Are your discovery calls feeling a little all over the place?
Are you getting too many “maybes”, losing prospects on price, or feeling “salesy” on your discovery calls? I know a lot of entrepreneurs who struggle to find the write mix of questions and conversation to close the sale.
One of the reasons is because so much of the conventional sales wisdom is actually hurting your discovery call conversion rate. I’ll guide you through three of the most common “rules” for discovery calls and what to do instead to make your prospect comfortable and feeling in control.
Sales tactic #1: You must spend time bonding and building rapport
The false idea that you must spend tons of time building rapport is perhaps the #1 thing I see that holds leaders back on their sales calls.
I’m sure you’ve heard this advice a million times.
You’ve been told that when you get on a call with someone, you’re supposed to chat them up a bit, see where they’re from, and make small talk.
Sometimes this can just get plain awkward.
You BOTH know the real purpose of the call, and this sure isn’t it.
It’s to see if you will be a good fit to work together, not to know how the weather is on their side of the world.
It's this weird dance that we feel like we’re supposed to be doing, despite neither of us really wanting to.
You were taught that this is the FIRST step and the best way to warm someone up. You were told you need to make them comfortable before selling to them.
Nope. Don’t think so.
Just jump right into the sales conversation.
This way, you don’t drag that uncomfortable period on, and you can get into what it is you both really came for.
An analogy that translates this well is how we train our dogs. Dogs are known to get uncomfortable if they do not understand who the alpha in any given situation is. If there’s any confusion, they will step in and control the situation, because they feel they have to.
Then, they will begin doing the alpha things: scanning for threats, guiding the way, and moving forward when needed.
If you want to make your dogs comfortable, you need to provide them with structure and guidance. If they are nervous on a leash, you can get out in front and lead. Make them sure of their direction and their safety by being the one who guides and models it first.
Now, use this analogy to look back at your discovery call process.
Take ownership of the direction of the call. Let them know that you know what you’re talking about, that you’re clear on the transformation you can provide, and that you have a PLAN.
This way, they won’t feel like they need to step in and guide the call, ask all of the questions, and feel unsure about what it is you’re even selling them.
Let’s say you are on a discovery call with a coach you were looking to hire and they are only doing small talk...
I bet you’d think “I thought I was going to get on this call for you to guide me through a process and see if we're a good fit”.
You may be getting anxious. A bit bored, maybe.
Now you think “Oh no... Am I going to have to ask about the transformation they provide?”
That would feel really strange.
Having the burden of directing a sales conversation as the prospect is a very uncomfortable space to be.
Here is your permission slip - you don’t need to do the weird small talk.
The awkward “rapport-building”.
Just be your polite and friendly self and get to the meat of the conversation!
I promise you your prospects will be so grateful.
Sales Tactic #2: You must spend time building up your value before talking about price
The second common sales tactic holding you back is this: you are taught to build up the value before you name the price.
You’ve probably been told to build up your prospect’s pain points to a place where the only solution is to accept whatever price you charge.
Psychology says that if you prolong and really agitate the problems and then show that you can solve them, the price doesn’t really matter.
You may have also been taught that if we do not thoroughly explain the problems you solve first, the price will freak out the prospect, or that they may not understand how the price matches the value.
You take them on a journey where we really break it down, step by step, and then give them the big reveal right at the end.
Here is why I do not believe that works (at least as well as the experts say it does):
Being upfront with prices shows your confidence in the value you provide.
Your ideal clients will understand the value without an ultra-long explanation. I know, bringing up price first thing is scary. Straight-up bananas.
But what I want you to understand is that by being upfront, you are providing this huge, HUGE relief for your prospect.
We want our clients to feel at ease with us - like they can sit back, relax and have a real conversation.
You both can sink in and truly find out if you have that connection that is conducive to working together, as opposed to doing the weird buyer-seller dance.
If we bring them along on the huge lead-up in the call, they may not even be fully paying attention.
There’s a possibility that the whole time, they’re completely distracted, wondering to themselves, “What is the price? Can I even afford this?!”
Then you get to the end of the call and they weren’t really present for your whole sales pitch, anyway.
In reality, your prospects need time to process your price.
By waiting until the end, you’ll often get the dreaded “Okay, well, thanks so much for letting me know, let me just go think it over.”
If you had instead given the price upfront, they would have had time in the call to think it over, and you could’ve been agreeing to work together by the end of the call.
When we do this, we introduce something called a pattern interrupt.
Prospects are so used to how a discovery call normally goes.
By doing something different right upfront - all of a sudden, you have their attention.
They understand that this is something they haven’t experienced and they want to know more.
Have you heard “You have to overcome objections about price”?
Give your prospects the autonomy to make their own decisions.
Either they will overcome the objection, or they won’t.
If they don’t, then they are not a good fit. AND, because you brought that price point up in the beginning, you won’t be wasting theirs or your time!
Give them the benefit of the doubt, and even if you don’t work together, you have left an imprint of a confident coach or service provider that backs themselves and respects you enough to let you find the way that works best for you.
Sales tactic #3: You must always be closing
The final thing that may be hurting your discovery calls is this common sales phrase 👇🏼
Always Be Closing.
No matter what, always have that final sale, the close, in mind. Always be working towards that.
This old-school sales style can be SO overwhelming.
Nowadays, people know better. They can spot the tactics miles away.
Things like:
“Should we do our kickoff call Tuesday or Thursday?”
“Do you want to put that down in your calendar?”
They know it the minute they hear it.
In my calls, it’s my goal to remove that pressure. I never ever want to close my clients.
Instead, my clients close themselves.
They do that because I set them up in a way that helps them make decisions for themselves. I put the ball in their court. THEY are the ones telling me how they want to move forward.
When you give them the decision-making power, it puts them at ease. It helps them really be able to hone in on what they feel is the next best step. And it gives them the opportunity for a graceful reply and to request to work together.
This is such a different dynamic than the high-pressure, super salesly, close close close type.
You want to allow the person to be themselves and NOT be put on the spot.
The connection between Vision and sales
A stronger Vision for your business will absolutely result in better sales calls.
But the connection between Vision and sales actually goes even deeper.
Your discovery calls are an opportunity to ask your prospect questions to understand their Vision of change. Specifically, the change they will create by working with YOU.
You also may guide them through the possibilities of their Vision if they DON’T make those changes, or if they go a different route than working with you.
What will happen if they don’t take action or choose another product?
By standing strong in your Vision, and painting a clear picture of the results your clients hope to achieve by working with you, you’ll start signing more clients than ever before.
Want to learn how to use Visioning to close more sales? Contact me for a 1:1 today.