When reaching out to a new client for the first time, should I throw my offer right away in DMs or start with a casual message, and how long should an ideal conversation last?
First, it's important to distinguish between a prospect and a client. A client has paid you for a service, whereas a prospect is someone you’re still trying to convert. When you’re reaching out via DMs, you don’t need to wait to warm them up. Build some reputation with content and followers, but once you start DMing, present your offer directly. Include quick social proof or a risk‑mitigation guarantee, then a clear call‑to‑action such as “Can we schedule a call tomorrow to discuss?” In short, throw your full pitch in the first message rather than a casual warm‑up.
Your job is not to sell at this stage; your job is to learn everything you can about how the prospect is running their business. Approaching the call from a learning perspective rather than a sales perspective actually increases the probability of selling. Many people rush to sell too early and miss that building rapport and perceived authority is the best way to sell. You can build rapport by paraphrasing what the customer says in slightly different words, showing you understand them. Approach the call with curiosity and ask questions; genuine curiosity increases the chance of closing a deal. Set expectations at the start: let them know you're just there to learn about their business and that a firm decision isn't required by the end of the call unless they want it. Your goal is to see if you can help them, and ask a couple of quick questions to verify that. Now, to frame the conversation, ask what made them respond to your outreach, what they're looking for, where they're coming from and where they're going—think of it like a doctor diagnosing.
After you’ve delivered value and the prospect responds positively, you can transition to the ask by saying something like, “Awesome, I’m down. Would you have time for a 10‑minute call where I can deliver even more value or show you something specific?” You can also frame it as answering a few quick questions for them. The key is to stay hyper‑respectful of their time—most of the people you’re reaching out to are influencers or creators—so keep the ask short and focused. You can even ask them to record a short video answering your questions. Throughout the process, keep increasing the commitment level: never back down, always add a little more commitment each step, and the prospect will be more likely to say yes to the call.
Definitely go with a discovery call to personalize the conversation and maximize face‑time before you’ve landed the client. Aligning expectations is a sales‑soft skill best done on a call; a form can’t capture the nuance of a relationship. Be realistic about timelines—if a client asks for something that sounds too good to be true, be straight up and explain why it’s not feasible. Care about quality and longevity; many steps in a project naturally take a couple of days, so be willing to quote a week or more rather than promising unrealistic two‑day turnarounds. Frame the conversation as a trade‑off among quality, cost, and speed—you can only have two. Making this clear builds trust and can even be used to upsell better solutions.
discovery callexpectation settingsalesclient communication
Treat follow‑ups as a normal part of the process, not a big deal. Send them consistently – the follow‑up itself is most of the battle. Use simple, boring messages like “Hey Pete, just checking in on the proposal. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Nick,” or “Hey Pete, just wanted to make sure you had a chance to look at the proposal; I see it’s still unread in PandaDoc, so I’m bumping it to the top of your inbox,” or “Hey Pete, I’m juggling a few proposals right now and wanted to make sure you’ve had a chance to review this before I commit to someone else.” Add value without changing the scope: include relevant industry news, mention similar clients who are seeing good results, share a roadmap, or point out a new opportunity, but don’t actually alter the original offer.