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CLIENT VETTING EMAIL TEMPLATE
Discovery Call Intake Form — Send Before the First Call
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From SoloStack — solostack.madethis.app/resources/freelance-client-red-flags

INSTRUCTIONS: Send this to every prospect BEFORE the discovery call.
Tell them: "To make our call as focused as possible, I'd love to
get some quick answers from you beforehand."

It takes them 5 minutes. It saves you 30 minutes on the call — and
reveals more about fit than 90% of first calls do.

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EMAIL TEMPLATE
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Subject: Quick questions before our call on [date/time]

Hi [Name],

Looking forward to our call [on DATE at TIME / this week]!

To make our time together as focused as possible, I have a few
quick questions. Totally fine to answer in shorthand — I'm looking
for the general picture, not a formal document.

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1. What's the project you need help with?
(A 2-3 sentence overview is perfect.)

Your answer: _______________________________________________

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2. What does a successful outcome look like to you — specifically?
(What changes, gets built, or gets done? How will you know it worked?)

Your answer: _______________________________________________

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3. What's your rough timeline? Is there a hard deadline?
(If yes, what's driving it?)

Your answer: _______________________________________________

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4. What's your budget range for this project?
(You can give a rough range — e.g., $2K–$5K, or "under $3K."
I ask upfront so I can scope a solution that actually fits.)

Your answer: _______________________________________________

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5. Who will be involved in approving and signing off on the work?
(Is it just you, or are others involved in the final decision?)

Your answer: _______________________________________________

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6. Have you worked with a freelancer or agency on something like
this before? How did it go?
(This is the most revealing question — I want to understand what
worked and what didn't, so I can set this up differently if needed.)

Your answer: _______________________________________________

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That's it. See you on the call!

[Your name]
[Your contact info / calendar link]

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THEIR RESPONSES
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QUESTION 2 (what success looks like):
GOOD: Specific, measurable outcome. "We need 5 case study pages
live by March 1, written in our brand voice."
RED FLAG: Vague or philosophical. "We just want it to feel right."
If they can't define success, revisions will never end.

QUESTION 3 (timeline):
GOOD: Reasonable timeline with a clear reason. "We're launching
our site in 6 weeks — that's the hard deadline."
RED FLAG: "ASAP" with no explanation, or a 2-week turnaround for
a 6-week project. Rush without reason = poor planning on their end.

QUESTION 4 (budget):
GOOD: Any number. Even a rough range. Shows they've thought about it.
RED FLAG: "No budget set yet," "depends on your quote," or no
answer at all. Clients who've never thought about budget are
rarely ready to buy.

QUESTION 5 (decision-making):
GOOD: "It's just me" or "Me and my business partner."
RED FLAG: "I'll need to run it by the team / board / committee."
Multiple approvers = longer delays, more revision cycles, and
often, a project that dies after you've done the work. Ask who
specifically makes the final call before you write a proposal.

QUESTION 6 (past freelancer experience):
GOOD: "We've worked with a few freelancers — it's gone well overall."
Or: "We had a tough experience with one person but it was a scope
issue — we've learned from that."
RED FLAG: "We've gone through 3 freelancers and none of them got it."
Pattern of freelancer turnover almost always means the problem is
the client, not the freelancers.

Also watch for:
- Blaming the last freelancer without taking any responsibility
- "They just didn't get our vision" (vision that can't be articulated)
- "They were unprofessional" with no specifics

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HOW TO USE ON THE CALL
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Start with what they told you:
"Thanks for sending those answers over — they were really helpful.
I wanted to follow up on a couple things..."

Use their answers to probe deeper on anything that felt vague
or flagged a concern. You already know their baseline — the call
is for clarification, not information gathering from zero.

If they didn't fill it out:
Take note. It's early signal on how they'll handle follow-up
requests during the actual project. Ask the questions verbally
on the call and take notes.

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AFTER THE CALL: THE 3-QUESTION SELF-CHECK
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Before sending a proposal, ask yourself:

1. Can I define exactly what "done" looks like for this project?
   (If not, the scope isn't tight enough yet — go back and ask.)

2. Do I know who signs off and what their timeline is?
   (If not, your proposal might sit in limbo for weeks.)

3. Does something feel off?
   (If yes — trust it. Red flags that appear in the vetting stage
   almost always get louder once money and deliverables are involved.)

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Download more free freelance resources at:
solostack.madethis.app/resources
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