How to Use Discovery Calls to Attract and Book Coaching Clients

One of the most powerful ways to grow your coaching or practitioner business is by offering discovery calls. These conversations allow you to connect with potential clients, understand their needs, and demonstrate the value of your work. It also provides a taste of your coaching style and confirms whether you’re the right coach for the client.

In this blog, you’ll learn 4 key strategies when using Discovery Calls to attract, structure, connect with, and convert interested people into committed clients.

1. Be Visible and Consistent with your Marketing

Many potential clients need to see your content multiple times before they take action. Consistency is key when sharing value-driven posts.

Stay focused on the pain points and challenges that your potential clients are experiencing. Make content that speaks directly to them and what they’re going through.

Different ways you can reach your intended audience might be:

• • Sharing your personal story and why you got into coaching.
  • How you overcame a challenge and developed your coaching steps or method in your signature program.
  • Sharing testimonials (videos or graphics) and client stories (with permission of course).
  • Creating short videos or reels that show the small interactions, beliefs or behaviours that define what it’s like to struggle with that challenge you know how to support.

Additionally, what are your potential clients looking for? What’s the solution or ultimate goal they’d pay money to find or achieve with your guidance? You never know what type of post will resonate the most so it’s often a bit of trial and error, but again, stay focused on your niche and your ideal clients biggest challenges. Share your tips, steps and practices that support solutions.

Regardless of what you post or when, how or where, make it easy for someone to book a enquiry call with you by including an invitation on every post. Link to your booking calendar, website contact page, or direct email.

At this point you only need the basics of name, email and/or phone to make it quick and easy – don’t make them fill in a whole questionnaire when they are yet to know if you can actually help them or not! Make your discovery call funnel simple so they can click and book in their moment of interest.

Ways to Promote Your Discovery Calls:

• • Include booking links in your social media posts, website, and newsletters.
  • Offer a free resource (e.g., an eBook or checklist) with a call-to-action to book a call.
  • Mention discovery calls in your videos, live sessions, and stories.
  • Use direct invitations: “If what I’ve shared resonates with you, click below to book a free 30-minute discovery call.”

The more you integrate invitations into your marketing, the more likely potential clients will take the next step.

2. Create a Warm and Inviting Experience

Clients don’t just invest in a service; they invest in trust, clarity, and confidence in you as a qualified coach. The way you guide the discovery call should reflect the experience they can expect from working with you. This way they get a taste of your coaching skills.

For example –

• • Active listening (people often just want to feel heard without judgement),
  • Reassurance, to know that you’re willing to be in their corner and partner with them to make the change they want/need, and
  • Thoughtful questions that confirm you’re really hearing what they’re saying and a little bit of education or client proof to help them start to think differently or become more aware of their situation from a different perspective. i.e. “Wow, no-one’s asked me that before” or “I have never thought about it like that”. These are great signs.

Build Connection:

• • Listen actively and validate their feelings.
  • Reflect back what they’ve shared to show understanding.
  • Offer insights or quick wins to build trust.

Whether they decide to work with you or not, a warm and positive experience leaves a lasting impression, often leading to referrals or future sign-ups when they’re ready and willing to commit – in case that’s not right now.

3. Structuring a Discovery Call for Maximum Impact

A well-structured discovery call provides clarity, direction, and confidence for both you and the client.

Key Elements of a Call Structure:

1. Warm Welcome & Connection – Start with a friendly introduction to set a comfortable tone.
2. Understanding Their Needs – Ask open-ended questions to uncover their challenges and goals.
3. Presenting Your Offer – Clearly explain how your coaching or service can help.
4. Handling Objections – Address hesitations with empathy and solutions.
5. Winding up the Call – Guide them towards making a decision, whether that’s signing up, following up, or offering another resource.

A structured approach ensures that your call flows smoothly, keeping you on purpose and making it easier for the client to say yes.

4. The Importance of Gratitude

Attracting and welcoming new clients isn’t just about marketing tactics and assessing whether you’re a good fit – it’s also about mindset and energy. Expressing gratitude for every client who joins your program encourages a powerful abundance mindset.

Gratitude & The Law of Manifestation

Ken Honda, author of Happy Money, leans into the Japanese philosophy of the “Arigato Principle”. It values the importance of ‘thanking’ money as it comes in, and as it goes out.

In order to reduce stress and anxiety around money, Honda teaches how to shut down the inner fear critic and replace it with gratitude by focusing on what wealth and abundance represent to you, for example: doing meaningful work, helping others, feeling joy and freedom in your life.

Although this requires some work on your personal money story, coaches and other business owners can consciously practice this type of gratitude by acknowledging each new client for the potential they bring:

• • Saying out loud, “Thank you, [client’s name], for this opportunity.”
  • Journal your anxious thoughts to release stress around money. Don’t carry that energy into your discovery calls.
  • Create a money playlist to create joy and envision prosperity before each discovery (and paying client) call.
  • Internally affirming gratitude for every financial exchange.

Practicing gratitude strengthens a mindset of abundance and trust in your business growth (alongside small and consistent action steps).

Thoughts to Action

Discovery calls are not just sales conversations – they are opportunities to connect, serve, and attract aligned clients. By integrating strategic marketing, gratitude, and structured call frameworks, you can create a seamless experience that naturally leads to committed clients.

Take Action Now:

Start incorporating discovery call invitations into your content and keep your funnel simple.
Offer a warm and inviting experience that provides a taste of your unique coaching style.
Refine your discovery call process to enhance confidence and clarity.
Practice gratitude for every client interaction (and work on your money story).

If you’re ready to elevate your coaching business, start implementing these strategies today.