The problem
A discovery call is simultaneously a sales conversation and a coaching assessment. You are trying to understand whether the prospect is a good fit for your approach, whether you can genuinely help them, and whether the value you can offer is clear enough to justify the investment. At the same time, the prospect is evaluating whether they feel understood, whether you seem like someone they could work with, and whether the process you are offering makes sense for their specific situation.
Getting this right requires preparation. A coach who has taken ten minutes to look at a prospect's LinkedIn profile, understand what they do and where they are in their career or business, and think carefully about the kinds of questions that will be most illuminating, will conduct a significantly better discovery call than one who goes in cold with a standard script. But preparation takes time, particularly when you have multiple calls scheduled in a week.
The follow-up is an equally important and often poorly handled part of the process. A prospect who had a good discovery call but then received a generic follow-up email has been given a reason to hesitate. A personalised, thoughtful follow-up that reflects specifically what they shared in the call, articulates the value you could offer them, and makes the next step clear is much more likely to convert. Writing that follow-up well takes time and thought that is easier to find with AI support.
The system
Step 1: Research the prospect (Perplexity)
Use Perplexity to quickly research the prospect before the call. This takes five minutes and can make the difference between a generic conversation and one that feels immediately relevant.
Prompt example: "I have a discovery call with [name], who works as [role] at [company]. Please summarise: (1) what [company] does and any recent news about the business, (2) anything publicly known about [name]'s professional background or content (LinkedIn, articles, podcast appearances), (3) any relevant context about the industry or role that would help me understand the pressures and priorities they are likely to face. Please keep it factual and note the sources."
Cross-reference anything relevant against the prospect's own LinkedIn profile. The goal is to arrive at the call with enough context to ask intelligent questions, not to demonstrate that you have researched them intensively.
Step 2: Prepare tailored questions (Claude)
Use the research to develop questions that go beyond your standard discovery script and feel genuinely tailored to this person's situation.
Prompt example: "I am preparing for a discovery coaching call with a mid-level manager at a tech company who has recently been passed over for promotion and is considering whether to stay in corporate life or move into consulting. Based on this context, please suggest: (1) five opening questions that will help me understand the deeper motivation behind their interest in coaching, (2) three questions that will help me assess whether they are ready for the kind of intensive self-reflection my coaching involves, (3) two questions that will surface any practical constraints (time, budget, support from their partner, etc.), and (4) one question that invites them to articulate what success would look and feel like. Please also suggest one thing I should avoid bringing up prematurely."
Review the questions and select those that feel most natural to you. The goal is not to use all of them but to have more good options available than you need.
Step 3: Prepare to articulate your offer clearly (Claude)
Use Claude to prepare the explanation of your coaching offer that you will give if the conversation warrants it. This should be tailored to the specific type of client, not a one-size-fits-all pitch.
Prompt example: "I coach corporate professionals who are at a career crossroads. My programme is a 12-week 1-to-1 coaching engagement. Please help me craft a clear, compelling two to three minute verbal explanation of what the programme involves, how it works, what transformation it produces, and what the investment is. Tailor this version for someone who is analytically minded and will want to understand the structure and rationale, not just the emotional benefit. Avoid coaching jargon. UK English."
Step 4: Draft the follow-up email (Claude)
Immediately after the call, while it is fresh, use Claude to draft the follow-up email. The more specific you are in your prompt, the better the output.
Prompt example: "Please draft a personalised follow-up email for a discovery call I just had. The prospect is [name]. In the call they shared: [brief summary of what they shared]. They expressed particular concern about [specific concern]. They seemed most excited about [what resonated]. I recommended they join my [programme name] programme. The email should: reference something specific from the conversation, reflect their situation back to them in a way that shows I understood them, explain how the programme addresses their specific goals, outline the next step clearly, and close in a warm and unforced way. Avoid being pushy. UK English."
The results
Before: Discovery calls without preparation often felt like the coach was finding out the basics for the first time, which slowed the conversation and reduced the depth of connection. Follow-up emails were typically sent the next day and were often fairly generic.
After: Calls feel immediately more personal and insightful to the prospect, because the coach arrives knowing context. Follow-up emails go out within two hours and feel genuinely tailored. One coach reported that their discovery call to enrolment conversion rate improved from approximately 40% to around 60% after implementing structured preparation and follow-up, attributing most of the improvement to the quality of the follow-up communication. At a programme value of £3,000 per client, that conversion improvement represents significant additional revenue per month.