---
title: Didion Milling — Year-in-Review & Recruitment Strategy (2025-12-08)
type: article
created: '2025-12-08'
updated: '2025-12-08'
source_docs:
- raw/2025-12-08-monday-call-w-melissa-106961224.md
tags:
- client
- didion
- retainer-strategy
- recruitment
- account-review
layer: 2
client_source: Didion Milling
industry_context: food-beverage
transferable: false
---

# Didion Milling — Year-in-Review & Recruitment Strategy (2025-12-08)

## Overview

Discussed during the [[wiki/meetings/2025-12-08-monday-call-melissa-mark|2025-12-08 Monday sync between Melissa and Mark]]. The Didion account is currently unprofitable due to a low retainer relative to the volume and complexity of work being performed. A Wednesday meeting with the client (Diana) is scheduled, with the goal of presenting a year-in-review and proposing a path toward a higher retainer arrangement.

## Account Status

- **Profitability:** Unprofitable. The current retainer does not justify the level of work being delivered.
- **Client Relationship:** Diana has been demanding — including last-minute requests (e.g., a PayPal integration, a recruitment strategy) — and has shown some friction when deliverables aren't immediate. Melissa noted she is likely overworked.
- **Upcoming Meeting:** Wednesday (week of 2025-12-08). Melissa is preparing a year-in-review and next-steps deck.

## Key Decisions

- **Retainer Proposal:** The strategy is to propose a higher retainer that would position Asymmetric as Didion's full-service marketing department. The pitch: at a higher retainer, the client gets priority responsiveness and broader scope; at the current rate, the team is already at capacity.
- **Scope Boundary:** Out-of-scope requests (e.g., PayPal work) should be priced separately. Melissa has already begun enforcing this.

## Recruitment Strategy Initiative

- Diana requested a recruitment strategy approximately 1.5 weeks before this call, just before the holiday period.
- **Owner:** Bouquet agreed to write the strategy, leveraging her LinkedIn knowledge.
- **Status as of 2025-12-08:** In progress; delivery committed for early the following week.
- Diana expressed mild frustration at the timeline, though Melissa held the boundary given the holiday timing.

## Action Items

- [ ] Prepare Didion year-in-review and next-steps deck for Wednesday meeting (@Melissa Cusumano)
- [ ] Deliver recruitment strategy draft to Diana by early the following week (@Bouquet)
- [ ] Present retainer increase proposal at or following the Wednesday meeting (@Melissa Cusumano)

## Related

- [[wiki/clients/current/didion/_index|Didion Client Index]]
- [[wiki/meetings/2025-12-08-monday-call-melissa-mark|2025-12-08 Monday Call — Team Development & Client Account Status]]
- [[wiki/concepts/retainer-strategy|Retainer Strategy — Becoming a Full-Service Marketing Department]]