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Playbook/Sales motion

Discovery Call Script — 15 Minutes to Close

048 min read1,530 words

The discovery call is the single highest-leverage 15 minutes in this business. Do not wing it. Run the same structure every time until it's muscle memory.

Before the call

  • Reload their Google profile, Yelp, and any existing site
  • Pull up the demo you built for them in a tab
  • Pull up your pricing page in a tab
  • Have a Google Doc or notepad open for notes
  • Calendar open for booking onboarding
  • Glass of water

If you have video on Calendly, dress like you're meeting a small-business owner, not a startup founder. Button-down. Clean background. Smile. They're trusting you with their digital storefront.

The 15-minute frame

0:00–1:00  → Welcome + frame
1:00–7:00  → Discovery (their business, their problem, what they want)
7:00–10:00 → Show the demo + walk through what we do
10:00–13:00 → Pricing, what's included, what's not
13:00–15:00 → Decision or next step

If you go to 20 minutes, that's fine. If you're at 30+, you're either rambling or they're skeptical — diagnose which.

0:00 — Welcome and frame

"Hey [FirstName], thanks for jumping on. Excited to show you what we built. Quick frame: I want to spend the first 5 minutes asking you about the business and what you're trying to do, then I'll walk through the demo, and then we'll talk about whether this makes sense for you. Cool?"

Wait for the yes. Setting the frame is 30% of the call.

1:00 — Discovery (the most important part)

Ask in this order. Listen more than talk. Take notes literally.

1. The business

"Tell me a little about [BusinessName] — what do you do, who's your typical customer, how long have you been at it?"

You're listening for: the language they use to describe themselves. That language goes on the website, word for word.

2. Where customers come from

"Where do most of your customers come from today? Walk-ins? Word of mouth? Google? Facebook?"

Listen for: their actual marketing channels. If they say "all word of mouth" — that's good news (validates demand) but also their #1 vulnerability (no funnel).

3. The pain

"What's the #1 thing about your online presence that drives you nuts? Or that you keep meaning to fix and never do?"

This is the magic question. Whatever they say is the headline of your pitch. Don't move on without an answer.

If they say "I don't know" → "Got it. From outside, the thing I noticed was [X]. Does that resonate, or is there something else?"

4. The "why now"

"What made you take this call today, vs. last month or never?"

Listen for: the trigger event. Did a competitor just open? Did they lose a customer? Did their nephew quit? This is the wedge that closes them today.

5. The decision dynamic

"If you decided to go ahead with this, is it your call alone, or is there a partner / spouse / business partner involved?"

You need to know NOW. If there's a co-decider not on this call, you cannot close today no matter how well it goes.

"Got it. Would [partner] want to be on the next call, or is this a 'tell them and they trust you' situation?"

7:00 — Show the demo (screenshare or send the link)

"Cool. So here's what I built. Couple notes:

  • The photos and copy are placeholders — your real ones go here.
  • This is on a fake URL right now — would go live on [businessname.com].
  • Built mobile-first, because [stat: most of their customers are on phones].

Walk me through your reaction as I scroll."

Scroll slowly. Pause on each section. Let them react. Don't narrate every feature — let them notice things.

When they say something they like → "Yeah, I figured you'd want that" or "Glad you noticed that."

When they say "can it do X?" → "Yes" 95% of the time, then describe how. The other 5%, "Not in this template, but I can add it — would push timeline by a few days."

Don't sell features. Sell outcomes:

  • ❌ "It uses Next.js with static generation."

  • ✅ "It loads in under a second on your customer's phone — same speed as Apple's website."

  • ❌ "I can add a contact form."

  • ✅ "When someone fills this out, you get a text within 30 seconds. Most local sites don't have this and they lose leads to whoever responds first."

10:00 — Pricing

Don't over-explain pricing. Walk through it once, clearly:

"Three plans. Here's the difference:

  • Starter — $97/month. Site, hosting, security, basic edits. For folks who just need a real website that doesn't break.

  • Growth — $197/month. Most of our clients are on this. Same site, plus monthly content updates, we manage your Google Business Profile, basic SEO, and you get a monthly report so you actually know what's happening.

  • Pro — $397/month. Add aggressive SEO, social posts, and Google Ads management. For folks who want us actually growing the business, not just maintaining a site.

All of them: no setup fee, month-to-month, cancel any time. If we screw up, you stop paying. That's the deal."

Then shut up. Wait. Whoever speaks next loses leverage. Let them ask the question.

13:00 — The decision

If they say "let's do it" / "what's next?":

"Awesome. I'll send you a one-page agreement and an intake form right after this call. Once those are back, we kick off — I'll have the first version of your real site ready in 48 hours. Sound good?"

"Quick payment thing — we collect the first month upfront via [Stripe link]. After that it just runs monthly on the same card. Cool?"

If they say "I want to think about it":

"Totally fair. What's the part you want to think about?"

Listen. Address the actual concern. Don't pile on pressure.

"How about this — let's pencil in next [Day] at [Time] for a quick check-in call. If you're in, we kick off then; if not, no harm done. Does that work?"

Always book the next step on the call. Open-ended "I'll get back to you" loses 70% of warm leads.

If they say "send me more info":

"Sure thing. What specifically would help you decide? I'd rather send the right thing than dump everything on you."

Listen. Send exactly what they asked for. Then book the next call.

After the call (every call, within 30 minutes)

  1. Send the recap email (template below).
  2. Update CRM with: tier they were interested in, timeline, decision-maker situation, next step, anything personal they shared.
  3. Calendar invite for next step (kickoff call, decision check-in, etc.).

Recap email template

Subject: [BusinessName] kickoff — recap

Hey [FirstName] — great chat. Quick recap of what we agreed:

→ Tier: [Growth / Starter / Pro] at $[price]/month, no setup fee
→ Domain: [we register / you have it at GoDaddy / etc.]
→ Timeline: first preview in 48 hours, live by [date]
→ Next step: [intake form here] / [agreement here] / [next call: date/time]

Anything I'm missing? Just reply.

— [YourFirstName]

If they didn't sign:

Subject: [BusinessName] follow-up

Hey [FirstName] — appreciated the time today.

To recap: I showed you the demo at [DemoLink]. You wanted to think about
[the specific thing they mentioned].

Penciled us in for [next-step date/time]. If you decide before then, just
reply with a thumbs up and we'll get rolling — otherwise we'll regroup
then.

— [YourFirstName]

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Talking too much. Aim for 30/70 — you talk 30%, they talk 70% in the discovery section.
  • Pitching before discovery. If you launch the demo before learning about them, you'll pitch the wrong thing.
  • Discounting. Never. The price is the price. Discounting trains them to negotiate everything forever and signals the price was inflated.
  • Skipping the decision-maker question. Ask it every time, no exceptions.
  • Not asking for the close. "Cool, I'll send you the agreement, sound good?" — that's the close. Say it.

When to walk away

Some calls you should not close. You'll lose money on them.

  • They're rude to you on the call.
  • They want a one-time custom build for $200 and "you can keep my site forever."
  • They want you to copy a competitor's site exactly.
  • Their business is borderline illegal or you're not comfortable with it.
  • They want unlimited everything for the lowest tier.

Polite exit:

"I appreciate you taking the call. Honestly, I don't think we're the right fit — sounds like you'd be better with [a freelancer on Fiverr / a local web dev / a Squarespace template]. Best of luck."

Then mean it. Do not chase. Your next-best lead is worth 5× this one.