What to clarify with a client before you name a price

The client asks "how much will this cost" within the first five minutes. Naming a figure right away is tempting, but it's almost always wrong: it either underestimates the work or sounds inflated for a task the client pictured differently.

What the result should actually look like

Ask for the outcome described in terms you can check: what should work, for whom, by when. "Build a website" and "a website where a visitor finds pricing and leaves a request within two minutes" are different amounts of work behind a similar-sounding request. Until the result is described concretely, a price is a guess, not a calculation.

What already exists and what needs building

Find out what materials, access and decisions are already in place, and what still needs to be gathered or agreed along the way. "Format the existing copy" and "first help shape the copy, then format it" are different-sized jobs hiding behind the same request.

Who signs off, and how

Ask who will review the work and against what criteria. If one person with a clear set of expectations makes the call, that's one kind of pricing conversation. If several people with different opinions need to approve it, budget the approval rounds separately instead of folding them into the same figure.

Name the price after these three answers, not instead of them — it's easier to justify, to the client and to yourself.