July 24, 2025 • 18 mins
Discovery calls can feel intimidating especially when you’re just starting out as a VA. Sweaty palms, overthinking every word, wondering if you’re saying the “right” thing... sound familiar??
In this episode, Laura is here to shift your mindset around these conversations and show you how to approach them with clarity and confidence. You’ll learn how to prepare ahead of time, what to say when you get stumped, and how to make a strong impression without trying to be perfect.
Whether you’ve gotten a few discovery calls under your belt or none (yet!), this episode will help you turn anxiety into alignment.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
- Understanding the purpose of discovery calls
- Mindset shifts to build confidence
- Preparation strategies that work
Ready to transform your discovery call approach? Click the link to text Laura and share your biggest takeaway from this episode or tell us about your own discovery call experiences. Your journey to confident client conversations starts now!
What can you expect from this podcast and future episodes?
- Bite-sized episodes that give you quick, actionable insights into the Virtual Assistant industry
- Learn how to build skills, boost your confidence, and create a profitable VA business
Get the show notes and transcription here: https://www.laurajtraining.com/podcast-ep12-prep-panic-discovery-calls-made-simple
Find Laura on social media:
Instagram: @hey.lauranicole
TikTok: @hey.lauranicole
Facebook: Superstar Assistant Academy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Laura Nicole (00:02):
Welcome to your Virtual Assistant Coach, the
podcast for moms who want tomake money from home on their
own terms.
I'm your host, Laura Nicole, asuccessful six-figure earning VA
and coach, who replaced mycollege professor salary in just
five months back in 2020, aftermy daughter was born, and I
have never looked back.
I'm here to help you build aprofitable, flexible VA business
(00:24):
that fits into your family'slives, so you no longer feel
like you're living just to work.
Let's dive in.
Let's talk about something todaythat might sound a little bit
intimidating, or maybe even alot a bit intimidating for some
of you, and that is discoverycalls.
(00:44):
Now, if you're new to thevirtual assistant world, you
might be thinking to yourself,like Laura, what the hell even
is a discovery call?
Is that like a job interview?
Is someone going to be quizzingme?
So here's the deal.
Okay, a discovery call is ashort, typically Zoom call.
Sometimes you might just do iton the phone, but a lot of times
it's a video call where you anda potential client hop on for
(01:09):
20, maybe 30 minutes to talk toeach other and see if working
together would be a good fit ornot.
It's not super formal or scary.
It is just a chance for youboth to ask each other questions
, learn about what the clientreally needs help with, share
how you could support them and,honestly, it's really just a
solid chance for y'all tointeract and communicate and see
(01:32):
if you vibe together.
If you're already sweating theidea of having to do a discovery
call, don't worry.
In this episode I'm going towalk you through exactly how to
calm your nerves and feelprepared so that you can
actually enjoy theseconversations.
First things first.
I want to give you a littlemore insight into what that
discovery call actually is.
(01:53):
Okay, so I had mentionedthey're quicker calls, they're
on the shorter side, usuallybetween 15 and 30 minutes, and
most often they're on a Zoom.
Sometimes you might do it onthe phone, but honestly, I
recommend having a video callbecause there's just a different
level of connection that youcan make with a potential client
when y'all can actually seeeach other right and like see
(02:13):
your body language.
It makes, honestly, a reallybig difference and the
overarching purpose of havingdiscovery calls is to see if you
and a potential client are afit for each other.
Notice, I said a fit for eachother, not just if you're a good
fit for them.
A discovery call.
Y'all is not a job interviewOkay.
(02:35):
It is a mutual fit check.
You are seeing if the potentialclient aligns with who you want
to be supporting, just as muchas the potential client is
seeing if you are someone thatwould be a good fit on their
team.
The main goal of a discoverycall is to create connection and
get clarity for both parties onwhat this working relationship
(02:57):
could look like.
The goal of a discovery call isnot to be perfect and have
every single answer.
Is not to be perfect and haveevery single answer.
It's truly to see how y'allalign and how you interact and
if this is someone you wouldwant to move forward working
with.
And that's not to say that it'snot nerve-wracking.
I'm not telling you not to feelnervous or not to have those
(03:19):
butterflies in your stomach,because we're freaking human and
that's going to happen.
Typically, the reason that womenget so nervous for these calls,
especially if it's the firstone or the first couple that
you've done, is that you eitherhaven't ever done one before or
you still just feel like it'ssuch a new experience and
situation for you to be in.
(03:40):
So, yeah, high nerves.
Of course they're going to bethere.
You also may be feelingpressure to sell yourself, and
if you have been in my space forany amount of time, you know
that I do not ever want you tobe selling yourself.
I want you to be focused onmaking connection, and so when
you go into these conversationsand focus on the connection
(04:02):
aspect and really genuinelyhaving conversation to see how
you could support this potentialclient, that's going to be how
you avoid having that feelinglike you're selling yourself to
them.
I coach so many women literallyhundreds of women in this
process, and something that getsbrought up a lot when we're
talking about discovery calls isthat women are afraid of being
(04:25):
asked something that they don'tknow right.
Same as we would feel if wewere going into a job interview.
What if they ask me something Idon't have the answer to Number
one?
It's totally fine to not haveevery single answer I don't ever
have every single answer whenI'm on a discovery call but
what's important in thosesituations is how you handle it.
(04:46):
Do you just say I don't know,or do you say you know?
That's not something I'mfamiliar with at the moment, but
I would be happy to do researchon it and get back to you.
Do you see the difference there?
Right, One of those answers isjust kind of giving up and the
other answer is showing themthat you're proactive and a
problem solver and that you'regoing to go figure your shit out
(05:06):
, which means that you're takinga situation where you might not
know the answer to the questionand you're actually using it to
showcase your soft skills thatare going to be insanely
valuable to that potentialclient.
And I know I know from my ownexperience and also from my
years of coaching is that theseconversations can feel really
(05:27):
high stakes right, especiallywhen it's the first one.
If you've been networking for amonth or two and you finally
get a discovery call, we tend toput that discovery call into a
choke hold and put so muchpressure on it because we don't
want to blow it.
But what I want to reassure youof is that if you prepare ahead
of time which we're going totalk about in a second and you
(05:47):
go into it with a positiveattitude, prepared and ready to
make a genuine connection with aclient, you really can't blow
it.
Maybe y'all will discover thatyou're not the best fit to work
together, and that's okaybecause I promise you there will
be other potential clients andother discovery calls that arise
for you in the future.
So the nerves are undoubtedlygoing to pop up right, but I
(06:11):
have some mindset shift toolsfor you that will help to change
everything and make you feelmore confident going into these
calls.
Number one you are not beggingfor work, right, you're not
selling yourself.
You're not being car salesman-y.
You are a service provider whohas a service that you can offer
(06:32):
to this potential client thatthey need in their business.
So show up with genuineexcitement about how stoked you
are at the opportunity tosupport them in their business.
Number two you're notauditioning.
This is not an interview.
You are collaborating with thisperson.
They are not going to be yourboss, they are going to be your
(06:55):
client.
So when you're walking into adiscovery call, I need you to
hear me say this right now, andthen I need you to remember it
the potential client does nothold all of the cards.
Okay, you hold half the deckand they hold half the deck.
There is a very real chance thatyou could go into a discovery
(07:15):
call super excited about aclient and then y'all talk in
real time for 30 minutes andyou're like, um, no, nope,
either that person's not reallywhat I thought they were going
to be.
Their business isn't quite whatI understood it to be, or the
things they want me to do arethings that I'm not willing to
do, or maybe my price point andmy rate is just out of their
(07:37):
budget, and we can't compromiseand find a happy middle ground,
and you could be the one sayingno to them just as much as they
could be the one to say no toyou.
They are there to hire someoneand you are there to offer a
service if, and only if, y'allare a good fit together, and you
have to feel that in your bones, because this is your business,
(07:58):
this is your income, this isyour livelihood, or your
supplemental income to your mainlivelihood.
So you get to ask questions too.
You have control of thesituation too, and these clients
are coming into these discoverycalls.
They want to hire somebody thatthey like and they trust, not
(08:20):
somebody who is perfect andwon't ever mess up and has every
single answer ready to go.
So please, consciously sit downand force yourself to actually
reel back and scale down thelevel of pressure that you're
putting on yourself and insteadjust focus on being excited at
(08:40):
getting to explore thisconnection and having a
conversation with this potentialclient.
In addition to that, though, Ido need you to do some prep
ahead of time.
I want you to know how you'regoing to introduce yourself and
your services right.
There's a good chance that,before y'all even get on this
discovery call, you've beenchatting somewhere, whether
(09:02):
that's in a Facebook group or inthe DMs on Instagram, or you
were connected to them by amutual friend.
So it's very likely that you'regetting on this call because
you guys have had some level ofcommunication.
But I want you to have yourlist of services there and ready
to go Along with at least twoto three questions that you're
(09:24):
going to ask them.
Right.
We don't want to show up andjust hope that, like they run
the call because, again, this isnot an interview and just hope
that, like they run the callbecause, again, this is not an
interview you are figuring outif this is a client you want to
spend your very precious timeand energy supporting, so have
some questions ready for them.
A couple examples that come tomind are asking them, like what
tasks are taking up most oftheir time right now, or what
(09:46):
thing do they have to do intheir business that they would
be so happy to not have to doever again.
Asking them what level ofsupport are they hoping to find,
how much help do they thinkthat they need?
And I always like to ask ifthey've worked with a VA before
or not, because that will reallyaffect my onboarding process
with someone and it gives mesome insight into how much I
(10:09):
will need to kind of educatethis potential client around
what this working relationshiplooks like and also will get me
to be able to start thinkingabout.
Do I want to introduce a trialperiod option?
Right?
Because sometimes if someone'snever had a VA before, that can
be super helpful.
But have at least two or threequestions written down.
(10:30):
Sometimes those questions willjust come up naturally in the
conversation and y'all will talkabout it, but if not, toward
the end of the conversation youcan bring up the questions that
you had written down that arenot yet answered.
I also want you to have yourrate very clear.
You need to know what you'recharging and how you're charging
, whether you're doing hourly, abundle of hours, a package, a
(10:52):
retainer.
You need to know your rates andI typically go into discovery
calls with the rate that I'mgoing to bring to the table.
But then I also have a numberin the back of my mind that is
slightly lower.
That's like my negotiatingnumber.
So if I go in with a client andI'm telling them that my rate
(11:12):
is $60 an hour, that's going tobe what I bring up in
conversation when rates firstarise.
But if they push back on thatat all, I know in the back of my
mind I'm willing to go as lowas 55, but that's my cutoff
point.
I always want you to know yourworth and know your value.
But that doesn't mean that youcannot ever negotiate or come to
(11:36):
a compromise on your rates withthese potential clients, and a
lot of times these discoverycalls are where those rates get
discussed, or at least where thediscussion of rates begins.
I also want you to have yourquote unquote next step ready.
Right, we never know exactlyhow a discovery call is going to
go until we're on it, but Iwant you to go into a call
(11:59):
having an idea of what you thinkwould be your likely next step
sending over a proposal,scheduling a follow up.
That way at the end of theconversation you have an idea of
kind of how you're going to layit out for them, for what will
be the next thing coming?
Oh, one important thing I can'tbelieve I almost forgot Before
you go into these calls, I alsoneed you to do some research.
(12:23):
Okay, I had mentionedpreviously that I want you to be
prepared.
I want you to do a bit of adeep dive into this potential
client's business.
Obviously, you're going to haveat least some idea, right,
because you're getting on thiscall with them.
But I want you to take it onestep further.
Go through their Instagram, gothrough their website, listen to
(12:45):
a couple podcast episodes, ifthey have one.
Get really clear on what theyoffer, who they serve, what is
their business mission.
Have an idea of how theydeliver in their business, right
, Is it a course?
Is it coaching?
Is it a physical product?
You want to have a really goodknowledge of their business so
(13:06):
that you can speak intelligentlyabout their business on their
call with them.
Speak intelligently about theirbusiness on their call with
them.
Again, this is just going to behighlighting for your potential
client exactly how thorough anddetailed and how much you
really get into the nitty grittyand pay attention.
I just had a discovery call lastweek with a potential new
(13:28):
client who, prior to setting upthis discovery call, I actually
wasn't super familiar with herbusiness.
I found her as part of meimplementing my networking
strategy on Instagram and goingout and seeking business owners
who fit the ideal client that Iwant to work with, and so,
before I got on this call withher, I took not an incredible
amount of time, maybe 20 or 30minutes I pulled up a Google Doc
(13:51):
on my computer and then I didmy deep dive and I took actual
notes from her website what areher offerings, what is her price
range, what's her background,what are her accolades?
She had something available Icould listen to, so I sat and
listened to that for 10 minutesto have an idea of who she
really is.
And so when I got on that callwith her, I wasn't expecting her
(14:14):
or needing her to layeverything out for me and
explain to me what her businesswas and how I operated, because
I did my due diligence.
Not only y'all is that going toimpress your potential clients,
it's also going to make you feelmore confident because you're
going to have just moreknowledge about what y'all are
talking about, some other waysthat you can also calm your
nerves.
It's also going to make youfeel more confident because
you're going to have just moreknowledge about what y'all are
talking about.
Some other ways that you canalso calm your nerves are
(14:37):
remembering that your nerves arejust a mix of excitement in the
unfamiliar territory and thatthey are totally freaking normal
.
Again, it would be like alittle bit weird if you didn't
have any nerves around hoppingon a discovery call, but I need
you to reframe it that you'rechatting with someone who might
need help, that you are buildinga connection with a potential
(14:59):
client and also remindingyourself that you are just as
much in control of thissituation as they are.
If you want, you can writeyourself a simple checklist or
an outline.
Don't go into it winging itright.
Have your questions, have yourplan for afterward, have your
research on their business, andjust have it written down next
(15:21):
to you or in a separate tab onyour computer that you can
switch over to quickly if youneed to glance at it While
you're on the call.
Smile, breathe, take pauses.
You're allowed to slow down andI also want to make a very
important point here that nodecision has to be made by
either party by the end of adiscovery call.
It is totally fine for you andthe potential client to leave
(15:44):
the discovery call withouthaving even decided if you're
going to work together or if youboth love each other and you
know you want to work together.
But you don't have time toreally hash out all the details
of services and rates.
That is okay.
Y'all can have moreconversations, and I don't know
if you had listened to theepisode where my daughter came
on, but if you haven't yet, Irecommend checking it out.
(16:06):
I think it's episode five, butshe made a really good point in
that episode about how practicemakes perfect and that we all
need to use our practice power.
In the situation of discoverycalls.
Practice is not going to makeperfect because guess what, you
don't need to be freakingperfect, but practice is going
to equal confidence.
The more of these calls you do,the more confident you will
(16:28):
feel going into them.
And just remember that everycall is progress.
Every call is a step forward inbuilding your VA business, even
if it doesn't result in aclient.
I would absolutely love to hearfrom you, and hear from you
directly, about what yourfavorite tip was from this
episode and what you either planon implementing before your
(16:51):
next discovery call, or maybeyou've listened and already
implemented it and you want totell me about what worked best
and what really helped you.
Either way, I would genuinelylove to hear from y'all, and we
have a really fun, cool new waythat we can do that.
If you look down in the shownotes, underneath where this
episode is playing, you will seeon the very top line that there
(17:13):
is a clickable link that sayssend us a text to share your
biggest takeaway from thisepisode.
If you click on that, you'regoing to be able to actually
send a text directly to me, butdon't worry, I don't like
actually see your phone number.
It's just such a cool way to beable to get feedback from y'all
on what you're enjoying aboutthe show and what has been
(17:35):
helpful to you.
So please pop down and go sendus a text.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on your virtual assistant
coach.
If you love this episode, besure to share it with your best
friend, your sister or even yourfavorite coworker, who you know
wants to start making aflexible income.
I'll see you all next time.
Welcome to your Virtual Assistant Coach, the
podcast for moms who want tomake money from home on their
own terms.
I'm your host, Laura Nicole, asuccessful six-figure earning VA
and coach, who replaced mycollege professor salary in just
five months back in 2020, aftermy daughter was born, and I
have never looked back.
I'm here to help you build aprofitable, flexible VA business
(00:24):
that fits into your family'slives, so you no longer feel
like you're living just to work.
Let's dive in.
Let's talk about something todaythat might sound a little bit
intimidating, or maybe even alot a bit intimidating for some
of you, and that is discoverycalls.
(00:44):
Now, if you're new to thevirtual assistant world, you
might be thinking to yourself,like Laura, what the hell even
is a discovery call?
Is that like a job interview?
Is someone going to be quizzingme?
So here's the deal.
Okay, a discovery call is ashort, typically Zoom call.
Sometimes you might just do iton the phone, but a lot of times
it's a video call where you anda potential client hop on for
(01:09):
20, maybe 30 minutes to talk toeach other and see if working
together would be a good fit ornot.
It's not super formal or scary.
It is just a chance for youboth to ask each other questions
, learn about what the clientreally needs help with, share
how you could support them and,honestly, it's really just a
solid chance for y'all tointeract and communicate and see
(01:32):
if you vibe together.
If you're already sweating theidea of having to do a discovery
call, don't worry.
In this episode I'm going towalk you through exactly how to
calm your nerves and feelprepared so that you can
actually enjoy theseconversations.
First things first.
I want to give you a littlemore insight into what that
discovery call actually is.
(01:53):
Okay, so I had mentionedthey're quicker calls, they're
on the shorter side, usuallybetween 15 and 30 minutes, and
most often they're on a Zoom.
Sometimes you might do it onthe phone, but honestly, I
recommend having a video callbecause there's just a different
level of connection that youcan make with a potential client
when y'all can actually seeeach other right and like see
(02:13):
your body language.
It makes, honestly, a reallybig difference and the
overarching purpose of havingdiscovery calls is to see if you
and a potential client are afit for each other.
Notice, I said a fit for eachother, not just if you're a good
fit for them.
A discovery call.
Y'all is not a job interviewOkay.
(02:35):
It is a mutual fit check.
You are seeing if the potentialclient aligns with who you want
to be supporting, just as muchas the potential client is
seeing if you are someone thatwould be a good fit on their
team.
The main goal of a discoverycall is to create connection and
get clarity for both parties onwhat this working relationship
(02:57):
could look like.
The goal of a discovery call isnot to be perfect and have
every single answer.
Is not to be perfect and haveevery single answer.
It's truly to see how y'allalign and how you interact and
if this is someone you wouldwant to move forward working
with.
And that's not to say that it'snot nerve-wracking.
I'm not telling you not to feelnervous or not to have those
(03:19):
butterflies in your stomach,because we're freaking human and
that's going to happen.
Typically, the reason that womenget so nervous for these calls,
especially if it's the firstone or the first couple that
you've done, is that you eitherhaven't ever done one before or
you still just feel like it'ssuch a new experience and
situation for you to be in.
(03:40):
So, yeah, high nerves.
Of course they're going to bethere.
You also may be feelingpressure to sell yourself, and
if you have been in my space forany amount of time, you know
that I do not ever want you tobe selling yourself.
I want you to be focused onmaking connection, and so when
you go into these conversationsand focus on the connection
(04:02):
aspect and really genuinelyhaving conversation to see how
you could support this potentialclient, that's going to be how
you avoid having that feelinglike you're selling yourself to
them.
I coach so many women literallyhundreds of women in this
process, and something that getsbrought up a lot when we're
talking about discovery calls isthat women are afraid of being
(04:25):
asked something that they don'tknow right.
Same as we would feel if wewere going into a job interview.
What if they ask me something Idon't have the answer to Number
one?
It's totally fine to not haveevery single answer I don't ever
have every single answer whenI'm on a discovery call but
what's important in thosesituations is how you handle it.
(04:46):
Do you just say I don't know,or do you say you know?
That's not something I'mfamiliar with at the moment, but
I would be happy to do researchon it and get back to you.
Do you see the difference there?
Right, One of those answers isjust kind of giving up and the
other answer is showing themthat you're proactive and a
problem solver and that you'regoing to go figure your shit out
(05:06):
, which means that you're takinga situation where you might not
know the answer to the questionand you're actually using it to
showcase your soft skills thatare going to be insanely
valuable to that potentialclient.
And I know I know from my ownexperience and also from my
years of coaching is that theseconversations can feel really
(05:27):
high stakes right, especiallywhen it's the first one.
If you've been networking for amonth or two and you finally
get a discovery call, we tend toput that discovery call into a
choke hold and put so muchpressure on it because we don't
want to blow it.
But what I want to reassure youof is that if you prepare ahead
of time which we're going totalk about in a second and you
(05:47):
go into it with a positiveattitude, prepared and ready to
make a genuine connection with aclient, you really can't blow
it.
Maybe y'all will discover thatyou're not the best fit to work
together, and that's okaybecause I promise you there will
be other potential clients andother discovery calls that arise
for you in the future.
So the nerves are undoubtedlygoing to pop up right, but I
(06:11):
have some mindset shift toolsfor you that will help to change
everything and make you feelmore confident going into these
calls.
Number one you are not beggingfor work, right, you're not
selling yourself.
You're not being car salesman-y.
You are a service provider whohas a service that you can offer
(06:32):
to this potential client thatthey need in their business.
So show up with genuineexcitement about how stoked you
are at the opportunity tosupport them in their business.
Number two you're notauditioning.
This is not an interview.
You are collaborating with thisperson.
They are not going to be yourboss, they are going to be your
(06:55):
client.
So when you're walking into adiscovery call, I need you to
hear me say this right now, andthen I need you to remember it
the potential client does nothold all of the cards.
Okay, you hold half the deckand they hold half the deck.
There is a very real chance thatyou could go into a discovery
(07:15):
call super excited about aclient and then y'all talk in
real time for 30 minutes andyou're like, um, no, nope,
either that person's not reallywhat I thought they were going
to be.
Their business isn't quite whatI understood it to be, or the
things they want me to do arethings that I'm not willing to
do, or maybe my price point andmy rate is just out of their
(07:37):
budget, and we can't compromiseand find a happy middle ground,
and you could be the one sayingno to them just as much as they
could be the one to say no toyou.
They are there to hire someoneand you are there to offer a
service if, and only if, y'allare a good fit together, and you
have to feel that in your bones, because this is your business,
(07:58):
this is your income, this isyour livelihood, or your
supplemental income to your mainlivelihood.
So you get to ask questions too.
You have control of thesituation too, and these clients
are coming into these discoverycalls.
They want to hire somebody thatthey like and they trust, not
(08:20):
somebody who is perfect andwon't ever mess up and has every
single answer ready to go.
So please, consciously sit downand force yourself to actually
reel back and scale down thelevel of pressure that you're
putting on yourself and insteadjust focus on being excited at
(08:40):
getting to explore thisconnection and having a
conversation with this potentialclient.
In addition to that, though, Ido need you to do some prep
ahead of time.
I want you to know how you'regoing to introduce yourself and
your services right.
There's a good chance that,before y'all even get on this
discovery call, you've beenchatting somewhere, whether
(09:02):
that's in a Facebook group or inthe DMs on Instagram, or you
were connected to them by amutual friend.
So it's very likely that you'regetting on this call because
you guys have had some level ofcommunication.
But I want you to have yourlist of services there and ready
to go Along with at least twoto three questions that you're
(09:24):
going to ask them.
Right.
We don't want to show up andjust hope that, like they run
the call because, again, this isnot an interview and just hope
that, like they run the callbecause, again, this is not an
interview you are figuring outif this is a client you want to
spend your very precious timeand energy supporting, so have
some questions ready for them.
A couple examples that come tomind are asking them, like what
tasks are taking up most oftheir time right now, or what
(09:46):
thing do they have to do intheir business that they would
be so happy to not have to doever again.
Asking them what level ofsupport are they hoping to find,
how much help do they thinkthat they need?
And I always like to ask ifthey've worked with a VA before
or not, because that will reallyaffect my onboarding process
with someone and it gives mesome insight into how much I
(10:09):
will need to kind of educatethis potential client around
what this working relationshiplooks like and also will get me
to be able to start thinkingabout.
Do I want to introduce a trialperiod option?
Right?
Because sometimes if someone'snever had a VA before, that can
be super helpful.
But have at least two or threequestions written down.
(10:30):
Sometimes those questions willjust come up naturally in the
conversation and y'all will talkabout it, but if not, toward
the end of the conversation youcan bring up the questions that
you had written down that arenot yet answered.
I also want you to have yourrate very clear.
You need to know what you'recharging and how you're charging
, whether you're doing hourly, abundle of hours, a package, a
(10:52):
retainer.
You need to know your rates andI typically go into discovery
calls with the rate that I'mgoing to bring to the table.
But then I also have a numberin the back of my mind that is
slightly lower.
That's like my negotiatingnumber.
So if I go in with a client andI'm telling them that my rate
(11:12):
is $60 an hour, that's going tobe what I bring up in
conversation when rates firstarise.
But if they push back on thatat all, I know in the back of my
mind I'm willing to go as lowas 55, but that's my cutoff
point.
I always want you to know yourworth and know your value.
But that doesn't mean that youcannot ever negotiate or come to
(11:36):
a compromise on your rates withthese potential clients, and a
lot of times these discoverycalls are where those rates get
discussed, or at least where thediscussion of rates begins.
I also want you to have yourquote unquote next step ready.
Right, we never know exactlyhow a discovery call is going to
go until we're on it, but Iwant you to go into a call
(11:59):
having an idea of what you thinkwould be your likely next step
sending over a proposal,scheduling a follow up.
That way at the end of theconversation you have an idea of
kind of how you're going to layit out for them, for what will
be the next thing coming?
Oh, one important thing I can'tbelieve I almost forgot Before
you go into these calls, I alsoneed you to do some research.
(12:23):
Okay, I had mentionedpreviously that I want you to be
prepared.
I want you to do a bit of adeep dive into this potential
client's business.
Obviously, you're going to haveat least some idea, right,
because you're getting on thiscall with them.
But I want you to take it onestep further.
Go through their Instagram, gothrough their website, listen to
(12:45):
a couple podcast episodes, ifthey have one.
Get really clear on what theyoffer, who they serve, what is
their business mission.
Have an idea of how theydeliver in their business, right
, Is it a course?
Is it coaching?
Is it a physical product?
You want to have a really goodknowledge of their business so
(13:06):
that you can speak intelligentlyabout their business on their
call with them.
Speak intelligently about theirbusiness on their call with
them.
Again, this is just going to behighlighting for your potential
client exactly how thorough anddetailed and how much you
really get into the nitty grittyand pay attention.
I just had a discovery call lastweek with a potential new
(13:28):
client who, prior to setting upthis discovery call, I actually
wasn't super familiar with herbusiness.
I found her as part of meimplementing my networking
strategy on Instagram and goingout and seeking business owners
who fit the ideal client that Iwant to work with, and so,
before I got on this call withher, I took not an incredible
amount of time, maybe 20 or 30minutes I pulled up a Google Doc
(13:51):
on my computer and then I didmy deep dive and I took actual
notes from her website what areher offerings, what is her price
range, what's her background,what are her accolades?
She had something available Icould listen to, so I sat and
listened to that for 10 minutesto have an idea of who she
really is.
And so when I got on that callwith her, I wasn't expecting her
(14:14):
or needing her to layeverything out for me and
explain to me what her businesswas and how I operated, because
I did my due diligence.
Not only y'all is that going toimpress your potential clients,
it's also going to make you feelmore confident because you're
going to have just moreknowledge about what y'all are
talking about, some other waysthat you can also calm your
nerves.
It's also going to make youfeel more confident because
you're going to have just moreknowledge about what y'all are
talking about.
Some other ways that you canalso calm your nerves are
(14:37):
remembering that your nerves arejust a mix of excitement in the
unfamiliar territory and thatthey are totally freaking normal
.
Again, it would be like alittle bit weird if you didn't
have any nerves around hoppingon a discovery call, but I need
you to reframe it that you'rechatting with someone who might
need help, that you are buildinga connection with a potential
(14:59):
client and also remindingyourself that you are just as
much in control of thissituation as they are.
If you want, you can writeyourself a simple checklist or
an outline.
Don't go into it winging itright.
Have your questions, have yourplan for afterward, have your
research on their business, andjust have it written down next
(15:21):
to you or in a separate tab onyour computer that you can
switch over to quickly if youneed to glance at it While
you're on the call.
Smile, breathe, take pauses.
You're allowed to slow down andI also want to make a very
important point here that nodecision has to be made by
either party by the end of adiscovery call.
It is totally fine for you andthe potential client to leave
(15:44):
the discovery call withouthaving even decided if you're
going to work together or if youboth love each other and you
know you want to work together.
But you don't have time toreally hash out all the details
of services and rates.
That is okay.
Y'all can have moreconversations, and I don't know
if you had listened to theepisode where my daughter came
on, but if you haven't yet, Irecommend checking it out.
(16:06):
I think it's episode five, butshe made a really good point in
that episode about how practicemakes perfect and that we all
need to use our practice power.
In the situation of discoverycalls.
Practice is not going to makeperfect because guess what, you
don't need to be freakingperfect, but practice is going
to equal confidence.
The more of these calls you do,the more confident you will
(16:28):
feel going into them.
And just remember that everycall is progress.
Every call is a step forward inbuilding your VA business, even
if it doesn't result in aclient.
I would absolutely love to hearfrom you, and hear from you
directly, about what yourfavorite tip was from this
episode and what you either planon implementing before your
(16:51):
next discovery call, or maybeyou've listened and already
implemented it and you want totell me about what worked best
and what really helped you.
Either way, I would genuinelylove to hear from y'all, and we
have a really fun, cool new waythat we can do that.
If you look down in the shownotes, underneath where this
episode is playing, you will seeon the very top line that there
(17:13):
is a clickable link that sayssend us a text to share your
biggest takeaway from thisepisode.
If you click on that, you'regoing to be able to actually
send a text directly to me, butdon't worry, I don't like
actually see your phone number.
It's just such a cool way to beable to get feedback from y'all
on what you're enjoying aboutthe show and what has been
(17:35):
helpful to you.
So please pop down and go sendus a text.
Thanks for hanging out with metoday on your virtual assistant
coach.
If you love this episode, besure to share it with your best
friend, your sister or even yourfavorite coworker, who you know
wants to start making aflexible income.
I'll see you all next time.
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