5 Steps You Can Take to Land Consultation Calls

If you’re a service-based business, consultation calls are vital for converting people into clients. So if you’re not doing consultation calls, you’re in trouble. And if you don’t even know what a consultation call is, we may have a problem…

A consultation call is a (usually) free call, ranging anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, where a person interested in somebody’s services can chat with the business owner and learn more about themselves, their company, their services, and how this person can benefit from investing in said services. You want people to book consultation calls with you because it’s a great way for people to hear directly from YOU, and you get to brag about all of the cool stuff you do for your clients!

If you’re on my email list, you already know that I booked 26 sales calls with people last month. And yes, you DID read that right – TWENTY SIX. Insane!

I know that 26 is a high number, and you’re probably thinking that I probably had to be glued to my computer for weeks in order to reach that amount, but honestly – it was rather easy to book that many. And it took almost no extra time to do it. If you’re a service-based business owner needing to land these calls, take a look at my tips for doing so.

Provide value and free advice WITHOUT pitching.
I’m a part of MANY Facebook groups, and a lot of people in those groups often ask questions about social media. Whenever I have down time – such as after waking up, while eating lunch, or when laying down before bed – I’ll search “social media” through some of these groups. If there is a question that I can share the answer to, I always do it to the best that I can. Then, at the end of the answer, I let them know that if they have any other questions, I’d be happy to chat further with them – and I leave the link to my Calendly. Most times people would end up signing up for a call with me – and although the call would consist of me answering their question further, they also ask about my services and end up being very interested.

I’ve noticed that if you pitch less and help more, it actually brings you MORE clients. Truth. Instead of commenting on these posts pitching my services, I’m giving a genuine answer that these people can use on their own – and free help is something that people always appreciate.

Leave CTAs EVERYWHERE.
Any person who knows marketing will tell you to leave a CTA on any form of content – whether it’s a blog post, social media post, or email newsletter. Leaving CTAs are vital because they bring people just one step closer to becoming a paying client. I always leave a CTA for my Calendly at the end of my newsletters and a CTA in the form of a question in my social media and blogs. These are just really important because you never want people reaching a “dead end” of anything from you – you always want them to advance somewhere further.

Share your successes!
I’m not a bragger AT ALL – which is why when I hit awesome milestones in my business, I usually keep them to myself. I hate feeling like I’m being a showoff or something, so I usually just avoid mentioning anything at all. However, when I became a Hootsuite Certified Social Marketing Professional, I was pretty proud – so I posted about it in one of my favorite Facebook groups along with a link to my Calendly. I ended up getting somewhere from 5-10 calls just from that one post! Who knew that having that certification was so impressive?!

I don’t think you necessarily need to mention hitting every milestone you know of, but mentioning your big successes can be valuable because let’s be real here – people are NOSY and they love to see what you’re up to. Plus, if you achieve a big accomplishment, it adds credibility to yourself – which in return will make people WANT to speak with you.

Ask for referrals.
If you have a client that you LOVE working with, and they feel the same way about you, ask them if they would be willing to share your information with any of their other entrepreneurial friends. People will always remember the recommendations they receive from friends because they’re viewed as credible – so if your clients share your contact info, those people will book calls with you.

A good amount of my sales calls are with people who were referred to me by their friends, so cultivate those relationships and use them when the opportunities come!

Take advantage of guest opportunities.
People are always looking for guests on their blogs, summits, podcasts, and more. Keep your eyes open for any opportunities that may appeal to you and give you the chance to reach your target market. These guest opportunities, on whatever format they may be, will feature you to a much larger demographic than the demographic you currently have. If you’re showcased as an “expert” in your industry, people will want to get on the phone with you.

Here’s my assignment for you: Follow these five tips for the rest of August and track the amount of calls people have booked with you. As I said above, these REALLY didn’t take me much extra time at all – it’s just all about being consistent.