Pre-screening questionnaire for potential clients

Hi All,

I'm sharing something I recently created to scope prospects that want to set up a call with me. To be as efficient as possible and make the most of the 30m, I wanted to create some pre-screening that was not too long, but solid enough to give me a picture of the potential client and understand things like if they have a budget for AI implementations, if they are the decision making, AI maturity, etc.

I hope you find this useful and feel free to add these questionnaire to your own bookings.

## 🚀 Thinking about automating parts of your business with AI?

Take this 10-question self-assessment (≈2 minutes) **before you book a call** to get maximum value from our scoping session.

1. **Your role in approving tech spend**

• I sign off on all purchases

• I co-sign with finance/IT

• I recommend to the decision-maker

• I’m just researching

2. **Monthly budget you could allocate to an AI project with 12-month payback**

• < $2 k | $2-5 k | $5-10 k | > $10 k

3. **When do you need an automation solution live?**

• Immediately | 1-3 months | 3-6 months | > 6 months

4. **Current use of AI in your company**

• None yet | Small experiments | Pilot in one dept. | Scaled company-wide

5. **Team AI-literacy level**

• Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced | Expert

6. **Data readiness**

• Clean, centralised systems with APIs

• Some systems accessible

• Data mostly siloed

7. **Past automation investments & ROI**

• Yes—positive ROI | Yes—unclear ROI | Planning first pilot | No automation yet

8. **Primary outcome you expect from AI**

• Reduce operating cost | Boost revenue | Enhance CX | Compliance/Reg

9. **Rough staff-hours per week spent on repetitive tasks**

• < 10 | 10-50 | 50-100 | > 100

10. **Status of your AI-upskilling plan and budget**

• Approved | Drafted | Exploring options | Not considered

Please see below frameworks references and reasoning behind the selected questions:

Q 1–3 map to the classic BANT framework—Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline—used by high-performing sales teams. HubSpot Blog

Q 4–7 measure AI maturity & past ROI, dimensions highlighted in Deloitte’s and McKinsey’s 2024 AI-readiness studies. Deloitte McKinsey & Company

Q 6 focuses on data readiness, one of Deloitte’s five pillars for successful AI deployment. Deloitte

Q 2 uses a value-anchored wording borrowed from the Van Westendorp price-sensitivity meter to surface realistic spend levels. Qualtrics

Q 5 addresses the well-documented AI skills gap that IBM and others flag as a top implementation risk. IBM - United States

Q 7–9 let you calculate potential 25-30 % time savings and 20 %+ cost reductions—numbers backed by Forrester TEI and Power Automate studies. tei.forrester.comtei.forrester.com

Interactive “micro-surveys” like this routinely convert 40–60 % of visitors when used as quiz funnels, far higher than static forms. Forbes Entrepreneur

The final CTA leverages Daniel Priestley’s “Oversubscribed” scarcity principle to boost call bookings. Forbes

SME-focused AI adoption research shows owners are keen to automate but need clear ROI guidance—exactly what this framework provides. Latest news & breaking headlines

Enjoy!

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