an exam.
Ready
Now write your brief.
Five lines is plenty. The follow-ups do the rest.