Call them what you want. Discovery Calls. Strategy Calls. Getting to Know You. Breakthrough Session.
Personally I prefer Strategy Call or Strategy Session for two reasons: 1) because outside the online space – nobody’s got a scooby what “Discovery Call” means and I’m all about keeping it simple and 2) I give valuable strategy!
Zoom is the “industry standard” for holding 1:1 video calls. It’s free to get started with and your users won’t need to download any software or any such trickery – just a simple click of a button and you’re talking face-to-face.
It plays nice with Google calendar so is perfect for scheduling calls.
Traditional Sleazy Discovery Call Questions
The trouble with scripted calls is that they sound sleazy as hell. All you need is a smoky office, brown and orange walls and a tan leather jacket with big lapels and we’re straight back in the 70s baby!
A call I often receive starts with “hello, I’m Jackie and I’m phoning on behalf of [insert company here]. I heard you’d recently been in a car accident and… “
*click brrrr*
(I don’t think phones go brrr anymore – but if you’re as old as me you’ll remember that!)
My point is, if you’re talking to someone – ESPECIALLY someone you’re considering having a financial transaction with – you want to feel you matter.
You want to feel special and different and respected.
So if you get the impression they’re just running through a checklist and not really listening, or caring about you and your business on an individual level then it can leave you cold.
Common questions women in the online space are told to ask are:
- Where do you see your business in 6 months if you don’t take action today?
- What have you tried so far and how did that work out for you?
- Describe your perfect business.
- What would you say if I could get you that perfect business in 6 months? ?
Holy moly. Those questions are gross. They’re inauthentic, sleazy and I pray to God – not you! Just a slimy, done, done and done more(!) sales tactic which should’ve been tossed aside back in 2008!
When you run through a “script” then it simply feels sleazy and your customers with bristle and that’s when you’re going to hear things like “I’m going to have to run this by my husband“.
And they’re not talking to their husband. They’re just being nice and fobbing you off because they don’t want confrontation with YOU, the sleazy sales gal!
Ditch the Script
If you feel you’re racing from point A to point B and you don’t even get a chance to demonstrate your knowledge or authority – because the entire focus is on closing the sale – whether or not the customer is actually the right fit for you – then maybe it’s time you stepped back and considered a better method.
A Bulletproof method.
If you want to hold Discovery Calls with potential clients which:
a. Boost your self-esteem!
b. Rubberstamp your authority!
c. Deliver genuine value!
d. Build relationships.
e. Make sales!
Then there’s a better way.
Solve a problem. Guide your potential client through the one thing which is bothering them right now today and fix it.
Gratis. Free. No charge.
That’s what real value is about.
You’ll have shown your client you can walk the walk and you’ve built upon that like, know and trust factor which is so important in the online space.
True Story: I thought it’d be fun to get a photo of a sleazy sales woman to go with this blog.
Guess what? “Sleazy saleswoman” ISN’T a thing!
