Consultant Scoping Call: Questions That End in a Scope You Can Price
Updated 2026-11-01 · 2 min read
This rail is for a consultant's first scoping call with a client who might hire you. They're deciding if you understand their business, and you're working out what the project is and what it's worth. These cards keep your questions and your terms in view, so the call ends with a scope you can price.
The rail
Open the call
- Thanks. We have [45] minutes
- I'd like to understand the problem and see if I can help
- If it's a fit, you'll have a proposal by [day]
Their problem
- What's the problem, in your words?
- How long has it been going on?
- What happens if it isn't fixed by [date]?
What they've tried
- What have you tried, and what happened?
- Who inside the business has worked on this?
What done looks like
- If this goes well, what's different in [3] months?
- How will you measure it?
- What's out of scope for now?
Who's involved
- Who decides, and who else needs to agree?
- Who would I work with day to day?
- Access I'd need: [systems, data or people]
What's the budget?
- Is there a budget set for this?
- Projects like this usually run [range] over [weeks]
- When would you want to start?
Process and fees
- Approach: [phases], with a check-in every [week]
- Similar work: [past project], result [result]
- Fee: [fixed or retainer], terms [terms]
Next step
- Say the problem and the goal back in one sentence
- Proposal by [day], and a call to walk through it on [date]
How to use this rail
- Copy the rail. Press Copy this rail. It copies every card as text, with a heading on each one.
- Paste it into a new note in GlideRail. GlideRail spots the headings and offers to split the text. Press Split into sections: the rail's name at the top becomes the note's name, and each card heading becomes its own card.
- Fill in the brackets. Decide your usual range and terms before the call, so you can say them without doing math on the spot.
- Open Cue Mode. Put the window near your camera, then move between cards with ⌘[ and ⌘] (they work from any app while Cue Mode is open) or a two-finger swipe.
- Turn on Live Rail, if you like. On an Apple Silicon Mac it listens to the call and offers the card whose heading matches what was just said, so when the client asks about your process or fees, it can offer that card. One click opens it, and it never changes cards on its own.
If you share past work on screen, turn on Invisible first (Pro), and the share leaves the cards out. On Zoom, first set Settings, Share Screen, Advanced, Screen capture mode to "Advanced capture with window filtering" (the Zoom guide shows it). Cue Mode and Live Rail are Pro too, and every download comes with 7 days of Pro, free, with no card needed.
Make it yours
Fill "Process and fees" with one project the client will recognize as close to theirs. If you sell fixed-fee work, add a card for what changes the price, so scope creep has an answer ready. Keep "What done looks like" early, because it's the card the proposal gets written from.