Your sales team has signed a new client that is in need of your social media management services. Now it’s time for the account manager to conduct a discovery call. But do you know the best questions to ask on a discovery call? Well, you’re in luck because we’re going to walk you through it today.
While a deal has been made, this is still a very important call to prepare for. You want to collect as much information as you can about the client. Additionally, the client should walk away from the call knowing exactly how you will get them to where they want to be.
So, knowing this much, what are the best questions to ask on a discovery call?
What’s Your Elevator Pitch?
First things first, you want to kick off the call with their elevator pitch. And, they may also ask to hear about your company as well.
What can you tell us about your business (in 30-60 seconds)? The point of an elevator pitch is to make it short, sweet, and to the point. And most importantly, you need to pick up on their pain points and what they are striving for.
During the discovery call, listen carefully, take notes, and be prepared to come back to certain points during the call. For example – ‘You mentioned you would like to do x, this is something we have experience with and can do for you. And here’s how we will accomplish that.‘
Here’s an example of what the B Squared pitch is, as shown on our website.
Questions To Ask
After you’ve heard the pitch, it’s time to ask the questions that get into the deep of it. These questions will help you and your team flesh out the plan of what expertise you can provide and what needs to be done to get there.
The Basics
- What social media efforts have you already tried? Cut to the chase. Have they dipped their toes into the social media world at all? Are they focusing only on one particular platform (which may not necessarily be the key to their target audience)?
- What’s your top focus for social media been (& where would you like to see it go)? This can range from growing their audience, engaging with the current one, or handling customer complaints.
- What platforms are you currently using/What would you like to use? Just as with our first question above, the platform they are using may not be the correct one for their target audience. That’s a great talking point for you during this call. Your agency is the key to unlocking which platform their audience is on the most.
- Do you currently have a marketing calendar? Not having a marketing calendar means they are flying by the seat of their pants and not on a schedule. These are important for keeping a business on track to promote and highlight upcoming services or events. So, if they don’t have one, this is another area to offer your expertise.
- Do you do any form of reporting or social listening? If they are not currently using social listening, this is your chance to blow their mind. B Squared Media has seen countless cases of how effective social listening can improve how a business handles everything from new products to customer complaints to boosting their own social media posts.
[Source: mindtickle]
Digging Deeper
- Do you have FAQ pages or resources? This is vital when you bring on an outside agency. The team of social media and community managers lean heavily on FAQ documents provided by the client. Quick reference docs will allow a community manager to answer a customer’s question with ease (and without having to bug the account manager or the client 15 times a day with questions).
- What are your rules of engagement on social media? This works in tandem with the aforementioned FAQ docs. The social media and community managers are an extension of the client. Everything from the tone of voice to how they sign off on replies should be synched with the entire team and client.
- How do you currently handle escalations? This is equally important to know so everyone is on the same page. Perhaps they have a seamless process. Or maybe they are completely chaotic and reacting to issues as they arise.
- What are your KPI goals? Are they acquisition cost, lead conversion rate, or return on investments? Knowing the potential client’s KPI goal will give you even more insight into the direction they are looking to go and if it’s realistic for the timeline they are requesting.
- Do you have content ideas? Are they already cranking out great content or in desperate need of another set of eyes to amp it up? Even if they have ideas of their own, your agency can still come in and take them to the next level to reach their goals.
- How are your branding and assets? Do they have clear branding or are they a bit chaotic on their social platforms? As an outside agency, you have the advantage of seeing things from a different perspective.
- What’s your worst social story? This is a great way to get a window into how they’ve been handling things. You can then share how your and your team have handled incidents such as these.
[Source: giphy]
After you’ve wrapped up your question and answer period, it’s time to let them know what your next steps are. In other words, discuss a weekly call time and agenda. Remind them of what you need to be sent to you as a follow-up (logos, assets, etc.), and determine the best form of continued communication (email, phone, platforms like Basecamp).
Wrapping Up
In the end, a discovery call should give you a clear picture of how the potential client’s organization has been handling its social strategy. It should also help you determine what you can do to take them to the next level.
Most importantly, this should be an organic conversation. Both sides will be asking questions, but make sure it doesn’t sound as if you’re checking off boxes on a list. Try to be as conversational as possible (you know we love to Think Conversation, Not Content!). Now you’re prepared with the best questions to ask on discovery calls!
What’s your most important question to ask on a discovery call? Let us know in the comments below!
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