Turn a Discovery Call into a Proposal

Start here

Working along with me tonight

1Copy Prompt 2 below.
2Grab the sample transcript, or use your own call.
3Paste both into Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini.

If you did not bring a call of your own, use the sample.

What you are looking for in a transcript

Every prompt on this page is built around the same filter. If a detail does not map to productivity, reputation, or profitability, it is either a constraint or it is noise.

Pain.

How they describe the problem, in their words.

Outcome.

What fixed looks like to them.

Constraints.

Budget, timing, policy, past bad experiences.

Trust.

Who decides, and what they volunteered without being asked.

Gaps.

What a proposal needs that the call never gave you.

Everything maps to productivity, reputation, or profitability. If it maps to none of them, it is a constraint or it is noise.

Before you record anything

Ask. Say what it is for. “I record these so I can write you an accurate proposal instead of a vague one.”
Know where the transcript goes. Which tool, whose servers, what happens to it afterward.
Take out what the tool does not need. Health information, account numbers, anything about a third party who was not on the call.
Use approved tools and follow governance. Your employer's policy, your client's requirements, and any rules that cover your industry beat your preference.
You sign it, so you verify it. Every price, date, scope line, and promise gets human eyes.

You are helping me prepare for a discovery call.

CONTEXT
Who I am and what I sell: [ONE OR TWO SENTENCES]
Who I am meeting and what I know so far: [COMPANY, ROLE, HOW THEY FOUND YOU]
What I think they might need: [YOUR BEST GUESS, OR "UNSURE"]

TASK
Write me a discovery call question list designed so the recording of this call contains everything I need to write a proposal afterward.

The call must produce all six of these. Group the questions accordingly:
1. The problem in their own words
2. What it is costing them, in their number: money, hours, deals, or turnover
3. What "fixed" looks like to them, specifically
4. Who decides, and what else has to be true for a yes
5. Constraints: budget, timing, policy, and any past bad experience with this
6. What is explicitly not in scope

RULES
- Write open questions. No question a person can answer with yes or no.
- For each of the six, give me one main question and one follow-up that pushes for a specific number or example.
- Flag the two questions people most often skip, and say what gets missed without them.
- No more than 12 questions total. I have to ask all of these in one call.

Get the prompts

Add your name and email and the four prompts, the sample transcript, and the tool list open up on this page.

Did something work?

If you use this on a client call, I would like to hear about it.

About Reed

Reed Jones is the founder and Chief AI Officer of The AI Department, where she helps women-led businesses and small teams put AI to work without losing their voice. She taught this class free for the Massachusetts AI Coalition. Broadcast background, which is why she cares how things sound.

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