What Do I Need to Know Before My First Discovery Call?
Do your palms sweat a little when you think about handling your first discovery call?
The first discovery call for me happened when Emily and I were still living with our mom in a two bedroom apartment–so I wound up taking it as a phone call in my mom’s car while my stomach gnawed at itself nervously and I said “oh yes, absolutely!” to every proposed project, whether I’d done it or not.
I was, you might say, under prepared.
I mean, I knew what our services were. I knew our prices. I knew my capabilities, my ability to learn on the go. I knew that any package they wanted would be great because at that time there were no restrictions on our calendar–so to me, it felt far too close to a job interview for comfort.
But the thing is, as a virtual assistant, you’re assessing the fit of the inquiring business with your business as much as they’re assessing your fit with them. Or at least you should be! Because they aren’t hiring you as an employee. When someone contracts with you, it’s two businesses working in alignment with one another, not an employer hiring an employee. There can be firm ways you do business that you’re not willing to compromise on; these things may make you incompatible with other businesses, but it’s better to know that before signing a contract.
How should you prepare for your first virtual assistant discovery call?
First, be sure to gather the relevant information about the business and person you’re meeting with. You can use this list as a guide:
What is their business?
What service did they contact you for?
What is the cost of that service?
Who reached out to you? The owner of the business, or someone with a different role?
Did they give their mission? Can you infer the business mission from the website?
Looking at their website/social media profiles, what demographic do they seem to be serving?
Based on all of this information, before meeting them, what does your gut say about whether or not it’s a good fit?
The last two questions may not be relevant to the services they contacted you about, but can begin to inform you about the values and ethics of their business, which is important to consider when deciding to work with someone.
If your gut is telling you that it’s not likely to be a good fit, you don’t have to cancel the meeting right away. When we get an inkling we might not be right for someone, we like to brainstorm why it is we don’t feel like a good fit, and where we could direct them instead. At worst, we help someone find a better fit for what they’re looking for, and at best we’re proven wrong and get excited to work with them!
(It’s also much less awkward to provide someone with a different direction when you’ve prepared for that option, rather than be caught off guard on the discovery call when you realize the relationship isn’t going to work out.)
What will people want to know about your business?
The basics: can you help with what they reached out to you about? But the scope of the project won’t be all that’s addressed in your discovery call. Some common questions we’ve encountered in our work include:
“What’s your project turnaround time?”
How far in advance do you need clients to get projects to you? How long do different projects take you? When can clients contact you and expect and answer? Do they need to provide deadlines? If they don’t know how long to provide for an upcoming project can you help them map out a timeline?
“How do rush jobs work?”
You might not have a rush job policy, but we highly recommend having one. In the early days of your business when you’re getting your first client you may be able to start and finish projects same day, but that’s not a sustainable timeframe if you’re hoping to work with more than one business–and even then it can get unsustainable if your work with that business grows. Figure out how much time is reasonable to give yourself for standard projects, what constitutes a rush job, and how billing for rush jobs works.
“How do you communicate?”
Do you communicate strictly via email? Do you work within a project management system? Do you have tutorials on that project management system to provide to clients so that they can learn your communication expectations? Can clients call or text you? Do calls need to be scheduled? Can they send voice notes or request you download a specific communication app?
“What happens if I don’t use my hours/package?”
If people don’t use all of the hours they purchase, do they get rollover hours? Is there a cap on how many hours can rollover to the next month? Is there a time limit on how long rollover hours can last (do they have to be used by the next month)? Do you give refunds?
“What sort of projects do you like doing?”
This one, admittedly, is one we just encourage people to ask when meeting with a potential virtual assistant, but we think it’s a pretty good one! What do you like to do? How does that translate to your work with other businesses? What gets you excited? They may be looking for additional ways you can help them, and hearing what you’re passionate about might give them ideas!
“How does your pricing structure work?”
Everyone wants to know the financial details. Do you bill a deposit upfront? Is billing based on signing date or do you have a standard day every month that you bill people? Are they locked into the package they initially purchase for the entirety of their contract with you, or can they up or downsize their package as needed?
When you feel comfortable addressing potential client concerns, remember to take a minute to brainstorm your own questions for the call.
You need to leave the discovery call with all the information you need to make a decision on whether or not you want to work with someone. Some questions we return to again and again include:
“How do you like to communicate?”
Yep! This again! Communication is the number one necessity for a good relationship of any kind, and professional relationships are no exception. We like to have a written record of everything; we’re jumping between clients and juggling multiple projects at once, and we’re way too familiar with human error to be like one of those waiters without an order pad. If a client wants to communicate exclusively via calls or meetings, they aren’t a good fit for us, and it wouldn’t be good for either business if we contracted with them.
“Are you prepared to hand projects off now or are you looking for a delayed start date?”
Make it clear that work can’t begin until they are ready and know all details they need to hand things off. If they aren’t sure what they need to hand off to you in order for you to get started on their project, have them talk you through what it involves and give them a list of materials/information they’ll need to gather before you can start your work together.
“How would you define success in terms of us working together?”
Okay, so they’ve told you the project they need help with. But what does a successful relationship between your two businesses look like? Do they want to be able to rely on sending things your way when they can’t handle them, or do they want you to be working on something consistently behind the scenes? Do they want you to become integrated into their business and familiar with their mission so you can use your expertise to find gaps in their businesses potential?
