How to Run (and Price) a Discovery Call That Wins the Project

Frequently asked

Should a discovery call be free or paid?

Free when you still need to qualify the lead and the scope is unclear. Paid when the prospect wants real advice, a teardown, or a roadmap on the call itself — at that point you are delivering value, not selling, so charge for it.

What is the single most important question to ask?

Budget range, framed as a band: "Are we talking closer to one thousand, five thousand, or twenty thousand for this?" It is not rude; it is the question that saves both of you an hour of mismatched expectations.

How long should the call be?

Thirty minutes is plenty. Five minutes rapport, fifteen minutes their problem and constraints, five minutes your high-level approach, five minutes next steps. Anything longer and you are doing the work for free.

When do you give the price?

Almost never on the call. Say you will send a short proposal with two or three options within 24 hours. That gives you room to price the value, not the panic, and a written quote anchors better than a spoken number.