How to Get the Most out of Free Intro and Discovery Sessions

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Introduction

Lots of people offer free consultations, intro sessions, or discovery sessions - from business coaches to life coaches to therapists. When choosing someone to work with, a discovery session can be a great way to help you make a decision. “Can” being the operative word, because discovery sessions can also be unhelpful if you’re not sure what you want to get from the conversation. So whether you’re looking to have a discovery session with one of our Worth The Journey coaches, or planning to talk to another coach, therapist, or facilitator, we hope this guide will give you some useful tips for getting the most out of those sessions.

Table of contents

1. Before The Session

2. During The Session

3. After The Session

Before The Session

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Do your research on them

Go beyond just checking out their website - take a look at their social media, read their blogs or ebooks, and if possible, attend free events they are hosting. Learn about them and their values, their way of thinking. Do you feel a kinship or affinity with them? Is there anything that strongly puts you off? You may be able to tell a lot about whether they are a good fit for you through this initial work. 

Write down (good) questions

Spend at least a few minutes before you talk to them writing down some questions to ask during the call. And while any questions are probably better than going in unprepared, try to write questions that will help you figure out whether you are a good fit with them or not. Here’s a few examples of some good questions:

• What makes someone an ideal client for you? 

• What makes someone not a great fit for you? 

• How would you describe your style of coaching / therapy / etc?

Make sure to ask questions specific to your personality and the goals you want to achieve.

During the Session

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Be a little vulnerable

While a discovery call with a stranger is not the place to share your deepest darkest childhood fears, a little bit of vulnerability will go a long way. Specifically, we recommend you share the places you know you most need support and the places you might be worried about. Now is the time to shine a little light on these issues. Whether you’re working through sensitive relationship issues, you’re stressed out about how to deal with an embarrassingly overfull inbox, or you have nuanced business concerns related to your industry, we encourage you to share them..

Not only will you actually get some feedback and potentially useful insights from the coach or therapist about how they might support you on one of your more tender issues, but you’ll get to see how they respond to your vulnerability. Do they listen deeply and offer empathy? Do they provide a plan of action to help you get out of it? Do they tell a story of a time they went through something similar? Do they use what you’re saying to try to make a sale? While the last one is obviously a red flag, the other three are valid responses but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are a great fit for you - if you like solutions rather than empathy, now’s a great time to figure that out. None of this means the coach or therapist or expert isn’t a great fit for someone else, but your job is to figure out how they fit for you. 

Trust your body / intuition / gut instinct

Notice how your body reacts to the conversation. Do you find yourself opening up and leaning forward? Do you feel tense or twitchy? What does your gut or your intuition say about this person and this conversation? You might be talking to someone who’s very charming but you notice that you feel a little uneasy. Likewise, a coach or therapist might be quieter, less overtly charismatic, but there’s just something about the way they talk and listen that puts you at ease. You are your own best expert in determining whether someone is a good fit for you and we believe that you can trust your own inner wisdom. 

Don’t get pressured into making a quick decision 

At the end of the discovery call you might be very clear that you want to work with this person (or you might be equally clear that you don’t). If you’re clear, then that’s wonderful and you should follow that clarity. But if you’re the type of person who likes to mull things over, or if you’re not completely sure, don’t let yourself get pressured into committing right then and there. If they have to use false time deadlines to get a sale, it doesn’t say a lot about the quality of their work. 

After the Session 

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Follow up with any questions

You may discover new questions during the call, but forget to ask them, or you might think of new things after you’ve spent some time mulling it over. Either way, this isn’t the moment to be shy, go ahead and follow up with them, ask further questions, and get the answers you need. You’ll not only get your needs met, but demonstrate to your coach that you’re thorough and willing to dive in and do the work, which is what hiring a coach or therapist is all about.   

Make your decision and let them know

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but with one detail that’s perhaps not obvious: when you decide not to work with someone, if it’s because they weren’t a good fit for you, but may be for others, don’t ghost them. It’s always worth keeping a handful of experts in your back pocket for recommendations, so if you decide this person is not for you, but maybe good for someone else, reach out and say so to add them to your network. That said, there are times where it’s appropriate to ghost someone, namely if they’re pushing, pressuring, or making you feel uncomfortable. In those cases it’s best to remove yourself. You’re not going to recommend anyone to them anyway.

Conclusion 

A discovery call is like a first date. And while you are checking them out, it’s good to remember they are also getting to know you! Coming prepared is a great way to show mutual respect and get them excited about working with you. You may find that you do tons of discovery calls, or just one. Either way, we wish you luck in finding the experts that can best support you.

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