Does the idea of hopping on a sales call or discovery call give you sweaty palms and a racing heart?
Do you find yourself stuttering and stammering your way through your discovery sessions—especially the sales pitch part? All the while hoping that your prospective client doesn’t realize how very nervous you are?
We get it.
Selling your coaching and consulting offers on short Zoom calls to prospects can feel scary. It really doesn’t matter what type of coach or consultant you are: life coaches, health coaches, business coaches, personal trainers, self-publishing consultants… whatever your industry or niche and I’m willing to bet that discovery sessions (and how to do them right) keep you up at night.
Why is that? Simple. The possibility of rejection combined with the fear of sounding like a used car salesman is enough to make anyone want to upchuck their breakfast. And if you’re in a dry spell and you really need new coaching clients, the stakes are even higher.
(It’s even worse if you go into the call unprepared and try to wing it.)
That’s why sales coaching and sales scripts exist.
But not all sales training is created equal! A soulful sales script feels like a security blanket. It gives you the structure and guidance you need to sound confident, knowledgeable, and—dare we say it?—like the expert you already are!
The key word here is “soulful.” There are a lot of word-for-word sales scripts out there. There are also a lot of people out there showing you coaching discovery call questions that will make your prospective coaching client feel like they’re playing a (bad) game of “20 Questions” with you.
If you use a sales script or set of discovery session questions that don’t suit you and your business then it painfully obvious, robotic, and will turn off even the most interested prospects.
A soulful sales script involves lots of question asking and listening. It feels natural, like a conversation with your bestie at brunch.
So, coaches—If you’re ready to ditch the nerves and start selling with soul + confidence, we’ve got a wonderful 4-step sales script for you that’s sure to close the deal.
Step 1 of the Coaching Sales Script: The Small Talk
Take the first two to three minutes (no more) to get your initial nerves out. Ask your prospect where they’re calling from or what was the most joyful thing that happened to them so far this week. Bonus points if you can align your icebreaker question with the overall mission and vibe of your business.
You do not need to come up with a new icebreaker question for each discovery call. Once you find one you like that works, just keep using it. This is one of the easiest coaching discovery call questions to templatize, since every prospect is only ever going to get this question once … on their discovery call.
Step 2: What’s Their BIGGEST Problem?
Now that you’re all warmed up, it’s time to ask them the first big discovery call question: “What’s the BIGGEST problem you’re experiencing right now and how can I help you today?”
It’s a powerful question.
Let them vent.
This is their chance to unload their business & life struggles (internal and external) onto you. Follow-up questions come naturally from here. Some probing questions might be:
- “How do these struggles make you feel?”
- “What impact is it having on your life?”
Then, show instead of telling. Once you know their immediate problem, share a success story of your own which aligns with their problem, because there is power in case studies (even verbal ones). It’s as simple as talking about someone who had a similar issue and came to you for help.
This will help establish you as the expert, make them feel not so alone, and begin to help them see that you can partner with them to solve their problem. You’ve done it before, you can do it again.
Step 3: Partnering Together
Rather than jumping from problem to pitch, you want to gently open your prospect’s eyes to the idea of working together.
You can ask them questions like:
- “What kind of support do you need in this situation?”
- “What is your ideal scenario?” (Get specifics and help them dream big.)
You want them to start imagining what their life would be like without this problem—and how you could help make that a reality.
Step 4: Confirmation
At this point, you should have a really clear sense of what the prospect needs help with and how you could support them.
Reiterate the key points that they’ve shared in steps 2 and 3—what their most urgent problem is, how it’s impacting them, and what the most ideal form of support would look like.
Then, be sure to ask this important question:
“Why do you think you haven’t been able to solve this problem on your own?”
After they’ve shared, thank them for their vulnerability.
Tell them how you can really see and feel their struggle and how you’re confident you can help.
At this point, asking your prospect how they feel about working together feels as natural as can be. Asking for the sale at this point (and mentioning your coaching packages) doesn’t seem salesy to you or to your prospect. It’s just the next natural step in the conversation.
Of course, your soulful sales script needs to be much more descriptive and in-depth than this three phase process—because you’re not just selling “coaching” or “consulting” you’re selling a specific kind of coaching to a specific type of person, correct?
So these four simple steps should be your guide, providing you with a solid foundation for a successful sales call.
And remember: the more you practice, the easier and more natural it will become. Soon enough, you’ll be closing more and more aligned sales.
And we can help. If you’d like help creating and using a Soulful sales script of your own we’d love to support you grow your coaching business to new heights. Schedule your complimentary PERSONALIZED Strategy Session with Amy HERE to review your current sales strategy and marketing process together!
