How to Run Discovery Calls That Actually Win Clients

As a small business, discovery calls are kind of a big deal. They’re your shot at turning a curious lead into a paying client—and making a great first impression while you’re at it.

But truth to be told, they can feel a little nerve-wracking. It’s that “one shot to land the client” pressure we all know too well.

The good news? This guide is here to help you run calls in a natural and purposeful way. And to make them totally worth your time.

Deep breath—you’ve got this! 

A discovery call is a short, intentional conversation with a lead to see if you’re a good fit to work together.

During the call, the prospective client may ask about your services, how you can help them, and what it’s like to work with you. You’ll also get the chance to share your experience, ask questions about their goals, and figure out if there’s alignment.

A cold call is unsolicited and often used as a marketing strategy to generate interest out of the blue. It’s designed to introduce your business to someone who may not know you yet, with the goal of sparking curiosity or booking a future conversation.

A discovery call, on the other hand, is scheduled. The person on the other end wants to talk. They’ve already shown interest in what you offer, and the call is a mutual opportunity to explore whether working together makes sense.

Discovery calls matter for three big reasons: they give you insight into potential leads, offer a window into your market, and help you refine and improve your own services.

Not every lead is ready—or right—for your services. A discovery call lets you ask the kinds of questions that help you quickly figure that out. Can they afford your pricing? Do they have realistic expectations? Are they clear on what they need?

Instead of guessing or wasting days on long email threads, a 30-minute call helps you separate real business opportunities that are worth pursuing from bad fits. You’ll walk away knowing whether to send a proposal, recommend someone else, or politely bow out.

💡 Bonus tip: Want to get better at lead qualification? Check out these key lead qualification questions to ask.

Every discovery call is a little market research session. You get to hear your potential clients describe their challenges, their goals, and what they’ve already tried—in their own words. Kind of like secret intel, right?

All jokes aside, learning about your market’s pain points can help you spot gaps in the services or solutions that are out there. It might even inspire you to develop new offers—or improve existing ones—so you can better serve the people you want to work with.

If you’ve been getting stuck at the “sounds great, but…” stage, discovery calls can help you figure out what’s holding people back. You might start hearing the same objections on repeat—maybe your pricing feels too steep, your offer isn’t quite clear, or something’s missing from your process.

Don’t take any of these objections personally. Instead, use them as an opportunity to fine-tune your product or service, adjust your messaging, and offer something much better!

So, how do you run these calls and maximize your chances of success?

Luckily, you don’t need a script or a sales degree, so don’t worry about that! But a little prep, a clear structure, and the ability to listen more than you talk? That’ll go a long way in making these calls more productive.

Before the call, take an hour or two to learn who you're talking to. No need to spiral into a full internet rabbit hole—but showing up with a basic understanding of your lead’s business makes you look prepared and professional.

👀 Here’s what to check out:

• Their website: What do they do? Who are their clients? What services or products are they offering?
• Their “About” page or team bio: This gives you insight into their background and values.
• LinkedIn profile: What’s their role? How long have they been at the company? Any mutual connections or recent posts?
• Recent news or launches: A quick Google search might uncover a new product, partnership, or funding round worth mentioning.

It helps if you make these calls a bit more structured. Set an agenda and share it with the lead prior to the meeting. This doesn’t need to be anything formal or overly structured. Just a quick outline of what to expect during the call.

Here’s what a simple agenda might include:

• Quick intros (Who are you, and what do you each do?)
• Learn about their business, challenges, and goals
• Share a little about your services and process
• Open it up for questions
• Agree on next steps (or agree that it’s not the right fit)

The experience starts before the actual call. If scheduling is a hassle, that’s already a bit of friction.

Using an online scheduler like YouCanBookMe (YCBM) makes it super simple for leads to pick a time that works for them—no back-and-forth emails required. It’s an easy win that instantly makes you look professional and organized.

Plus, you can include the agenda and meeting link in the confirmation email, so everything’s in one place and your lead knows exactly what to expect.

Make discovery calls easy to book

With YouCanBookMe, leads can book a time with you and get immediate meeting confirmation with all the details attached.

The best discovery calls aren’t the ones where you say all the right things—they’re the ones where you really listen.

In Salesforce’s article on sales tips from the greatest sellers, Anita Nielsen, president of LDK Advisory, recommends talking less than 50% of the time during sales conversations. Yes, really!

It’s easy to fall into the trap of over-explaining your services or trying to prove your value right away. Ultimately, discovery calls are about three things—in order of importance:

• Your lead — What they do, what they need, and what’s getting in the way
• Their business — Their goals, priorities, and pain points
• Your own business — How do they describe what you do? Are they getting it? Where’s the confusion?

So, practice active listening by tuning into not just the words they say, but how they say them. Pay attention to their tone, pacing, and phrasing. Ask thoughtful follow-up or clarifying questions based on what you hear. And of course—take notes (but don’t zone out while typing!).

You made it to the end of the call—nice work! Now don’t just say something vague like, “Cool, let’s circle back…” That’s how momentum fizzles and opportunities get lost.

How you wrap up matters just as much as how you start. Use the last few minutes to:

• Recap what you heard
• Confirm any key takeaways or next steps
• Be honest if it’s not a fit (seriously, it’s okay!)
• If it is a fit, clearly outline what happens next

You can say something like:

“It sounds like [quick summary of what the client needs], and I think this could be a great fit. The next step would be [insert action step]. Does that sound good to you?”

And if it’s not a fit? No problem. Just make sure to end the call with kindness and professionalism.

For example, you could say:

“Thanks so much for sharing everything with me today. Based on what you’re looking for, I don’t think I’m the best fit right now, but I really appreciate the conversation. If I come across someone who might be a better match, I’ll definitely send them your way.”

In short, no matter how the call goes, always thank your lead for their time and end on a positive note. Just because they aren’t the right fit right now—maybe your pricing doesn’t work for them—doesn’t mean you won’t reconnect in the future. You never know when your paths might cross again!

As we’ve already covered, you need to get good at asking questions. Unfortunately, most people suck at it.

One of the best resources out there for fixing that is The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick. It’s a short, sharp book written for business owners, founders, and anyone trying to validate an idea or pitch a service.

The core idea? Your mom loves you—and if you ask her bad questions, she’ll lie to protect your feelings. Leads will do the same.

They’ll say things like, “That sounds cool!” or “Yeah, we might need that soon,” just to be polite, especially if your questions are vague, leading, or clearly fishing for a yes.

Fitzpatrick’s golden rule is:

✨ “If your mom can’t lie to you during the conversation, you’re asking the right questions.” ✨

In other words, your questions should be neutral, specific, and focused on your lead’s real experience, not your pitch.

Here’s an example of what not to ask:

❌ “Are you having trouble staying organized?” (They’ll probably say yes—even if it’s not really the issue.)

And here’s a better version:

✅ “Can you walk me through how you’re currently managing your schedule?” (Now you’ll hear what’s actually happening.)

Now let’s go over some discovery call question examples (in no particular order)—and what each one can help you learn about your lead.

This is a great warm-up question because it gives you context without putting the lead on the spot. It helps you understand their responsibilities, where their focus is, and whether they’re in a position to make decisions, or just exploring options on behalf of someone else within their business.

This question helps uncover what’s driving their interest in your services. Are they scaling? Streamlining? Trying to fix something that’s broken? Their answer will help you see whether your solution supports the outcomes they care about. Plus, it gives you a chance to reframe your offer in the context of their bigger goals.

Once you know what they’re trying to accomplish, this question helps you dig into what’s getting in their way. It could be internal issues like a lack of time, unclear processes, or team alignment, or external ones like budget or tool limitations. By asking this question, you can determine whether your service or product can remove one of those barriers.

This one’s big. It gets them thinking about the cost of staying stuck. Will they miss a growth target? Lose money? Keep spinning their wheels? You’ll learn how urgent the problem is—and whether it’s something they’re serious about solving now, or just “nice to have” on their to-do list.

Simple, but powerful. This question gives your lead space to open up about whatever’s causing the most frustration at the moment. Give them a chance to vent a little!

Once they’ve shared what’s not working, this question shifts the focus toward solutions. It helps you understand how they’re thinking about the problem, what kind of support they’re looking for, and whether they’ve already started exploring options.

This is where you learn what’s been done—and what’s flopped. If they’ve cycled through a few tools or worked with someone else in the past, you can dig into what didn’t work and why. Be super attentive to what they say, because you’ll want to avoid repeating the same mistakes their last provider made.

This question piggybacks on the previous one. You’re basically giving them an opportunity to explain why previous solutions didn’t work in more detail, which helps you better understand what they really need. It also gives you a natural “in” to position yourself later by showing how you solve the problems others couldn’t.

This helps you understand why they’re back in the market at this moment. Maybe they’ve tried solving it themselves and hit a wall, or maybe something changed internally that’s pushed this to the top of their list. It gives you insight into urgency, timing, and whether they’re serious about trying again!

This one pulls out the emotional stuff—the annoyances and bottlenecks they deal with daily. It helps you connect with the human side of the problem. And it gives you language you can reflect back when explaining how you help.

Don’t assume the person you’re talking to is the one calling the shots. This question helps you understand who else needs to weigh in and how close you are to a real decision. It also shows you’re thinking strategically—not just trying to make a quick sale.

It might feel awkward, but it’s totally fair to ask. This gives you a sense of whether they’re financially ready to move forward or just exploring. If the budget’s not there, you’ll know how to adjust your offer—or walk away. It also helps you gauge whether their budget and needs realistically line up with what you offer, so you’re not trying to force a fit that isn’t there.

This is a gentle way to surface hidden objections. You might uncover things like internal red tape, other stakeholders, or decision fatigue. Better to talk it through now than be surprised later.

This question helps you get straight to their buying criteria, without the guesswork. You’re basically asking, “What boxes do I need to tick to get you over the line?” The lead’s answer gives you a clearer view of what matters most to them in making a decision, so you can tailor your offer or proposal to hit exactly what they care about.

This helps clear up doubts before they spiral into silence. Some people won’t speak up unless you ask directly, so give them permission to be honest. It shows confidence and that you genuinely want to help.

We hope this guide has given you the clarity and confidence to ace your discovery calls, especially when it comes to asking the right questions. But don’t forget: great calls start with the right tools. And that’s where YouCanBookMe is unbeatable!

YCBM allows you to effortlessly manage discovery calls by letting clients book at their convenience, with all the automated reminders and confirmations you need to avoid no-shows. You can easily customize your booking page with your availability, set up buffer times between calls, and even offer different appointment types for varying needs.

Set up your free booking page today!

FAQs

What happens during a discovery call?

It’s a two-way conversation, usually lasting around 30 to 60 minutes, where you and a potential client learn more about each other. You’ll ask questions about their goals, challenges, and current setup, and they’ll likely ask about your services, past work, and pricing. The point is to figure out if working together makes sense for both of you.

Is a discovery call an interview?

A discovery call is not the same as an interview, though they can be similar in format. A discovery call is typically a preliminary conversation to explore needs, goals, and fit—commonly used in sales, consulting, or client onboarding. An interview, on the other hand, is specifically designed to evaluate a candidate’s suitability for a job or role.