Say No to Free Discovery Calls!

In my group for coaches, I was asked why I say NO to marketing FREE coaching sessions & discovery/clarity sessions in an attempt to enable prospective clients to get a taste of you before they buy. Here’s the answer I gave:

Whose your favourite big name coach/healer/author? Their message speaks to you. You know if you had the opportunity to work with them (and could afford it) you’d jump at it right? You don’t have to talk to them first to work this out.

So what sets them apart from the others you would have to ‘test out’ first’? They have high visibility. They have a key message that resonates with you. You already know because of the way they talk, walk, laugh, smile, that they can help you. Your mind is ALREADY MADE UP.

So when you enquire, they don’t have to SELL to you. They talk with you, and yes, make sure THEY are right for you – actually the truth is it’s more a case of them working out if they want you as a client. BUT they wont be marketing a FREE Discovery Call to you. Their time is money.

On HIGH END PACKAGES there is no doubt that there may be some convincing required, and so once again you’ll get on the call with your enquirer to show them the BENEFITS of working with you, and to make sure they are the client for you. BUT the second you call this process a FREE Discovery Call you’re placing yourself in the position of begging for business because you’re allowing someone to test you out. Most established coaches will respond to an enquiry something like “lets get on the phone/skype and have a quick chat about what you want to achieve and make sure that this program will do that for you.” They may even add, as I do with my higher end programs, that its on application, meaning, that the COACH needs to establish that the potential client is RIGHT FOR THAT PRODUCT/PROGRAM. This puts the coach in the position of desirability. DO NOT LABEL THAT EXPERIENCE A FREE DISCOVERY CALL. You will then sound like every other new, inexperienced and desperate for business coach.

When a coach has it in their head that they need to MARKET Free Discovery Calls to acquire business then they are on the back foot. When these Discovery Calls turn into an actual Coaching Session rather than the “on application” conversation it’s meant to be, which they often do, then you are really back footing it.

Would Tony Robbins give you a Free session to test him out before you paid for him? I doubt it. He’s already highly convinced of his magic and worth.

Oh my I’ve gone on here so I hope I’ve expressed it in a easy way to understand 🙂 Call your ‘let’s have a chat and see if we are a fit’ discussion what you want, except for FREE Discovery Call. And NEVER base your marketing on a FREE Discovery Call either. It’s off putting. If I see a coach who tells me I can have a FREE Discovery Call with him/her, I’m immediately thinking desperate for my business. If I like the look, sound, message of someone, I’ve probably tested out a few of their freebies, I’m following them, and I’m already mostly convinced I’d like to work with this person, I’m going to want them to say to me, “Let’s talk about what we can do together and then get stuck into it!!” when I enquire. Now that’s confidence!

It’s your chance to learn what to say, and what to do when you get that first enquiry about your services. You can turn your prospects into paying clients without having to give yourself away for free.