I want to share how I handle my discovery calls, since I often get asked by coaches how they should do theirs. 

This is by no means the only way to do them.

Different methods work for others, I've just found that this works for me (and works for most of the coaches that I help). 

My discovery calls (or "strategy sessions", as I call them) are just 30 minutes MAX. Nowadays I wrap many of them up in just 15 to 20 minutes. 

I'm not a fan of the two or three hour deep dive calls.  I know there are coaches who use this approach, but I think that the results are questionable if someone has no skin in the game (assuming they aren't paying for the call), and it's a ton of time invested by the coach. 

I'd rather you spend those hours prospecting people who are willing to pay you for what you do instead of burning out on free coaching calls. 

The goal of my discovery calls/strategy sessions is to see what the person's challenges are, and if I can help them going forward. I'll give some tips and advice, of course, but these aren't brain-picking sessions. 

I don't charge for my calls, but I do make people jump through some hoops to get on the line with me.  

That hoop is an application form on my website.  It's about 10 questions to learn more about the person before the call.

If someone isn't willing to take a few minutes to fill it out, I'm not going to waste my time talking with them. 

If you want to check out the application form, or book a call with me to chat about growing your coaching business, here's the link: 

Cheers,

Marc