The One Where Tia Gets You 3 Months of Social Proof in 1 DM Sequence
(Instantly book sales calls without waiting months for authority.)
I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when a post caught my attention:
"Want my proven ManyChat sequence that books 10+ calls per week? Comment 'SEQUENCE' below and I'll send it right over!"
The timing was perfect. I'd been looking to improve my IG outreach, so I dropped the requested comment and continued with my day.
Later, when the DM notification pinged, I opened the message with anticipation. But instead of finding the promised templates, my screen displayed a wall of questions, including this one:
"Who is your ideal customer? (industry, company size, job titles, pain points)"
Which on the surface appears to be only 1 question, but is actually 5:
What is your ideal customer's industry?
What is your ideal customer's company size?
What are your ideal customer's job titles?
What are your ideal customer's pain points? (so, a multi-layered question, inside of a multi-layered question, in a group containing 4 other multi-layered questions 😩)
What other pertinent information should I know about your ideal customer?
And this was just the first question. There were four more equally as complex questions waiting for my response. I realized I'd been low-key click-baited into what I felt would most certainly end in me being strong-armed onto a sales call.
While the end result might have been valuable, the experience left me frustrated. I hadn't expected to receive a ‘resource’ requiring so much mental effort on my part.
Looking at these questions, I realized most recipients would react in one of three ways:
Provide vague answers (resulting in an underwhelming deliverable)
Invest significant time answering thoroughly (only to potentially discover they needed to pay or hop on a call to get the deliverable)
Or simply abandon the conversation entirely after seeing the extensive effort required (my choice)
None of these outcomes creates the best foundation for conversion optimized DM convos.
But the problem wasn’t with the concept itself – it was with the execution.
This consultative lead magnet approach, when done properly, can collapse months of social proof and authority building into days, creating a direct path to sales calls and revenue, even when you’re just starting to build your audience.
But it requires a more thoughtful approach than what this coach was implementing.
The More Effective Consultative 2-Step Lead Magnet Play
After analyzing where this coach went wrong, I developed a framework for executing an effective consultative 2 -step lead magnet drop, without frustration on either end:
Focus on a Specific Piece: Lead magnets should never promise the complete solution. They're meant to deliver a focused piece of value. In this case, instead of offering an entire sequence, the coach should have offered to help develop 1 or 2 specific messages in the sequence.
Deliver Immediate Value: The best lead magnets provide quick wins. Show users exactly how they can use your expertise to solve a specific challenge immediately, either in the consultative lead magnet deliverable itself, or through a focused DM conversation.
Streamline Information Collection: If you need information to customize your consultative lead magnet, use a pre-made form or quiz outside of DMs. This approach gives you two engagement opportunities: following up to see if they've completed it, or delivering the customized resource once they submit their answers.
Manage Capacity for Consultative Deliverables: Set explicit limits on submissions when your lead magnet requires customization or consultation. Edit your original post when you've reached capacity or pin a comment if editing isn't possible. This creates scarcity, while also ensuring you can deliver quality to everyone who responds.
This framework transforms a potentially frustrating experience into one that builds trust and demonstrates your expertise… while creating a smooth path to DM conversions.
5-Steps to Effective Consultative Lead Magnets
Want to try a consultative 2-step lead magnet? Here's my 5 dead-simple steps:
Identify a specific problem your audience regularly struggles with that you can solve quickly with just a few pieces of information. The best consultative lead magnets address targeted problems that demonstrate your expertise, while providing immediate value.
Now review your consultative lead magnet idea. Are you promising too much or requiring extensive customization? Narrow your focus to solve one specific part of that problem exceptionally well.
Create clear boundaries around what you're offering. Since a consultative lead magnet requires personalization, prepare no more than 1-3 straightforward questions that are easy to answer right inside the DM's, or link to a quiz or a form if it requires more than that.
Test your approach with a small audience before scaling. Track both response rates and recipient satisfaction to refine your process.
Since a consultative lead magnet requires personalization and/or consultation, set a specific limit on submissions. Start with 20-25 and make this limit clear in your post. This ensures you can deliver high-quality, customized content to everyone who responds, while maintaining your sanity.
When I checked back on the post that had triggered my initial frustration, I noticed it had gone viral. The coach was clearly overwhelmed, having only responded to about 25% of commenters with the deliverable.
Had she had my framework, she could have created several dozen highly satisfied potential clients… instead of hundreds of disappointed followers.
Those she did help might indeed become clients… but she'd burned significant goodwill with everyone else who commented, but received nothing.
Despite this negative experience, I remain convinced that the consultative 2-step lead magnet approach can be incredibly powerful when executed correctly. They give you an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise as quickly as possible, without having to first build up months of authority through content and case studies.
Today’s Mega-Prompt: "Consultative Lead Magnet Creator"
Most lead magnets deliver value. The best ones start conversations with qualified buyers. Today, you'll build one that does both.
This mega-prompt helps paid members create a consultative 2-step lead magnet that demonstrates their expertise, while naturally opening the door to high-quality DMs. You’ll walk away with a done-for-you system… from idea to delivery to conversion…built to attract serious leads - without burning you out.
Paid members get exclusive access to:
✔ Three high-converting lead magnet ideas tailored to your audience’s last-step problems
✔ A complete delivery system using questions, personalized responses, and a clear conversion path
✔ A promotion + follow-up plan to track results and turn interest into booked calls