25 Discovery Call Questions for Agency Sales Calls

The discovery call is where deals are won or lost. Not on the proposal. Not on the follow-up. Right here, on this call, in the first 20-30 minutes of conversation. The agencies that close at 40%+ are not better closers - they are better questioners. They ask the right questions in the right order to understand the prospect's situation, uncover the real pain, and position their solution as the obvious next step.

These 25 questions are organized by category so you can move through the conversation naturally. You do not need to ask all 25 on every call. Pick the ones that are most relevant to the prospect and let the conversation flow. The goal is to understand their world, not to interrogate them.

Opening Questions (1-3)

The opening sets the tone. Your goal in the first 2-3 minutes is to build rapport, show you did your homework, and give the prospect a reason to open up. Do not jump straight into qualifying questions - earn the right to ask them first.

1. "Tell me a bit about your business - how did you get started and what does a typical day look like for you?"

Why ask this: It gets the prospect talking about themselves, which builds rapport and gives you context about the business that no amount of online research can provide. Listen for their passion points, their frustrations, and the language they use to describe their work.

What to listen for: How long they have been in business (experience level), whether they are a solo operator or have a team (budget indicator), and what their daily workload looks like (how much time they have for marketing involvement).

2. "I took a look at your website and Instagram before our call - what is your overall feeling about where your online presence stands right now?"

Why ask this: This proves you did research (instant credibility) and lets the prospect self-diagnose their situation. Most business owners know their marketing is not where it should be - they just have not articulated it yet. This question gives them permission to be honest.

What to listen for: Self-awareness about their gaps, specific frustrations they mention, and whether they blame themselves ("I just do not have time") or external factors ("my last agency was terrible").

3. "What made you take this call today? What is happening in your business that made this feel like the right time?"

Why ask this: This uncovers the trigger event - the specific thing that pushed them from "I should probably do something about my marketing" to "I am on a call with an agency." The trigger event tells you their urgency level and what they care about most right now.

What to listen for: Urgency signals ("we just lost 3 clients", "a competitor opened down the street", "we launched a new service"), timeframe indicators, and emotional temperature (frustrated, hopeful, desperate, cautious).

Current Situation Questions (4-8)

Now you dig into the specifics of their current marketing. These questions help you understand what they have tried, what is working, and what is not - so your proposal is grounded in reality, not assumptions.

4. "Walk me through how you currently get new customers or clients. What are your main channels?"

Why ask this: You need to know their current acquisition channels to understand where your services fit. If they are 100% referral-based, your value proposition is about building a predictable, scalable channel. If they are running ads that are not working, your pitch is about optimization.

What to listen for: Over-reliance on one channel (risk), channels they have never tried (opportunity), and whether they track where customers come from (sophistication level).

5. "Have you worked with a marketing agency or freelancer before? How did that go?"

Why ask this: Past agency experience shapes current expectations. If they had a bad experience, you need to address those concerns directly. If they have never hired an agency, you may need to educate them on how the process works.

What to listen for: Specific complaints about past providers (these are your differentiators), what they valued, how much they paid (budget benchmark), and why the relationship ended.

6. "Who handles your marketing right now? Is that you, someone on your team, or nobody?"

Why ask this: This reveals the internal resource situation. If the owner is doing everything, your value proposition is about freeing their time. If they have a marketing person who is overwhelmed, you are augmenting their team. If nobody is doing it, you are filling a complete void.

What to listen for: Time investment (how many hours per week they spend on marketing), skill gaps, and whether they want to stay involved or fully delegate.

7. "What marketing tools or platforms are you currently using?"

Why ask this: Technical context for your proposal. Knowing their current stack tells you what needs to be set up from scratch versus what you can build on. It also signals their technical comfort level and willingness to invest in tools.

What to listen for: Tools they pay for but do not use (waste), tools they rely on heavily (integration requirements), and gaps in their stack that you can fill.

8. "How do you currently track whether your marketing is working?"

Why ask this: This tells you how data-driven the prospect is and what reporting expectations they will have. Some business owners have full dashboards. Others have no tracking at all and "just know" based on how busy they are. Both are fine - but your approach to reporting and results communication will differ.

What to listen for: Whether they track at all, what metrics they care about (leads, revenue, followers, foot traffic), and whether they have realistic expectations about measurement timelines.

Pain Point Questions (9-13)

This is where the real selling happens. Pain is what drives action. If you understand the pain deeply enough, the prospect will sell themselves on hiring you.

9. "What is the biggest challenge in your business right now when it comes to getting new customers?"

Why ask this: Direct question, direct answer. Let them tell you what hurts most. Do not assume you know - even if Phantom's AI analysis already identified their pain points, hearing it in their words tells you how they frame the problem, which is critical for your proposal language.

What to listen for: The problem they name first (highest priority), emotional language (frustration = high motivation), and whether the pain is acute (recent) or chronic (ongoing).

10. "How is that affecting your revenue or growth? Can you put a rough number on it?"

Why ask this: This quantifies the pain. When a prospect says "I think we are losing about $10,000 a month in potential revenue because we have no online presence," your $2,000/month fee becomes a no-brainer investment, not an expense.

What to listen for: Specific numbers (use these in your proposal), awareness of the financial impact, and whether they are thinking in terms of lost revenue or just annoyance.

11. "If nothing changes in the next 6-12 months, what does that look like for your business?"

Why ask this: Future pacing the pain. This makes the cost of inaction feel real and urgent. It shifts the prospect from "I should probably do something" to "I need to do something now."

What to listen for: Fear signals (losing to competitors, stagnating, having to lay off staff), and whether they see inaction as a real risk or just a mild inconvenience. Low urgency = long sales cycle or no deal.

12. "What have you tried so far to fix this? What worked and what did not?"

Why ask this: This prevents you from proposing the same things that already failed. It also shows you what they consider "working" and calibrates your expectations for what success looks like to them.

What to listen for: Things they tried that failed (avoid proposing the same approach), things they tried that partially worked (build on these), and the amount of effort they have already invested (sunk cost can drive commitment).

13. "What is the most frustrating part of dealing with your marketing right now?"

Why ask this: This surfaces emotional pain, which is often more motivating than logical pain. The answer might be "I hate that I spend 3 hours every Sunday trying to make Instagram posts" or "I feel embarrassed when customers mention how outdated our website looks." These emotional triggers are gold for your proposal.

What to listen for: Emotional language (hate, embarrassed, frustrated, overwhelmed), time-related pain (spending hours on things they are bad at), and identity-related pain (their marketing does not reflect the quality of their business).

Goals and Vision Questions (14-17)

Shift from pain to aspiration. Understanding where they want to go tells you how to frame your proposal as the bridge between their current state and their ideal state.

14. "If we fast-forward 6 months and everything goes perfectly, what does that look like for your business?"

Why ask this: This gets the prospect dreaming, which is a positive emotional state. It also gives you specific targets to reference in your proposal: "You told me you want to be fully booked by September - here is how we get you there."

What to listen for: Specific metrics they mention (bookings, revenue, followers), emotional outcomes (less stress, more freedom, pride), and whether their goals are realistic given their current situation and budget.

15. "What would getting [X] new clients per month mean for your business financially?"

Why ask this: This helps the prospect calculate the ROI of working with you in real time. If each new client is worth $5,000 and you can generate 5 per month, your fee is a fraction of the value you create.

What to listen for: Customer lifetime value (essential for ROI framing), whether they think in terms of individual transactions or long-term client value, and their capacity to handle more business (no point generating leads they cannot serve).

16. "Are there any competitors you admire or want to match in terms of their online presence?"

Why ask this: Competitors serve as a concrete benchmark. When a prospect says "I want our Instagram to look like [competitor's account]," you have a clear visual target. It also reveals their awareness of the competitive landscape and what "good" looks like to them.

What to listen for: Specific competitors they mention (research these after the call), aspects they admire (design, content quality, engagement, ad presence), and whether the competitor benchmark is realistic for their budget.

17. "What does success look like to you in the first 90 days of working together?"

Why ask this: This sets expectations early. If their answer is "10x our revenue in 3 months," you need to reset expectations now - not 3 months into the engagement when they are disappointed. If their answer is reasonable, you can commit to it confidently in your proposal.

What to listen for: Realistic versus unrealistic expectations, whether they value leading indicators (engagement, traffic) or only lagging indicators (revenue, clients), and how they define "success" beyond numbers.

Budget and Timeline Questions (18-21)

These are the questions most agency owners avoid because they feel awkward. But qualifying on budget and timeline is essential. You do not want to spend 2 hours on a proposal for someone who has a $200/month budget or wants to "start sometime next year."

18. "Do you have a budget in mind for marketing, or would it be helpful if I gave you a range based on what we have discussed?"

Why ask this: The "or" gives them two comfortable options. Most prospects will either share their budget or ask for your range. Either way, you move the conversation forward without the awkward silence.

What to listen for: Whether they have a number (decisive) or are completely open (need education), if their budget matches the scope they described (alignment), and any hesitation that signals budget is a concern.

19. "Have you invested in marketing services before? What did that cost?"

Why ask this: Past spending sets an anchor. If they paid $1,500/month previously, proposing $2,000/month feels incremental. If they have never paid for marketing, you may need to start with a lower entry point and prove value before scaling up.

What to listen for: Price anchors from past experiences, whether they felt the past investment was worth it, and any price sensitivity signals.

20. "When are you looking to get started?"

Why ask this: Urgency check. "Yesterday" means they are ready to move. "Next quarter" means there is no real urgency and the deal might stall. "I am talking to a few agencies" means you are in a competitive situation and speed matters.

What to listen for: Immediacy ("as soon as possible" is great), delays ("we want to wait until after summer" is a red flag for deal priority), and external deadlines ("we have a grand opening in 6 weeks").

21. "Is there a specific event, season, or deadline driving the timeline?"

Why ask this: External deadlines create natural urgency and give your proposal a built-in "start by" date. A restaurant opening in 8 weeks, a holiday season approaching, or a competing business launching nearby all create urgency you can leverage.

What to listen for: Hard deadlines (use these in your proposal to frame urgency), seasonal patterns (plan your strategy around them), and business milestones that marketing supports.

Decision Process Questions (22-25)

The last category ensures you do not get blindsided after the call. Nothing is worse than building a proposal for someone who cannot make the decision or who disappears into a "committee review."

22. "Besides yourself, is there anyone else involved in this decision?"

Why ask this: If there is a business partner, spouse, or board that needs to approve the spend, you need to know now. Ideally, get them on the next call. At minimum, equip your prospect with the information they need to sell internally.

What to listen for: Additional decision makers (try to get them on the proposal call), influencers who might kill the deal, and the dynamic between partners (who has the final say).

23. "What would make you say yes to working together? And what would make you say no?"

Why ask this: This surfaces both buying criteria and objections in one question. If they say "I need to see case studies from my industry" or "I will not sign a 12-month contract," you know exactly what to address in your proposal.

What to listen for: Deal-breakers (address these head-on), must-haves (include these in your proposal), and signals of how they make decisions (logic-based vs. gut-based vs. social-proof-based).

24. "What questions do you have for me?"

Why ask this: Flipping the script gives the prospect control, which builds trust. Their questions reveal what they care about most. If they ask about process, they value organization. If they ask about results, they value outcomes. If they ask about pricing, budget is their primary filter.

What to listen for: The types of questions they ask (process, results, pricing, communication), concerns they have not voiced yet, and their engagement level (lots of questions = high interest).

25. "If everything we discussed sounds good, what does the next step look like on your end?"

Why ask this: This is your soft close. It moves the conversation from discovery to action without being pushy. The prospect tells you their next step, which you can then match with yours: "Great - I will have a proposal in your inbox by tomorrow with the three options we discussed. Would Thursday work for a quick call to walk through it?"

What to listen for: Commitment signals ("I would want to get started quickly"), stalling signals ("I need to think about it"), and logistical details (when they are available for the proposal call, how they prefer to receive the proposal).

How to Use These Questions

Do not treat this as a script to read line by line. Use it as a menu. Before each discovery call, pick 10-15 questions that are most relevant to the prospect you are about to speak with. Use the research from Phantom - their opportunity score, pain points, and online presence data - to tailor your questions to their specific situation.

For more on building a complete client acquisition system, check out our client acquisition system guide. And if you want to get better at spotting businesses that need your services before the call, read 5 signs a business needs your agency.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a discovery call last?

A discovery call should last 20-30 minutes. Book 30 minutes on the calendar but aim to wrap the core questions in 20. This gives you enough time to qualify the prospect without losing their attention. If the conversation is going well, you can extend naturally. If it is clearly not a fit, you can end gracefully at the 15-minute mark.

Should I pitch on the discovery call or wait for a follow-up?

For services under $2,000 per month, you can close on the discovery call if the prospect is qualified and enthusiastic. For higher-ticket services, use the discovery call purely for qualification and schedule a separate proposal presentation call. The key is reading the prospect - if they are asking "how do we get started" questions, do not force them into another call.

What if the prospect is not a good fit?

End the call honestly and gracefully. Say something like "Based on what you have shared, I do not think we are the right fit for what you need right now, and I would rather be upfront than waste your time." If possible, refer them to someone who is a better match. This builds your reputation and often leads to referrals back to you for prospects who are a fit.

How do I handle price objections on a discovery call?

Do not discuss specific pricing on the discovery call unless directly asked. If pressed, give a range rather than a fixed number: "Our clients typically invest between $X and $Y per month depending on scope." Then redirect to value: "But the more important question is what results are worth to your business - let me learn more about that so I can recommend the right package." If they have a hard budget ceiling that is below your minimum, qualify them out respectfully.