Dearest Reader,

Sure, you can charge for your discovery calls if inserting unnecessary friction into your sales process and putting undue stress on your buyers is the name of your game.

If it isn't...it's time for a come to Jesus.

I've seen a lot of people wax poetic about charging for discovery. Something something "I should get paid for my time." But charging for discovery isn't addressing the problem you think it is (prospects valuing your time and not looking for free99 advice). It's a symptom. One that, if left unaddressed, will continue to cost you — in reach, in pipeline, in the deals that never even get to the paywall to say no to it.

Look, I get it. Tire kickers are annoying. If you're conducting sales in an ethical and effective manner there's real time and effort that goes into sales call prep. It's annoying and deflating when that materializes into nothing.

But introducing paid discovery overlooks something really fucking important:

Sales calls aren't just about closing sales. They are some of the most important market research you can get: how much people know about your product or service, how much awareness they have about their problem, solution, product, the language they use to describe what they're struggling with, what they've tried. This information is gold. This is free market research.

Even a nominal fee could be a source of friction. I know plenty of people who see that and go "I'm good."

It especially hurts if what you're trying to curb are no-shows or tire kickers, because that can easily be addressed by sales process.

It really does all come back to sales process...the hoops founders put themselves through because they don't have one, the money that gets left on the table. No-shows and tire kickers get solved by having a robust pre-sales process. Charging for discovery to solve for that is a backwards attempt at protecting your time, and it undervalues the importance of practicing pitches, handling and surfacing objections and getting important face time with prospects.

No-shows, calls that go nowhere, low readiness, low sophistication — none of that is a buyer problem and none of that will be solve by charging $100 to speak with you. It's a your-process problem. A proper sales process also positions the call so it's damn clear this isn't for people looking for free advice. If that's what's happening, your process needs work.

If this is the process you don't have yet, let's talk about it. Book a call.

Until next time, Happy Selling!

Talica