How to Handle a Free 30-Minute Discovery Call

Free 30-minute consultations are a wonderful way to find out if a potential client is a good fit for you.

I offer the option to sign up for a free 30-minute call at the bottom of every page on my website, in the signature of my emails, and in every email newsletter that I send out. I use Acuity to make the process easy and convenient.

 If you’ve never had a free consultation call, it can be daunting to figure out what questions to ask when it’s time to get on the phone. In my case, I ask people four questions before the call – at the time they set up a slot on my calendar: 

• Who referred you?
• Do you have a website?
• If yes, what is the URL?
• What would you like to talk about? 

I gather this information, but I do not spend any time researching it, looking around or figuring things out. This is a call to get to know each other, and they are not yet a client. So I don’t waste any of my precious billable time on this. 

Once we get on the phone, here’s how the call goes: 

1. I ask them how they know the person who referred them to me as a way to warm up the conversation.
2. I offer to tell them a little about my business and how I work. 
3. I ask them to tell me about their business and what kinds of services they’re interested in.
4. If they ask me if I have experience with a particular service – and if I do – I say “yes” and stop talking. I don’t start explaining that I used it once, but five years ago, but I have a book on it… I just say “yes,” knowing I’ll figure it out.
5. Overall, instead of behaving as if the entire decision to work together is up to the potential client, I use this phrase regarding specific requests: “Yes, if we decide to work together, I can help you with that.” 

Here’s what I’m listening for: do I like them; do I want to do the work they need to have done; are we communicating well together; do I have time. That’s it.