Structure · Cold / Discovery / Demo Scripts

Build a Discovery Question Bank for an SEO Agency

Generate a layered discovery question bank an SEO seller can use across first calls to surface budget, urgency, and decision process.

foundermanagerrepIntermediate

When to use

Use when onboarding a new SDR/AE to your SEO offer, when refreshing your discovery playbook after pricing changes, or when you keep losing deals in the proposal stage because discovery was too shallow.

The prompt

Prompt

You are a head of sales at a 7-figure SEO agency who has personally closed 200+ retainers. You know which discovery questions surface real budget vs. tire-kickers.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] | SEO offer: [OFFER_DESC] | Price band: [PRICE_BAND] | Typical buyer: [BUYER_TITLE] at [COMPANY_SIZE] companies | Sales cycle: [CYCLE_LENGTH] | Common reason deals stall: [STALL_REASON]
Build a discovery question bank organized into 5 layers: (1) Current State, (2) Pain & Cost of Inaction, (3) Goals & Success Metrics, (4) Budget & Authority, (5) Decision Process & Timeline. Give 4–6 questions per layer, each tagged with what intel it surfaces and a follow-up probe.

- Questions must be open-ended (no yes/no)
- Specific to SEO buying decisions — not generic B2B discovery
- Avoid leading questions ("Don't you think...?")
- No more than 30 questions total — quality over quantity
- Each question needs ONE follow-up probe, not a list

## LAYER 1: CURRENT STATE
1. [Question]
   - Surfaces: [what you learn]
   - Probe: [follow-up]
...continue through Layer 5...

At the end, add a "RED FLAGS" section listing 3 answer patterns that mean disqualify.

Variables

[AGENCY_NAME]Your agency
[OFFER_DESC]What's included in your SEO retainer
[PRICE_BAND]Monthly price range
[BUYER_TITLE]Title that signs the contract
[COMPANY_SIZE]Headcount or revenue band of typical buyer
[CYCLE_LENGTH]Average sales cycle in weeks
[STALL_REASON]Most common reason deals die

Example input

Input

Agency: Northbeam Growth | Offer: technical SEO + content production, 8–12 pieces/mo | Price: $8–15K/mo | Buyer: VP Marketing at 100–500 person B2B SaaS | Cycle: 6 weeks | Stall: "we're going to wait until next quarter"

Example output

Output

## LAYER 1: CURRENT STATE
1. Walk me through how SEO gets done at LumenCRM today — in-house, agency, contractor, or nobody?
   - Surfaces: incumbent, switching cost, internal politics
   - Probe: "What's working about that setup, what isn't?"
2. When you look at your top 10 organic landing pages, who's accountable for them?
   - Surfaces: ownership gaps
   - Probe: "What happens when one of them drops?"

## LAYER 4: BUDGET & AUTHORITY
12. If we put a plan together and it made sense, what does getting it approved look like at LumenCRM?
   - Surfaces: real decision process
   - Probe: "Who else has weighed in on SEO spend the last 12 months?"
13. What's the range you've earmarked for SEO this year — even directionally?
   - Surfaces: budget reality vs. "send a proposal"
   - Probe: "How was that number arrived at?"

## RED FLAGS
- "I just need pricing, no need for a call"
- "We don't have a budget yet but we're exploring"
- Can't name a single page or keyword they care about

Pro tips

Don't ask all 30 — pick 8–12 per call based on what you already know
Tag each question in your CRM so you can analyze which questions correlate with closed-won
Re-run this prompt per service line — SEO discovery ≠ paid media discovery

Related prompts

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