This is the script itself: every line you say on a 30-minute discovery call, in order, with blanks for your own numbers. Keep it open on a second screen during the call and read from it until you stop needing to. The reasoning behind the structure — why the call is a verdict rather than a pitch, and why you should be talking for less than half of it — is in how to run a discovery call. This page assumes you have already decided to run it that way.
Fill these in before your first call
Six blanks. Fill them once, save the filled version, and you never think about them on a call again.
| Blank | What goes in it | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| PRICE | Your monthly figure, exactly as you say it out loud | Your package pricing, decided before the call |
| TERM | The minimum commitment, if you have one | Your own terms — three months is common, none is fine |
| SESSIONS | Training days a week you would give this person | Adjusted live, from what they tell you |
| CHECK-IN DAY | The weekday your check-ins land | Your existing week |
| REFERRAL | Two coaches you would send an unsuitable lead to | Decide now, not mid-sentence |
| SPOTS | Your real client cap, or nothing | Your actual capacity. If you do not have a cap, leave it out |
The rest of the blanks are filled during the call, from their answers. They are marked in the script with a short description of what belongs there.
Read their application form before you dial, and write their stated goal, their last attempt and their budget at the top of this page. Everything after that is reading.
Open the call — 0 to 2 minutes
Say this in full. It sets up the verdict and the ask so neither is a surprise later.
"Thanks for filling the form in, I've read it. Quick outline so you know where this is going: I'll spend most of the next half hour asking about what you're trying to do and what's stopped it working so far. Then I'll tell you straight whether I think I can help. If I can, I'll tell you exactly what I'd do and what it costs, and I'll ask you at the end whether you want to start. If I can't, I'll say so and give you a couple of names. Sound alright?"
Wait for the yes. Then:
"Good. First one's broad — tell me what a normal week looks like for you at the moment."
Their situation — 2 to 12 minutes
Ask these in order. Do not ask the next one until the answer has properly finished, and do not comment on the answers beyond "right" or "okay". Ten minutes, all theirs.
"What made you fill the form in this week? What changed?"
"What have you already tried?"
"How long did that last before it stopped?"
"What do you reckon went wrong that time?"
"Is there anything you've tried that did work, even for a while?"
"If we do this and it works, what's actually different for you in a year?"
Write down the exact words they use on the last one. You will read them back twice.
Two lines to use whenever an answer stops short:
"Say a bit more about that."
"What did that look like week to week?"
Find the obstacle — 12 to 18 minutes
The goal came out above. This section finds the thing that keeps beating them, which is what you are actually being paid to solve.
"What's the hardest part of this for you? Not the training — the whole thing, fitting it into your life."
"Think about the last time it fell apart. What was the week before that like?"
"What would have to be true for this to be different this time?"
Then say the pattern back to them before you move on. Fill the blanks from their answers:
"So let me check I've got this. The training itself isn't the problem — you've had blocks where it went well, most recently [WHEN]. It comes apart when [THEIR PATTERN — work gets busy, weekends, travel, nobody's watching], and then it's [HOW LONG] before you start again. And the bit you want to be different is [THEIR WORDS FROM THE LAST QUESTION]. Have I got that right?"
If they correct you, take the correction and say it back again. Do not move on until they have agreed with your version.
Give your verdict — 18 to 21 minutes
Say one of these two. Not a softened blend of both.
If it is a yes:
"Right — yes, I can help with this, and I'm confident about it. The reason is that the thing beating you isn't [WHAT THEY ASSUMED THE PROBLEM WAS — knowing what exercises to do, willpower]. It's [THE PATTERN YOU JUST AGREED ON], and that's the part I actually manage week to week. Can I tell you what I'd do?"
If it is a no:
"I'm going to be honest with you, because I'd rather do it now than in month two — I don't think I'm the right coach for this. What you've described needs someone who works with [SPECIALIST AREA] specifically, and that isn't me. Two people I'd genuinely send you to are [REFERRAL] and [REFERRAL]. Tell them I sent you."
Use the no when the person needs clinical support you are not qualified to give, has an injury or condition outside your scope, wants in-person sessions, needs sport-specific work you do not program, or wants a result in a timeframe you would have to lie to promise. Also use it on the reluctant yes — the one you would sign while thinking it probably will not work.
One more line for the expectation problem, before you write the call off:
"The honest version is [REALISTIC TIMEFRAME] for what you're describing, not [THEIR TIMEFRAME]. If that's not what you're after, I'd rather tell you now. If it is, I'm in."
Make the offer — 21 to 26 minutes
Every clause maps back to something they said. Say the price at normal volume and keep going for one more sentence afterwards.
"Here's what I'd do, based on what you've told me. [SESSIONS] sessions a week, [LENGTH] each — not [MORE], because you've told me twice that's where it falls over. Training built around [THEIR CONSTRAINT — a roster, a home gym, two kids, a bad shoulder]. Nutrition targets you can actually hit on [THE SITUATION THAT BROKE THE LAST ATTEMPT], because that's what killed it last time. We check in every [CHECK-IN DAY], and the check-in is where we change the plan for the week coming, not the week gone. That's [PRICE] a month, and I ask for [TERM] to start, because nothing worth seeing shows up before then. What questions have you got?"
Give one option. If you must give two, make the second one smaller, not cheaper-and-worse:
"There's a lighter version at [LOWER PRICE] — same programming, check-ins fortnightly instead of weekly, no messaging between them. Given what you said about [THEIR PATTERN], I'd point you at the first one, but it's there."
Ask for the decision — 26 to 30 minutes
Ask, then stop. Four or five seconds of silence is normal and you must not fill it.
"So — do you want to get started?"
Or, if that is too blunt for you:
"How do you want to leave it?"
Do not use "does that sound like something you'd be interested in?" It invites "maybe", which is not an answer and leaves you nothing to work with.
If it is a yes, keep them on the call while you start it:
"Great. I'll send the payment link now while we're still talking — tell me when it lands. Once that's through you'll get [WHAT ARRIVES] in the next hour, and your first check-in is [CHECK-IN DAY]. Before then I'll need [WHAT YOU NEED — photos, measurements, their gym's equipment list]."
Tell them what the first check-in will ask for, so week one has a shape before you hang up.
If they want to think about it
"Of course. Can I ask what specifically you want to think about? If it's the money, say so and I'll take it on the chin. If it's whether this'll actually work for you, I'd rather answer that now than have you decide on half an answer."
Then one of three follow-ups, depending on what comes back.
Money:
"Fair enough. Is it that it's more than you expected, or that it's more than you've got right now? They're different problems."
That is the fork into a price objection, which is its own conversation.
Doubt it will work for them:
"What makes you think you'd be the exception? I'd rather hear the worst version of it."
Timing:
"When would be the right time? If it's [THEIR DATE], let's book it in for then rather than you chasing me in six weeks."
Then set an actual next step, with a day on it:
"I'll message you [DAY] to see where you've landed. If it's a no by then, just tell me — I won't take it personally and I won't keep chasing you."
Send one message on the day you said. One more a week later. Then stop.
What is not in this script
There is no line about only having two spots left, no discount that appears when they hesitate, and no closing question engineered so that "no" is awkward to say. If you have a real cap, state it as a fact and move on:
"I take [SPOTS] clients and I've got [NUMBER] free. If they go before you decide, the next one opens around [WHEN]."
If that is not true, leave it out. There is also nothing here about your qualifications, your app or your programming philosophy, because none of it matters to the person until you have given a verdict, and most of it does not matter after either.
