{"type":"video","version":"1.0","html":"","height":864,"width":1152,"provider_name":"Loom","provider_url":"https://www.loom.com","thumbnail_height":864,"thumbnail_width":1152,"thumbnail_url":"https://cdn.loom.com/sessions/thumbnails/9ca6eaee60784d4e82dcf95bfe9c7f24-1655924222593.gif","duration":320,"title":"How to Run Your First Client Discovery Call as a Freelancer","description":"Welcome to Pangea Academy. Here's how to run your first discovery call as a freelancer.\n\nA client discovery call is an opportunity to hop on a video or phone call with a potential client to get a better understanding of their needs and how your services as a freelancer could help.\n\nIn a traditional role, this would be called an interview, but in the freelance world, it's typically called a discovery call. The main difference is that discovery calls are more conversational.\n\nIn an interview, you're typically showing up for the interviewer to kind of quiz you. \n In a discovery call, it's more of a back and forth conversation between you and the client to decide if it's a mutual fit.\n\nDiscovery calls can vary in what they actually look like, but you should be able to leave the discovery call with the ability to answer the following three questions:\nWhat services is the client looking for? Do I think working with this client would be a mutual fit.? And when am I following up with the client?\n\nDiscovery calls tend to take around 15 to 20 minutes, but in the beginning you may find that they take more around 30 minutes. This is normal. As you get more practice in, you'll become more efficient at running them.\n\nLeading a discovery call will take place in eight steps that we'll break down on the following slides.\n\nStep one is a standard grading. Like you would open up any other call, make sure you actually greet the client. It can be casual, like a, \"Hey, how are you doing?\" \"Hey, happy Tuesday. How's your day been so far?\" It doesn't have to be anything super formal. Just make sure you greet the client before you actually dive into the questions.\n\nStep two is to prompt the client to start the conversation. You want them to feel heard, so you want to open it up by asking them to share a bit about themselves. This can look like, \"Can you tell me a bit about yourself, your business and what you're looking for and potentially working together?\"\n\nMake sure as they're speaking that you're taking notes, but make sure you're also paying attention to what they're saying. You don't want to be head down, not looking at the screen while they're talking, so try to find a balance between the two.\n\nStep three is to thank them for sharing and reiterate a bit of what they said.\nSo for example, the client might say, \"my business really took off in 2020, which was great, but I haven't been able to keep up with everything, especially my Facebook. I see all the other local businesses around me doing all sorts of marketing efforts on Facebook, but I just can't find time for it nor do I understand it. I definitely need someone to take care of it because I just don't have time for it.\"\n\nNotice the words that are in bold. Those are the things that you want to make sure you respond to and show your empathy with. So you might say \"thank you for sharing all this with me. I can totally understand how overwhelming it can be to keep up with all the different aspects of your business.\"\n\nStep four is to explain why you're a good fit to work with them then ask any clarifying questions. So you might follow up that by saying \"you're certainly not alone in finding it challenging to keep up. I've been able to help my clients find relief from similar struggles. As a follow-up question, are you looking for a more done-for-you-style service or something that allows you to have more control over what content goes out?\"\n\nRemember, the client doesn't need to be convinced of the service that they're inquiring about. They need to be convinced that you are the right person to do it, right? So in this scenario, the person knows they need help with their Facebook. You don't have to convince them that they need a social media manager to help with their Facebook. It's your job to get them to feel that you are the right person to help them with that.\n\nStep five is to let the client respond, then share your service as a solution.\nSo the client might say, \"I'm definitely looking for more done-for-you-style service. I do want to see the posts before they go up, but I'd like something that allows me to be less involved in the process so I can focus on the other aspects of the business.\" And in response you might say \"absolutely. Well with that in mind,\nI think you would really love my Facebook Marketing 1 package. It's a complete done-for-you Facebook management package. Everything from researching post ideas, to writing the captions, to making the graphics, to engaging with customers in the comments is all taken care of.\"\n\nStep six is to ask if they have any questions. Make sure that you're prepared to actually answer their questions, but also know that if you don't know the answer to a question, it's completely okay to say, \"you know what? I'm not sure on that, but I'll follow up with you after this call with an answer.\"\n\nStep seven is to book the service or offer to follow up later. If the client is ready to book, book the service on the call. But if the client seems like they want more time to think about it, that's okay. They might be having discovery calls with more than one freelancer, so just thank them for meeting with you and let them know that you'll be following up with them after the call with more information.\n\nAnd step eight is to actually follow up. Always follow up after a discovery call and do it promptly. You don't want clients to forget about you. Send them any information they requested. This might be things like your packages or more information about your rates.\n\nSo to recap, a discovery call is your opportunity to understand what problem the prospective client is having and pitch your services as a solution. Remember preparation and practice are key."}