Build a Discovery Question Bank for an SEO Agency

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.

• [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

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"

## 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

• 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