6 Questions Every SMM Should Be Asking on Discovery Calls
You’ve likely heard us share extensively about optimizing your onboarding process and nurturing client relationships, but what about the crucial step before all of that? Enter: discovery calls. These conversations are pivotal and provide us with the opportunity to dive deep into a business’ needs, goals, expectations, timeline, and most importantly, ensure that we’re a mutually good fit for one another. Read on for six essential questions to ask on your next discovery call!
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR BRAND AND ITS REVENUE STREAMS.
Prior to hopping on a discovery call, ensure the lead form on your site is inclusive of preliminary questions like:
Company name
Website and social media links
A description of their needs
Monthly marketing budget
Services they’re interested in
Ideal start date
Block off some time prior to the call to review their answers to the questions, as well as their site and socials to familiarize yourself with their brand, needs, and current digital presence.
Kick off the call by sharing with them some of your learnings and observations about their brand, followed by any clarifying questions you may have about their business or its revenue streams like:
Are they only sold online?
Are they sold in retailers / do they have physical storefront(s)?
What do their monthly sales look like?
What percent of that currently comes from the marketing services they’re interested in outsourcing?
WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT MARKETING PAIN POINTS AND GOALS?
Now that you’ve learned a bit more about their brand, use the discovery call to identify what their current goals and pain points are. Understanding what they’re aiming to achieve and what obstacles they’re currently facing is pivotal in tailoring your proposal to their specific needs.
Position yourself as a trusted partner committed to their success by not only demonstrating a clear understanding of their challenges but also providing insight into how your services would provide tangible solutions. Let them know how you envision your strategies and expertise propelling them closer to their objectives.
WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT PHOTOGRAPHY / VIDEOGRAPHY CADENCE LOOK LIKE?
Next, you’ll want to get a feel for how often you’d receive assets that are vital to your service’s success. For us, this is most often photography and videography. If clients cannot commit to sending us fresh image assets on a quarterly basis (at least), we make an effort to upsell them on our content creation package. This ensures that their account is equipped with the necessary resources for optimal performance.
WHAT MARKETING CHANNELS ARE YOU INTERESTED IN?
Now that you have a good understanding of the business needs, goals, and resources, confirm with them the marketing channels they indicated they were interested in proceeding with on their lead form. Lean on your expertise to provide recommendations for the services right for them based on the goals and pain points they’ve shared.
Pro tip: Have a slide deck on-hand that you can screen share with more details about the services you’ll be discussing.
HAVE YOU WORKED WITH AN AGENCY BEFORE?
Next, we recommend asking the lead if they’ve worked with an agency before for two reasons. First, if they say yes and completely bash on past partners, that can be a majorrrrr discovery call red flag. 🚩 While bad experiences can happen, pay attention to if it seems to be a pattern for them.
Second, this question allows you to set your agency apart and communicate how you’re different. Share a bit more about your white-glove systems and processes. This is even a great time to touch on a few boundaries you have within your biz (ie every Wednesday we’ll send content for your review and you’ll have 48 hours to submit your round of revisions before that week’s content is scheduled). Use the discovery call as an opportunity to build excitement on what’s to come.
WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL START DATE?
Lastly, we’ve all had leads submit unrealistic start dates on their intake forms. Use this call as an opportunity to propose a realistic timeline, if needed, or confirm that the start date they indicated in your intake form is still accurate.
Once an ideal start date is solidified, let them know you’ll send them a proposal within 48 business hours (or sooner if you can).. Provide insight on what the timeline to follow will look like. For support creating your proposal, creating a seamless onboarding process, or ensuring client satisfaction overall, check out our SMM Client Success Bundle.
We hope you found this blog post helpful in discovering questions to ask on discovery calls! For more tips, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our weekly digital marketing newsletter. Chat soon!
xx,
The Homies
