Discovery Call Script — The Assessment (45 min)

Talk < 20% of the time. Client talks 80% (AOA). One question, then listen. Keep them on track — if they ramble, “That’s great context — let me ask you this…” and steer back. Target: leave with 5–7 concrete pain points + a trigger + their hourly value.

Recording: Zoom + Fathom running. Framing for consent (say this): “I record these so the AI analysis afterward can catch patterns across the whole conversation that notes miss — the recording is raw material for your custom report.” (AOA — natural consent + positions the recording as premium.)

0. Open & frame (2 min) — you set the agenda

“Thanks for the time, [Name]. Here’s how I’ll run this so it’s useful for you: I’m going to ask a lot of questions about how your day and your business actually work — I’ll probably talk less than you do, and that’s on purpose. My job today isn’t to pitch you anything. It’s to find where you’re losing time or leaving money on the table, so the report I build you is specific to [Company] and not generic. [Optional: “— I work with [area] businesses, so I’ll be blunt the way a neighbor would.”] Sound good? Then at the end I’ll tell you honestly whether there’s enough here to be worth fixing. Fair?”

(This frame puts you in control, sets the 80/20 talk ratio, and pre-frames the honest close.)

1. SITUATION (5–7 min) — cheap context, move fast

Don’t linger; you did recon and you have the intake. Confirm and fill gaps only. - “Give me the one-sentence version of what [Company] does and who you do it for.” - “How many people, and where does the revenue come from — one main line or a few?” - “Walk me through your typical day. Where does your time actually go?” - “What’s the software you live in day to day?”

Challenge the stack once — but only after at least one pain has surfaced (AAIC 3.2): “Do you think [current tool / doing-it-by-hand] gets you to [their goal], or does something have to change?” — get them to say it out loud.

2. PROBLEM (15 min) — find 5–7 concrete pains across 3 axes

Rotate through Effectiveness, Efficiency, Quality. Pull until you get a story, not a summary — “they spend 90 minutes every morning copying Shopify into a spreadsheet,” not “they want to be more efficient.”

Effectiveness (revenue leaks): - “When a new lead comes in, walk me through exactly what happens — and how fast.” - “Where do deals stall or slip through? When’s the last time you know you lost one to slow follow-up?”

Efficiency (time leaks): - “What’s the task you’d pay the most to never do again?” - “What eats your week that you know a machine should be doing?”

Quality (experience leaks): - “Where does the work or the client experience feel inconsistent — depends who’s doing it or what kind of day it’s been?” - “What in your business looks like it was built in 2015?”

Write down each pain in their words. Aim for 5–7. Don’t solve yet.

Mark which pains they state as WANTS (“I need this fixed”) vs mere complaints. Only the wants are pitchable in the close; the complaints go through Implication first.

3. IMPLICATION (10 min) — make the pain cost something

This is where SPIN and AOA agree hardest. A named pain they’ll tolerate is not a sale. Make the cost real, in their numbers.

Let the silence work. They should be the one saying it’s expensive.

4. NEED-PAYOFF (5 min) — let them value the fix

Flip from pain to gain. They articulate the payoff, so you don’t have to sell it.

5. Honest close (3 min) — book the walkthrough, don’t sell

First, make them say it: “Before I give you my read — of everything we covered, which one would you fix first, and what’s it costing you to leave it?” (Their answer is the explicit need you pitch the report against. If they say “nothing really,” you don’t have a sale — go back to implications or walk.)

Give them ONE finding free, on the spot: “Whatever you decide, here’s one thing I’d change this week: [specific observation from the call].” Personalized, unexpected, costs you nothing — and it’s proof the paid report is real.

If there’s real pain + trigger + budget: “Straight answer: yes, there’s plenty here worth fixing — I counted [N] specific leaks, and at least one I think we ship in week one. Here’s what happens next: I take today’s recording, run it through my analysis, and build you a report — 3 to [N] specific fixes, each with the tool, the time it saves, and the cost, plus a 4-day quick-start plan. It’s $999 for a solo setup, $1,999 with a team, and it’s guaranteed: if there isn’t one fix worth 5+ hours a week, you don’t pay. I’ll have it back to you in [X days] and we’ll walk it together — I’ve got [DAY/TIME] or [DAY/TIME] for that. Which works?” → book the walkthrough live, on the calendar.

Social proof — only when a real reference exists: “[Similar local business] found [N] hours a week in theirs.” Never fabricate or embellish a reference; until you have one, the guarantee carries the risk-reversal alone.

Reuse flag: the alternative-choice “[DAY/TIME] or [DAY/TIME]” close is fine at a $999 ticket — do NOT copy it into the $5–30k Custom Build lane; closing techniques backfire as deal size grows (Rackham).

If NOT a fit (no real pain / no trigger / no budget): say so. “Honestly, I don’t think you need to pay me right now — what you’ve got is working. If [trigger] changes, come back.” Walking away from bad-fit deals protects the brand and your capacity.

After the call

  1. Export the Fathom transcript.
  2. Run it through the AI Analysis skill (04-proposal-generator/) → 5–7 opportunities categorized E/E/Q with time-savings.
  3. Filter (kill the ones that don’t fit this business), verify every tool’s price/features “current as of today,” build the report in Claude Design (drop the transcript into the report template’s chat and say “fill in the assessment,” then correct by hand).
  4. Fill the notes template → feeds the proposal generator.
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