Shark Tank Prep Plan: Bite-Size Activities (Step-by-Step)

1) Define Who Pays

Write 3 separate one-sentence versions of your business model:
- “Users pay for ______.”
- “Professionals pay for ______.”
- “Hybrid: users get ______ free, professionals pay for ______.”
Make a 2-column list:
- User: who uses it, what job they’re trying to get done.
- Payer: who funds it, what outcome they buy.
Circle exactly one “primary payer” for the first 90 days.
Write your “nope list”: 3 revenue ideas you will NOT pursue right now.

Create a list of 30 prospects (friends-of-friends, forums, groups, referrals).
Write a 10-question script (copy/paste into notes) focused on:
- Biggest fear
- Most confusing decision
- What they paid for (if anything)
- What they wished existed
Schedule 5 interviews in the next 48 hours (30 minutes each).
After each call, fill out a 1-minute summary:
- Stage of divorce
- Top 2 pain points
- What they tried
- Any willingness-to-pay signal
After 10 calls, highlight repeated phrases and fears (use their exact wording).

Build a list of 25 professionals in one region (Google, directories, LinkedIn).
Write a 7-question script focused on:
- Lead value (what a client is worth)
- Current acquisition channels
- What “qualified” means
- What they’d pay for (and what they won’t)
Book 5 quick calls (15 minutes) or send 10 short emails.
Capture three numbers per conversation:
- Typical client value (range)
- Acceptable cost per lead (range)
- Biggest marketing frustration
After 8–10 calls, draft a “lead quality checklist” using their criteria.

Draw a one-page flow:
- How users find you → what they do → what value they get → what triggers revenue.
Create 3 “money flow” diagrams (subscription, leads, ads). Pick one to test first.
Write a single paragraph answering:
- Why users trust you
- Why payers can’t easily bypass you
- What prevents spam/low quality
List your top 3 assumptions (things that must be true for the model to work).

Create 1 simple paid offer to test this week:
- Paid guide
- Premium checklist
- One-time “clarity session”
- Professional listing / featured placement
Write the offer in 5 bullets:
- Who it’s for
- What problem it solves
- What they get
- Time to value
- Price
Build a landing page (one screen) with:
- Headline + 3 bullets + payment button (or “request access” if needed).
Run a tiny test:
- Send to 20 interviewees or post in 1 relevant community (where allowed).
Track outcomes:
- Clicks, replies, payments, objections
Write the top 5 objections verbatim and adjust the offer copy once.

Make a one-page unit economics sheet:
- Price
- Cost to deliver
- Gross margin
- Expected conversion rate
- Estimated CAC
Create 3 scenarios: conservative / base / aggressive.
Define “what good looks like” for 30 days:
- # of users
- # of leads
- # of paying customers
- Revenue
Write your 60-second “numbers story”:
- Who pays → how much → why it’s worth it → how you acquire them.

List 10 alternatives customers use today (not just “competitors”):
- Search
- Forums
- Local attorneys
- Templates/forms
- Legal marketplaces
For each, write:
- What it’s good at
- Where it fails
Write 3 differentiation bullets that are not features:
- Trust mechanism
- Speed to clarity
- Quality control / filtering
Create a 1-page comparison table (you vs. 3 alternatives) using only customer-relevant criteria.

Write answers (3–5 sentences each) to:
- What if Google traffic disappears?
- What if professionals bypass you?
- How do you prevent low-quality spam?
- What is defensible?
- Why can’t a bigger player copy this?
Do a “hostile friend” rehearsal:
- Have someone challenge you for 10 minutes, no slides.
Replace any weak answer with a measurable plan (test, metric, or constraint).

Fill this template (and produce 5 variations):
- “We help [specific segment] avoid [specific costly mistake] by [mechanism], and we monetize via [revenue engine].”
Pick the strongest one by testing it:
- Say it to 5 strangers; if they can’t repeat it back, it’s not clear enough.
Remove vague words (platform, ecosystem, empowering, etc.). Replace with concrete nouns.

Select one primary identity:
- Content platform
- Lead engine
- Trust layer
- Financial risk prevention tool
Write a “positioning boundary” sentence:
- “We are not ______. We are ______.”
Align your demo and metrics to that identity (remove anything that conflicts).

Create a Shark Tank question bank:
- 20 hardest questions
- 5 failure modes
- 3 market threats
Write “tight answers”:
- Start with the answer first.
- Then 2 supporting points.
- Stop.
Do 3 timed drills:
- Answer in 15 seconds
- Answer in 30 seconds
- Answer in 60 seconds
Record one full run-through and cut anything that sounds like speculation.