How to Create a Discovery Call Application in Typeform

As a coach, it's really important for us to consistently get discovery calls on our calendar. This is how we screen people before we start working with them on a one-on-one basis. Now, before we get on a discovery call with someone, we want to make sure that they are ready for this next step in their business, and the best way to do that is to have an application.

I really like Typeform because it has a very seamless flow. I like it also because you can brand it with your colors too. So if someone goes to my website and they click the button to apply to work with me, they're going to end up inside my application. They're going to go ahead and click that button, and then they're going to go through the application process.

First, I ask them for their name and then I go ahead and ask them for their email. I also ask them for their website address too. Some of my clients don't have a website before they start, and that's totally fine because we help them build that. I just want to know that because if they do list one, I will go in and poke around at their site just to see what they are.

The next thing I ask is if they have an Instagram account because I like to go see what they're up to over there. And it's nice to be able to, um, follow and connect with someone who you are going to go on a call with. It just helps build up that relationship a little bit quicker.

Then I also ask them what kind of coach they are, because I have all kinds of coaches that are working under me. And I love to hear the different varieties that are out there. That just helps me gauge whether or not I feel we're a good fit as well.

This question, “Think about your business. What are you struggling with right now? Tell me all about it.” let me know what they're struggling with, what's keeping them up at night, and what they're thinking about constantly. I want to know about those major pain points that they're having. I want them to feel comfortable expressing that here because I want to see if I have the ability to help them through this because I know what my coaching experiences look like, and I want to make sure that we are a good fit. So we're always asking questions that are going to determine whether our time together is going to be effective.

You're going to get applicants that are not a good fit you just are. And it's going to be tempting to accept all of your clients, but, you don't want to do that because you want to enjoy what you're doing. Not every client is going to be a good fit, and this is one of the best ways to determine if they are.

Then I go ahead and ask them, “What do you want more than anything? Don't be afraid to dream big.” I love seeing this because it tells me exactly what they would see for their perfect day and their perfect life. What do they want for their business, their personal life? People are very happy to elaborate here and that makes me happy because I can see the possibilities for them and I want to be able to help them get there.

Question eight is how long have you been in business? I love to hear whether they’ve just started or whether they've been doing this for 1 3, 5 plus years. This is important to me because I also help coaches set up their coaching business. So one of my favorite things to do is, to see when they're just starting or maybe they are wanting to hit the reset button. Those are my ideal clients.

Then we have the last question, which is “What kind of help are you looking for?” I also make sure they know that there are two-year payment plans available when working with me and I list out my packaging here. I know it can feel really scary to list out your pricing on your application, but this makes your calls so much easier because the people who get on a call with you are ready to invest.

And your conversion rates increase dramatically because they have already dug around on your sales page. They've already taken a look at your packages. They can see what's inside them and I'm reminding them with a little bit of a summary and pricing. Because I want to get on calls with people who are interested in growing their business with me and who know what the investment will feel like and look like for them.

So I do make them choose which one they're interested in and this in turn increases my conversions. When people do this, they are committing to a number, so when we get on the call we can really fast forward the process and talk about what this will look like for them.

And it will really help you as a coach to get on a call with confidence, knowing that they're ready to invest, and you're not going to have to have those awkward conversations that so many of us dread. Once they’re finished, they hit submit and the application goes into my inbox

My recommendation is for you to write down all the questions that you would ask on your application, and the things that you would love to know about your future clients. Then go ahead and jump in Typeform and build out your form.

I also want to add one little bonus tip and remind you to turn on the notification inside your form. People often forget to do this, so be sure to turn it on so you get those notifications inside your inbox.

I want to say that the default is to not do this. And pretty soon you won't even know who's all filling out your form unless you come into Typeform and check your results.

I have a filter created in my Gmail, where if someone fills out the discovery call application, it gets highlighted, so it stands out in my inbox and it doesn't end up getting deleted, but that's for another video.

Pretty soon you will have notifications in your inbox that someone has filled out the application, and then you can move forward with your discovery call process.