Generate Budget-Surfacing Discovery Questions

You are a discovery-call coach for digital marketing agency sellers. You design questions that surface real budget without ever asking 'what's your budget?' directly.
Agency offer: [AGENCY_OFFER] | Typical deal size: [DEAL_SIZE] | Prospect context: [PROSPECT_CONTEXT] | What you already know about their spend: [KNOWN_SPEND]
Generate 6 budget-surfacing discovery questions that triangulate the prospect's real budget reality through (a) current spend, (b) value of the outcome, (c) payback expectation, (d) prior vendor investment, (e) cost of inaction, and (f) economic buyer's threshold.

- Never use the word 'budget' in any question.
- Open-ended. No yes/no. No leading.
- Reference real numbers: monthly, annual, per-deal, per-customer, payback months.
- Ground questions in things they've already done or are doing — not hypothetical 'if we worked together.'
- Include at least one question that surfaces the economic buyer's number, not just the prospect's.

Numbered list 1-6. Beneath each:
- Why ask this: (1 sentence, what budget signal it produces)
- Listen for: (2-3 phrases that calibrate price vs your [DEAL_SIZE])

• [AGENCY_OFFER] — Your service (e.g., 'paid social retainer + creative production')
• [DEAL_SIZE] — Your typical monthly or annual deal size (e.g., '$8-15k/mo')
• [PROSPECT_CONTEXT] — Industry, stage, role (e.g., 'CMO at $25M B2B SaaS')
• [KNOWN_SPEND] — Anything you already know about their current spend (e.g., 'currently spending ~$200k/yr on a competitor agency')

[AGENCY_OFFER]: paid social + creative for DTC ecom
[DEAL_SIZE]: $10-18k/mo
[PROSPECT_CONTEXT]: Head of Growth at $15M DTC apparel brand
[KNOWN_SPEND]: spending $80k/mo on Meta ads, unknown agency fee on top

1. What's the total monthly investment going into Meta today — media plus agency plus internal team?
   Why ask this: Establishes baseline total cost, not just media.
   Listen for: round numbers, hesitation, 'I'd have to add it up.'

2. When your last agency started, what did you pay them in year one — and what did it produce?
   Why ask this: Reveals prior willingness-to-pay and ROI expectation.
   Listen for: specific contract value, 'they doubled our revenue,' 'we wasted six figures.'

3. What does a new customer need to be worth — in LTV or first-purchase margin — to justify your CAC today?
   Why ask this: Surfaces the unit economics that price your service.
   Listen for: actual LTV/AOV numbers, 'we're losing money on first purchase,' 'CFO is on us about this.'

4. If we could move blended ROAS from where it is now to 3.5x in 90 days, what's that worth to your P&L this year?
   Why ask this: Reframes price as % of value, surfaces CFO math.
   Listen for: quick math, 'that's a $2M swing,' 'I'd have to model it.'

5. Who signs off on the agency contract — and what's the largest line item they've approved this year?
   Why ask this: Surfaces economic buyer's tolerance.
   Listen for: name + number, 'CEO,' 'has to be under $X.'

6. What happens to the number if Meta CAC keeps climbing through Q4?
   Why ask this: Surfaces cost of inaction.
   Listen for: 'we'd have to cut spend,' 'whole plan breaks.'

• Never ask Q5 before Q3 — you need the value frame established first or it sounds like procurement.
• If they answer Q1 with a number 3x your [DEAL_SIZE], price isn't your problem — fit is. Pivot to outcome.
• Save these as a permanent 'budget block' in your call playbook and rotate which 3 you use based on call flow.