Before the Call: Set Yourself Up to Diagnose Fast
The quality of your discovery call is largely determined before the call even starts. Two things matter here.
Require a pre-call intake form. When a prospect books your discovery call, ask them 3 to 5 questions. Their website URL. Their primary business goals. Their main SEO concern. What they've already tried. This information lets you arrive with context instead of spending the first ten minutes asking basic questions.
Talkspresso lets you set up intake questions that clients answer at booking, so this information is waiting for you when the call starts. No email chains, no back-and-forth.
Run a quick audit before the call. You don't need to do a full site crawl. Spend 15 to 20 minutes before the call doing a targeted review. Pull a Screaming Frog crawl on key pages. Check their Search Console data if they've shared access. Look up their domain in Ahrefs or SEMrush. Note the top 3 to 5 issues that stand out.
Come to the call with a clear picture of the problem. This is what separates consultants who close from those who don't.
The Discovery Call Structure That Converts
A strong SEO discovery call runs 30 to 45 minutes and follows a clear arc: build rapport, diagnose the problem, demonstrate expertise, and present the path forward. Here's how to run it.
Phase 1: Alignment (5 minutes)
Start by setting expectations.
"I reviewed your site before this call and I want to share a few things I noticed. But first, I want to make sure I understand what you're actually trying to achieve. Tell me a bit about your business and where you want SEO to fit in."
This does three things. It signals you prepared (which immediately builds credibility). It reorients the conversation around their goals rather than just their problems. And it gives you information that helps you frame the rest of the call in terms of outcomes they care about.
Listen more than you talk in this phase. Ask clarifying questions: "When you say you want more traffic, what does that traffic need to do for you? Is this about leads, sales, brand awareness?" Understanding the outcome they're after is what lets you later position your services as the means to reach it.
Phase 2: Diagnosis (15 minutes)
Now you show what you found. Share your screen and walk them through the most impactful issues.
This is the heart of the discovery call, and this is where most consultants make the mistake that costs them the deal: they either reveal too much or too little.
What to reveal: Show 2 to 3 specific, concrete issues. Real data, not generalities. Pull up their Search Console performance report and point to keywords where they're ranking on page 2 that could move to page 1 with targeted work. Show a crawl error that's preventing key pages from being indexed. Demonstrate one technical issue affecting Core Web Vitals.
Be specific. Specific is credible. "You have 47 pages returning 4xx errors that are consuming crawl budget" is more powerful than "you have some technical issues." Specificity shows you did the work and you know what you're looking at.
What to hold back: Do not provide the roadmap. You can name the problem clearly. You should not explain exactly how to solve it. "This internal linking structure is fragmenting your PageRank flow" is diagnosis. A detailed explanation of the specific changes to make is consulting work. That's what they pay for.
This is not about being withholding. It's about scope. Your job on a discovery call is to help them understand the nature and severity of their problem, not to solve it. Solving it during a free call both devalues your expertise and removes the reason to hire you.
Phase 3: The Stakes Conversation (5 minutes)
After you've shown the issues, make the cost of inaction real.
This is where you connect the SEO problems you've identified to business outcomes they care about. If you did your job in Phase 1, you know what those outcomes are.
"You mentioned you're trying to generate 50 inbound leads per month from search. Right now, your top product page is ranking position 14 for your primary keyword. At that position, you're getting maybe 1% of the clicks. Moving it to the top 3 would get you 20 to 30% of the clicks on that query. That's the difference between 2 leads a month from that page and 40 to 60 leads a month. The path to get there is fixable. But it requires a deliberate plan."
This framing does two things. It makes the gap between their current state and desired state concrete and quantifiable. And it sets up the natural next step: a plan.
Phase 4: The Transition (5 to 10 minutes)
Now you present the path forward.
Avoid the common mistake of pitching a retainer on a discovery call. Most prospects are not ready to commit to an ongoing engagement with someone they just met. Instead, propose a defined next step with clear deliverables.
"Based on what I've seen, the three highest-impact areas are your technical crawlability issues, your internal linking structure, and your target keyword alignment. What I'd recommend is starting with a full SEO audit session. That's a 90-minute working session where I run a complete analysis of your site, walk you through the full findings, and deliver a prioritized action plan you can start implementing immediately. The rate for that is $350."
The paid audit session (or strategy session, or whatever you call your paid entry-point service) serves several purposes. It gives the prospect a concrete, low-commitment next step. It gives you a paid opportunity to deliver genuine value. And it's the natural entry point into an ongoing relationship.
Make the decision easy. Have one clear recommendation. Do not present three different package options at this stage. Decision paralysis kills conversions. Tell them what you recommend and why.
Pricing the Transition from Free to Paid
The entry-point session is a pivot from a free conversation to a paid engagement. Pricing it well matters.
For the discovery call itself: If you are currently running free discovery calls, consider moving to a short complimentary call (15 to 20 minutes) with a lower barrier to entry than a full 45-minute session. Shorter free calls reduce the time cost of no-shows and low-intent prospects without eliminating access. You can also offer the discovery call as a paid option (typically $50 to $75) with the fee credited toward a paid engagement if they proceed. This filters for serious prospects while eliminating the financial objection for those who do hire you.
For the paid entry-point session: SEO audit and strategy sessions typically price in the $200 to $500 range depending on your experience and depth of analysis. This is not where you make your money long-term. This is where you earn trust and demonstrate the value that justifies a retainer. Price it at a level that feels like a clear win for the prospect given the expected outcome.
For the ongoing engagement: Do not price retainers on the discovery call unless the prospect brings it up and shows clear buying signals. Your goal at this stage is to get them to say yes to the next step, not to lock in the full scope of work.
What Kills Conversion on SEO Discovery Calls
Even a well-prepared consultant can lose a deal with small execution mistakes. These are the most common ones.
Talking too much about your process instead of their problem. Prospects care about their situation, not your methodology. Spend 80% of the call on their problem. Briefly explain your approach when they ask how you'd solve it.
Ending without a clear ask. A discovery call that ends with "let me put together a proposal and send it over" has a conversion rate well below 20%. A call that ends with "would you like to book the strategy session for next week?" converts at 3 to 5 times that rate. Make the ask on the call.
Giving away the solution. If you spend 20 minutes explaining exactly which keywords to target, which pages to fix, and how to restructure their internal links, you have answered their question. They no longer need to hire you. Diagnose the problem clearly. Leave the solution for paid work.
Not screening for fit. Not every prospect is worth converting. If someone clearly cannot afford your rates, has unrealistic expectations, or wants something you don't offer, say so. Spending time trying to convert a bad fit is time you're not spending with good prospects. Be direct: "Based on what you've described, I don't think I'm the right fit for this. Here's what I'd suggest instead." Referrals and graceful exits build more long-term goodwill than forced engagements.
The Follow-Up Sequence That Closes the Deals You Don't Close on the Call
Not every prospect will say yes on the call. That's normal. What separates consultants who grow from those who plateau is what happens after the call.
A simple three-step follow-up sequence handles the majority of post-call conversions.
Email 1: The Recap (Within 24 Hours)
Send a follow-up email the same day or within 24 hours of the call. Keep it short.
Subject: Recap from today's call
"Great talking with you today. Here's a quick recap of the top issues I mentioned:
- [Issue 1 from the call]
- [Issue 2 from the call]
- [Issue 3 from the call]
As I mentioned, the SEO Strategy Session is the right next step to build out the full picture and give you a prioritized action plan. You can book it here: [booking link]. Let me know if you have any questions."
This email is valuable for three reasons. It reinforces the specific problems you identified, keeping them top of mind. It provides the booking link so the action is one click away. And it demonstrates that you are organized and follow through, which is itself a signal of how you'll work as a consultant.
If you set up your discovery call on Talkspresso, the session is recorded automatically and you receive an AI-generated summary with key points from the conversation. You can reference that summary in your follow-up email, which shows the prospect you were listening carefully.
Email 2: The Value-Add (3 to 5 Days Later)
If the prospect has not booked, send a second email. Do not follow up with "just checking in." That phrase signals that you have nothing new to offer. Instead, send a small piece of value.
Subject: One more thing from your site
"I was thinking about your site after our call and ran one more check. Your [specific page] is getting crawled but has a thin content issue that's likely suppressing its rankings. This is a quick fix but meaningful. It's one of the things I'd address in the strategy session. If you want to go ahead and book, the link is here: [booking link]."
This email demonstrates continued investment in their problem without overdelivering. You're offering a specific observation, not a solution. It keeps the conversation alive and reminds the prospect that you've been thinking about their situation.
Email 3: The Close (7 to 10 Days Later)
If there is still no response, send a final email.
Subject: Closing the loop
"I want to close the loop on our conversation from last week. I have one opening for a new strategy session client this month. If you'd like to move forward, here's the link: [booking link]. If the timing isn't right, no worries at all. Happy to reconnect when it makes sense."
This email uses a soft scarcity signal (one opening this month) without being manipulative. It also releases pressure by acknowledging that timing may not be right. The combination of scarcity and low pressure is more effective than either alone.
After three emails with no response, stop following up. You have done your job. Continuing to chase unresponsive prospects costs time and signals low demand.
Using Talkspresso to Run Free and Paid Sessions Side by Side
One of the structural challenges of offering free discovery calls is keeping them separate from your paid sessions in a way that's clear and professional. You want prospects to be able to book a complimentary intro call without confusing it with a paid engagement, and you want existing leads to easily find and book the paid follow-up service.
Talkspresso lets you set up multiple session types with different pricing, so you can offer both a free discovery call and a paid strategy session on the same booking page. Prospects see both options clearly. When the time is right, moving them from one to the other is as simple as sharing a direct link.
The platform handles payment collection, calendar sync, video calls with screen sharing, session recording, and AI summaries in one place. For an SEO consultant running discovery calls and paid sessions, this eliminates the need to manage Calendly, Stripe, Zoom, and a separate follow-up system separately.
Intake questions are particularly useful for SEO discovery calls. Require prospects to submit their website URL, primary keywords they're targeting, and their biggest SEO concern before the call. By the time the session starts, you already have the context you need to show up prepared.
Turning Discovery Calls Into a Repeatable Revenue Engine
A well-run discovery call process does not just convert individual prospects. It creates a flywheel.
Every client who goes through the discovery-to-paid pipeline becomes a source of referrals, testimonials, and case studies. Collect testimonials after every successful engagement. Ask directly: "Would you be willing to leave a short review about your experience?" Positive reviews make your booking page more convincing for the next prospect and reduce the skepticism you have to overcome on every new discovery call.
Track your conversion rate over time. What percentage of discovery calls convert to paid sessions? What percentage of paid sessions convert to ongoing retainers? Where in the process are you losing prospects? These numbers tell you exactly where to focus your improvement efforts.
If your show rate is low (under 70%), the problem is usually in your pre-call process. Add more specific confirmation emails and reminders. Require a pre-call questionnaire to increase commitment. Consider moving to a low-cost paid discovery call with the fee credited toward the first engagement.
If your on-call conversion rate is low (under 30%), the problem is usually either too much free advice, a weak transition to the paid service, or poor fit with the prospects you're attracting. Record your calls and listen back to find the moment where interest drops off.
If your post-call conversion rate is low and prospects are ghosting after the call, the problem is usually in your follow-up. Implement the three-email sequence above and measure whether it improves your outcomes.
The Bottom Line
SEO discovery calls are not an overhead cost. They are a sales asset. The consultants who grow their practices fastest treat every discovery call as a conversion opportunity and prepare accordingly.
Show up with specific findings. Diagnose the problem without giving away the solution. Make a direct ask for the next paid step. Follow up with three targeted emails. Track your numbers and optimize the weakest point in the process.
That is the system that turns free calls into paid clients.
Explore the full feature set on Talkspresso for Consultants, or read our platform comparison for paid video calls.
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