Discovery Call Questions That Help You Price on Value

What the call is for

Before you can price on value you need to know what the work is worth to the person paying. A short discovery call is where you learn that. The approach here is inspired by the emphasis Blair Enns places on the value conversation in Pricing Creativity, and the questions and example are our own.

The goal is not to pitch. It is to understand the client's goal, how they will measure it and what it is worth, so that your proposal speaks to something they care about.

Questions about the goal

Start broad. What are you hoping to achieve with this project? What would a really good outcome look like six months from now? What has prompted you to do this now? Clients often arrive with a task, such as a new video, but the answers to these questions reveal the real reason: more signups, fewer support calls, a stronger launch.

Listen for what matters personally as well as to the business. A marketing manager who wants to impress their director is buying something different from a founder who wants to stop spending evenings on support.

Questions about measurement

Next, ask how they will know it worked. Which numbers do you watch today? What would you like them to be? How are you tracking them? A goal with a number attached can be priced. A vague goal usually cannot.

If the client does not know their numbers, ask them to estimate. A rough figure given in the call is better than none, and it tells you how much the client has thought about the result.

Questions about cost and consequences

Then ask about the stakes. What happens if this doesn't get done, or doesn't work? What have you tried before? What would a delay of a month cost? These answers reveal urgency and the size of the problem, and they often surface a larger scope than the one the client came with.

Questions about the decision

Finally, ask who else is involved and what the range looks like. Who needs to approve this? When do you want to start? Have you set aside a budget range for this? Talking to the person who owns the outcome makes everything easier: they can discuss value, whereas someone who only manages a task can often discuss only cost.

Worked example: an explainer video

A motion designer is asked for a ninety-second explainer for a software product. On the call, the client says about 2,000 people start a free trial each month and a small share become paying customers. They hope a clear video on the pricing page will lift that conversion by half a percentage point. A paying customer is worth about 600 in the first year.

The designer does the sum in front of the client: half a point on 2,000 trials is 10 extra customers a month. At 600 each, that is 6,000 a month, or about 72,000 over a year of signups. A fee of 9,000 is an eighth of that and the client still sees a strong return.

Notice what happened. The designer did not claim to know the numbers. The client supplied them, which makes the price feel like the client's own reasoning rather than a figure pulled out of the air.

Mistakes to avoid on the call

Do not start suggesting solutions early. Once you propose a format, the conversation becomes about the deliverable and its cost. Do not name a price on the call. Do not push too hard to convert emotional or personal benefits into money, which can feel cold. And do not skip the follow-up: send a short email afterwards summarising their goals and numbers in their own words, then confirm you have understood before you write the proposal.

Then price it with your floor in mind

Use the value you have uncovered to set the middle and top options, and make sure the cheapest option still clears the minimum day rate from the calculator. If the value is small and the client's budget is below your floor, the call has still done its job: you have learned early that the project is not for you.