01 / START HERE
A useful way to approach it.
Before quoting a promising inquiry, identify the decision-maker, desired outcome, available materials, and review process. Preparation makes the first conversation useful without requiring a detailed plan before you understand the job. Keep missing information visible before promising a deliverable or date.
Use o1 to turn a permitted inquiry into questions and a readiness checklist. Supply your own working constraints rather than asking the assistant to invent your capacity or rates. The guide produces draft text for your review. The fictional photography-project example below is not a completed intake, agreed quote, or message sent to a client.
02 / THE PROCESS
Go from question to next step.
- 01
Restate the desired outcome
Describe what the client wants to accomplish and who will use the result. Separate that outcome from a requested solution. 'Make a brochure' may serve an event, a sales conversation, or a product launch; those contexts affect the work. Ask the client to correct your interpretation before treating it as the brief.
- 02
Check the available inputs
List copy, assets, access, references, and decisions needed for the job. Record what is supplied, what is promised, and what has no owner. Check whether sample material can be used for drafting and what must be replaced before delivery. A complete-looking asset folder can still lack permission, final copy, or the required format.
- 03
Clarify the approval path
Identify who can confirm scope and who will review drafts. Ask whether other stakeholders need to contribute before an approval is final. Record the proposed review process without inventing agreement. Multiple reviewers are manageable when their roles are clear; conflicting feedback becomes harder when everybody is treated as the final decision-maker.
- 04
Prepare a focused discovery agenda
Choose the questions most likely to affect deliverables, effort, timing, or access. Ask about priorities and constraints before optional preferences. Bring a short set of possible approaches with their assumptions, rather than a large questionnaire that repeats what the client already supplied. Keep commercial terms for the agreement process you normally use.
- 05
Make a readiness decision
After the conversation, mark the project ready to scope, ready with stated assumptions, or needing clarification. List the next input and responsible role. Draft a concise follow-up for your review, then share it through your usual channel if appropriate. The readiness brief is useful even when the responsible next step is postponing a quote.
03 / YOUR STARTING POINT
A prompt you can make your own.
Replace the bracketed fields. Add only information you have permission to share. This is a reusable text prompt; it does not run a task from this page.
Prepare a discovery brief from this freelance inquiry: {{inquiry}}. My services and constraints: {{constraints}}. Restate the outcome, identify supplied and missing inputs, clarify approval roles, and separate confirmed facts from assumptions. Draft eight prioritized questions that could change scope, effort, timing, or access. Include a readiness checklist and a short follow-up draft for my review. Do not invent rates, capacity, client approval, or agreed dates. Finish with the information needed before I can responsibly scope and quote the work.04 / SEE THE SHAPE OF IT
Illustrative photography-project readiness check
Fictional inquiry and authored preparation notes. No quote, booking, approval, or client communication has taken place.
| Readiness item | Fictional current state | Next question |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | New product launch images | Where will the images be used? |
| Inputs | Four sample products mentioned | When are final products available? |
| Approval | Marketing contact introduced | Who confirms the shot selection? |
| Delivery | Client says 'next month' | Which actual delivery date is required? |
The inquiry can become a better discovery conversation. The unresolved product availability and approval route should be clarified before a firm delivery promise.
05 / KEEP YOUR JUDGMENT
What to watch before you use it.
Quoting an undefined result
A broad job label conceals different deliverables. Clarify intended use and required outputs before estimating the work.
Asking every possible question
Prioritize questions that change a decision. Repeating supplied details makes discovery longer without making the quote more reliable.
Treating an enthusiastic reply as approval
Confirm the actual scope and conditions through your normal process. A friendly conversation does not resolve every project requirement.
06 / THE FINAL PASS
A little review goes a long way.
Your checks stay on this page. They do not approve or run a task.
07 / GOOD QUESTIONS
Before you begin.
Do I need a full project plan before a discovery call?
No. Prepare enough structure to ask useful questions and identify missing inputs. A detailed plan built on guesses can waste effort. Use discovery to clarify the job, then develop the scope and schedule from confirmed information.
Should I ask the assistant to set my rate?
Provide your own commercial constraints if you want help organizing a quote draft. The assistant does not know your costs, capacity, or agreed terms unless you supply them. This guide focuses on readiness and information gaps.
What if the client cannot answer a key question?
Record the missing decision and propose the smallest next step to resolve it. You may proceed with an explicitly agreed assumption or wait for the input. Do not conceal the uncertainty inside a firm promise.