PR Questions to Ask a Client
For PR consultants and agency account leads meeting a new client at a discovery or onboarding session: the PR questions to ask a client before you write a plan or pitch a reporter. They follow the order the conversation usually takes, from what the business wants PR to do, through audiences and outlets, the stories the client really has and who will tell them, to past coverage and risks, then approvals, budget and how results will be judged.
Want questions from the whole vault instead? Try the random question generator.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Goals
What do you want PR to do for the business that is not happening today?
Why ask it
Listen for a business outcome behind the word 'coverage': sales calls that start warmer, investors who have already heard the name, better applicants. If the answer stops at 'more press', ask what would be different a year from now if the press arrived. That second answer is the brief.
Why PR, and why now?
Why ask it
There is usually a trigger: a funding round, a launch, a competitor in the news, a story that went badly. Each sets a different clock and a different first job, so get the client to name it. 'We just feel we should be doing it' is the worrying version, because nobody will be able to say later whether it worked.
If one headline about you ran a year from now, what would you want it to say?
Why ask it
It turns a vague ambition into a sentence you can test. Check whether a journalist could write that headline from facts the company can supply today. If it reads like an advertisement, say so kindly and ask what would have to be true for a reporter to write it unprompted.
How directly do you expect coverage to produce sales or leads?
Why ask it
Earned media tends to work on trust and recognition more than on next-day orders, and a client who counts leads per article will be disappointed by good work. If they expect a direct line, agree now on what you can track, such as referral traffic or inquiries that mention a story, and what you cannot.
If someone read one story about you and remembered three things, what should they be?
Why ask it
These are the key messages, and few clients have ever had to choose only three. Write them down in the client's own wording, then put the same question to a second person in the room. If the two lists differ, settling them is the first piece of work, ahead of any pitch.
What do people get wrong about the company at the moment?
Why ask it
The gap between how the client sees itself and how it is seen is often the real assignment. Ask who holds the wrong idea and where they picked it up. 'Nobody gets anything wrong' may simply mean the company is not known yet, which is a different and easier job.
Where does PR sit next to your marketing, social media and advertising, and who runs each?
Why ask it
You need the names, because a launch announced by three teams on three different days is an easy way to waste one. A good answer includes a shared calendar or a regular meeting. If PR is expected to cover social posts and content as well, that is a scope conversation to have before the fee is fixed.
What is already on the calendar for the next twelve months: a launch, a funding round, a conference, annual results?
Why ask it
Build the first plan backwards from these. Ask how firm each date is and who can move it, since product dates slip, and a pitch sent for a launch that then moves costs you credit with the reporter. Anything only weeks away needs deciding in this meeting, not the next one.
Who inside the company still needs convincing that PR is worth the money?
Why ask it
A skeptical finance lead or co-founder is the person who will question the retainer at renewal. Find out what would persuade them and build one line of the report for that reader. If the skeptic is the chief executive who also has to give the interviews, raise it before you sign.
Audiences and outlets
Who has to hear about you for the business to grow: customers, investors, recruits, partners, regulators?
Why ask it
Make them rank the list. Each audience reads different things and wants a different story, and a plan aimed at all five at once reaches none of them well. The top one or two decide where you pitch first.
What do those people read, watch and listen to, and how do you know?
Why ask it
A good answer comes from asking customers or from sales conversations. A guess usually names the publications the founder reads. If nobody knows, suggest a handful of customer calls as an early task; it is cheap, and it can move the target list a long way.
Which three outlets would you most like to appear in, and what would a story in each do for you?
Why ask it
The second half matters more. A famous business title may flatter the board while a trade newsletter is what the buyers open. If every outlet named is a national one, ask which trade or local title their last three customers would recognize.
Is this earned coverage only, or are sponsored articles, paid partnerships and influencers part of it?
Why ask it
Clients do not always know the difference, and some have been quoted a price for an 'article' that was really an advertisement. Explain which is which and say which of them you do. If paid placements are wanted, ask who buys them and from which budget, and check how each outlet labels them, since disclosure rules vary by country and by publication.
Does it matter to you whether a story links to your website?
Why ask it
A yes usually means search ranking is part of the goal, which favors online outlets and data-led stories over print and broadcast. Be plain that the link is the editor's decision and that some outlets never link out. If links are the main aim, write that into the measures, so a print feature with no link is not scored as a failure and a small online piece with one is not overlooked.
Which regions or countries does the coverage need to reach?
Why ask it
This sets the media list, the time zones and sometimes the language. If they name a market where you have no contacts, say so and talk about a partner there instead of promising it. Ask too where they cannot yet sell, so you do not create demand they have to turn away.
Which competitor gets the coverage you think should be yours?
Why ask it
Look that coverage up afterwards and work out why it ran: a louder founder, better data, a funding round, a paid placement. Then tell the client plainly which of those they can match. Envy of a rival's press is useful only once you know what it was built on.
Besides news coverage, do you have podcasts, newsletters, speaking slots, awards or bylined articles in mind?
Why ask it
Each takes a different kind of effort, and awards and events often carry entry fees or travel that someone has to budget for. A client with little hard news may do better with opinion pieces and podcasts for the first few months. Note which of these excites them, because that is where you will get their time.
Are there outlets or journalists you want left off the pitch list, and why?
Why ask it
The reasons vary: an old dispute, an owner with a stake in a rival, a readership the client does not want to be seen courting. Keep the list in writing and look at it again each year, because a grudge against one reporter can end up shutting out a newsroom whose staff has since changed. If the list is long, say what it costs in reach.
News and stories
What is happening in the next six months that someone outside the company would care about?
Why ask it
Write down everything, then sort it later into news, possible news and not news. Hires, office moves and small product updates usually fall in the last pile, and it is kinder to say that in week one than after a release goes nowhere. A thin list is not a reason to walk away, but it does mean the plan leans on commentary and data.
What sets you apart from your closest competitors, and how could a reporter check it?
Why ask it
'Customer-focused' and 'innovative' do not count, because every rival's website says the same. Keep pushing until you reach something that can be verified: a first, a number, a method, a customer nobody else has. If nothing survives, the stories will have to come from data, people or opinion instead of from the product, and the plan should say so.
What do you know from your own data or daily work that nobody else can tell a reporter?
Why ask it
Original numbers and first-hand observation are what make a small company quotable. Ask who owns the data, how many records sit behind it and whether it can be shared without exposing customers. If the answer is 'nothing', ask what their support team hears every week; there is often a pattern in it.
Which customers would go on the record, with a name and a result?
Why ask it
Reporters ask for a customer again and again, and 'a leading retailer' rarely satisfies them. Get actual names and find out who would make the request. If contracts forbid naming clients, you need to know now, and it is worth asking whether new contracts could allow it.
What is the real story of how the company began, including the parts left off the website?
Why ask it
The polished version on the About page is rarely the interesting one. Listen for the near miss, the first customer, the thing the founder did before. Check dates and details against what is already public, because a founding story that changes between interviews gets noticed.
What do you believe about your industry that most of your competitors would argue with?
Why ask it
This is where opinion pieces and commentary come from. A real answer makes someone in the room slightly nervous. If every view offered is one the whole sector already holds, there is no article in it, so try asking what they complain about privately.
Which figures can we state in public: revenue, growth, customer numbers, funding?
Why ask it
Have them say exactly which numbers and in what form, and ask who signs off on each. Private companies often refuse revenue but will give growth or customer counts. For a publicly traded or regulated business, what may be disclosed and when is set by rules you should ask their legal or finance team to walk you through.
What can we hand a reporter today: a press kit, a fact sheet, photos, video, a demo, a site visit?
Why ask it
A good story can lose its slot for want of a usable picture, and a reporter on deadline will not wait while a fact sheet is written. Ask to see what exists, when it was made and who owns the rights to the images. If the only headshot is several years old or cropped from a party, a photo session belongs in the first month's budget.
Has anything already been promised to a journalist, an event or a partner as an exclusive or under embargo?
Why ask it
Promises made before you arrived still bind the announcement, and breaking one damages a relationship you will need. Get the details in writing: who, what, which date. Ask the same about partners and investors, who sometimes expect to announce first or to approve the wording.
When you have no announcement of your own, which subjects would you be glad to comment on?
Why ask it
Most weeks there is no company news, and being a useful voice on someone else's story fills the gap. You want two or three subjects where the spokesperson has first-hand knowledge, plus a sense of how fast they can respond. A client who only wants to talk about their product will find those weeks very quiet.
Spokespeople
Who speaks for the company on the record, and who else could?
Why ask it
One name is a risk, because the chief executive will be on a plane on the day the call comes. Ask for a second person and for experts who can take technical questions. If several people want the role, settle who covers which subject before the first interview request arrives.
How much time can your spokesperson give to interviews in a normal month, and how fast can I reach them?
Why ask it
Get a number of hours and a route: a cell number, an assistant, a messaging channel. A spokesperson who needs a week to find half an hour will lose most reactive opportunities, and the client should hear that from you now. If access runs through a gatekeeper, meet that person early.
Has the spokesperson had media training, and how did their most recent interview go?
Why ask it
Ask to watch or read that interview, which will tell you more than the answer does. 'I do not need training' from someone with no interviews behind them is the one to worry about. If training is needed, say what it involves and whether it sits inside the fee or beside it.
Which question would you least like a reporter to ask?
Why ask it
Whatever they name, write the answer together before any interview is booked. Silence or 'there is nothing' usually means they have not thought about it, so offer two or three you would ask if you were the journalist. How they take that exercise is a preview of how they handle a hard interview.
How comfortable is each spokesperson on camera, on a podcast and on a live panel?
Why ask it
People who are fine in a written interview can freeze on live radio, and the reverse. Match the format to the person for the first few outings and build from there. A practice recording costs an hour and is a kinder place to find out than a broadcast.
How does your spokesperson like to be prepared for an interview: a written briefing, a call, a run-through?
Why ask it
Ask how far ahead they need it and whether they will really read it. 'I prefer to wing it' is the answer to worry about, since stray remarks and misquotes tend to come from interviews nobody prepared for. Offer a one-page note with the reporter's recent work, the likely questions and the points to land, and watch whether the first one gets read.
Is the founder or chief executive willing to build a profile of their own, with articles, posts and speaking under their name?
Why ask it
Some of the easiest coverage for a young company comes through a person, but it only works if that person wants it. Ask who would draft the articles and how much of their own voice they expect in them. A leader who would rather stay private is a fair answer, and it moves the plan toward data and customers.
What are staff told to do when a reporter contacts them directly?
Why ask it
A good answer is a short rule everyone knows: be polite, take the details, pass it to a named person. No rule at all means the first you hear of a story may be a quote from the sales team. Offer to write the one-paragraph version in the first week.
History and risks
What coverage have you had so far, and which piece did the most for you?
Why ask it
Ask for links, then ask how each piece came about: a pitch, a relationship, luck. What 'did the most' shows what they value, which may be a small trade piece that produced three inquiries. No coverage at all is a clean start, and it also means reporters have no reason yet to open your email.
Which story about you do you wish had never run?
Why ask it
Read it before the next meeting. Decide for yourself whether it was unfair or just unwelcome, since the client's account and the article often differ. Ask what was done at the time, because a public argument with the reporter may still be remembered in that newsroom.
Which journalists already know the company, and who holds those relationships?
Why ask it
Find out whether the contact belongs to the founder, a former employee or the last agency, and when they last spoke. Decide together who makes the next approach, since a reporter who is used to texting the founder may not welcome an agency in between. Do not count a single reply two years ago as a relationship.
Who has handled your PR until now, and why did that stop?
Why ask it
It may have been an agency, a freelancer, a marketing manager or the founder on a spare afternoon, and the reason it ended is either a list of what to do differently or a warning. 'They never got us coverage' is worth a follow-up about what there was to pitch and how fast approvals came back. If three firms have gone in three years, ask what the common thread was and listen to whether the client includes itself in it.
Has there been a recall, a lawsuit, a layoff, a data breach or a public complaint that still shows up when someone searches your name?
Why ask it
Search the company and its leaders yourself before the meeting and compare. A client who tells you more than you found is one you can work with. Whatever exists, a reporter will find it too, so prepare a short, true line for each item and ask their lawyer what can and cannot be said about anything still open.
What is the worst thing that could become public in the next year?
Why ask it
Give your reason first, that you can only prepare for what you know about, and expect a pause. A considered answer, even a partial one, lets you draft holding statements now. If you sense something is being held back, say that you do not need the detail today but you will need a call before a reporter does.
Is there a written crisis plan, and who would be in the room on the first day?
Why ask it
Ask to see it and check the date and the phone numbers, since a plan can outlive the people named in it. If none exists, a one-page version with who decides, who speaks, who calls the lawyer and how to reach each of them after hours is a sensible first-quarter task and should be scoped as one.
Which topics do we stay away from entirely: legal matters, pricing, named customers, politics?
Why ask it
Get the list and the reason for each item. Some are fixed by contracts or by regulation; others are a founder's preference that might soften with a good argument. Check it against the commentary subjects they offered earlier, because the two lists sometimes overlap.
Does a lawyer, a regulator, an investor or a parent company have to see anything before it is said in public?
Why ask it
The rules differ by industry, by country and by whether the company is publicly traded, so ask them to explain how it works for them and to introduce you to whoever does the review. Then ask how long that review takes. A legal check of several days turns a reactive comment into a missed one unless some lines are cleared in advance.
Who keeps track of what is said about you in the news and online, and what happens when something turns up?
Why ask it
Often the answer is a free alert in one person's inbox. That may be enough for a small firm, but settle who sees it, who decides whether to respond and whether paid monitoring is in the budget. Ask whether they want you to correct errors, reply to critics or simply flag them.
Approvals and results
Who approves a press release, a quote and a pitch before it goes out?
Why ask it
Ask about each of the three separately, since a pitch email rarely needs the same sign-off as a release. Two approvers is workable; five, with no one holding the last word, means every draft comes back blander and later. Ask for one named person who can settle disagreements.
How quickly can you turn around a quote when a reporter is on deadline?
Why ask it
Reporters often want a comment the same day, sometimes within the hour. If the honest answer is two days, propose a set of lines on the client's main subjects, approved in advance, that you can adapt without going back. A yes to that is a good sign: they understand how the work goes.
Who is my day-to-day contact, and can they get time with the people I will need to quote?
Why ask it
A capable contact with no access to the leadership is a bottleneck dressed as a partner. Ask how often they meet the chief executive and whether you can join that meeting once a month. Find out too what else is on their desk, because PR is rarely their only job.
Will anyone else be speaking to the press: an in-house communications person, another agency, an investor's or partner's PR team?
Why ask it
Two people pitching the same reporter for the same company looks careless, and the reporter remembers. Get names, agree on who owns which outlets or subjects, and ask to be introduced. With investors and partners, find out whether they expect to see announcements that mention them.
Do you expect to see a story before it is published?
Why ask it
Plenty of clients do, and many news outlets will not agree to it, though some will check a quote or a fact on request. Explain the difference between an article and an advertisement here, before the first piece appears. Someone who cannot accept losing control of the wording may be happier with paid or owned content, and it is fair to say so.
How would you feel about a fair article that also quotes a critic or names a competitor?
Why ask it
That is what a great deal of real coverage looks like. Relief or a shrug is a good sign. If the client would count it as a failure, show them two or three balanced pieces about companies they respect and talk it through now.
What is the budget, and what has to come out of it besides our fee?
Why ask it
Ask specifically about wire distribution, monitoring and database tools, photography, events, award entries and travel, each of which can be billed on top or absorbed. A good answer is a figure and a list. If the client will not name a number, offer two scopes at different prices and watch which one they lean toward.
Is this a retainer or a single project, and what would make you renew or extend it?
Why ask it
Relationships with reporters and a steady flow of commentary take months to build, so a three-month project around one launch needs a narrower promise than a year's retainer. Whatever they say would earn a renewal, write it into the plan as a milestone and report against it by name.
How many pieces of coverage are you expecting in the first three months, and where did that number come from?
Why ask it
Almost every client has a number in mind, and it is better out on the table. If it came from a rival's press page or a previous agency's pitch, walk through what the client has to announce in that period and arrive at a range together. Avoid promising a count: you control the pitching, not the editor.
How will you decide whether this is working, after three months and after a year?
Why ask it
Push for measures tied to the goals from the start of the meeting: coverage in the agreed outlets, the key message appearing, inquiries or traffic that follow a piece, what sales and recruiters hear. A total of clippings or an advertising-equivalent figure says little about any of those. If they want it anyway, report it beside something that does.
Who reads the PR report on your side, and what do they need to find in it?
Why ask it
The reader decides the format. A founder may want five lines and the links; a board may want a page with a chart. Ask to see a report from a previous agency that they liked or disliked, then settle how often it arrives and whether a monthly call would serve them better than a document.
What would you want a new PR partner to know that never makes it into a written brief?
Why ask it
Leave a silence after this one. It tends to bring out the internal politics, the founder's pet peeve, or the announcement that is not official yet. Whatever comes, thank them and do not put it in the meeting notes without asking.
How to run a PR discovery meeting with a new client
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the meeting
Do your own search first
Search the company, its leaders and its two nearest competitors, and read whatever coverage exists. It keeps the meeting off things that were already public, and it gives you something to compare with the answers under History and risks. A client who mentions the awkward story before you do is telling you something good.
Send the factual questions ahead
Fixed dates, links to past coverage, the names of approvers, the figures that can be published and the list of outlets they follow can all be answered by email. A short questionnaire a few days before leaves the meeting for the questions that need a conversation: what PR is for, what the worst case is, and what they expect in the first three months.
Get the right people in the room
You want the person who signs the contract, the day-to-day contact and at least one spokesperson. If the spokesperson cannot come, book half an hour with them separately for the Spokespeople group. Hearing about a chief executive is not the same as hearing them answer a question.
Choose for the time you have
An hour will not hold the whole list. For a first discovery call, take Goals, News and stories and the expectation questions under Approvals and results, since those decide whether there is a job to do and what it should cost. Audiences and outlets, Spokespeople and History and risks can fill an onboarding session once the work is agreed.
In the meeting
Start with the business, not the press
Open with what the company sells, to whom, and what has to change this year. Clients who are asked about outlets first tend to answer with a wish list. Asked about the business first, they give you the reason a story would matter, and the outlets follow from that.
Ask to be shown
'We have had some good coverage' becomes useful when it is a link on the screen. The same goes for the crisis plan, the last interview, the photo library and the previous agency's report. Asking to see the thing is quicker than a follow-up question, and it shows whether it exists.
Say what is not news while you are still in the room
If the big announcement is a new office or a minor update, say plainly that a reporter is unlikely to cover it on its own, and offer what might work instead. It is an uncomfortable minute. It is much worse three weeks later with a release nobody opened.
Give a reason before the risk questions
Questions about lawsuits, bad stories and the worst thing that could come out can sound like an accusation. One sentence first helps: you ask every client, and you can only prepare for what you know. Then ask, and wait.
Keep the client's own words
Write down the phrases they use for what they do and why it matters, especially the unpolished ones. Those are often closer to a usable quote than anything in the brand document, and reading them back in your proposal shows the client they were heard.
Reading the answers
Specifics mean there is something to pitch
A customer with a name, a number with a source, a date that is fixed: each is a thing a reporter can use. A meeting full of adjectives and short on nouns usually means the first months will be spent finding the story, and the plan and the fee should say so.
Watch how they take a no
At some point you will tell the client that something is not news, or that an outlet is out of reach for now. A client who asks what would make it news is one you can do good work with. One who says the last agency promised it is describing how that relationship ended.
Slow approvals outweigh a good story
A strong announcement with a five-person sign-off and a spokesperson who cannot be reached will produce less than a modest one with a client who answers the same afternoon. Weigh the answers under Spokespeople and Approvals and results as heavily as the ones under News and stories.
Expectations to reset before you sign
Three come up again and again: a fixed number of placements, the right to approve an article before it runs, and sales in the week a story appears. None is yours to promise. Say so in the meeting and again in the proposal, with what you will commit to in their place.
After the meeting
Write it back within a few days
Send one page: what PR is for, the three key messages, the audiences in order, the first three stories, who speaks, who approves and how fast, the budget and the measures. Ask the client to correct it. The corrections are often where the real brief turns up, and the page becomes the thing both sides point to later.
Turn the gaps into first-month tasks
No usable photos, no customer willing to be named, no crisis contacts, an untrained spokesperson: each is a piece of work with a cost. List them in the proposal as tasks with an owner on the client's side, so the first month is not judged on coverage alone.
Handle the sensitive answers with care
You may now know about a dispute, an unannounced deal or a weakness in the product. Ask the client how they want that information stored and who on your team may see it, and ask what your contract or any confidentiality agreement says about it. Keep it out of shared notes until that is settled.
Ask the list again later
Goals, spokespeople and risks all move. Coming back to a dozen of these questions at the three-month review, and before any renewal, catches the launch that slipped, the new competitor and the approver who has left.