How to book a new video production client (start to signed)
From first email to money in the bank.
1. Qualify the lead
Send a short intake questionnaire to any new inquiry before jumping on a call. Filters out tire-kickers, gives you the info you need to walk into the call prepared, and starts you signaling pro from minute one.
📥Client Intake Questionnaire—→2. Run a discovery call, write the brief
Fill out the creative brief on the call. Background, objective, audience, key message, deliverables, tone, references. Having this written together beats anything produced in isolation.
🧭Creative Brief—→3. Send a rate card if needed
Some clients want to see your rates before a proposal. A clean rate-card PDF sets anchor pricing and filters out people outside your budget band.
💰Rate Card—→4. Send the proposal
A proposal is what you send BEFORE the contract. Scope + deliverables + timeline + line-item pricing + validity date. If they say yes, you move to contract. If not, you have a clear record of what changed.
📄Proposal / Statement of Work—→5. Convert to contract
Proposal says yes → send the contract. Same scope, same deliverables, now binding. Include cancellation policy, usage rights, revision count.
📜Video Production Contract—→6. Collect the deposit, send the receipt
50% deposit is standard. The deposit receipt is what some clients' bookkeeping will ask for. Sending it proactively makes you look organized.
🧾Deposit Receipt—→7. Bonus: defend against scope creep
Scope will change. A signed change order makes that a line item in your invoice instead of an argument over drinks three months from now.
📝Change Order—→Seven steps. Seven free templates. The pattern is what separates production companies that grow from ones that stall. If you want all of this plus project tracking, invoice generation, and profit visibility in one tool — Slate.
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