Discovery Call 101

The discovery call is a great tool in the customer journey to determine a fit for services, help the client understand their current situation, and build meaningful rapport. When done correctly, these calls act as a natural progression to the next step of service. However, in our talks with many providers, we often find these common mistakes made in the discovery process are limiting their ability to effectively help their clients. 

1. Being reactive and ONLY answering questions

I think as providers, we love to be a resource for our clients, but remember, these aren’t your clients YET. When the discovery call process is simply a rapid fire of questions from the prospect, we are giving information with no detailed process of how they move forward. Many people consider this a “value add” process but then find themselves getting hit with a “well, I’ll just try all the things you suggested today and get back to you in a couple of weeks.” 

Here’s what you can do to change this: 

Prepare the questions YOU want to ask and know exactly WHY you want to ask them. Each question should be intentional in the process of helping the client create urgency toward the help they reached out for in the first place. 

2.Turning the call into a subjective history

 This might be the most common mistake we see. In many cases, it’s simply because this is what we are trained to do. We are trained to take a detailed history and use that history to create a plan. However, it’s too early for this. Sure, there’s a fine line between asking the right questions to determine if the client is appropriate for services, but we should only ask what we need. The subjective portion of the evaluation/assessment after they have committed to the first step in your process is where so much of the magic can happen for the provider and the client. 

Here’s what you can do to change this:

What are the 3 things you need to rule in/out if a client is an appropriate fit for your offer? Ask those questions and nothing more in regard to the subjective history. 

Next, help them understand the reality of their current situation, how long the situation has really been a problem, and how the current issue they are dealing with is IMPACTING their life.

3. Not knowing how to overcome common objections

Even on discovery calls, you might get objections… “Do you take my insurance?”, “your rates are too expensive?”, “maybe I’ll just try some exercises from YouTube first”...

If you don’t have responses to these that are consistent each time, you’ll constantly feel thrown off guard. This is partially why scripting is important. Not so you sound like a robot, but so you have a process that is documented and repeatable. I can’t tell you how many opportunities to help clients this is costing people out there! And the worst part is this is the easiest fix. You just have to acquire the skill to do so.

4. Giving options instead of recommendations

Experts make recommendations, and you’re an expert. It's time you start acting like one so you can build the life you deserve and give your clients the help they need.

Options lack clarity… “Well, we can do X, Y, or Z…”

Now, you’ve given them a lot to think about and many options to consider. 

Certainty of the outcome can be difficult when dealing with the variability of injury, but you should be firm and certain with your recommendation for the next step. In reality, it’s the only way you can give this client a fair shot, you have to take them through your full process and create the detailed custom plan to drive the 1:1 service they are looking for. 

When done correctly, you’ll have a process that helps the client:

• Understand the TRUE problem they are experiencing (it’s not their pain)
• Urgency to move forward with YOU (regardless of their insurance plan)
• A conversation that has started to build a genuine relationship
• A clear next step to help solve their problem

The good news is all these mistakes, while common, are easily fixable. Now, your task is to go back and audit your last 3 discovery calls. Document the process, write out the similarities, write out what went well from each, and what’s one thing you’d want to change in the process. Once that’s done, if you’re ready, you can take action and book a strategy call with our team to take your process to the next level.