7 Tips to Help You Nail Your Discovery Calls

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Are you ready for your new client? Do you have everything in place for your discovery call with your prospects? Here are 7 tested tips to help you nail your discovery calls and close the deal.

1. Use an Online Scheduling Tool

While this may seem obvious, it is worth mentioning. Your client experience begins from their first encounter with you and your business. So make sure to set the right tone from the get-go.

Choose an online scheduling tool like Calendly or Acuity Scheduling. Another fantastic option is TidyCal from AppSumo with a lifetime deal. What your tool will do is give your prospects access to your available days and times and they choose when works best for them to have the call. In other words, an online scheduling tool reduces the unnecessary back and forth of trying to find a convenient time for both of you. It also shows your prospects that you are a professional and you're someone they'd want to work with.

2. Send Your Prospects an Info Form

Before your discovery call, it is a good idea to know something about your prospect. You could create a Google Form that allows you to capture specific information to help you decide if the prospect is a good fit for your services. Here are some of the details you'd like to know upfront:

• Business name
• Location and time zone
• A bit about the business
• Social media links and website URL
• Immediate business needs

3. Prepare for the Call

Before the call, make sure you are ready. This means doing your research on your prospects. Go to their social media links and website URL to see what they're doing online. These links will also help you understand the products or services they offer. They will give you a feel for their writing style and values. You'd also have an understanding of the audience they serve and what their audience is saying. 

Have a list of relevant questions such as:

• What problems are you currently trying to solve?
• What have you tried in the past? Did they work?
• Have you worked with a VA before? If yes, in what capacity?

You want to ensure that you capture the most important details to answer 2 questions:

• Do I want to work with this prospect?
• Will my services help this prospect?

4. Be Prepared for Sales Objections

Now, this is a big one! We all want our discovery calls to convert into sales, don't we? But, in some instances, our prospects may have reservations and we need to be ready to address them. Here are a few examples:

"I can't afford it."

One proactive way to address this is to include your prices on your website and info form. This will allow your prospects to decide before the call if your services are within their budget. If you add it to your info form, you could do something like this:

If your prospects still mention this objection on the call, there are a few things you could say to address it. 

• Remind them why they reached out to you in the first place. The main reason is that they have a need and think you could help them so give them that reassurance. 
• Help them to view the price as an investment to help improve some aspect of their business.
• Remind them of the benefits they will receive from working with you. We all know that there are other VAs who offer the same services so you want to show your prospects why you are different.

"I'd love to work with you but now is not the right time."

It is ok to be direct here when addressing this objection. Ask your prospects when will it ever be the right time? 

• Show them that putting it off will only delay their business growth, their ability to have more time for themselves, or whatever other struggle or need they mentioned earlier in the call.
• Take this opportunity to ask more open-ended questions to find out the underlying issue. 

"Give me some time to think about it."

This opens the door for you to ask them, "When would you like me to check back in with you?"  Then, schedule the follow-up call immediately. 

5. Record the Call

Because you have a short time with your prospect (20 or 30 minutes), you want to give your undivided attention. Although you will take some notes, you don't want it to distract you from actively listening to your prospect. Also, you could go back to the recording to get key information that will be beneficial for the proposal.

6. Be an Active Listener

Remember the purpose of the discovery call is to see if you and your prospect can work together. And, of course, the ultimate goal is to close the deal. So do more listening and less talking and give your prospects the opportunity to share as much information in the short time you have together. Important points to note:

• Listen to what your prospect's challenges and needs are.
• Observe their body language. It often gives clues to tell you how your prospect is truly feeling. 
• Reiterate key points so your prospect knows you are following.

7. Follow Up After Your Discovery Call

This is probably the most critical strategy I will share with you. We often hear the saying, 'Don't leave money on the table'. This is a good example of how this could be your reality. Don't assume that your prospects will check back in with you to get started on their project. Take the initiative to follow up with them and remind them of the value you are ready to provide. Here are a few follow-up strategies:

• Before you wrap up your discovery calls, schedule a follow-up call with your prospects. That way you are both committed to checking back in to answer any further questions or to get the ball rolling with their project.
• Send a follow-up email within 24 hours after the call. Include a proposal with a brief outline of their needs, how you could help, and the cost. Also, include a reminder of the follow-up call date and time.

Tip: Have templates for the email and proposal and customize them for each prospect. That will save you the time of having to draft a new one each time. 

There you have it! These are 7 tips that you could use to improve your chances of closing the deal on your calls. 

To help you effectively manage the client experience, we have The Successful VA Client Management Kit.  It contains a bundle of tools and resources such as proposal and contract templates, discovery call questions, info form questions, and more. Get your kit today!