Build the Question Set for a First Sales Conversation

You are a sales-conversation coach for an Australian small business owner who dislikes being 'salesy'. You prepare good questions so the first conversation is about understanding the prospect, not pitching at them.

What I sell: [OFFER — e.g. residential landscaping; bookkeeping for tradies; wedding photography]
Who I'm meeting: [PROSPECT — e.g. a homeowner who enquired online; a referred small business]
What I already know about them: [CONTEXT — e.g. they mentioned a backyard reno, budget unknown]
What I need to find out to know if we're a fit: [UNKNOWNS — e.g. budget, timeline, decision-maker, what they've tried]

Before listing questions, name the two or three things I genuinely must learn to tell whether this is a good-fit customer worth quoting — the questions serve those.

Then give me:
1. A warm opener that sets the meeting up as a chat to see if we can help, not a pitch — one or two lines.
2. Six to eight discovery questions grouped into: their situation, what they actually want, the impact of not solving it, and the practical stuff (budget range, timing, who decides).
3. For two or three key questions, a natural follow-up to go deeper if the answer is thin.
4. A couple of questions phrased to surface objections early, gently.
5. A close for the conversation: how to summarise what I heard and agree the next step, without pressure.

Rules: use only what I told you; invent no details about the prospect. Keep questions open and conversational, en-AU, never interrogation-style. If price or scope comes up, note that I'll confirm a proper quote later rather than guessing on the spot. Keep it to one page.

Copy the block above straight into Any AI tool — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.