Shownotes
Have you ever come off a discovery call wondering why it didn’t lead anywhere, even though the conversation felt great? In this episode, Joanna shares why the best discovery calls don’t feel like selling at all. Instead, they feel like coaching. If you’ve ever worried about sounding pushy, over-explaining your offer, or freezing when it’s time to talk about price, this episode will help you approach discovery calls with more confidence, clarity, and integrity.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Discovery Calls Aren’t Selling
02:00 - Preparing Before the Call
03:45 - The Five-Part Structure
06:05 - Reflecting the Gap
08:10 - Making the Invitation
09:20 - Common Discovery Call Mistakes
10:45 - When They Need to Think About It
Your coaching skills are already your greatest sales skills. The more you trust them, the easier discovery calls become.
Useful Links
Learn about The Business of Coaching programme
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Transcripts
If you get nervous before discovery
calls or if you avoid them altogether
2
:because they feel too salesy,
then this episode is for you.
3
:The coaches who actually convert
on discovery calls, they are
4
:not always the best salespeople.
5
:They are actually the best listeners, and
if you're a coach, then that is exactly
6
:what you are trained to do, so you're
already in the right place for this.
7
:Welcome back to Women
in the Coaching Arena.
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:I am Jo Lott, and discovery
call is not a sales pitch.
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:It is a coaching conversation.
10
:Your job isn't to convince
anyone of anything.
11
:Your job is to help them to express
the gap between where they are
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:now and where they want to be.
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:So stop thinking of it as selling
and start thinking of it as serving.
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:You are there to find out
if you can help this person.
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:If you can, then just tell them how.
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:If you can't, you can tell them
that, too, and maybe you can refer
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:them on to someone who can help.
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:That is integrity, and funnily enough,
integrity is what makes people want to
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:work with you Before we get into the
structure, let's talk about what happens
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:before the call, because this part
matters more than most people think.
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:So before every call, say to
yourself, "I'm here to see
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:if I can help this person.
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:Whether or not they go on to
work with me, I am still worthy."
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:You're not going into it thinking,
"This person needs to pay my mortgage."
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:Just take the pressure off, because
suddenly it will become about
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:you if you get too in your head
about it, rather than about them.
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:If you get a lot of time-wasters
before the discovery call,
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:something you can consider is
sending a short form beforehand.
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:Some questions like, what's your
biggest challenge right now?
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:Where do you want to get to?
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:What's in the way?
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:These are gold, because when you
get on that call, you already have
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:something to work with, and you
can skip the awkward small talk
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:and go straight into what matters.
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:It also shows them that you care enough
to prepare, which already puts you ahead
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:of most coaches they might be talking to.
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:So I published my prices on my website,
and this helped hugely, because I
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:was starting to get people that were
booking who had no idea of the sort of
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:average price that a coach might charge.
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:So they maybe come to that call thinking
it's going to be 50 pounds, when actually
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:coaching is a longer-term thing and a much
higher price than they were expecting.
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:So there are two schools
of thought on this.
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:Some people agree that you
should publish your price.
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:Some people agree that you shouldn't.
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:I'm definitely in the
publish your price camp.
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:Third, let's talk about your energy
now, and this might sound a bit woo, but
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:honestly, the state you are in before
the call will make a massive difference.
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:If you are stressed thinking that they're
never going to buy or checking your
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:emails right up to the last second,
that energy will come into your call.
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:Bearing in mind that sales is a
transference of confidence, so you
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:need to essentially talk yourself into
why this is a good idea before you can
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:genuinely help them believe that it
is a great idea to sign up for you.
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:If you are at all nervous, don't panic.
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:I was always doubting myself in those
early days on calls, and I still
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:managed to build a successful business.
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:So again, go easy on yourself, but
do take time to convince yourself
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:of all of the amazing things they're
gonna get out of working with you.
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:So deep breath, and remember
why you do this work.
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:Here's our five-part call structure.
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:First part is connection,
maybe three or so minutes here.
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:Just be human.
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:Ask how their day's going.
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:Ask where they live, how the weather is.
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:Usual small talk.
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:And honestly, that can make the
rest of the call really work well.
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:Then this part is very important,
I repeat again, very important.
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:Take charge of that call.
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:You're going to tell them what's gonna
happen on that call, which is essentially,
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:"Hi Julie, great to talk to you.
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:What usually works well on these calls
is to hear where you are now, hear where
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:you want to get to, hear what's in the
way, and then if I think I can help you,
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:I will tell you that, and we can talk
about that if you'd like to at the end.
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:If I don't think I can help
you, I will see who else I may
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:know who may be able to help.
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:Is that okay with you?"
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:Make sure you do this step, otherwise it
will drift into the part that I talked
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:earlier of them telling you their problems
and you trying to solve their problems,
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:because you are probably a helpful
person and wanna get straight to work.
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:Okay, so that's our initial part,
three or four minutes at the beginning.
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:Now we're going to say Tell me
what's going on for you now.
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:They should be speaking
probably 80% of this call.
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:And really do let them talk, let
them ramble if they need to, because
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:honestly, most of the time no one
has ever asked them these questions
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:and actually listened to them
without trying to immediately fix it.
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:Then we're gonna move on
to the desired outcome.
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:So once they've told you a bit
about where they are now, ask
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:them where they want to be.
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:For example, "If we were talking in six
months' time and everything had worked out
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:brilliantly, what would that look like?"
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:Get specific.
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:Don't let them get away with, "I just want
more clients, I just wanna feel better."
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:Don't let them get away
with that generic stuff.
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:Push gently to use your coaching skills.
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:Again, how many clients, or
what type of leadership skills?
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:What would that actually
look like in real life?
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:Two things happen when
they articulate the dream.
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:They get excited.
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:They actually connect with why
they started and why they booked
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:this call, and they can start to
see the gap between where they
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:are now and where they want to be.
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:Do ensure you're brave here,
and get to the core motivator,
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:their emotional driver.
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:We buy on emotion, so they really need
to feel how good this is gonna feel
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:when they actually get to their outcome.
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:So now we're moving on to our next
stage, where we're gonna reflect back
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:everything that they have told you.
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:Again, another skill I learned in my
coach training is reflecting back.
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:So you may say something like, "Okay,
what I'm hearing is that you hate your
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:job, you feel completely overwhelmed,
and you have no idea how you're
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:ever gonna get out of this mess.
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:And what you really want is to drop your
kids at school and feel better and more
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:healthy and get that next promotion,"
whatever it is that they just told you.
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:That's why you're listening
well at that point.
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:And often in reflecting back, they
actually feel seen, and they get
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:more clarity than they've ever had
themselves in their own jumbled thoughts.
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:Now we are getting towards the end of
the call, where we will do our invitation
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:if they seem like the right fit.
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:Something like, "I think
I can help with this.
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:Would you like to hear more about
how we could work together?"
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:Most people will politely say yes, and
then you give the briefest overview.
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:Not every single step you will ever
take, not every bonus, just the essence.
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:Three stages can work really
well here, so, you know, first
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:we will get clarity, next we will
refine, and finally we will excel.
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:I mean, a little bit more complex
than that, but just as an idea,
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:it can really help you have
some clarity to express it well.
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:If they generally feel okay with
that, and so you're checking in the
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:whole time, "How does that sound?"
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:Before you get to the logistics, so
we're not going in with six coaching
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:sessions, we're first talking about the
overall things that they want to work on.
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:Again, if you've listened well and
you've really got where they're
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:at, you'll be able to express
the sorts of things that they may
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:want to work on in those sessions.
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:So do that part before you
start moving to the logistics.
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:Finally, you may want to go to the
logistics if they want to hear more.
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:And again, don't go too far into it, but,
like, generally something like, "We'll
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:work together over three to six months.
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:You'll have my support between sessions.
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:We'll really partner together
to help you to reach your goal.
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:How does that sound?"
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:Then, here's the part
that most people avoid.
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:You now need to say something like,
"Would you like to hear the investment?"
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:So don't wait till you send them an
email later to talk about money, because
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:then it will never convert for you.
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:Obviously, usually they will say yes,
because we're polite people, and then
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:you say how much it is to work with
you, and you just be quiet afterwards.
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:Don't fill the silence by saying,
"Oh, I know that's a bit expensive
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:and I can do payment plans and
I can do this, this, this."
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:Just say something like, "It's
1,000 pounds for the program.
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:How does that sound for you?"
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:And then just stop.
151
:If they want a payment plan, then
you can talk about that later.
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:So silence is your friend here.
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:Be brave and do go for it.
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:Okay, let's move on to some
mistakes I see most coaches
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:making, and they are all fixable.
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:Number one, I've touched on already, which
is solving their problem on the call.
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:This used to be my biggest mistake, but
actually, like I mentioned, I now see it's
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:actually a disservice to them to try and
give them a quick fix, because anybody
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:who's normal in life will know that
there are very few quick fixes out there.
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:Number two, not making the invitation.
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:So this is another mistake.
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:Everything's going brilliantly,
then you say, "Okay, I'll
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:email you some more details."
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:Don't do that because what will happen
is it will sit in their email forever.
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:You'll be left in the position
where you're constantly chasing
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:them, and they never open their
email to look at your proposal.
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:Number three is
over-explaining your program.
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:Many people go far too into the
logistics, and generally, people
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:buy on emotion, and they just want
to know that you can help them.
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:Mistake four is not following
up and giving up too quickly.
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:People are busy, so if that person
doesn't go ahead on the call and
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:you follow up once, don't think
you can never follow up again.
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:Following up isn't pestering, it's
actually showing that you care.
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:So let's handle what happens when
someone says, "I need to think about it."
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:That is the moment every coach dreads
because you've done the whole call, it's
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:gone brilliantly, they're nodding along,
and then, "I need to think about it."
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:Don't panic, it is completely normal, and
here's what I want you to say, "Of course.
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:No worries at all.
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:Can I ask what specifically
you need to think about?"
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:Genuine curiosity.
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:Is it the price?
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:Is it the program?
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:Try and help them to not just zone out,
but to actually be curious as to what is
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:exactly in the way of them moving forward.
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:I need to think about it usually
means one of three things.
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:One, they're worried about the money,
or it was more than they were expecting.
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:Two, they need to talk to their partner.
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:Or three, which is probably the most
likely one, they're actually scared of
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:investing in themselves, scared that it
won't work, scared that they'll never do
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:the work, all of the things that end up
stopping us making change in our lives.
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:If it's the money, then
talk about payment plans.
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:If they need to talk to someone,
then give them space and follow up.
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:Try and get a call in there and then of
like, "Okay, when are you gonna be able
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:to do that, and when might you be in a
position to make a decision on this?"
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:Do try and get a date, otherwise it will
be another thing that's put off forever.
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:And like I mentioned, that fear of
investing in themselves is often the
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:exact thing that they need coaching on.
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:So I need to think about it isn't a
no, it is an invitation for you to
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:understand exactly what is going on.
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:So that's it, our five steps, and you
already know how to do all of them
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:because you have coaching skills.
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:So first one is connection, next is
the current situation, finally desired
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:outcome, then we reflect back the
gap, and then we make our invitation.
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:This is not a sales script.
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:It's just showing up as a coach in
a conversation and trusting that
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:your coaching is good enough for
people to want more, because it is.
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:And remember, you're coaching
on their overarching problem,
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:rather than trying to go too into
their exact issue there and then.
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:If you want step-by-step instructions
and how to practice this, we do
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:this inside the Business of Coaching
with way more detail on sales.
211
:We even role-play discovery calls on
our group calls sometimes so you will
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:get comfortable before the real calls.
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:Because like I mentioned to
you earlier, that practice
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:really can change everything.
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:You will find the link to the Business
of Coaching in the description,
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:and I hope today was helpful.
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:Go out there and smash your
discovery calls in a good way.
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:And like I always say, trust yourself,
believe in yourself, and be the wise
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:gardener who keeps on watering the seeds
