How to Run a Top-Notch Discovery Call: Our Go-To Agenda For Closing Clients

April 11, 2023

<td class="column column-1" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0;font-weight:400;text-align:left;padding-bottom:5px;padding-top:5px;vertical-align:top;border-top:0;border-right:0;border-bottom:0;border-left:0" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="divider_block block-1" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="pad"><div align="center" class="alignment"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="divider_inner" style="font-size:1px;line-height:1px;border-top:1px solid #bbb"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" class="text_block block-2" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0;word-break:break-word" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="pad"><div style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><div class="" style="font-size:14px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;mso-line-height-alt:16.8px;color:#000;line-height:1.2">How to Run a Top-Notch Discovery Call, Part 2 of 2: Our Go-To Agenda For Closing Clients</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text_block block-3" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0;word-break:break-word" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="pad" style="padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px"><div style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><div class="" style="font-size:12px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;mso-line-height-alt:18px;color:#000;line-height:1.5"> 👋 You recently joined the Pollen waitlist and now have access to our newsletter, where we share in depth tactics and best practices for freelancers. Pollen is a professional development network for freelancers, and will be launching publicly soon!   ⭐️️ ️Get early access! ⭐️️ We're offering early access to Pollen at a discounted rate! If accepted, you get dozens of playbooks, access to coaching, events, a professional network and more. If growing your freelancing business and professional network is important to you, <a href="http://email.runpollen.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" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #343446;">fill out this form</a> and we'll contact you.</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" class="button_block block-4" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="pad"><div align="center" class="alignment"> <a href="http://email.runpollen.com/e/c/eyJlIjoxMjU2ODEsImVtYWlsX2lkIjoiZXhhbXBsZSIsImhyZWYiOiJodHRwczovL3RhbGx5LnNvL3Ivd3ZNRTk0P2VtYWlsPXt7Y3VzdG9tZXIuZW1haWx9fVx1MDAyNnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj00JTJGMTErV2FpdGxpc3QrTmV3c2xldHRlclx1MDAyNnV0bV9jb250ZW50PTQlMkYxMSt3YWl0bGlzdCtuZXdzbGV0dGVyXHUwMDI2dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbF9hY3Rpb25cdTAwMjZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWN1c3RvbWVyLmlvIiwidCI6MTcwODUzMjgwOH0/bf09f4aa017dcc3101fd07597d498087338e8f324ae0fdfd4854c10724596fc0" style="text-decoration:none;display:inline-block;color:#ffffff;background-color:#000000;border-radius:9px;width:auto;border-top:0px solid transparent;font-weight:400;border-right:0px solid transparent;border-bottom:0px solid transparent;border-left:0px solid transparent;padding-top:5px;padding-bottom:5px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;text-align:center;mso-border-alt:none;word-break:keep-all;" target="_blank">Apply for Early Access</a> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" class="divider_block block-5" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="pad"><div align="center" class="alignment"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="divider_inner" style="font-size:1px;line-height:1px;border-top:1px solid #bbb"> </td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text_block block-6" role="presentation" style="mso-table-lspace:0;mso-table-rspace:0;word-break:break-word" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="pad" style="padding-bottom:10px;padding-left:20px;padding-right:20px;padding-top:10px"><div style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><div class="" style="font-size:12px;mso-line-height-alt:18px;color:#000;line-height:1.5;font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">This week, let’s look at the structure of a successful discovery call, an essential part of freelancing sales. Here’s what you need to know, from the intro all the way through the follow up.  Check your inbox for Part 1 — we talked through prepping for the discovery call, including researching the potential client, creating an agenda, and getting in the right mindset.  ✅ Intro: Kick things off by building rapport There’s an old saying that goes like this:‍ “People don’t buy from businesses; they buy from people.”  Use the intro to establish a connection between your personal and professional lives. You can do this authentically by finding similarities on LinkedIn or just using generalized ice-breakers.   Make sure this portion doesn’t top 2 minutes, since you might lose track of time on chit chat.   After the intro, share the agenda and get their buy-in by asking something like “Does that sound good to you?”, allowing you to drive the conversation but also giving them a chance to adjust the agenda. 💬 Gathering info: Learn about the company’s obstacles You do 30% of the talking, and your prospect does 70%. Your job is to learn about them. Ask questions to learn about the project and their obstacles, so you can position your services to exactly what they need.  Ask about:<ul style="line-height:1.5;mso-line-height-alt:24px;font-size:16px"><li>Their goals for the project</li><li>The obstacles they face</li><li>What they’ve already tried</li><li>Their current process</li><li>Supporting materials like research or guidelines</li></ul>🙋‍♀️ Share what you can offer: Position your solutions to their problems  At this point, you have a general overview of their business and a firm understanding of their current project and pain points associated with it. As the conversation surrounding the project winds down, transition into where you fit into their equation in 3 steps.<ol style="font-size:16px"><li>Repeat back to them what you’ve understood</li><li>Introduce yourself and share your process</li> <li>Position it to their needs</li></ol>💲Talk logistics: Share your pricing and availability with confidence  Strike while the iron’s hot and talk about – you guessed it – pricing. Without a baseline understanding of their budget, you’ll be heading into the proposal phase blind. There are a few ways you can bring up budget:<ul style="line-height:1.5;mso-line-height-alt:24px;font-size:16px"><li>Share a specific rate you charge for their exact needs</li><li>Share general rates you charge for a project of this size</li><li>Ask if they have a budget in mind</li></ul> It’s important to avoid backtracking or over-explaining. State your price, pause, and let them reply.  Besides budget, timing can also be a “make or break” deal. Simply ask: “What is your timeline for the project?” and share what your timeline looks like. 📝 Closing: Decide on next steps   After you collect the information you need, talk about the next steps in the hiring process. First, do the calculation in your head if you want to work with this person. You don’t want to waste anyone’s time, so it’s best to be honest and direct while on the call.‍  If it seems like a good fit, the next step will likely be one of the following:<ul style="line-height:1.5;mso-line-height-alt:24px;font-size:16px"><li>A follow-up call: You may need to dive deeper into the scope of the project or meet other stakeholders involved.</li><li> A proposal: If you promised package options or your prospect needs to see the nitty-gritty of price and what goes into the project, send them a proposal.</li><li>A contract and invoice: If you got their buy-in verbally on the call, you go in for “the kill” by sending the steps to book with you directly. </li> </ul>Here’s an example follow-up template: Hi [Name], It was great speaking with you this afternoon. Below is a quick summary of what we discussed on the call today:<ol style="font-size:16px"><li> Your company’s exciting new product launch</li><li>Facebook ad sets that point to new landing pages</li><li>Lower-than-ideal conversion rates on past landing pages</li></ol> I’m confident to get the selling points just as you imagine them on the page. As promised, I am attaching a detailed proposal for your review.  Please reach out with any questions or concerns. You just nailed your discovery call!</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td>

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How to Run a Top-Notch Discovery Call: Our Go-To Agenda For Closing Clients

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