This is the working playbook for the people who manage Vic Keller's Instagram DMs. It turns a conversation with a business owner into one of four outcomes: a qualified fit conversation with the right closer, a useful answer, a respectful close, or a clean handoff to EPIC. It is built to be used while you work. Situations come first, scripts second, judgment throughout.

A script is an example of a standard, not a substitute for thinking. If you are about to paste the same message to a second person, rewrite it.

Vic Keller is the principal behind EPIC's offers: private strategy sessions with him, the six-month MBA, the Boardroom he leads, the Cabo retreats at his private club, and the annual mentorship with him and the EPIC executive team. Owners buy these through this team. Every message you send is read as coming from his organization. You speak as a member of his team, never as Vic.

Write like the chief of staff to a founder: precise, discreet, unhurried. The prospect should feel they are dealing with a competent representative of a serious organization.

1. Start from the situation. Use What should I do? (top right, or press ?) and pick what is in front of you.
2. Search when you need a specific thing. Press / and type a word such as pricing, follow up or guarantee.
3. Keep the Cheat Sheet open in a second window or from the top bar while you work.
4. Read the whole SOP once before your first live conversation. The judgment is in the explanations, not only the scripts.

Which source wins when two disagree

1. The EPIC Offer Sheet for prices, deliverables and what not to promise.
2. EPIC's written approvals (Kyle for admission, scope, dates and terms).
3. The Shared Sales Operations SOP and this DM SOP for process.
4. Scripts and examples last. They illustrate, they do not override.

If two sources conflict and you cannot tell which controls, do not quote either. Ask the sales lead.

Tags you will see

• In scope Work covered by the current inbound DM remit.
• Pending release Not to be used live until the RN sales lead or EPIC releases it.
• Source rule Taken directly from the offer sheet or sales SOPs.
• Recommended Craft guidance added to improve execution. Not an EPIC rule.

EPIC meets an owner at a decision or a constraint. The formats differ in how much of Vic's and the team's time the owner needs, and how long the relationship runs: a decision (Strategy), a framework and cohort (MBA), a room (Boardroom), a working event with a small group (Cabo), or a year of private access (Mentorship).

• Sell only the prices and deliverables on the offer sheet. Pricing, payment terms, claims and discounts require EPIC approval.
• State the actual price plainly when asked. Do not hide it behind a call, a staged reveal or an invented value stack.
• Cabo has two fixed tiers. No early-bird pricing. VIP is the $20,000 standard plus a $10,000 upgrade, $30,000 total.
• No approved payment plan, financing, deposit, hold or refund terms are available to you. Say so, and ask the sales lead to confirm EPIC's written terms.
• Any change to scope or price needs EPIC's written approval before it is offered.

• Direct work on the owner's real business decision, starting from the owner's intake.
• A written game plan and complete session recordings in the Strategy formats.
• Defined access to Vic, which differs by format. Be exact about which.
• A curated, selective room (Boardroom) and a screened small group (Cabo).
• Practical operating tools: EPIC frameworks (MBA) and an operating rhythm (Cabo).

These are the offer sheet's own strengths. Describe them. Do not rank EPIC against other providers, and do not claim results.

The sources give a best-fit profile for each offer, not a single ICP document. This profile is built from those best-fit lines and the discovery fields in the qualification process. It contains no invented revenue threshold.

Who they are

An owner, founder or operator, and for Boardroom an investor, who carries the decision personally or knows exactly who must be involved. Serious, candid and willing to contribute.

Business

An operating business with a real team and recurring decisions. For Mentorship, an established operator whose decisions matter every quarter.

Professional profile

Has authority over the decision. Willing to participate consistently, implement between sessions and be open in a small group.

Stage

Varies by offer. One decision: Strategy. Needs a framework: MBA. Wants long-term peers: Boardroom. Consequential choices every quarter: Mentorship.

Financial indicators

A self-reported revenue range with its period, and team size. These are context, not gates. Investment readiness is tested by stating the price of the plausible offer, never by asking about savings or balances.

Problems

Decisions still routing through the owner. Growth that adds work without improving profit. A layered decision or pivot. Inconsistent implementation. Exit preparation. A need for serious peers.

Goals

Clarity and a usable plan. A repeatable operating rhythm. A more profitable, less owner-dependent business. Accountability. Lasting relationships.

Motivations

Direct feedback, candor, accountability, and relationships that are long-term rather than transactional.

Buying triggers

A decision with a date. A pivot or restructure. Growth that is not improving the economics. A team waiting on the owner. Exit, acquisition, capital or hiring decisions. An upcoming EPIC event.

Behavioral signals

Describes a specific decision in their own words. Asks about format, scope, dates or what is expected of them. Names who else is involved. Accepts a stated price calmly.

Profile and content signals

Recommended Bio shows owner, founder or operator. A named business with a working site. Content or comments about hiring, scaling, operating decisions or exits. Engages with content on people, profitability or enterprise value.

Identity and role

Owner, founder, operator or investor. A bio that names a business and a role. A link to a working site.

The business

What it does, roughly how large (team, locations, offers), and whether it appears to be an operating business.

Content to review

Recent posts, stories and comments, and anything they have said publicly about hiring, pricing, scaling, leadership or exits. Review the last few weeks, not the whole feed.

Signals that matter

A decision in view (expansion, restructure, new leadership, launch, acquisition). Language about owner dependence or growth strain. Engagement with Vic's themes.

Signals that do not matter

Follower count, lifestyle imagery, general motivational content, how long they have followed.

Enough to answer three questions in one line each. No more.

1. Why this person? Their role and business.
2. Why now? A verified, recent signal.
3. Why us? The honest link between that signal and what EPIC offers.

If you cannot answer all three, do not message. Two to three minutes per profile is a reasonable ceiling, and a recommendation rather than a rule. The sources set no research quota.

The objective is relevance, not proof that you looked at their profile. Apply the swap test: if you could replace their name and send the same message to someone else, it is not personalized.

A good personalization links one verified observation to one decision the owner may be facing, then asks a question. It never pretends familiarity and never cites something you could not verify.

• An existing CRM record, an owner, an active conversation or an appointment
• Any opt-out, suppression or earlier decline
• An existing client or a client-service issue
• A channel that has not been released
• An offer that is not currently available (for example, Cabo dates or inventory not confirmed)
• Inability to state relevance in one sentence
• Anything that would require you to infer private information

Three short sentences, no emoji, one question, around 45 words at most. The word count is a recommendation. Existing thread? Say where you picked up: "Hi [Name], I'm [Setter] from Vic's team. I picked up your message about [their actual question]. [Accurate answer]. Is [their stated goal] still what you're looking to work through?"

Context, Relevance, Discovery, Problem, Impact, Desired outcome, Qualification, Fit, Next step. Nine moves, grouped into six stages you can track at a glance. Not every conversation visits every stage in order. Move on when you have enough. Return when something unclear appears.

• Answer, then ask. Respond to what they asked before you move forward.
• One question at a time. Short messages.
• Use their words. Do not make them repeat anything they already said.
• Two good answers beat a full questionnaire. Skip what has been answered.
• Write down facts, label interpretations. Self-reported means self-reported.

• Answer, learn, ask. Every message answers something, learns something and asks one thing.
• Track silently. Use the tracker as your own memory, not as a script.
• One answer, many fields. "Regional services company, 18 employees, every decision comes through me" covers business, scale and the problem at once. Do not ask again.
• Offer two concrete options when they are vague, instead of repeating the question.
• Reflect before you advance. A one-line summary shows you listened and lets them correct you.
• Never collect confidential deal documents, personal account balances, credit scores, card details or credentials in DMs.

Each follows the same pattern. Business and role, decision, outcome, timing, support wanted, investment readiness and decision participants are needed for every conversation. The rest round out the context and the route.

Closed-lost reasons to record

No need. Mismatch. Timing. Investment not appropriate. Another option. Admission declined. Travel or schedule mismatch. No response after the approved cadence. Duplicate opportunity. Explicit decline. "Other" needs a factual note. Record the primary stated objection in their exact wording. Never guess a hidden motive, and never default an unknown concern to "needs to think".

Label what the prospect said as self-reported. Write unknown rather than guess.

Find the situation, read the objective, then write the response in your own words. The examples are a standard for tone and content, not a script to paste. Anything marked escalation means you do not improvise.

• Follow-up is a decision, not a calendar. Each touch needs a reason that exists today.
• One touch means one outbound attempt across the whole team, not one per channel or per person.
• A reply leaves the sequence and becomes a conversation. Pause anything queued.
• No response is not permission for indefinite nurture or a move to a broadcast list.
• A DM does not give permission to text or call.
• No numeric DM schedule exists in the sources. Timings below are proposed and need release. Do not invent a daily message plan.

Move a prospect toward a call when you can state all of the following. If one is unknown, flag it to the sales lead rather than invent it.

A qualified appointment is not commission eligibility, and a booking is not admission. Use the qualification tracker in the Qualification section to check the threshold for the route.

• The threshold is not met and the missing facts matter
• No real decision, or they are not the decision-maker and cannot involve them
• They have not heard the price
• They asked to stop, or a stop signal is present
• Cabo: dates, inventory or screening are not confirmed. Kyle confirms in writing first
• Boardroom: use the approved conversation route. Do not impose a generic form
• Single Session: EPIC is not currently offering it
• The booking link, calendar or closer has not been released and tested
• Someone else owns an active conversation with them

1. Summarize. You run [business] and want help with [decision]. You're considering [offer/format], and [timing] matters. Have I got that right?
2. Ask permission. The next step would be a conversation with [verified closer name] to check fit and walk through the details. Would that be useful?
3. Use only the approved application and calendar. If an application is required, they complete it honestly. Never answer screening questions for them or bypass review.
4. Confirm the real booking record. Verify the date, local time and time zone, closer, meeting link and contact details. A sent link, or "I'll book later", is awaiting booking.
5. Send one confirmation. Use the block below.
6. Share one approved, working pre-call resource only if relevant.
7. Update the CRM and send the handoff through the designated team channel. The closer acknowledges. Keep the prospect-facing next action with one owner.

How to introduce the call

Confirmation block

Use the facts from the calendar record. Keep the final reminder focused on joining the call.

Write unknown rather than guess. Label prospect statements as self-reported and keep them separate from your interpretation. Never put credentials, card details, identity documents or unrelated personal details in notes or messages.

Facts in their words. Interpretation labeled as yours. Unknown written as unknown.

The setter does not hard-close. The goal is to understand the concern, decide whether a fit still exists, and then move forward, hand off or close. After a call, the closer owns objection follow-up.

1. Understand. Acknowledge what they said without arguing.
2. Clarify. Ask one question to learn what is behind it.
3. Classify. Is it a real objection, a reflex, or missing information? Categories: scope, price, timing, decision participant, evidence or trust, unspecified.
4. Give context. Offer the written facts that apply. Nothing invented.
5. Check fit. Is there still a fit, a better route, or none?
6. Move forward, escalate or close. Each is a valid end.

The closer's structure, Validate, Reframe, Prove, Invite, is useful for your wording: acknowledge the concern, clarify a relevant scope distinction, support it with the written deliverable or approved evidence, and invite an optional next step. Reframing never means disputing affordability or inventing the cost of waiting.

• Guess a hidden motive, or default an unknown concern to "needs to think".
• Claim the fee pays for itself, or introduce ROI, financing, discounts or guarantees.
• Use scarcity or a deadline that is not verified.
• Send every objection variant. If the concern is unknown, ask.
• Repeat an objection script after a clear no.

An escalation does not authorize a refund, a contract change or a promised resolution. Do not tell the prospect otherwise.

1. Read the complete conversation, with the CRM record and the handoff.
2. Score each dimension: Met (2), Needs coaching (1), Not met (0).
3. Check for critical failures. Resolve any affected case before looking at conversion.
4. Record evidence, one specific correction and a recheck date.
5. Share anonymized useful questions with the team. Private calls are not automatically marketing assets.

The scoring bands below are recommended. The source documents define Met, Needs coaching and Critical issue, but set no numeric thresholds. Employment or compensation consequences require the actual agreed policy.

• Work the inbox in priority order rather than newest first.
• Batch research and writing, but never batch replies to people who are waiting on an answer.
• Keep the handoff open while you qualify, so it is nearly complete when they say yes.
• Spend the last ten minutes of the shift on the end-of-day review, not on new conversations.

These are the gaps found while cross-referencing the three source documents. This SOP does not fill them with invented information.

1. Name spelling. The original brief says "Kellar". Every source document and the offer page URLs say "Keller". This SOP uses Keller.
2. Setter SOP Creation Guide. It was referenced in the brief but not supplied. The structure follows the brief's own section list. Check it against the guide when available.
3. Named owners. The RN sales lead, the verified closers, the payment-intake owner and EPIC's receiving owner are not named in the sources. Confirm them before release.
4. Booking and calendar. Approved booking and rescheduling links, the Cabo 20-minute fit-call calendar, and the 60 to 90 second pre-call video (or its approved fallback).
5. Claims register and proof. Approved wording, evidence and testimonials. Until it exists, setters share no results.
6. EPIC Sight Picture. No approved description exists in the supplied materials.
7. Intensive and Single Session details. The length of the "defined engagement period" for Intensive access, and who leads the Single Session, are not stated.
8. Admission criteria. EPIC's latest written criteria, and the approved Boardroom route that respects the no-forms and no-revenue-threshold promises.
9. Cadence and outbound release. The follow-up timings in this SOP are proposed. Outbound DMs and automation need written release.
10. Customer payment terms. Deposits, installments, refunds and holds are unresolved in the proposal.
11. Cabo dates and inventory. Exact dates and a verified standard and VIP ledger from Kyle.
12. Numeric DM targets. None are set in the sources. None are invented here.

Built from three documents: EPIC Offer Sheet: Prices and Deliverables (RN Sales Team), the primary source for offer facts; EPIC Inbound DM Setter SOP, review draft 1.2 of October 2, 2026; and EPIC Shared Sales Operations SOP, review draft 1.2. Where the existing DM SOP was strong (identity, answer-first, plain pricing, Cabo accuracy, the handoff and confirmation templates, suppression), it is preserved. Where it was thin (ICP, qualification criteria, objection handling, contextual follow-up, scoring, an interface for use under time pressure), it is extended. Material labeled Recommended is craft guidance, not an EPIC rule.