# How to Qualify a New Client Before Writing a Proposal (3 Questions) > Qualify a new client with three questions before you write a proposal: what must change, who decides and when. Then propose, clarify or decline, with email scripts. Canonical: https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-qualify-a-client/ Last updated: 2026-11-02 [โ† Read the full guide](https://clientworkhq.net/blog/how-to-qualify-a-client/) CLIENT WORK HQ ยท 5:30 WATCH Published Oct 16, 2026 [Read the companion guide](https://clientworkhq.net/blog/how-to-qualify-a-client/) Our #1 pick is Workspace369. THE TAKEAWAY ## Watch it. Put it to work. Before writing a proposal, ask three questions: what must change, who approves the scope and budget, and when they can decide versus when the work must be ready. Then choose one action yourself: propose, clarify or decline. Record unknown answers as blanks, not guesses, and do not price detailed work until the approver is known. [Open on YouTube โ†—](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICJC0b6CB2Y)[Workspace369 client portal โ†—](https://workspace369.com/features/client-portal/?utm_source=clientworkhq.net&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=watch-how-to-qualify-a-client) ### Read the video transcript + Don't write the proposal yet. The outcome is clear, but the approver is missing. Clarify that first. Here's the three-question check. Before writing anything, ask what must change, who decides, and when. We'll turn a vague website request into a useful decision. Compare these fictional inquiries. One says, new website, please. The other identifies a broken contact form. The second gives you something concrete to investigate. A named service isn't a scope. A website could mean five pages, a booking flow, or a complete rebuild. Those are different commitments. You don't need a perfect brief. Gather enough information to choose an action. If an answer changes that action, ask before pricing detailed work. Qualification isn't a score for whether someone is a good client. Check the work, your ability to deliver, and the decision process for this particular project. Keep assumptions visible. Mark missing answers, separate them from confirmed facts, and update the record after the conversation. A blank is better than an invented answer. First, what must change? Replace new website with a problem. In our example, visitors cannot send inquiries. A working contact path becomes the outcome to discuss. Ask what already works, too. Keep the existing pages if they are adequate. Identify what needs replacing. Leave unrelated improvements outside the first proposal unless agreed. Second, who decides? Your contact may gather information. Someone else may approve the budget and scope. Ask who needs to agree before work can start. Make that question practical: who reviews the proposal, who can approve it, and what happens if they request changes? Don't infer authority from an email signature. Third, when? Separate the desired launch date from the decision date. Allow time for feedback and content. Check your actual capacity before promising their preferred deadline. Budget can be a follow-up. Ask about their working range, explain what affects price, and check whether the scope fits before building an estimate. Keep the form focused. Ask about the work, collect contact details, and request the context your team needs to choose the next action. In Workspace369, a configured public form can capture the supplied context. This fictional visitor submits a request. Open the request on your phone. The mobile page brings the contact and their message into view. Here, Jordan wants a working contact form by November fourteenth. The message says the approver is still being confirmed. Review the form's answers. These are example fields we configured, including the outcome, approver and target date. The missing approver matters. A desired date tells us when they want it, but not who can agree the work. Record the next action in an internal request note: ask who approves before drafting a proposal. That note preserves your decision with the request. It doesn't send a reply, assign a task or qualify the client automatically. Use the record as evidence: read what they supplied, identify what's missing, and choose the next action yourself. That's the human part of qualification. Check for ambiguity. A target isn't an agreed deadline. An inquiry isn't approved scope. A contact name isn't proof of authority to approve the work. Now change the example. The launch is Friday. The approver is away until Monday. Urgency doesn't remove that dependency, even when the inquiry sounds enthusiastic. Draft a clarification: who can approve the scope, when can they review it, and is the launch date flexible? Review your draft before sending. Explain the consequence. A Friday launch needs earlier approval. If that cannot happen, discuss another date. If neither works, decline this version of the project. A decline can be useful. Name the constraint, offer an alternative if appropriate, and leave out promises you cannot support with your actual capacity. Keep your clarification short. Refer to their request, ask the question that changes your next action, and explain what you'll do once they answer. Revisit the choice when answers change. Confirm the approver. Check the new deadline. Neither automatically solves a separate scope or capacity problem. Check those too. Return to the original inquiry. The contact path needs fixing. November fourteenth is the target. The approver remains unknown, so clarification is still the next step. Use three outcomes. Propose with enough context and a credible fit. Clarify when a missing answer matters. Decline when a known constraint makes the project unsuitable. Before preparing the offer, repeat the agreed outcome, confirm the decision process, and check the dates together. These answers become inputs to the proposal. Try this with one request in Workspace369. Read it, choose the next step, and leave a clear note. Get the missing answer first. Then use the linked proposal walkthrough to describe the work you can agree and deliver. JUMP TO A CHAPTER Choose a chapter to start at that moment. [0:00Intro](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-qualify-a-client/?t=0)[1:09Ask three questions](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-qualify-a-client/?t=69)[2:13Review in Workspace369](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-qualify-a-client/?t=133)[3:20Handle urgent inquiries](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-qualify-a-client/?t=200)[4:10Choose next step](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-qualify-a-client/?t=250) MORE WALKTHROUGHS ## Watch next. [All videos](https://clientworkhq.net/videos/) Workflows ### [How to Say No to a Client (Without Losing Them)](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-say-no-to-a-client/) Workflows ### [How to Write a Business Proposal Clients Actually Sign (2026 Step-by-Step)](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-write-a-business-proposal/) Workflows ### [How to Write a Scope of Work (With Example)](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/how-to-write-a-scope-of-work/) Workflows ### [Client Onboarding Process for Agencies: 6 Steps in the First 14 Days](https://clientworkhq.net/watch/client-onboarding-process/) ## More - [Home](https://clientworkhq.net/) - [llms.txt](https://clientworkhq.net/llms.txt) - [ai.txt](https://clientworkhq.net/ai.txt)