5 Questions You Need to Ask Your Clients Before Starting a Project

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Starting with a new client? STOP and ask these 5 questions first! ✋
Are you forgetting to ask these five incredibly important questions before starting a new project? By asking these questions at the start of a project, you’re able to make sure you get the best outcomes and save $$$!
Hayley explains:
✅ Why you should be goal-driven
✅ How to build great case studies
✅ 3 ways to ask about budget
✅ How to get the most from the pitch process
✅ The importance of understanding stakeholders
✅ How you can apply learnings to your marketing
Building a Story Brand - Donald Miller | geni.us/storybrandmh
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Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:20 - Question 1
00:52 - Bonus Question
01:18 - Question 2
02:24 - Question 3
02:55 - Question 4
03:22 - Question 5

[@MotionHatch]

Which of these questions will you be sure to ask your clients from now on? Let us know in the comments below! ⬇

[@jirehla-ab1671]

As a motion designer, how can I develop my own unique selling point?

[@JohntheBaxter]

+10 points for the cronk reference! Seriously these are great tips.

[@MotionHatch]

Thanks so much, John! Really appreciate it!

[@SOUTHNEK]

I’m definitely looking at adding questions into Calendly. Thanks for the tips, Hayley!

[@MotionHatch]

Thanks, Joe! Definitely a great tip!

[@wotntarnation3012]

Love jake's shirt ;D

[@MotionHatch]

Had to get the Jake Bartlett merch!!

[@Motion-master-templates]

Great advice! 🙂 Thank you! 🙂 Asking for a budget is also very common in the agency and big studio world. It was something that was taught to me by Rythm & Hues many years ago. I like to explain to my clients how a budget helps the project. - It gets us started sooner. - It allows us to see where our creative limits are and what options are available. - Also, it does not matter what we charge or if the project is fantastic, if the client is not happy with what they paid for they may not come back in the future. Sometimes a client may think they may offend us with their budget proposal. That is why it is important to let them know that we will not be offended, tighter budgets may mean we need to get extra creative. 🧑‍🎨 Also, I ask the client for their budget range if they do not have a set budget. This usually helps them feel more comfortable sharing their number. Then, I try to make the middle to low number the goal to keep the client happy. 🙂

[@MotionHatch]

Thanks so much for your comment! Asking for a budget is a really great way to set that expectation early on (and sometimes, you find out it's a lot higher than you would charge!)... Thats a very positive outlook on lower budgets, thank you! And a great tip at the end there, too!

[@Motion-master-templates]

​@@MotionHatch Yes, I started asking for a budget a while ago and it has been of great help. Plus it is very beneficial when they are asking for bids. If they give us a budget during the bidding process, then the hard part (pricing) is out of the way, and we can start working immediately. I have won a lot of bids this way. Asking for a budget is also very helpful when working with international clients as their financial rates may be very different than ours. The biggest bonus of asking for a budget is we save hours from having to write several proposals. Another thing is if the budget is small, we can offer hourly training. Which I believe, can have a much higher value for some clients as they walk away with knowledge. Or if the budget is tight and they do not want training, we can offer them to customize pre-built templates to help them keep the costs down. Many clients do not mind the use of templates if it means they stay within budget. The thing to remember is that everyone has a budget range of what they are comfortable paying. We just have to help our clients feel comfortable enough to share it with us. 🙂

[@Motion-master-templates]

@@MotionHatch Thank you and you are welcome! 🙂

[@claired3038]

THANK YOU Hayley.. I just started designing for a client as their and I need to learn a lot.. just a few hours ago, I created a task for myself to ask the client what they need and then I got stuck becuase I think im missing some key questions

[@MotionHatch]

Great timing! Really glad this helps! We also have a video on how to get the perfect brief from your clients - really helpful for preventing the goal moving throughout the project! Feel free to check it out (and maybe the statement of work video - really handy when onboarding a new client!) kzbin.info/www/bejne/d16TZnlnoaaEbJo

[@claired3038]

@@MotionHatch don't worry I follow you everywhere... don't tell me you already forgot about me LOL love ya!