SECTION 1
Before the Call: Getting Aligned
By the time you get to a discovery call, your Catalant team has already done a great deal of pre-work: surfacing the opportunity, sharing early context on the client, and setting expectations on both sides. A short pre-brief with your Catalant contact before the call is worth the 10 minutes. At minimum, align on:
- What the client already knows about you. If your background has already been shared, you don’t need to re-introduce yourself with a full pedigree on the call — go straight to the client’s challenge.
- What’s already been discussed with the client. Avoid asking the client to repeat the context they’ve already given your Catalant contact. Doing so can be a source of frustration for the client and give the impression of misalignment. Use validating questions and drill down. “I understand the competitive field has expanded and XYZ Corp. is of particular concern, why do you think they’re eating at your market share?”
- Who’s leading which parts of the conversation? Decide in advance, if more than one person from your side will be on the call (see Leading Discovery as a Team, below).
- Any known constraints. Budget signals, timeline pressure, internal politics — that shouldn’t be news to you when the client raises them.
- What do you want the client to think, feel, and do? While this is a marketing construct, it works for sales calls too. Everyone has a role to play, what is it? How will each player influence the outcome?
SECTION 2
Call Flow
Right Before the Call: Quick Logistics Checks
- Log on 5 minutes early: Give yourself time for last-minute tech checks.
- Test your setup: Make sure your camera, mic, and connection are reliable.
- Dress professionally & avoid distractions: Sets a respectful, focused tone.
1) Set the Agenda — Skip the Resume
Your background has typically already been introduced by your Catalant contact before this call happens. Don’t reopen it. A brief acknowledgment is enough; then move directly to their problem.
Example Opener:
“Thanks for making time — I’ve got some context already from [Catalant contact], but I’d like to get some clarity to you directly. Here’s my understanding of your challenge. Can you give more context?”
Pro Tip: If you sense the client wants more background on you specifically, offer one sentence and redirect: “Happy to share more on my background if useful — but I’d rather spend our time on your problem, since that’s what matters most here.”
2) Discovery: Get a Layer Deeper
- Ask open-ended questions: “Walk me through your biggest pain points right now.”
- Practice active listening: Reflect back what you’re hearing: “So one key objective is to boost sales 20% by Q3, and capacity is the constraint. Is that right?”
- Peel back layers: When multiple goals surface, find out which one is most urgent or highest-impact — and say so out loud.
- Name what they haven’t said: The strongest discovery calls surface a piece of the problem the client hadn’t fully articulated yet. If you did your homework beforehand, use it here: “Based on what I’ve seen in similar situations, I’d guess [X] is also a factor — is that showing up for you?”
Pro Tip: Even with extensive prep, hearing the client describe the problem in their own words reveals priorities or angles you might have missed. Don’t skip this step just because you think you already know the answer.
3) Share Your Approach & Problem-Solve Together
- Outline your basic methodology: Walk through the shape of the approach — stakeholder interviews, data collection, analysis, etc.
- Seek client input: “How does this resonate? Where would you adjust it?”
- Invite collaboration: “Based on what you’ve shared, we could start by mapping your current sales funnel. Which parts do you already track in detail?”
- Adapt in real time: If new information surfaces, work through it with them rather than sticking rigidly to a pre-built approach.
Pro Tip: Getting the client to co-create the solution with you is often the clearest signal they’re ready to move forward. Treat it as the goal of this stage, not a bonus outcome.
4) Open Questions & Logistics: Lay the Foundation, Stay High-Level
- Timeline & start date: Know your availability, or at least a realistic window. Be willing to flex where you can, but be clear about where you can’t.
- Working style & communication: Share your view on cadence — weekly calls, daily check-ins, written updates — and get a read on what the client prefers. Clarify deliverable format expectations (deck, memo, model) up front.
- Budget & pricing: Avoid going into the budget discussion in detail. Your Catalant representative should have already gotten a sense of the budget if the engagement is well-scoped. If the discovery yields a more complex engagement or scope, it’s likely a discussion best had later.
- Catalant tip: If pricing needs finalizing, let the client know it’ll come through in the proposal or via your Catalant contact.
Pro Tip: If other active conversations may affect your availability, say so — both to the client and to your Catalant contact. It creates appropriate urgency and helps everyone plan around real constraints.
5) Wrap Up & Next Steps
- Summarize what you heard: “We’ve covered [the client’s core problem], a potential approach, and next steps on logistics.”
- Confirm follow-ups: Restate any commitments — from either side — with a specific timeline.
- Ask about their process: “What’s your decision timeline, and what does the path to a final decision look like?”
- Close with genuine interest: Let them know you’re engaged and appreciate the time.
SECTION 3
Leading Discovery as a Team
Increasingly, as Catalant takes on more complex engagements, more calls may feature multiple consultants. Running that well looks different from running a solo call.
- Connect on “run of show.” Everyone has a role to play, align on what it is. That includes assigning a lead. One person should own the agenda and keep time, even if someone else has deeper subject-matter expertise on a specific question. Decide this in the pre-brief, not live on the call.
- Divide discovery by domain, not by airtime. If your team spans multiple areas of expertise, let each person lead the portion of discovery closest to their expertise, rather than each person trying to speak equally throughout.
- Present as a team, not a panel. Avoid a format where each person delivers a mini-pitch about themselves in sequence. Instead, let the team’s collective approach — and how well its members work together in real time — be the demonstration of value. Clients are also evaluating whether this group functions well together.
- Debrief immediately after. A short sync right after the call, while it’s fresh, to align on what you heard and who owns what in the proposal, saves real time later.
Pro Tip: A well-run team call should feel more capable to the client than any one person on it — not just additive, but genuinely synergistic. If it feels like several individual pitches stitched together, that’s worth addressing before the next one.
SECTION 4
Takeaways
Drive the Conversation, But Stay Flexible.
In most cases, you (or your team) will lead. Occasionally a client comes in with their own list of questions — be ready to follow their lead when that happens.
Skip the Resume, Lead with Understanding.
Credentials get you into the room. What keeps you there is proving, in real time, that you understand the client’s problem better than a resume ever could.
Address Logistics Head-On.
Don’t wait for the client to raise budget and timeline. Naming them early signals confidence and reduces friction later.
By structuring the conversation this way (Agenda → Discovery → Approach → Logistics → Next Steps), you leave the client with a clearer view of their problem and real confidence in your ability to solve it. That combination, more than any polished self-introduction, is what wins the work.