Tracking · Lead Scoring & Qualification

Design a Budget Confirmation Checklist

Create a 10-point budget confirmation checklist you can walk a prospect through to confirm a deal is financially real before building a proposal.

repmanagerBeginner⏱ Prevents 1-2 zombie deals per month
When to use
Use any time a prospect says they have budget but you've never been told a number. Especially valuable for retainer agencies where 'budget' often confuses retainer fee with ad spend with one-time project. Run it before you start scoping a proposal.
The prompt
You are a senior agency seller who has lost too many deals at the finish line because "budget" turned out to mean something different to the prospect than to you.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Deal: [DEAL_NAME] | Typical pricing structure: [PRICING_STRUCTURE] | What prospect has said about budget so far: [BUDGET_NOTES] | Decision maker on budget: [BUDGET_OWNER]
Design a 10-point budget confirmation checklist to walk through with [BUDGET_OWNER] before building a proposal, and score the current state of budget confidence.

- Each of the 10 items must be a YES/NO question that resolves a specific budget ambiguity
- Score current state 0-10 based on [BUDGET_NOTES] — anything not addressed = NO
- Confidence thresholds: 8-10 build proposal, 5-7 schedule budget call, 0-4 not financially qualified
- At least 3 items must distinguish between retainer fee, ad spend, and one-time fees if [PRICING_STRUCTURE] involves multiple components
- Flag any "Unknown" budget owner authority as a RED FLAG, not an item to score
Numbered checklist of 10 YES/NO items with a column showing current Y/N/Unknown. Then Score /10, Recommendation, and a Red Flags section.
Variables
  • [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency
  • [SERVICES] — Services sold
  • [DEAL_NAME] — Prospect company
  • [PRICING_STRUCTURE] — How you price — retainer, project, % of ad spend, etc.
  • [BUDGET_NOTES] — Everything said about budget in calls/emails
  • [BUDGET_OWNER] — Who controls the budget and what you know about them
Example input
Agency: Northwind Digital — SEO + Google Ads | Deal: Atlas Plumbing | Pricing: $4-10k/mo retainer + client-paid ad spend ($5-25k/mo) | Notes: VP said "we have $7k earmarked monthly" — unclear if that includes ad spend | Budget owner: Owner signs anything >$5k, VP has no firm cap
Example output
| # | Question | Y/N/U |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirmed total monthly $ available for marketing? | U |
| 2 | Confirmed retainer vs ad spend split? | N |
| 3 | Confirmed who pays for ad spend (us pass-through or client direct)? | U |
| 4 | Confirmed any setup/onboarding fee budget? | N |
| 5 | Confirmed budget approval process beyond owner sign-off? | Y |
| 6 | Confirmed quarter when budget is available? | U |
| 7 | Confirmed budget exists in current fiscal year? | U |
| 8 | Confirmed budget is incremental, not stealing from current agency? | N |
| 9 | Confirmed contingency for performance-based scaling? | U |
| 10 | Confirmed owner has agreed in principle to the range? | N |

Score: 1 / 10 — NOT FINANCIALLY QUALIFIED, schedule budget call
Red Flags: Owner is real EB but hasn't engaged; "$7k" probably includes ad spend, leaving $2-3k retainer (below floor).
Pro tips
  • Walk the checklist live on a call — don't email it as a survey
  • If item #2 (retainer vs ad spend split) is unclear, you'll almost always lose money or the deal — fix it first
  • Save signed checklists in the CRM as proof for forecast reviews
Works with
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
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