Before the call: ask for one example
Send a short note explaining the purpose of the conversation. Ask the client to bring one example of the problem: a page, a process, a recent request, or a piece of customer feedback. Name who should attend, especially anyone who understands the day-to-day work or will approve the project.
Write down your assumptions separately from the questions you want answered. If you think the client needs a new website, keep that as a hypothesis until you understand what the current site is failing to do.
Minutes 0–15: understand what is happening
Spend the first few minutes on introductions and the desired outcome of the call. Then ask the client to walk through the example they brought. Follow the sequence of events before offering suggestions.
- What prompted you to look at this now?
- What happened the last time this became a problem?
- Who feels the impact, and what do they do about it today?
- What have you already tried? What did you learn?
Minutes 15–30: define a useful outcome
Move from the problem to the change the client wants. Ask how they would recognize progress and what would remain outside the project. A concrete example helps: “A sales lead can explain our service without a ten-minute clarification call” is easier to discuss than “a better brand.”
Discuss timing, a workable budget range, dependencies, and approval. If the client cannot answer yet, record who can. It is fine to leave with an open question; it is harder to work with a constraint that stayed unspoken.
- What must be true when this project is done?
- Which date matters, and what makes that date important?
- Who will review the work, and who makes the final decision?
- What access, content, or internal work will the project depend on?
Minutes 30–45: reflect, check, agree
Summarize the problem in the client's language and ask them to correct it. Describe a possible next step with a clear purpose: a scoped proposal, a paid discovery workshop, or another conversation with a missing stakeholder. Avoid promising an exact scope before you have the information to support it.
Use this closing note: “We heard [problem]. A useful outcome would be [change]. The main constraints are [constraints]. We still need [answers]. Our next step is [action], owned by [person], by [date].” Send it through your usual client channel after checking the details.
Using this agenda in SideQuest
Name a room for the client and topic, then send a room invitation; the client signs in to join. Explain how you plan to use Q and transcription. You can type the agreed question into the conversation and ask Q for a follow-up when helpful. Review any research result before sharing a copy with the room, and confirm the final recap with the client yourself.