3 Questions for a Sales Discovery Call
Whether you’re just getting started or a seasoned pro, hopping on a sales discovery call can be a bit anxiety producing or even just a bit awkward.
Especially if you and the potential client don’t know each other well, it almost feels like a first date. You’re trying to learn about each other and see if there’s a spark. And just like with dating, neither person wants to force anything. If it’s mutually beneficial that’s GREAT! But if not, probably best to know now before things get too serious and you agree to metaphorically move in together.
So what exactly should you say on a discovery call? While I don’t believe in creating a copy-and-paste script (because it’s super obvious to the other person if you’re just reading from it), I do think it’s a good idea to create a discovery call script for yourself, and practice it so it feels natural on the call.
You can add more to your discovery call script based on what you do, how you prefer to work with clients, and from commonly asked questions that have come up in other calls. But it’s going to be incredibly helpful if you include some variation of these three discovery call questions in your conversation:
Question #1: Tell me what feels frustrating right now and how this is impacting you?
Question #2: If this wasn’t an issue, what would you be able to focus on instead and how would you feel?
Question #3: If I could help you with (the problem from question #1) and get you to (the dream outcome from question #2) is this something you’re ready to begin?
You want your discovery call questions to get them talking so you can understand what is really bothering them right now, and what they’d like to happen.
Let’s go back to the dating metaphor: it’s always pretty annoying when the person you’re on a date with just won’t stop rambling on and on about themselves right? It’s the same in a discovery call. I’m certain you know how awesome your offer is, and how it can help the other person, but if we dump all of the info on them too soon, it feels overwhelming. When we get overwhelmed or confused, we tend to shut down. This means fewer people saying “yes” to you, even if you know they’re a perfect fit.
This also allows you to see what their expectations are and if you’d be a good fit. If their problem or dream outcome isn’t something you can help them with, it’s better for you to both be very clear before you agree to work together.
Once you realize that you can help with their problem and their outcome is something you can support them with, then it’s perfectly ok to pepper the sales conversation with additional questions and information.
If you’ve worked with a client similar to them, you can give them the social proof of where that client was at before and after you worked together. I wouldn’t give any private information out, but seeing that you have experience helping someone in their shoes helps them be more confident in their decision to hire you.
And you certainly answer any questions they have about what it looks like to work with you. Again, we don’t want to go overboard here, but we do want to allow them to make an informed decision.
If they say “no” to question three, then it’s ok to ask them some follow-up questions. You don’t have to be pushy here either.
“Is this something you’d like to begin in the next 3-6 months instead? I’m happy to follow up.”
“Are you comfortable telling me what’s standing in your way of getting started?”
“Are you unsure if (your service) is the right way to solve this problem right now?”
These clarifying questions open up more of a dialogue without making them feel pressured. Sometimes people aren’t saying “yes” because they are nervous that they’re making a mistake. Often it’s less about you and more about them.
I want to give you a real-life example so you can see how this plays out…
Let’s say you’re a social media manager and they’re a yoga instructor that’s trying to get more business, but feels totally overwhelmed with learning social media, creating a marketing strategy, and consistently implementing it.
They feel like social media is a burden, but they know it can be a powerful way to get the word out and get more clients. They also feel guilty when they don’t use it regularly, and frustrated because when they do, it doesn’t seem to be working. They’ve finally come to the realization that it’s worth it to look into getting help.
They found you through a referral, have been checking out your content, and feel comfortable scheduling a sales discovery call to learn more. Since you have your prices on your website, you can be confident they weren’t entirely turned off by the cost. Although they still want to be sure it’s a worthwhile investment.
Now you are essentially interviewing each other to decide if you’re a good fit. This is a good thing! Ultimately you don’t want nightmare clients so you want to be certain their expectations are in the right place too.
Imagine if they said they want to go from 500 Instagram followers in 10,000 in three months! As the expert, not only do you know their expectations are out of whack, but it’s the quality, not quantity, of followers that counts.
This is a great opportunity to educate them a little, because if they’re open to your expert opinion, they still might be a perfect client. But if they are dead set on this outcome, you can politely tell them that your scope of work doesn’t support that goal.
If their goal was something more in the scope of your work, and they say it is something they’d like to fix now, then you can explain how you work with your clients. Maybe you have 2 packages you recommend and you explain both and ask them which feels better. Or you say you’ll send them a full proposal to review.
Either way, when preparing for a discovery call, think less about having a “discovery call script” and more about having some solid discovery call questions that allow you to have a relaxed conversation where both people feel really good, no matter the outcome.
