3 Discovery Call Mistakes That Lead to “I Have to Think About It”

Michelle Leotta: Welcome to the Health Coach Power Community Podcast. I'm Michelle Leotta, ex corporate girl turned certified health coach with over 15 years of experience growing a successful online practice. I started out with no idea what I was getting into and learned a lot of lessons along the way that have given me the freedom to do the work I love and raised two boys as a single mom.

I created a health coach power community over a decade ago to make it easier for health coaches to build a career they love and make the world a better place.

Hey there, health coaches. If potential clients are asking about your prices and picking your brain, but never actually committing to working with you, we gotta talk today. Or maybe you've never had any discovery calls at all because you're too scared. Makes sense. And it's keeping you stuck. It's keeping you from helping people.

Today, we're gonna talk about three mistakes that health coaches make with their consultations that absolutely sabotage your chances of hearing that. Yes. Hearing that, yes. Here's my credit card. Yes. When can we get started? And I've got a free resource to help you with the first mistake immediately. I'll tell you about that in just a little bit.

I do think this is the worst part of being a health coach. I mean, there are so many great parts, and I love that I've been a health coach since 2009, but the worst part always for me was that part where I had to ask for money. And I know you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. You gotta name your price and then hold your breath and hope that this person says yes. Right?

And then what happens if you get the dreaded? I'll have to think about it, or I have to ask my husband. Typically, that's followed by crickets. It's happened to me so many times. If it's happened to you, you're norma,l and we can do things to help you avoid that outcome and actually sign more clients, and that's what we're gonna do today.

So mistake number one. You ready? The first mistake is booking a call with anyone who's willing. Which sounds kind of weird 'cause aren't you supposed to book these discovery calls? But here's what happens. Like somebody goes, Hey Michelle, I'd like to talk about what you do, and then you book a call with them.

All right. Or maybe you hold a live workshop, and I did a ton of live workshops in the early part of my health coaching career, and I would invite participants to book a free call. Of course, back then, I would pass around literally a clipboard with a pencil hanging off a piece of kitchen twine. These days, you'd probably give them a nice QR code.

But anyway, you get live participants, uh, from your workshops to book a call. Great. Or maybe you've got a little box on your website that says, book a free call here. Fine. However, it comes about, you get someone willing to book a time with you, and that feels amazing, right? You got an appointment on the calendar, you're looking forward to what could become your next paying client.

But that first person, the one who said that they wanted to know more about what you do, it turns out, and I only know this, having lived through this experience several different times, they're not interested in hiring you. They're selling something. You know, maybe it's, uh, they want you on their team, they want you to help them make money.

And once they have you on that call, oh, they wanna tell you all about it. That's not exactly what we wanted. So what about that workshop participant? They booked a call. You made it so easy for them during the workshop, so they went ahead and did it, and now it's the day and the time, and they don't show, either they chicken out or they realize this isn't something they're really that invested in.

And boom, you're just left staring at the Zoom screen waiting for somebody to show up. And then you got that website visitor who booked directly from your homepage. This one shows up. Oh yeah. And she tells you all about her 99 medical diagnoses and all the medications that she's on, and her suspicion that aliens might be following her.

And you offer your program because even though this is a huge red flag, you think, well, that's what I'm supposed to do in a call like this. Right. And of course, she boxed at the price. She thought this was a free call, a free service. Oh boy, we got some work to do, right? So again, I've had scenarios like this happen to me plenty of times, and what I learned was that not everyone should make it to your calendar.

That call should never be booked with any of those three people I just talked about. So if you are offering free discovery calls to basically anybody that has a pulse, you're wasting your time. I could tell you that right now. You're wasting their time, not to mention, gosh, it gets demoralizing to like have that disappointment over and over 'cause you're just getting on the phone with the wrong people.

I just said getting on the phone. I realize most of you are doing this over Zoom, but since I started helping coaching so long ago, we used to just do it over the phone. Okay, but either way, you think you might have a client, and then no. So I want you to think about it this way. A successful consultation that's going to start.

Before the call even gets on the calendar, like you need to make sure this person is even remotely a fit for what you're looking for. So that means they should actually be interested in fixing a health problem that you can help with, and they should be serious about this. They should be respectful of your time and your process and treat you like a professional.

They should be somebody that you are interested in talking to with no major red flags, and they gotta be ready to invest in themselves and their health, because otherwise this will be a waste of their time. And yours. So this is where a simple client application form, yes, a client application form. Just a couple questions.

It does wonders as a first step because it sets expectations. It's gonna filter out the people who aren't ready, and if you ask the right questions. It actually has this awesome benefit of getting the right clients ready. Like the right person is going to go through these easy questions and they're gonna be primed in their brain to hire you, to want to work with you, even before they get on the call.

So it's like doing some of the heavy lifting for you. So if you haven't had a client application up until now, that is a time-wasting, energy-wasting mistake. Don't be booking those calls willy-nilly with just anyone implement a client application. You can do that right now. I've actually got a free download that you can use a plug-and-play application form.

It's a template, and you can customize it, and you can start using it today. And you can go grab it at HealthCoachPower.com/Application. It's entirely free. I'm gonna say that again. It's available to you at HealthCoachPower.com/Application. And let me know how this changes your perspective on discovery calls, because I think when you implement this as a first step, it's going to reframe the entire experience for you and also for your potential clients.

I'm excited to hear how that goes for you. We are gonna move on to mistake number two. That doesn't just happen once in a discovery call. It can happen over and over again, and it's when you let the client lead. I know that sounds a little bit strange considering how much we talk about client-led coaching, like aren't they supposed to lead Michelle?

But remember that this is not a coaching call. This, I want you to think of it as an interview for you to determine if you wanna work with this person; you are interviewing them. I'll probably say that like 10 more times. So when you aren't in control of the conversation, the client is like, what's going on here?

Like, they don't feel like you're holding the space. They lose some respect for you, whether it's uh, conscious or not. They might want, you know, to just come and pick your brain for 45 minutes. But if you allow that to happen, it's not gonna lead them toward wanting to pay for your services. So your value, your expertise, and your leadership, all the things that someone's gonna pay you for, you demonstrate.

By holding the reins of this conversation, grounding it and guiding it, and I mean right from hello, right from that first second that you get on the line with somebody. Remember, this is not a free coaching call. This is not a session where you're giving advice. That's not how you're going to end up with a client.

I mean, you can't even really help someone. Truly, you can't help them unless they decide to enter into a coaching relationship and they invest in it. Otherwise, all the advice, all the coaching in the world, it's just gonna fall on deaf ears, like it's just, it's inappropriate time and place for it. Again, remember, it's an interview.

And if you think of it that way, you're gonna see yourself sort of behind the proverbial big desk, and you are interviewing them to see if you can help them, and if you want to, and if they're a good fit. So, whew. Right? Like if you are the interviewer. That means you don't need to prove yourself. You don't need to answer their questions that they might try to pepper you with about, you know, their health and what they should be doing.

It's not that kind of session. They are getting interviewed by you. And if you are in helper mode instead of authority mode, when you're in helper mode, you're gonna almost always hear at the end, Oh, this was so great. I just need to think about it. Yeah, they're gonna think about it, and you're probably not gonna hear from them again.

We don't want that outcome. We want the outcome of the call to be, yes. When can we start? Here is my credit card. That's music to a health coach's ears. Yes, we're gonna actually work with this person. We're gonna be able to really impact their life because they're saying yes. That is the sound of somebody who is actually moving towards change.

Now, like I said, you can let the conversation spin off the rails multiple times, a few times during the call, and I wanna talk about those because here's where it happens. Sometimes it happens right away at the beginning. You know, right after you say, hello, how are the kids? What's the weather?

30 minutes later, you haven't done anything productive, so you always want to set expectations for the call right away. Respect your time. Respect their time. I teach some easy ways to do this inside my Get the Yes workshop, but the idea is to set the agenda and the expectations right away, including how long the call is going to be for this way you're holding that space.

You are defining the space, and it actually has this benefit of allowing the client to relax, 'cause they don't have to figure out what you're gonna do. They've never done a call like this before. You are the expert, right? That feels good to them, and it puts you in the right place. So as you go through the call, it's also easy to accidentally let the client start leading when they pipe up with a question like, do you think I need more protein?

How much protein should I be getting every day? Remember, until you're in a formal coaching relationship, answering questions like this is just gonna be counterproductive. So don't. You have to learn how to redirect the conversation to the agreed-upon agenda, which you set in the beginning. Remember, it's so easy for this to happen, like even a very well-intentioned, earnest client, potential client, it's gonna wanna ask questions.

It's natural, and then it's natural for you to get all excited because yes, you wanna talk about protein, of course, and before you know it, now this is a call where. They're interviewing you, right? They're asking you the questions. You are the one who's kind of trying to give the right answer and sound like an expert, and no, no, no, no, no.

The energy is all off. And then another big place that we lose control is toward the end of the call. So if you're gonna offer your program for someone and you're like, it's three months of coaching for $1,200. And then you kind of cringe, and you wait for them to respond with their questions and their objections again.

Now you are in a position of they're interviewing you, they're deciding whether you are good enough or not, 'cause you are not sure. You don't wanna have to answer questions like, well, what is a health coach exactly, and what exactly will we be doing? And what are your certifications? Again, they're gonna say stuff like that when they feel nervous, when they feel that energy that maybe you really don't know what you're doing here because you sound so unsure of yourself.

So let's flip that, and what if? Instead of pushing your program on them, what if the conversation led them to a point that it's their idea that they would like to work with you? Like they're basically saying, yes, please tell me about your program. Suddenly, the whole dynamic ships, because they're asking for it, they're hoping that you're gonna offer them a spot.

They want this. And there's a really specific way of doing this, it makes you sound confident. Even if you're secretly not confident, that's okay. No one will ever know and fully explains the value of what you're offering, not the price, the value. So again, I cover all of this in depth inside my Get the Yes workshop.

In fact, I walk you through the entire consultation process minute by minute, so that you are always holding the reins and making the best use of time with a potential client. I'm sure if you've ever held a discovery call of any kind, you've felt at moments like, oh my gosh, I am getting railroaded right now.

I'm trying to sign a client. I'm trying to have a certain conversation, and they keep taking the reins from me somehow, or they keep asking a million questions. And I remember one instance of this very, very well. I was talking to a woman that I met at the farmer's market, and we are going back years and years and years, like 2009.

I was a brand new health coach, and she was that type who had a zillion health problems. Been to lots of doctors. She was coming to me. I don't know why she came to me at all. I think she just wanted to. Talk. You know, she had a lot of negativity, and she had this assumption that because I was just a health coach, I could not help her.

That's not a great way to go into a call like this. She kept asking about my credentials. She kept telling me how complicated her problems were, and like, if I had had the right application upfront, we never would've had this session at all. So remember, get that application template. It's at HealthCoachPower.com/Application.

Also, if I had any idea back then how to actually run the session, I would've had an exit strategy as soon as I realized she wasn't a good fit for me. All that sounds good? We have an application. We need to know how to run the call. We need an exit strategy. Oh my gosh. There's a lot that goes into, it's like an art and a science to hold the holding these calls successfully.

So let's move on to mistake number three, and this is when you talk about your offer too soon in the process. I mean, obviously you're going to have to talk about it, but it can be sneaky the way this happens. Like, sometimes somebody's gonna send you an email, a dm, and they're just gonna be like, point blank.

What are your prices? How much does it cost to work with you? Or maybe you're inside a discovery call with someone, and the first thing outta their mouth is, how much does it cost? Okay. Okay, we're gonna get there. But you got other things to talk about first, right? There is an order to how you wanna hold this conversation.

So those would be examples of bringing up coaching package details too early. After all, you might talk with someone, and this happens all the time, or even just review their application and realize, Nope. This is not a fit, in which case, that person's never gonna be offered your program at all. Therefore, you don't need to discuss pricing with them.

And if you're on a call with somebody who you think could be a good client, you're not sure yet. You're in the middle of that interviewing process. And if they suddenly ask about the money and you say, oh, it's a thousand dollars, and you say that too soon in the call, it gets heavy real quick. You know, it's like proposing marriage before the first date is over.

You probably don't even know yet if you wanna work with them. They do not see the value yet, 'cause you haven't gotten to that part of the call, and they're still feeling you out. Here's the worst part, though. You just allowed someone when you share your prices too soon, and yes, I'm talking about putting them on your website as well.

Some people disagree with me here. I've been doing this a long time. When you share your pricing, first you allow someone to make a snap decision that this amount of money. Whatever that amount is, is too much, and they're basing that on whatever their preconceived ideas are about what health coaching is, what your value is, they don't actually know, or maybe it's not about the money.

Maybe they're like, oh, three months is too long, whatever. Giving them details that can distract them, that's a big mistake. We don't wanna get there too soon, so the details of your offer should come later, after they've had a chance to fully understand how you can help them. Even when sharing about your program on a call like this, you don't have to get into like the nitty-gritty details.

I mean, yeah, you're gonna have to tell them how much it costs, but you don't have to get into like, oh, the sessions are 60 minutes, or they're 45 minutes, or they're every other week. Like no one ever said yes because the sessions were 60 minutes versus 45 minutes. That doesn't matter. Or if you're like, oh, I'm gonna give you worksheets.

No one cares at this point. Like those details can all come later after they've agreed to the big picture. And the big picture is that they want to work with you. They want your help to solve their problem, and they're ready to pay. Like, boom, that's where we're headed. That's the main thing. So don't over-explain every little detail.

Trust me that the order matters. The elements in this call, what you're gonna talk about, it matters. And when you nail this, it's like, yes, it's such a good feeling. Health coaches in my community who have used this method, and I've been teaching it for years, and some of my larger programs, health coaches absolutely love this recipe.

It's a recipe just like how to bake chocolate chip cookies. You know, you need certain ingredients. You have to do it in a certain order. I'm teaching this for the first time inside. Get the yes as a standalone workshop, and by following this process or this recipe, you can bypass all the mistakes that we talked about today and more.

So if you wanna get started with powerful, effective discovery calls. First, I wanna encourage you to download the free client application, and that's at HealthCoachPower.com/Application. And when you do that, I'll get you more details about the Get the Yes workshop. And I'll see you all next week. Take care, everybody.

Thank you so much for listening to the Health Coach Power Community podcast. Please take a moment, leave a written review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us reach more coaches and allows me to bring you this free content every week to join us live. Ask your questions and have a direct line to me. Join our free Facebook group at HealthCoachPowerCommunity.com.