Ask the questions that make your proposal write itself
A bad discovery call produces a proposal full of assumptions. This is the list of questions that gets budget, authority, and success criteria on the table in one conversation.
Overview
This is a question list for the first call with a prospective client, before any proposal gets drafted. It's built around the details that are easy to skip in a friendly first conversation but expensive to guess wrong on later: real budget range, who actually signs off, the real timeline, what "success" looks like to them, and what happened with their last agency.
Why it matters
Most scoping mistakes aren't technical — they're informational. An agency prices a project without knowing the real budget ceiling, or builds a timeline without knowing the client already has a hard external deadline. A structured discovery call surfaces this information while it's still free to ask for, instead of discovering it mid-project when it's expensive to fix.
Who should use it
- Anyone taking first calls with prospective clients, whether that's a founder, an account manager, or a salesperson
- Agencies that have been burned by a proposal built on assumptions that turned out wrong
- Teams standardizing discovery so every prospect gets asked the same core questions regardless of who takes the call
How to use it
- 1
Send an agenda before the call
Let the prospect know you'll be asking about budget and timeline up front — it sets expectations and gets better answers.
- 2
Ask the harder questions in the first half
Budget, authority, and past agency experience get more honest answers before rapport turns into politeness.
- 3
Write up notes within an hour
Details fade fast — capture answers while the call is still fresh, not at the end of the day.
What's inside
1. What's the budget range you're working with?
2. Who else is involved in this decision?
3. What's driving the timeline — is there a hard deadline?
4. What does success look like six months from now?
5. What's happened with your last agency or in-house effort?
6. What have you already tried that didn't work?
7. What would make this an easy yes for you?
Get it free
- The full discovery question list, grouped by budget, authority, timeline, and success criteria
- Follow-up prompts for when a prospect gives a vague answer
- A note-taking template to fill in live on the call
- Guidance on which questions to ask even when they feel awkward
Common questions
Isn't asking about budget too direct for a first call?
It feels that way at first, but a range (not an exact figure) is normal to ask for early — it saves both sides from a proposal that's wildly off target.
What if the prospect won't name a decision-maker?
Treat it as information, not an obstacle. If you can't get clarity on who approves the deal, build extra follow-up time into your sales timeline expectations.
How do I ask about a past agency without sounding like I'm fishing for gossip?
Frame it around what to avoid repeating: "what didn't work well last time" gets a more useful answer than "why did you leave your last agency."
Should I send a proposal right after the call?
Only if you got clear answers on budget, timeline, and success criteria. If any of those are still vague, a short follow-up call beats a proposal built on guesses.
Run the rest of your agency from one place
This resource is free. Sarion is where the day-to-day client work happens next.