Amanda McVicker 0:00
Hello, and welcome to today's episode of The OBM Educator. So I don't know about you, but October has been one of the craziest months of this year, which is shown by the fact that we are at the end of the month right now. And the last episode of The OBM Educator that came out was at the beginning of October.
So fair to say it has been a very crazy month and my plans have gone a little bit to the wayside. And so if you listened to the last episode of The OBM Educator, we were starting a series, right? The OBM CEO Blueprint Series, where we were going to, we're talking about creating a client-ready backend, and then going into discovery calls and onboarding clients, and then talking about boundaries. And so these are still very important topics.
I will be talking about them in this series, but something that I had mentioned was that this was all leading to a challenge that I was going to be doing in October. And so obviously that is no longer happening, because it would have been last week. This is an important lesson, I think.
And I think that you could probably take a lesson from this, kind of no matter where you are in your business, of just being true with yourself about your capacity and what you can take on. But then also what is actually going to not only move your business forward, but actually bring you joy. There's so much about business that in the decisions that you make, you want to make sure that you are actually enjoying what you do, right? And I know I would have enjoyed the challenge.
I know that it would have been great and really helpful for a lot of people. But where I was this month, and just the amount of things, I don't think that I could have completely had joy in it just because of everything else going on. So this is your permission.
If there is something that you feel like, oh, I should do this, but you really don't want to, this is your business and you don't have to do anything you don't want to, right? So we're going to continue on with the series today. So today we're going to be talking about getting booked. And so this is going to be the discovery call and getting a client to say yes side of things.
So whether you call it like a discovery call, sales call, clarity call, whatever, this is going to be about that call that you take to see if a client is right for you and if you're right for a client and then how you get them to want to work with you, right? Like what are the things that you can do to make it more likely that they will say yes. So we are going to be getting into that because it is a super important topic. So let's get into it.
Welcome to The OBM Educator. I'm your host, Amanda McVicker, a veteran OBM who serves six and seven figure entrepreneurs, as well as educates new OBMs with the skills and competence they need to start and grow their own successful online business management business. Follow along as I share valuable insights, behind the scenes, sneak peeks, and proven strategies to help you build a better OBM business.
So let's talk about discovery calls. I'm actually kind of surprised that up to this point, I have not had a podcast episode to discuss discovery calls because I do feel like they such an important part of your OBM business, especially as you're getting started because for a lot of people, myself included, especially in the beginning, find them nerve wracking. They get nervous, they overthink things, and it becomes a thing that they're dreading instead of something that they are excited about, something that can help grow their business.
And, you know, even if you are a VA currently or, you know, wanting to start a business, but maybe not necessarily at OBM, the tips for these discovery calls are universal, and they can help you in becoming more confident in your discovery call approach. And so a big part of what is going to make you feel better about doing discovery calls is preparation. Before a discovery call, you want to kind of, you want to know a lot about the person that you're about to get on a call with.
And so this is going to start with like a lead form, right? Whether it's you have them book a call and then fill out a lead form or fill out a lead form and then book a call, you want to get that information ahead of time. You want to know going into the call, what is it that they're looking for? I love asking like, what do you love about your business? What do you not like about your business? What do you not like doing? What brought you to the point of saying, yes, I need an OBM? What are you nervous about when it comes to hiring an OBM? Well, you know, do you have team currently or what has been your experience hiring team, right? Like a lot of questions, but having that information is going to be really helpful so that when you get on the call, you are able to really go deep into what matters. And so the preparation piece is super important, having a lead questionnaire or something like that.
And then once you get that questionnaire, you want to take some time to research. You want to research this potential client. You want to look at their website.
You want to look at their socials. You want to look at their offerings, at their podcasts. You like look at whatever it is that you can to get a good idea of the type of business this client has, right? You're obviously not going to learn everything about them, but if you can get like some simple information from your research to then drop into the call, it is going to one, make you look so prepared and so professional.
And my gosh, they know all of this stuff about me already. Like they must, you know, they must be good, right? Like there's that piece, but then it's also going to help you come up with the questions that you're going to ask. And that's the next part.
So once you have done your research, you know, start drafting some questions. Like what comes to you naturally? What are you naturally curious about when you see their business and their questionnaire that you're like, well, I wonder how they do this, or, you know, have you thought about doing this or what are your struggles when it comes to XYZ, right? What are you naturally curious about from the mind of an OBM? So, and, and write those things down. You can have standard questions that you ask every discovery call.
And I, you know, I kind of encourage it because there are going to be things that you personally want to know, but I would also leave room for those personalized questions. Those questions that are only for that business that is going to help give you like a better insight into what it is that they do, what they need, all of that. And then this next part is optional, I guess, um, if you want it to be optional, but I always found it helpful is that, especially if I was nervous before a call, I would take five minutes before the call and do some mindset work.
So I would do some affirmations, I would do some gratitudes, and then I would put on some like pump up music. Um, I'm pretty sure I used to do Britney Spears stronger and then would just kind of let whatever Spotify wanted the next song to be and let that play until it was time for the call. But I was able to kind of like put myself up, get into a mood.
And that energy carried through when I got on the call. So when you get on the call, right, you have your questions, you have your notes about their business, and you know, you're going to be taking notes. So now this next part is how you actually conduct a discovery call.
And this is the biggest, biggest, biggest, biggest piece of advice that I have when it comes to conducting discovery calls as an OBM. And that is to take control from the get go, right? You are the one leading this call. It is not an interview.
It is not their call. It is your call. You are the one who is going to be setting the tone.
You are the one who's going to be leading, asking the questions, giving them the opportunity to ask their questions. And then you're going to be the one talking about next steps. So this is going to do a few things.
One is going to make sure that everything you need to talk about gets talked about, right? They're not taking over the call. They're not rambling on and on about things that really are not pertinent to the situation. You are taking ownership and leadership to make sure that you get the information you need.
So that's the first thing. The second thing is, this is going to mirror the OBM client relationship, right? As an OBM, you are not your client's employee. And I wouldn't even think of it necessarily as you're your client's contractor, right? You think of it as your client is your client.
You are the person leading your client. And so just like in team meetings, you're going to be the one leading. You're going to be the one guiding them of what needs to be done and when and all of that.
In the discovery call, you're leading. You are showing your leadership. And I will be honest, sometimes at the beginning, it can be a little awkward, right? Because there is usually some type of small talk, right? You need to let it go for some amount of time, a couple minutes, a minute or two.
And then you need to take leadership. You need to be like, so I'm so glad that you booked this call. I'm so glad that we get the opportunity to talk about your needs in your business and to the potential of us working together, right? It's a sales call.
There's no illusions about, well, you know, am I trying to pitch you or not, right? Like this is a sales call. So talking about the potential of working together, this is how I always start mine. You know, I say, so this is how the call is going to go.
I'm going to ask the questions that I have and then give you the opportunity to ask whatever questions you have. And then at the end, we can talk about next steps and go from there. Does that sound good? Right? So this is going to be doing a couple of things, right? It's laying out the timeline of the call.
They know what to expect and when, and it's also getting their buy-in, right? When you ask, does that sound good? Their response of, yeah, no, that's great. And then they're bought in on your leadership. So then you go through your questions, take notes, take as many notes as you can, right? All of that information is going to be good information for what comes after.
And then let them ask their questions, take notes from that. You know, a lot of the times it's going to be some standard, how is it that you work? What are your packages? What's your rate? Like all of that stuff. But there might be some other things that are like a bit more specific to you or specific to them.
And so make sure to answer those. And then when it gets to the talking about the next steps, so you could have either given them the information beforehand. I personally have always had it on my website, what my pricing is.
And so when someone gets on a call with me, they know what my pricing is. And I just kind of review it with them. And I, in my discovery call questionnaire, I ask them if they are ready for that level of investment.
And so if they say no, then we don't have the call, right? You know, tell them, hey, it looks like this might not be in your budget. You know, do you want to talk about that? Versus if they're like, yes, ready to go, then I know that that's just something at the end that we can confirm all of that. So when you get to the end and you're talking about next steps, depending on how it is that you have packages, I would make a recommendation.
So usually I can kind of see how many hours would be needed for a client based on the questionnaire and the discovery call. And I use 20 as a baseline. If it looks like it's going to be a lot of work, I'll go up to 30.
And if it looks like it might not be as much, I'll go down to 15. And that's usually my minimum. But I usually start at 20.
And so I talk to them. I'm like, okay, so I work on an hourly retainer basis. You know, we, you would be able to get a package of up to 20 hours.
It would be $1,800 a month. You know, that's going to include list out all your services, or, you know, just kind of a brief overview if you want. And if there's anything that they've talked about that you're like, well, I don't do that, you know, social media being a big one for a lot of people is like, well, I don't, you know, create social media or anything.
I'm happy to help you put together a content calendar. I can help schedule things like that. I'm just not writing all the posts and creating all the graphics.
So that's what you use that time for to kind of go over that packaging, and then asking them their thoughts. And they might need to go and review it on their own. They might ask you to send a proposal.
And, you know, you could also do send all of this as a proposal if you wanted, and then give them a timeline of what the next steps are. So if you're going to, you know, you go over everything and you're saying, I'm going to send a follow-up email with all of this information. When can I expect to hear from you? Or when do you think you're going to be making a decision? Right? Sometimes they are having multiple calls with people, right? They're having other discovery calls.
And so they'll say, well, I have a call this week and next week, and, you know, I'm going to be making my decision later next week. And so you'll hear from me then and just make a note of whenever that is. If they're saying, well, I'll think about it and I'll get back to you, then you can, you know, either be like, okay, sounds great.
Or you could say, okay, well, I'll reach out next week. If I haven't heard anything from you, because that's going to get into the next part, which is the follow-up. So then you get off the call, you do a little happy dance because you made it through.
And then you send the follow-up email. So I liked, you know, just doing an email. Thank you so much for your time.
It was great learning about your business and learning more about you. I think that we could work well together because of XYZ. I'm particularly excited about blah, blah, blah.
And, you know, and as a recap, here are my packages. Let me know if you have any questions and then send that. If you wanted to do a full proposal, you could do something like that, you know, a Google doc or through Dubsado or HoneyBook or something like that.
I don't think that that's as necessary in the online space, but maybe in other industries and niches, depending on the type of clients that could be something that you do that just kind of puts it over the top. So then when you're waiting to hear, you don't want to just assume that if they have not gotten back to you, that that means that they're not going with you, right? Chances are, if they are looking at hiring an OBM, they're very busy in their world. And so they might just need like that nudge.
Now, I'll be honest, some of them might just ghost you and decide not to give you an answer one way or another, but it still is worth it to follow up with them to see, can I answer any questions for you? Have you made a decision? You know, just checking in type thing. And I would follow up a couple times over the course of a couple of weeks if you haven't heard back before writing it off completely. Something that I would be careful of is the type of client who wants to get on multiple calls with you before saying yes.
Now there are some instances where they, maybe they talked with another person and it raised a few more questions, or they were just thinking about something else and wanted to run something by you. But if a potential client is getting on two, three, four discovery calls with you and not making a decision, I would consider that a red flag. That is a client who is probably going to be very micromanaging and nitpicky about deadlines, boundaries, turnaround times, things like that.
It kind of just shows like a lack of respect for your time. And that does carry through to the OBM client relationship. One last important thing that I do want to mention just about kind of like the discovery call in general is, remember I did say it's not an interview, but it is an opportunity for you to see if you like this client, right? Just because you have a discovery call with a potential client does not mean that you have to take that potential client.
Use that call to realize if it feels like a good fit. Because you might get on a call and realize like, this is not a person that I want to work with. Or you might see some red flags that you kind of want to explore a little to be like, okay, what, what's going on here? Be observant during the call for those things.
How do they talk about past team members? How do they talk about the work that they do? Is it all very urgent, urgent, urgent, last minute stuff all the time? And does that go with what you're wanting your business to be like? So you want to make sure like you are analyzing what they're saying just as much as they're analyzing what you're saying. So I hope this was helpful for you as you're, you know, looking at discovery calls and how to lead them like as OBM, like a CEO of your business. Next week, we're going to wrap up the series talking about boundaries, which is always one that even today, I'm, I'm a lot better at boundaries than I used to be, but it's still hard.
And so we're going to talk about some ways to protect our boundaries and, you know, establish them for our clients. So I hope you'll tune in and I will talk with y'all next week. Bye.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The OBM Educator. I hope what you heard today is helpful for you on your OBM journey. If you loved today's episode, I would so appreciate you sharing it and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Want to be a guest on The OBM Educator? Fill out the form in the show notes and I'll be in touch. Join us next time on The OBM Educator.
