11 Simple Tricks to Book More Discovery Calls

What is your best piece of advice to book more discovery calls?  

 To help you book more discovery calls from prospects, we asked marketing professionals and business leaders this question for their best advice. From leveraging your LinkedIn network to hooking prospects with stories of customer success, there are several ideas that you may put into practice to book more discovery calls and win over potential customers. Your sales process can only benefit from exploring these strategies. 

 Here are 11 tips these leaders follow to book more discovery calls:

• Leverage Your Linkedin Network 
•  Send Emails to a Targeted List of People You Have Already Interacted With 
•  Include a Link to Book a Call on Your Social Media Page 
•  Offer Shorter Calls 
•  Ask Current Customers For Referrals  
•  Put Out More Calls to Action 
•  Have Quality Content on Your Website to Attract Leads 
•  Send More Outreach 
•  Offer Something in Return 
•  Display a Booking Link in Emails
• Hook Prospects With Relevant Customer Success

Leverage Your Linkedin Network

Asking your LinkedIn network for referrals is a great way to book more calls. When you ask for referrals from your LinkedIn network, you are asking people who already know, like, and trust you to introduce you to their own contacts. This can be an extremely effective way to book more calls, allowing you to tap into your LinkedIn network's extended network. However, it is important to remember that first impressions matter. Before asking for referrals, ensure your LinkedIn profile is complete and up-to-date. An excellent profile will make a great first impression on potential new contacts and increase the likelihood that they will be willing to connect with you. 

 Michael Sena, Founder & CEO, SENACEA

Send Emails to a Targeted List of People You Have Already Interacted With

Create a targeted email list of people whom you have interacted with on a professional level but have not yet booked a discovery call. An easy way to do this is through LinkedIn because you can find out most people's email addresses through this platform. Then, send an email to these people reminding them of your services. This is an effective way to get in front of more people with your sales discovery call booking link. 

 Nick Shackelford, Managing Partner, Structured Agency

Include a Link to Book a Call on Your Social Media Page

Though you know you offer the service, don’t assume everyone is aware of that fact, so restructuring your social media profiles to showcase your discovery call options is critical to acquire additional bookings. Many if not most clients search social media to look for business information and outreach options, so making it easier for people to contact you is the best way to encourage further engagement. By going through your social media profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Business, and adding a prominent link along with a call to action, you can have a dramatic impact on your number of bookings. In addition, adding a banner that clearly states your offer can be eye-catching as well and drive engagement. By modifying your social media profile to include a discovery call option, you make it effortless for the client to reach you and greatly increase your chances that they will book a call. 

 Adelle Archer, CEO & Co-Founder, Eterneva

Offer Shorter Calls

Long, in-depth discovery calls can be intimidating for prospects. No one wants to jump on a 30- or 45-minute long call with someone they barely know and hear a lengthy, drawn out pitch. So, if you’re suggesting 30+ minute calls to prospects, it could be holding you back. 

 My best advice is limit calls to 15 minutes max, and if you are confident enough that you can get the info you need and make your pitch in under 10 minutes, that’s even better. 10 -15 minute calls are far less intimidating to prospects, as it’s a quick and easy conversation. It’s a small investment of time on their side and they have little to lose. Whatever appointment scheduling software you use, set your default appointments to 10 or 15 minutes. That way, when you shoot a prospect a link to grab a time on your calendar, there’s a better chance you’ll both have an open slot, and they won’t be nervous about booking a quick call. 

 John Ross,  Chief Executive Officer, Test Prep Insight

Ask Current Customers For Referrals 

Though it seems like a no-brainer it is shocking how few businesses will ask their clients for referrals when it should be their go-to strategy to book more discovery calls. Social proof remains one of the best tools for effective marketing and conversions, and few things are as convincing to a potential new customer than the praise of an old one. 

 By making a list of your most satisfied clients, and then asking if they have referrals, you will be pleasantly surprised by how willing they are to provide you with that information. In addition, your current customers will often know others with the same needs, which will also help you hyper-personalize your pitch. In asking your current satisfied customers, you will be playing into their desire to help others out, and book more discovery calls in the process. 

Matt Miller, Founder & CEO, Embroker

Put Out More Calls to Action

How can you expect to book discovery calls if you aren't constantly promoting and putting out well-structured calls to action!? Many times people don't book appointments or reach out because they simply do not know how to or are unaware that the business that can solve their problems is right in front of them. Having a social media presence allows for unlimited promotion and at the base, costs absolutely nothing. Promote! Promote! Promote! 

 Isaac Mashman, Founder, Mashman Ventures 

 Action's required on your side as well. Make sure you've designed a thorough sales discovery process. Have discovery call questions prepared to make the most of your time in conversation. If you can, develop a complete discovery call script. Explore your prospect's pain points and fit your product or service to their needs. Set the entire process down in a discovery call checklist.

Have Quality Content on Your Website to Attract Leads

The best way that our business has found to book more discovery calls is by having high-quality content on our site that demonstrates our value in a non-sales-focused manner. This has led to an uptick in our overall discovery calls as a result, because potential customers can clearly see that we are experts in our niche and that we care about making their lives easier. Nobody wants to be given a hard sell - business decision makers want to be given information on a topic, with external references that they can review, and then ultimately decide whether a site has the expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. 

 Wendy Makinson, HR Manager, Joloda Hydraroll 

 Sales discovery calls can come to you, but only if you put breadcrumbs of content out to attract the birds. The more content you produce and share, the better your search rankings will be as well.

Send More Outreach

I know it's kind of cheeky but it's the truth. If you send a single email to ten prospects, you'll book a single call if you're lucky. If you send three emails in a sequence to ten prospects, you'll likely get one or two bookings. If you can send three emails in a sequence to one hundred prospects, you're guaranteed to get a few bookings. The truth is that most brands don't have a product quality problem. They have a distribution problem. They're not able to get their service in front of enough eyeballs. That's why influencers are in such high demand. They control the eyeballs. So, increase your volume and keep the quality consistent. You'll reap the rewards. 

 Daniel Ndukwu, CMO/CoFounder, UsefulPDF 

 A successful discovery call doesn't happen by accident. It takes preparation and proactive movement. Make sure your sales reps are getting the word out.

Offer Something in Return

People or "Customers" love free things or at a discounted rate. This includes physical assets to online services. In my experience, if you want to compel your ideal customer to book a discovery call, you need to make sure that their time is not wasted on the call. Simply speaking, offer something in return. How? Let me explain it with an example.  

 At our agency, we wanted to increase the number of leads via a discovery call. Why? Because we came to know that people who called directly are serious, showed promise, and are likely to convert. So, we started an offer: "Call us to get a free analysis of Your Current Marketing Strategy," We also subtly mentioned that this free analysis was worth 120$ (Appx:10000 INR). And as per our expectation, this strategy worked. We started getting lots of discovery calls. Within the 1st month, we managed to increase the number of calls to 40%. 

 Sangeeta Kumar, Vice President - Marketing, Healthcare DMS

Display a Booking Link in Emails

Include a link to book a discovery call with you in the signature section of your emails. This way, anytime you email someone, you will always remind them of this option. Furthermore, even if the person you email does not wish to engage in a discovery call with you, they may know someone who might. Displaying your discovery call booking link as much as possible will help you acquire more leads. 

 Nancy Eichler, Senior Vice President of Marketing & eCommerce, iwi life

Hook Prospects With Relevant Customer Success

If you're looking to book more discovery calls, hook your prospects with a one-liner that resonates with them. Share how one of your customers, similar to your prospect, is finding success with your solution. The success stories can come in the form of a testimonial, an excerpt from a case study, or a user review. Ultimately, buyers don't want to hear from you - they want to hear from your customers. Use the customer voice as social proof to compel prospects to buy. 

 Joe Kevens, Founder and Director of Demand Gen, B2B SaaS Reviews (and PartnerStack) 

 Great discovery calls are possible when you offer your prospects a full picture of what their time with you will look like. Follow them along their buyer's journey and offer great service at each turn. Have your sales team judge initial interest and then pursue the sales opportunity with appropriate rigor. Successful discovery calls happen all the time. Start making each one a great discovery call for you.