Getting clients for creatives the final day of the series: I want to talk about the initial discovery ( sales ) call, per multiple requests from y’all. Arguably, the most stressful part of getting a new client because 😱😱 it forces us to speak about money. My favorite analogy to use in my design teaching is - a doctor’s visit. Think about your experience at that doctor’s visit, what happens? Despite our diagnosis the doctor always asks questions, they want to find out what happened, and how and learn your medical history. Then they schedule tests. Be the doctor. Here are some things ( in no particular order ) that have helped me master the discovery calls: The biggest thing you have to do before anything is VALUE yourself and your time. Treat your time like a rare commodity, because it is. Once you value yourself it will balance the scale for you. Make sure your buyer’s persona is well established before any calls take place that will eliminate people who do not qualify. Keep discovery calls to 30 mins max. Time is money Don’t look at sales calls as a process to quickly get a yes from a client… A sales call is a discovery session that allows you to see whether or not you guys are a good fit for each other. That’s it. Don’t be desperate. No matter how much you need this. Be calm, be cool. Don’t rush when you talk During the call, you should be doing only 10% of the actual talking. This is the time for the client to be heard. They want to be heard, trust me. If you want to win big accounts then ask big questions. Ask things like what brings you here? how can I help? what have you tried doing before to solve this? how did it go? why are you doing this now? what do you expect to get out of it? if it goes well what will it allow you to do next? if it goes wrong what effect will it have on your situation? The key here is to find out whether this is a big problem or a small problem. It will also help you find out whether or not it’s a big problem but the client thinks it’s a small thing. How much effort is the client willing to put into solving it? Then ask what criteria are used to identify the right partner for this solution. DO NOT: talk about solutions right away, do not say shit like oh yea we can help, we can do XYZ for you it will work….you do not know. even if you think you do, you don’t. Unless directly asked about your accreditation to solve this don’t mention it. If directly asked how to solve this you can do something like. I am not sure at the moment we would have to run some tests and do a deeper discovery, which I am happy to do so together, but until we get all the answers I can’t offer solutions, because that will do a huge disservice to both of us. Finally, once you understand the context you can ask about the cost. I say something along the lines of: So what are you prepared to invest for such a solution? More often than not they won’t share a price at which point you can say. It is too early to say but usually, something like that can cost between $ name highest price - $ name lowest price. Is that something that you are prepared to invest? PAUSE…do not say anything. This is where lots of people lose clients they are afraid of the pause and negotiate their way out of a sale by starting to say but we can do it for cheaper or we can meet your budgets…etc…sit with the silence. If the client says they need to think about it. You can say you should. It is a big investment and I don’t want you to rush into anything. Just out of curiosity though, what are some of the concerns you are having? Listen to what they say. Try to alleviate the issues. If they still need time to think, fine. don’t push but take the initiative to set up the next steps. You can say something like. Great, how about we schedule a follow-up at up same time in 3 days would that be enough time? If the client asks for a proposal, I usually say something like I only write proposals for people who agree to work with us. Proposals take time. I am curious about what would you like to see on the proposal that we haven’t covered yet. Sometimes they need proposals to share with a bigger team and have a chat. it’s normal. You can say something I can send you a quick email that summarizes our chat and I can add the estimated cost. Would that suffice? Try to avoid falling into the habit of writing proposals, unless they are ready to sign. The more you say NO to things the more likely they are to see you as an expert. You can’t win deals by saying YES to every demand. Don’t get too technical with the conversation. The client is stressed, they are looking for the least risky option to solve this. Your job is to put them at ease and to make them feel heard and seen. Ask a lot of WHYs. Why are you doing this? Why is this important? Why did you come to me? Why not someone else? Why do you feel this is the right solution? Why why why why… Please use human language. A lot of clients do not speak design, dev or tech lingo. Unless the client is proficient and looking for a tech solution, keep it human. Don’t use terms like design sprint, UVP, UX, UI, WordPress, or webflow…..keep it simple…website, business, customer happiness, process, workshop, interactive game…etc. As you are talking to them, listen to your gut. Do you see yourself working with this person? Does their personality and energy vibe with yours? Would you be excited to pick up a phone call on a Saturday morning from them? Don’t disregard those things just to win a few bucks. A happy collaboration produces stellar work. A shitty client produces headaches. Understand that you need each other. Clients have no power of you simply because they are the ones with the wallet. You are the one with expertise. They need you! Act like it. Be transparent. I always say from the start that hey for us to work together it is important that we vibe well and share the same vision. We are likely going to spend a few months together and i want those months to be filled with fun for us, not dread. Money does not buy that. Share some of the things you care for, and see if they share the same views. You are likely to win people over. Remember people buy with emotions, not logic. If they see a value in you they will find the money, no matter the price. There is a reason why broke people have the latest iPhones and sneakers. They find money for the things they want. Your job is not to convince, fool, or trick anyone into buying from you. Your job is to simply see whether or not this person is the person you want to work with and can afford your services or not. There are many nuances to sales calls, and a lot of it has to do with intuition and seeing the client’s energy and interest. But the gist of it is for you to qualify this person and make sure they see you as an expert, you have to win trust. I can go on indefinitely about this but I gotta wrap it up. Maybe I can do a live session where we chat more about this in-depth and maybe roleplay or answer your questions if there is interest. What are some of your favorite methods of closing a deal?