You Booked Your First Call — Now What?
Getting your first few client calls can be exciting, until their video comes on and it's actually time to do this thing. Here's the playbook I use.
Ok, admittedly, “playbook” makes it sound like I’ve got some big plan going into each client call.
I don’t.
I have some general ideas about what works, what doesn’t, and what I absolutely don’t do on calls anymore —because I’ve paid the price.
Is this going to be “the best, foolproof method for turning a prospecting call into a full client?” No.
Like anything else I’m writing in this newsletter, I can only promise to share what I do and what I’ve learned. I won’t give you something that comes out of a book I read or a course I took unless I’ve tried it first and can tell you whether it works or not.
So first off, here’s what a call with a prospective client usually looks like when you’re starting out.
You both greet each other a bit awkwardly.
You’re asked to share a bit of your background, your expertise, and maybe even a fun fact or two.
You’ll be told about the company, when it was founded, and what the person you’re talking to does there.
You’ll get a general sense of why this potential client reached out to you and what they need.
You’ll confirm whether that’s something you can do or not.
They’ll ask for an estimate of how much your services cost.
You’ll give it to them.
The call usually ends here, usually with a promise of a follow-up.
Now sometimes that call leads to a new client. Sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve had more than a few calls go exactly like this, and I’d say more than half the time it gets me a client.
But there are a few things I usually do to make these calls a bit smoother—and increase the chance I don’t just get a new client but a great new client.
Do some prep work
I used to show up to these calls completely unprepared. Why do any research if I can just ask a potential client any questions I have on the call? I did this for job interviews too.
I didn’t do very well in most of job interviews.
Turns out, you can answer a lot of those questions with just a little bit of preemptive research. Google them, review their content, and get a look at their competition. That kind of prep work means your calls can focus more on things you can’t answer on your own. It’ll also give you a better baseline to figure out if this potential client is a good match.
Have a plan going in
You don’t have to stick to a strict process for every call—and you’ll often need to adapt—but you should know what questions you need to hit on your call.
I’ve done enough calls now that I have a pretty good idea what to do. But you can bet I wrote down a list of things to cover before those first few calls. I didn’t always use it all the way through, but it was a good reference point.
Get a clear idea of what they need
No, “writing” or “design” isn’t good enough.
Some of my first client calls essentially boiled down to “Hey, I heard you’re a writer, can you help us?” and “Yep, I sure am, and can definitely do that.”
Now, I make sure I’m a lot more precise. I ask them what kind of writing they need, the cadence they’re looking for, and how long of a relationship they’re looking for.
That way, they’ll know if I’m the best writer for their needs, and I’ll know exactly what they need.
Ask them how they found you
You don’t have to do this on every call, but it’s especially useful early in your career when you don’t have a lot of data on how you can get prospects.
When I started out, most of my early clients came through networking (i.e. someone in my network was asked to recommend a writer and they recommended me). Now, I have a tiny bit of visibility in other places that can bring in potential clients. So it’s a good question to ask.
Don’t discuss prices on the call
This is probably the biggest mistake I kept making on those early calls, and in the long run it can be pretty costly. You feel like you’re being helpful. Your client asks how much you charge, you go “uuuh” for a bit before rattling off a few prices, a range, or even just a single number.
Every time I’ve done this, I’ve under-charged.
Now I have a rates sheet I can use as a reference point, but even better, if I’m asked about prices I tell the prospect I’ll get back to them with a quote.
That lets me ensure I’m giving a price that’s appropriate for what I can do and what the client needs.
And that’s it! That’s my big advice for getting more out of your prospect calls. Less back-and-forth, a better idea of what they need and what you can do for them.
Try these tips out! And if you ever run into a weird situation on a call, I’d love to hear about it, so reach out and let me know!