“Wait, You Don’t Do Free Discovery Calls, B*tch?!”
Ok, nobody has actually used the final word. I wouldn’t be too surprised if some of them had thought it in their head, though.
After all, everyone offers free discovery calls nowadays, so why do I need to be on such a high horse?! 🐴
Or, at least, that’s probably how it comes across to someone who was secretly just hoping to ‘pick my brain’ for free.
Here’s the actual reason why I no longer offer free discovery calls.
Spoiler alert: no horses involved.
The reality behind most discovery calls
Before introducing my current onboarding process, here’s what it used to look like (and how it still does for many of my virtual colleagues, as I often see them complaining about it on LinkedIn).
Random Uncommitted Prospect: “Hi, I need a copywriter. Can we jump on Zoom to see if we’re a good fit?”
Old Me: “Yes, sure!”
Old Me would then schedule a time in her diary. Then, that day, she’d know she couldn’t go too deep into a project because she would have had to stop working to do this free discovery call. She’d also google that prospect’s business to find out a little more about it and jot down some ideas (for free)
Time for the free discovery call! Random Uncommitted Prospect starts talking about their business and asking questions that were clearly answered on Old Me’s website. Old Me would also end up sharing a ton of tips and value during this call (for free)
Then, Old Me would spend HOURS creating the perfect proposal (for free) and calculating the right quote for the project
What then?
Sure, in some cases, Random Uncommitted Prospect turned into a client
In some others, however, Random Uncommitted Prospect had just done the EXACT. SAME. THING. with a bunch of copywriters. All without even taking the time to look at their website and pricing starting points! They’d then choose a writer—usually based on the cheapest quote—and, in the ‘best-case’ scenario, let the others know
In most cases? They’d straight-up ghost them 👻 (seriously: I’ve lost count of how many prospects haven’t even had the decency to tell me they had gone with a different writer!)
Some of them even used that packed-full-of-value proposal with a cheaper writer
Why that old system wasn’t sustainable and didn’t sit right with me personally
Disclaimer: if YOU offer free discovery calls and they’ve been working well for you, I’m by NO means telling you that you should do anything differently. You do you, my friend 👊
Here’s why they didn’t work for me personally:
I’d spend AT LEAST three hours of my time doing all that for free… only to never hear back from some of these prospects!
When you time that by three or four prospects a week, that’s 9/12 hours that I could have used to work on some actual projects for my fantastic clients (or, on a selfish note, to have a more sustainable work-life balance). That’s longer than a full working day!
My business is a one-girl band: if I’m that busy doing free calls and proposals, err… who’s doing the actual copywriting? (looks around confused)
Jumping on Zoom without even knowing what this person needs can be a ridiculous waste of time (someone literally approached me to build a website for them, once: I’m NOT a web designer!)
I’m always more than happy to give value for free to my badass audience. For real! My blog, newsletter, and social media are OOZING free tips 🙌 But, when it comes to one-to-one scenarios, it’s not sustainable or, in my opinion, ethical. As I mentioned, some prospects would just take my tips, advice, and proposals… and use them with cheaper writers
Selfish reason: as an introvert, calls DRAIN ME. Jumping on Zoom with so many Random Uncommitted Prospects was seriously undermining my concentration and workflow
Why I now start with a paid strategy session (£99)
Now, I only work with clients who’re actually ready and EXCITED to collaborate with me.
Those who’ve been following me for a while. Who’ve read my website, writing samples, pricing starting points, and case studies. Those who trust my expertise.
Most importantly, I start by figuring out what they actually need.
No more offering a quote based on a generic “how much for X” when… X might not even be what their business would benefit from!
The aim of my initial strategy session is to understand your current challenges, goals, and what exactly it is that you need (from a copywriting point of view) to get there.
It’s not ‘to see if we’re a good fit’ or sell you something you don’t actually need just because you asked me about it when you approached me.
And, at the same time, it’s not for people to pick my brain for free and then take the proposal that I spent 2/3 hours creating and use it with someone else.
#SorryNotSorry
So, how do these strategy sessions work? 🙌
Instead of ‘Random Uncommitted Prospect’, we now have a much cooler new character:
✨ ‘Committed and Respectful Prospect’ ✨
And Committed and Respectful Prospect has either been following me for a while or looked at my website, services, samples, case studies, and pricing starting points.
Here’s what our interactions are like:
Committed and Respectful Prospect: “My current website copy isn’t converting” / “Nobody reads my blog” / “I want to generate more leads with my blog” / “I wrote my website copy when I first started out and can tell it no longer represents my business” etc.
New Me: during this strategy session, I ask them all the right questions to understand their current situation and what they’re hoping to achieve with this new project. I always end up sharing some tips and ideas on the spot, too
New Me: after this session, I take some time to figure out exactly what they need to get there
(e.g. whether or not SEO needs to be a part of their website copywriting strategy, how we should organise the copy for their new website pages, how we’re going to capture their visitors’ email addresses, how many blog posts they should publish every month, how to promote them, what to blog about for their audience, and so on)
Committed and Respectful Prospect: they obtain a #crafty blueprint with all these juicy details and a step-by-step plan. This is entirely theirs, and they can use it however they please. Pinky promise. And yes, that includes giving it to another writer. If they decide to use it to work with me, however, I’ll remove the initial £99 from the custom quote included in the blueprint. And if, for whatever reason, I decide I can’t help them, they also get their money back, of course
So, I hope you can now see that I’m not on a high horse (like, seriously: I can barely ride a pony 🐴).
I’ve simply decided to create a different system that, so far, has been incredibly beneficial to all my serious prospects (and I’ll be honest: to my own sanity and workflow, too).
Unlike with traditional discovery calls, I usually see them write down my ideas and tips, having little eureka moments when I mention my suggestions… and that’s before I’ve even prepared the actual blueprint for them! How cool is that?!
If you’ve made it this far and realised that you’re ‘Random Uncommitted Prospect’, I guess we’ll have to part ways. Maybe we can do that with a little slow-mo moment and some sad music playing in the background?
But, if you know you’re ‘Committed and Respectful Prospect’ and are beyond ready to work with me, the magic’s about to start! ✨
Now, you know what to do.
I’m a copywriter making ambitious female entrepreneurs become THE go-to solution in their dream audience’s eyes.
Hit that button, tell me more about your current situation when it comes to website copy or blog posts, and let’s discuss it in-depth during a proper strategy session.
My words, YOUR badass brand.
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