How to run a successful Discovery Call?

03 May

Hey friend!

Most of us spend hours and hours on lead generation. Writing content and emails, sending DMs, forming relationships, creating the perfect offer, and more. All leading to this particular moment.

Discovery calls.

Or sales calls, as marketers nowadays say, right?

Most of you think of discovery calls as the making and breaking moment. Where you finally get your potential client to say, “hell yes!” to working with you. All this leads to you putting too much stress on that one piece of your business. Or worse, not paying any attention to it at all.

In today’s edition of Your Business Your Way, I want to give you an in-depth view into discovery calls - what to do before and after, how to run them, and how to handle yes’s and no’s.

I can’t wait!

Before we proceed…

Here are some myths to burst about discovery calls:

  • Your job isn’t to sell your services in these calls. It’s simply to see the right fit between your potential client and you. And that means prioritizing their needs and saying no even if they seem the right fit.

  • 80% of the work happens before the discovery call. Your potential client would have viewed your content, website, newsletter, and more repeatedly before getting the trust to book a call with you. No sane person (other than some nutcases) wants to waste their time and yours. The call is simply the nail in the coffin.

  • You need to stop reeking of desperation when you get into the call. Even if you mask it, the energy becomes obvious and throws off the other person. Concealing it isn’t enough. You need to change. And that means having some financial stability before getting into this and being aware of it.

  • You can stop doing discovery calls later in your biz. Many successful coaches rake in 6-fig without doing discovery calls because they have established trust.Or you can always have them.It depends on what you want. I personally know that I'll always want to have one.

Now, let’s divide the whole process into 3 parts:

  • Before the call

  • During the call

  • After the call

BEFORE THE CALL

At this stage, the person is ready to have the call with you (a mix of inbound and outbound)

Primary sources: Social media, Email, Network

Have a qualification process

Most beginners' biggest mistake is not having a qualification process for booking the calls. You don’t want to spend hours and hours on calls who aren’t ready to invest in you for whatever reason (mainly the price).

Setting expectations before the call always helps both parties. You get an insight into their business and problems, and they get an idea of what you offer.

So have a qualification form before getting into the call and be ruthless about it.

Meditate for 15 min before the call.

This is to get you in the right state of mind & at a neutral level. You can also use guided meditations for these. Or sit silently in a calm place.

If you feel uncomfortable, desperate or anxious, calm yourself down.

I used to feel anxiety before calls for the first 5 months of my business. Meditation helped a ton.

DURING THE CALL

⇥ The point is to get a deeper understanding of the client's problems & probably coach them along the way.

⇥ Some say you shouldn't give too much in the discovery call. I accept & am against the statement somehow. Serve however it feels right, is what I'd say.

⇥ Depending on your liking, have a list of questions, or go with the flow.

⇥ Give them opportunities to ask questions and address concerns. Your job is to answer and not "convince" them.

⇥ They're self-led adults capable of making their own decisions. Treat them as such.

⇥ In the end, enquire about their decision. It can go in 3 ways:

  1. They say YES immediately: Thank them for trusting you, & explain the next steps of action, set expectations, etc.

  2. They need time to consider: Ask them for a follow-up date. Reach out to them, then, to check.

  3. They're not ready to pursue this now: Respect their decision, thank them for the time, & move on.

In each case, act with empathy, dignity, & confidence. Know how to carry yourself. Because you not "needing" clients is attractive.

Again, you cannot act. You have to be.

AFTER THE CALL

Again, I meditate to thank god for the opportunity, irrespective of the outcome. I am spiritual, but you do what feels right to show gratitude.

If yes, take time to celebrate to pat yourself on the back. Often we're too hard on ourselves, isn't it?

If the potential client asks you to follow up, check in with them then. If it's a NO, then again, respect the decision.

If YES, please let them know that there'll be an onboarding process and how it'd go (it'll be different for different people)

And that's it!!!

Be calm. Treat people as people with emotions, not just as someone you need to sell to...and you'll do great!

Please let me know if this helped you clarify your discovery call process, or if you have any questions, let me know of that too!

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