Best Practices for Discovery Sessions

Many health and wellness practitioners include a discovery call within their list of offerings, which can be a beneficial experience for both the client and practitioner. Think of it as an opportunity to get to know your client and their health goals, as well as a chance to introduce yourself and share what you offer. Discovery sessions give clients a taste of what it would be like to invest in your services and the type of care you can provide for them.

This first touchpoint with a prospective client is your chance to turn those who have expressed interest into paying clients, which oftentimes can happen during the discovery session itself! The best client outcomes are often a direct result of a great fit between the patient and practitioner.

Prepping for Your Discovery Session: How to Structure Your Calls

Firstly, you’ll need to decide how you want to offer these sessions to your clients. Practice Better offers the ability to select how you will conduct the session, either in person, by phone call, or over a  video meeting. Next, you’ll need to determine the time you can dedicate to a discovery session. How long will it take to get the necessary information from the prospective client, introduce yourself and sell your services? As discovery sessions are typically a free offering, it’s common for these types of appointments to be run for 15 minutes – 30 minutes.

It may be beneficial to map out the call with time cues so you know what to focus on and roughly how long to spend on each section of the call. Create a guided timeline to help you stay on track during the duration of your call.

During the call, you’ll likely want to take notes. Setting up a note template that includes marked time stamps as well as prompt questions can help you create the framework to easily record information during the session. Prompt questions will allow you to guide the conversation and ensure you are sticking to the allotted time. If the prospective client does go on to book future appointments with you, you’ll already have a client record including the history of the discovery call in the Practice Better platform. A note template will ensure consistency with each discovery call to ensure you are capturing the same important information from each session.

Conducting the Session

1. Introduce Yourself

At the beginning of the session, you’ll likely want to Introduce yourself to the client and give them insight into how you work. As this may be their first time interacting with you, it’s your chance to leave a positive impression.

2. Focus On the Client’s Goals

Strive to hit a balance between learning enough about the client, while also keeping the conversation high level enough to ensure you are respecting the time parameters you’ve set and to avoid giving away too much information for free. You can dig deeper and connect all the pieces, as well as start to put together a protocol of steps they can take to uplevel their health in their initial consultation.

3. Guide the Conversation

Use the prompt questions from the note template and guide the conversation. Since you are working within a relatively short time frame with a lot of ground to cover, it’s important to keep the conversation on track. Consider mentioning at the beginning of the call that you’ll be running them through some guided questions. Prompting the questions will ensure you get the information you need and minimize the chance of the conversation heading in a direction that takes up too much time.

4. Share Your Offering

What do you do and how do you do it? Include a recommendation of what service you think would be most beneficial to the prospective client and be sure to include how you intend to provide support and accountability. This can be as important as what you actually offer as far as your client’s overall experience and success when working with you.

5. Deliver Next Steps

If throughout the conversation, you determine there is a good fit between you and the prospective client, it’s now time to share the next steps to working with you. You have a unique opportunity in a discovery session to sell directly to the client based on their unique needs. You’ve now taken the time to listen to their concerns and goals in their own language which allows you the benefit of sharing how you can help in a way that resonates with them. What is the best next step for them to take to work towards achieving their goals? Invite them to secure a spot on your calendar, put down a deposit or share payment options with them.

6. Follow Up With the Client

Plan to touch base with clients who need a bit of time to think over the decision of working together.  When conversing with the client during the discovery session, listen carefully for any objections or hesitations they share along the way. This may sound like subtle comments regarding price, time, commitment, or something similar. Paying attention to these hesitations will allow you to offer solutions to their objections when it comes time to sell your services. Following up will allow you the chance to handle any last-minute objections that are holding a client back from making the decision to take the next step.

Discovery calls are an opportunity to make sure there is the right fit between you and the client. During this session, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with your client, and set the stage for what working together will look like. Vetting for the right fit will make for a more efficient, seamless experience working together as you now have an understanding of their needs. Great client experiences lead to a better chance of a great outcome and word of mouth referrals, helping your business gain exposure and paving the way for growth.

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Practice Better is the complete practice management platform for nutritionists, dietitians, and wellness professionals. Streamline your practice and begin your 14-day free trial today.