Why Can't I Get My Audience on Discovery Calls?
Hi, heart-centered ladies. Are you having a problem getting people on discovery sessions? Do you find yourself wondering, “If I can't even get people on discovery sessions, how in the world am I supposed to fill my coaching practice?” Well, today, that's exactly what we're talking about. What is a discovery session? What do you do on a discovery session? What if you can't get people to sign up for a discovery session? And how in the world are you supposed to get people to work with you?
What is a Discovery Session?
In my view, a discovery session is essentially for those deciding whether or not working with you would be a good fit; it’s a free call to you that someone can sign up for to talk with you about what it would look like to work with you. In my opinion, these can be helpful.
An Alternative to Discovery Sessions: The Mini-Strategy Session
Later in your coaching practice, you'll probably notice more people opting-in to this and being willing to hop on the phone with you. They are most-likely already 90% committed to working with you, they just want to make sure that you're a good fit. In the beginning of your business, though, you may not have many people know what exactly you do or realize the awesomeness of who you are. And so, one way you can get people on the phone is to instead offer a mini-strategy session. I know; you're wondering, 'What's the difference?' In my opinion, with a discovery session, you're talking about what it would look like to work together, what you could accomplish. A strategy session is a little bit more like a no-strings-attached, "Hey! I am offering my coaching services to you for 20 minutes to show you what I’ve got." From there, they can decide if they want to continue working with me or not. The nice thing about this is you'll get a lot more people on the phone that may not know if they would want to work with you. This is okay! If you put yourself in your potential clients’ shoes, if you're hopping on the phone with like a stranger, it's okay if you're not sold on the fact of whether or not you're going to hire them. They’re getting to know you.
Specific, Tangible, and Deliverable:
You're putting yourself out there and saying, "For these 20 minutes, we're going to focus on XYZ."
I typically wouldn't leave what you’re offering open-ended, like '20 minute strategy session: we can talk about whatever you want.' It should probably be something specific, tangible, and deliverable. You want them to see that you deliver results.
I would pick something that you find for your audience as a common struggle, and let them know, "This is what I can help you with. I am offering this 20 minutes for your strategy session on this topic, and these are three results that you can potentially get from hopping on this call with me." Once they're on the phone, if they want to talk about something else, and it's clear and you can accomplish it during that time, you could be open to that. What a mini- strategy session allows you to do is after you do those 20 solid minutes of strategy, afterward, you’re able to tell them, "Hey! Do you want to hear about what I offer as a coach? Or do you want to hear about some of those services I have to offer?" I also remind them of this in the beginning of the call too, like, "Hey! After the 20 minutes, if things go well, is it okay if I share with you how I work with people?” And people usually say yes, like "Sure! Why not?" And at the end, you're able to have a conversation around what it would look like to potentially work together. That is my suggestion as an alternative to a discovery call, especially at the start of your business.
If you know that you're a good coach, and know that once you give you someone a little sample of what you do, it's likely that they would hire you and think, "Wow! This was so powerful. I want more", then a mini-strategy session would be my proposed course of action for you.
That's my advice for you: giving someone a strategy session; just showing up,doing your thing, and being available for your potential client. I hope that that's helpful for you.