The Confident Close: How to Turn Discovery Calls into Signed High-Ticket Clients

You’ve landed a discovery call with your dream client.
You’re prepared, excited, and ready to show them the value you bring.

But then… the call takes a turn.
Instead of a collaborative conversation, you’re hit with rapid-fire questions:
 "How many launches have you managed? What tools do you know? What are your rates?”

Suddenly, it feels less like a partnership in the making, and more like an interrogation.

Here’s the problem: when you let clients lead these conversations, you end up sounding like just another freelancer instead of the strategic partner you really are.

In this episode of “The OBM Show”, Sarah Noked shares how to flip the script and lead discovery calls with confidence so potential clients see you as indispensable from the very first conversation.

Here’s what we cover:

  • Why letting clients steer the call keeps you stuck in “order taker” mode
  • The mindset shift that changes everything about how clients see you
  • How to handle “rate talk” gracefully without underselling yourself
  • A simple framework for positioning yourself as a strategic partner, not just a task-doer
  • What it looks like to set the tone for a long-term, premium client relationship

If you’ve ever walked away from a discovery call feeling like you had to prove yourself, this episode will show you how to take back control, stand in your value, and attract the right clients with ease.

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Until next time, keep building the business behind the business.

Episode Transcript

Sarah Noked (00:00):
I want you to picture this.
You have a discovery callscheduled with a potential dream
client.
You've done your due diligence.
You've done your research ontheir business.
You are genuinely impressed bytheir work and you feel that
spark of excitement because youknow deep down that you are the
exact person who can help themscale.

(00:20):
You spend 20 minutes before thecall reviewing your notes,
psyching yourself up, andtidying that bookshelf behind
you on Zoom.
You feel prepared.
You feel hopeful.
The call begins after a brief,pleasant introduction.
You are ready to dive in, butthe client takes control.
He leans into the camera andsays, okay, great to meet you.

(00:44):
So I'm pretty busy today.
Can you just walk me throughyour experience and tell me what
your rates are?
He proceeds to fire offquestions one after another,
like how many launches have youmanaged?
What project management toolsdo you know?
I need someone who can hit theground running.
How fast can you learn mybusiness?

(01:06):
You see his eyes dart away fromthe camera, probably to another
monitor, and you realize youdon't have his full attention.
You feel your confidenceshrinking.
The authority you felt justmoments ago is gone.
You start defending yourexperience, rambling, over
explaining your process.

(01:26):
You even find yourself givingaway some brilliant strategic
ideas for free, just hopingsomething will land and prove to
him that you are in factworthy.
You leave that 30-minute callfeeling completely drained,
demoralized, and fairly certainyou'll get that polite thanks

(01:48):
but no thanks email in a day ortwo if you hear back at all.
If that scenario strikes even asingle painful chord, it's
because most are approachingdiscovery calls with a
fundamental misunderstanding oftheir role.
We have been conditioned totreat these calls like job

(02:11):
interviews.
And I'm here to tell you todaythat this is the single biggest
mistake that you can make.
A discovery call is not a jobinterview.
It is not your chance to proveyou're worthy.
A discovery call is aleadership opportunity.
It's a strategic consultationwhere you are the expert, you

(02:34):
are the authority, and you areinterviewing the client, yes, to
determine if their problem isone you are willing to solve.
And if they are the kind ofpartner you are willing to
accept.
Today, we are going tocompletely reframe how you
approach these calls.
I'm going to give you apowerful framework to transform

(02:57):
your discovery calls from adefensive interview into a
strategic diagnosis, a processthat will position you as the
undeniable expert and has highticket clients asking you how
they can get started.
Welcome to the OBM show, thepodcast that pulls back the

(03:19):
curtain on what it really takesto thrive as an online business
manager and help businessesscale without burning out.
I'm your host, Sarah Noquette,agency owner, OBM mentor, and
founder of OBM School.
I've been working in the backend of online businesses since
2009, building systems, managingremote teams, and mentoring

(03:41):
OBMs who make businesses runlike clockwork.
Now, I've seen what works, whatdoesn't, and the messy middle
that no one talks about.
Here, we get real about thetools, strategies, and stories
that drive sustainable success.
Plus, the tech myths If you'reready to stop spinning your

(04:05):
wheels, step into yourleadership role, and see what
actually happens behind thescenes of thriving businesses,
you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
All right, before we dive intotoday's topic, I have to
interrupt our regularlyscheduled programming with a
really exciting announcement.
We only do this a couple timesa year, and the doors are

(04:28):
officially opening for for ourbiggest free event of the year,
OBM Week.
It's happening the week ofOctober 20th, and I have to tell
you, this time is going to beinsane because we are pulling
back the curtain on the entireupdated roadmap to building a
booked out OBM business intoday's market.

(04:50):
Now, this is a week-long live,immersive experience, again,
totally free, designed to giveyou a taste, the clarity, the
confidence, We'll also leavethat in the show notes.

(05:28):
Now, one of the key things wetalk about during OBM week is
how to show up like an OBM CEOand confidently enroll high
ticket clients.
And that all starts with thediscovery call.
So today I want to give you asneak peek into that process,
our OBM school framework, sothat you can start making that

(05:49):
shift in your business rightnow.
Now, let's get one thingstraight right out of the gate.
The entire power dynamic of aclient relationship is
established in that very firstconversation, in the sales
conversation, in that discoverycall, whatever you want to call
it.
That's where it happens.
And the biggest mindset shiftyou have to make is moving from,

(06:13):
I hope they like me and want tohire me, to let me see if I can
truly solve this person'sproblems and business problems,
right?
Just business problems.
And if they are the kind ofclient that I want to work with.
Now, I want you to burn thisanalogy into your brain.
You are the doctor, not the jobapplicant.

(06:37):
Think about the difference inposture.
A job applicant shows up toimpress.
A doctor shows up to diagnose.
An applicant gives away answersand ideas to prove their worth.
A doctor, on the other hand,asks thoughtful questions to
uncover the truth.
An applicant hopes to bechosen.

(06:59):
A doctor makes a professionalrecommendation and then chooses
whether or not to take the case.
When you show up to a call withthe energy of a job applicant,
you attract bosses, and I knowyou guys don't want that, who
want to manage you and questionyour every move.
But when you show up with thecalm, diagnostic authority of

(07:22):
the doctor, you attract partnerswho want to be guided by your
expertise.
Now, the shift from presenterto diagnostician is the key.
It moves you from a position ofselling to a position of
serving and leading, and I knowthat's where you feel more

(07:45):
comfortable.
It really establishes you asthe authority from the very
first minute, and it completelychanges the nature of the
conversation.
Okay, so let's talk about myfirst strategy because this is
where you really take backcontrol before the call even
begins.
So a strategic diagnosisdoesn't start on the call.

(08:08):
It starts with how you positionyourself and guard your time.
Your time, just like yourclients, is your most valuable
asset and it should not be givenaway freely.
You must have a pre-call filterin place to ensure that you are
only speaking with qualifiedserious prospects.

(08:31):
And the best way that I knowhow to do this and what we teach
inside of OBM School is with adetailed application form that
potential clients must fill outbefore they book a call.
So from the get-go, my friends,do not break your own systems.
This form is your firstdiagnostic tool and it
immediately sets a professionaltone.

(08:53):
So don't cut corners and don'tjust send them a link to book a
call.
Make sure they fill out yourapplication form your
questionnaire so that they dothat before they book the call
now and they can also do thatafter they book the call but you
want to make sure that you knowgoing into the call who you're
dealing with right because yourform should ask several

(09:16):
filtering questions that giveyou insight into their business
maturity and their mindset whichmy friends is really important
right you might want to breezeover that but you really want to
see what's going on You want tounderstand their financial
health by asking about theirapproximate annual revenue and

(09:37):
their revenue goal for the next12 months.
This tells you if they canafford your services and if they
are growth oriented.
Next, you need insights intotheir operational complexity.
So you can ask them to describetheir current team structure.
Most importantly, you need themto articulate their pain points

(09:58):
before they even and speak toyou.
So you should ask them todescribe the top three
operational challenges currentlyholding them back.
A final powerful question is toask what they have tried in the
past to solve these challenges.
This shows you what has andhasn't worked and demonstrates
if they are truly willing toinvest in real solutions.

(10:21):
So this simple tool does twocritical things.
It weeds out the tire kickersand the window shoppers and it
gives you invaluableintelligence on your next
client.
You can and should giveyourself permission to politely
decline a call if the applicantmakes it clear that they are not

(10:42):
a good fit, okay?
And a simple email sayingthanks for your interest, it
doesn't look like we're a greatfit, or a waitlist opportunity,
right, is a powerful act ofbusiness leadership.
For those who are a good fit,you walk into the call already
understanding their coreproblems, which allows you to

(11:05):
lead with confidence and insightfrom the moment you say hello.
Now, you might be wonderingwhat tools you need to build
this kind of professionalautomated pre-call process.
Let's talk about the tech.
So your goal is to create aseamless experience that
reinforces your authority.
This starts with schedulingtools like Calendly or Acuity,

(11:27):
which eliminate the back andforth email and the
inconvenience of figuring out anopportunity for a discovery
call.
You can require prospects tofill out your application before
they see your calendar orafter.
I mean, it really is up to you.
For the form itself, you canuse a dedicated tool like
Typeform or JotForm, but Ireally recommend using the form

(11:49):
builder inside whatever CRMsystem you've chosen, whatever
client relationship managementor customer relationship
management you've chosen.
And I will leave all of ourtools, the full list of our OBM
tech stack over at obmschool.comforward slash tools.
So a lot of us use all-in-oneclient relationship management

(12:11):
tools like HoneyBook or Dubsado.
Again, you can check out mylist because it really does
handle the applicationscheduling and then later the
proposal and contract all in onestreamlined workflows.
Using these tools isn't justabout efficiency, it's part of
your positioning.
It shows a client that you area systems-minded professional

(12:33):
before you even speak to them.
Now, I also love Entreport as aCRM.
That's what we use and what wehave used in our own agency.
And part of this and havingthese tools and these systems is
that it shows a client that youare a systems-minded
professional before you evenspeak to them.
Okay, so my next strategy takesplace once you are on the call

(12:55):
because your role is really tofacilitate, not to present.
You should be speaking only 20%of the time.
Doesn't that take the weightoff?
The other 80% should be theclient talking guided by your
powerful, open-ended questions.
The one who asks the questionsis the one who's in control.

(13:16):
So your entire goal is to godeeper than the surface level
symptoms.
Your framework has three mainparts.
First, you must dig for thepain.
Your job is to understand thetrue, deep-seated cost of their
problem.
You can start by asking them toexpand on the problems they
mentioned in the form, sayingsomething like, you mentioned on

(13:36):
your form that your launchesare chaotic.
Can you tell me more aboutthat?
What does chaotic actually lookand feel like for you and your
team?
Then you want to quantify.
This is so important.
You want to quantify the stakesby asking about the real cost
of inaction.
So a powerful question is, ifwe don't solve this, and you're

(13:59):
in the exact place six monthsfrom now, what would be the real
cost to this business and toyou personally?
And it's also a critical theoryto understand their history by
asking what they've alreadytried that hasn't worked.
It's so insightful.
And throughout this process,the most powerful follow-up

(14:20):
question in the world is simply,tell me more about that.
Tell me more about that.
What does that look like?
How did that make you feel?
right?
On and on and on.
Those questions that ask for aresponse, they bring out more of
the issue, more of the pain.
So second, once that pain iscrystal clear, you must

(14:43):
co-create the vision.
You must help them articulatethe pleasure of the solution and
paint a picture of their futurestate.
You can ask them to dream bigby asking, let's set aside the
how for a moment.
If we were to wave a magicwand, what would be your ideal

(15:05):
business look and feel in thenext six months?
You can also project into thefuture by saying, let's imagine
we're sitting here a year fromnow looking back on a fantastic
year of working together.
What would have to happen foryou to feel absolutely ecstatic
about that success?
This helps the client see thetransformation that is possible

(15:29):
and then emotionally connectwith the results, right?
Now, third, you still with me?
You must gently probe forurgency, right?
This is a crucial step thatmany OBMs miss, but it really
helps you to identify if theyare ready to take action now.
You can ask a simple questionlike, this all sounds incredibly

(15:53):
important.
Why is now the right time tofinally get this hand Now, this
question separates those who areactively seeking a solution
from those who are justpassively exploring ideas.
By the end of this three-partprocess, you and your client
both have a profoundunderstanding of the painful gap

(16:17):
between where they are andwhere they want to be, and you
have confirmed that they areserious about closing that gap
now.
Now, my third strategy And thistakes place, and you can take
this into account, only afteryou have completed a thorough
diagnosis do you plan yoursolution.

(16:38):
This is the easiest for me andfor our students at OBM School.
I have found the most naturalpart of the call because you are
no longer selling.
You are simply prescribing thelogical solution to the problem
that you have just uncoveredtogether.
This part of the conversationis not a list on your services.

(17:01):
It is a direct response toeverything they've told you.
And you can frame it like this.
Thank you for sharing all that.
It's very clear.
You currently feel completelybogged down by managing the
day-to-day chaos of yourlaunches, which is preventing
you from working on your nextbook.
Your vision is to have astrategic partner who can run

(17:22):
the operational side of thebusiness so you can get back to
being the visionary.
And you know this is exactlywhat needs to be happening right
now for Q4.
My scale and strategy package,you know, whatever you want to
call it, is designed to doexactly that.
We, or I, provide thehigh-level leadership for your

(17:45):
team and manage yourrevenue-generating projects from
start to finish, freeing you upcompletely.
To get you that freedom andpeace of mind, the investment is
$2K per month, $3K per monthwhatever you know you're
comfortable with I've got tonsof podcasts on pricing and
definitely you want to if you'reif you're feeling this you want

(18:08):
to come join us for OBM weekagain because we we dive into
this and I'm there for live Q&Aso if you're ready to move
forward still talking to theclient our next step would be to
get the agreement sent overthis afternoon so that we can
begin onboarding next week hmmhow does that sound right guys
that sounds so easy right I'vemade it's so simple in this

(18:29):
three-part framework, andobviously we're going to go more
into it during OBM week, butyou have presented your services
not as a list of tasks, but asthe bespoke, high-value
prescription to their unique,urgent, and expansive problem
because you have so clearlyestablished the cost of their
pain, the investment required tosolve it seems logical and

(18:53):
reasonable.
The proactive diagnosisdismantles most pricing of
before they even have a chanceto surface.
And if you are thinking aboutpricing now, you best be joining
us for OBM Week.
Now, I want to tell you quickabout one of our students,
Michelle.
She is a brilliant OBM.
She's really amazing at theactual work because I have seen

(19:15):
her projects inside of our OBMaccreditation program.
But she came to us feelingcompletely frustrated.
She kept attracting clients whotreated her like a low-level
assistant.
They wanted to micromanage her.
They questioned her invoicesand her time.
And they expected her to be oncall 24-7.

(19:36):
And she felt like she wasconstantly on the defensive,
trying to prove her worth ondiscovery calls.
So during one of our hot seatcalls inside of accreditation,
her big aha moment came when wegave her this, what I just
explained to you, the doctor,not the applicant mindset.
She realized that she had beengiving all of her power away

(19:58):
Walking into calls hoping to bepicked instead of walking in to
see if the client was a good fitfor her.
So she took my advice anddecided to try it.
Her next discovery call waswith a multi six-figure CEO who
started the call just as youwould expect.
Okay, I've got 30 minutes.

(20:19):
Tell me what you can do for me.
The old Michelle would havelaunched into her pitch, but the
new Michelle took a breath,held her posture and calmly
pivoted.
She said, I would love to, butbefore I do, I need to make sure
I have a crystal clearunderstanding of what's
happening in your business tosee if I'm even the right person

(20:42):
to help.
Would it be okay if I asked youa few questions first?
Now that single sentencecompletely shifts the dynamic of
the call.
She spent the next 20 minutesleading a strategic diagnosis.
She uncovered that the CEO wasspending nearly 20 hours a week
putting out internal fires andmanaging team conflicts, which

(21:05):
was completely stalling theirgrowth.
When it came time to presenther solution, she didn't just
offer operational support, sheprescribed the exact solution to
his 20-hour-a-week problem.
He didn't ask for a discount.
He asked how quickly she couldstart.
He saw her as the expertpartner from that moment on, Not

(21:28):
because she had a better pitch,but because she had a better
process.
So if you are tired of feelinglike you are on the defensive
and you're ready to startleading conversations that close
high ticket clients, theframework we talked about today
is your first step.
And if you want the fullroadmap to building a truly
scalable and profitable OBMweek, then you absolutely need

(21:52):
to join us at OBM week.
Okay, it's happening the weekof October 20th and And it's
completely free.
You can RSVP to save your spotat obmschool.com forward slash
obm-week.
Thank you for tuning in.
Remember, a discovery callisn't about proving your worth.

(22:12):
It's about leading aconversation that reveals the
immense value of the solutionyou provide as an online
business manager.
Lead it like the expert youare.
And I will catch you in thenext episode.
Thank you.