What questions should I ask on a discovery call with a video client?

Ask five questions, one at a time, before you describe the work: What's prompting this now? When the right person watches this, what do you want them to do next? What are you looking to achieve over the next twelve months, and where does this fit? What's frustrating you most about how this works today, and what happens if it stays as it is? Who else needs to be comfortable with this before it goes ahead? Then summarise back what you heard in their words and ask if you've got it right.

How should I present options to a video client after a sales call?

Put two or three options in writing, each different in kind, each with what it involves, what it gives the client, what it costs them and the price. Open with the summary back, give every option a downside, and let the client choose, because they know their business and audience better than you do. Send it by the day you agreed on the call, with a time already booked to talk it through.

Field Guides / Sales

How to show real authority on a sales call

Authority on a sales call shows in the questions you ask, not in jargon, a polished script or the showreel. Run a discovery call of around 30 minutes in five parts: a short opening, five questions about their business, a summary back in their own words, two or three different options with what each one costs, and one dated next step.

Why does trying to sound like an expert backfire on a sales call?

Trying to sound like an expert backfires when the jargon and the script don't sound like you. Sharp, specific questions about their business read as someone who has seen their situation before.

The instinct before a sales call is to armour up with jargon, a borrowed framework, a rehearsed script and the showreel. One member was handed a sales script built around phases and roadmaps with impressive titles. His instinct was right: it didn't sound like him.

The client on the other end of the call isn't buying a video. They're trying to solve a problem in their business. Plenty of video companies lead with gear, a coffee chat and a look at their work, which is selling the thing. Authority comes from questions about the problem, precise enough that the client feels understood. As I said on one call, "what people want is to be seen, heard and understood."

Posture matters as much as the questions. If you feel the pull to chase, that pull is the signal to slow down.

How to run a 30-minute discovery call: the method, step by step

A discovery call of around 30 minutes has five parts: the opening, five questions, the summary back, the options, and the next step. The homework comes first.

Before the call: do the homework the day before. Look at their website, their LinkedIn and any video they already have. Note how they found you, because the entry point tells you the problem they feel. Write down one observation about their business they may not have seen themselves. If you haven't asked a diagnostic question by email yet, do that first (How to qualify a video lead before you pitch).
Open by setting the agenda (about two minutes). Say how long you've got and what you'll cover. Saying the call can end with no next step tells them you're not desperate for the job.
Ask the five questions (about fifteen minutes). Ask them one at a time and follow each answer. When an answer is vague ("we need more engagement"), ask for an example. The five questions give you the trigger, the result they want from the viewer, their twelve-month ambition, the cost of standing still, and the real decision-maker. If someone else signs off, get them on the next call. None of the five is about cameras, style or deliverables.
Summarise back in their words (about three minutes). Before you suggest anything, play back the goal, the problem, the cost of leaving it, and who decides. Where their own sentence already says it, quote it back. Then ask if you've got it right, and note any correction.

Copy and paste: the summary-back line

"Let me check I've got this right. You want [the goal, in their words] by [timeframe]. What's getting in the way is [the problem, in their words], and if nothing changes, [what standing still costs them]. [The other decision-maker] needs to be comfortable before it goes ahead. Is that right, or have I missed something?"

Lay out two or three options, each with its cost (about five minutes). Sketch two or three approaches that differ in kind, and say what each one gives them and what it costs them, in money, time or what gets left out. Then ask which feels closest and let them own the choice. If a client can't choose at all, give them one committed recommendation to argue with. Present the options so the client feels completely in control. If they ask for a price, give a range: What to say when a prospect asks for a ballpark price has the script.
Close on one dated next step (about five minutes). Agree out loud what happens next, who does it and by when: usually the options in writing by a stated day, and a time booked to talk them through with the other decision-maker. If you're clearly not the right fit, say so and point them somewhere better. Don't push for a yes, and don't end on "I'll send something through". Done looks like a date in both calendars.

Copy and paste: the one-page call plan

Before the call: how they found me: [ ]. One observation about their business: [ ].

Opening (about 2 min): "We've got thirty minutes. I'd like to spend most of it asking about [the business] and what you want this video to do, then play back what I've heard and give you two or three ways we could approach it. By the end we'll agree what happens next, even if that's nothing. Does that work?"

Five questions (about 15 min):

1. "What's prompting this now?"

2. "When the right person watches this, what do you want them to do next?"

3. "What are you looking to achieve over the next twelve months, and where does this fit?"

4. "What's frustrating you most about how [recruitment / sales / onboarding] works today, and what happens if it stays as it is?"

5. "Who else needs to be comfortable with this before it goes ahead?"

Summary back (about 3 min): "Let me check I've got this right. You want [goal] by [timeframe]. What's getting in the way is [problem], and if nothing changes, [cost]. [The other decision-maker] needs to be comfortable before it goes ahead. Is that right, or have I missed something?"

Options (about 5 min): "There are [two / three] ways we could approach this. [Option 1] gives you [result] and costs you [trade-off]. [Option 2] gives you [result] and costs you [trade-off]. Which feels closest to what you need?"

Next step (about 5 min): "Here's what I'll do. I'll put those options in writing, with what each one involves and what it costs, and get them to you by [day]. Can we book [twenty minutes] on [day] to talk them through, with [the other decision-maker] on the call? If none of them fits, that's a useful answer too."

How to write the two or three options in the follow-up

The follow-up puts the two or three options in writing, each with what it involves, what it gives them, what it costs them and the price. Send it by the day you said on the call.

Open with the summary back, so they see they were heard before they see a price. Make every option one you'd be happy to deliver, give each a downside, and price each the way you price every quote (How to price a video project).

If there's no reply, How to write a follow-up email that gets a reply covers the nudge and its closing line.

Copy and paste: the options email

Subject: [Two / three] ways we could approach [the project]

Hi [first name],

Thanks for the time on [day]. Here's what I heard: [the summary back, two or three lines, in their words].

There are [two / three] ways we could approach it.

Option 1: [short title]. What it involves: [scope in one line]. What it gives you: [the result, tied to their goal]. What it costs you: [the trade-off: time, reach, what's left out]. Investment: $[ ].

Option 2: [short title]. The same four lines: involves, gives you, costs you, investment.

Option 3 (only if there's a real third): the same four lines.

You know your business and your [audience] better than I do, so the choice is yours. We're booked in for [day and time] to talk it through with [the other decision-maker].

[Your name]

A worked example

Here's the method on one call. It's an illustration, not a member story, and the prices are round numbers.

The enquiry. An engineering firm asks for "a new company video". The homework shows a thin careers page, and they found you through a recruitment film you made for another manufacturer, so the entry point already points at hiring.

The summary back, after the five questions. "You're losing apprentices to bigger firms, and the viewer who matters is a school leaver and their parents. You want next year's apprentice intake full, with people who apply because they've seen what the work is like. Agencies keep sending people who don't stay, and if that carries on you're short on the floor for another year. Your managing director needs to be comfortable before it goes ahead. Have I got that right?"

The options in the follow-up.

Option 1: one recruitment film for the careers page and school visits. Gives them one strong piece that shows the work. Costs them: nothing new to post after launch. Round number: $10,000.
Option 2: four short apprentice stories shot over two days. Gives them pieces for the whole recruitment season. Costs them: no single hero piece, and more staff time on camera. Round number: $14,000.
Option 3: a filming day every quarter for a year. Gives them a growing library for recruitment and customers. Costs them: a twelve-month commitment and someone to own the calendar. Round number: $6,000 a quarter.

The next step. Options in writing by Wednesday, twenty minutes booked for Friday with the managing director on the call.

The mistakes that undo it

Four habits undo a discovery call.

Opening with the showreel. Showing work first turns the call into a judgement of your taste before you know what they need. Anyone can send a showreel. Not everyone can identify what a business actually needs before they quote.
Using a script that doesn't sound like you. Borrowed frameworks and jargon are easy to hear. If a line doesn't sound like you on a normal day, cut it.
One real option and two decoys. If one option is obviously the right answer and the others are padding, the client sees a prescription. Each option needs its own result and its own cost.
Chasing after the call. A nudge inside a day, or "just checking in", tells them you need the job. Wait two to three business days, and make the nudge easier to answer than the last message.

The rule of thumb for a sales call

Ask more than you tell, and don't describe the work until you've played their problem back to them.

If you want a starting point: two minutes to open, fifteen on the five questions, three on the summary back, five on the options, and five on the next step.

Hold yourself accountable

Which of these have you taken on or put in place recently?

On your last call you asked all five questions.
You played the client's problem back in their words and asked if you'd got it right.
Your last follow-up gave two or three different options, each with its cost.
Every sales call this month ended with a dated next step in both calendars, or a clear no.

Your one move this week

What's the one thing you can commit to implementing this week? If you're not sure, start here.

Copy the one-page call plan into your notes. Before your next sales call, fill in how they found you, your one observation, and the five questions worded for that client. If there's no call booked, take your last enquiry and write the summary back you'd have given.

One thing executed every week creates 50 strategic moves a year.

Questions like these come up regularly on our weekly Elite Boardroom calls. If you'd like someone to hold you to account each week, and to learn from a group of peers who run video businesses too, the Boardroom is for you.

Related tools and guides. How to qualify a video lead before you pitch (before the call), What to say when a prospect asks for a ballpark price (on the call), How to write a follow-up email that gets a reply (after the call), How to price a video project (pricing the options).