So what's involved in a discovery call?

So you've decided to reach out to a nutritionist, and you've found one you think you want to work with. Their profile looks great, and they've got glowing reviews... but on their profile, it says book discovery call. What does that mean and why can't you just book a session?

It's not you it's them…

Working on your relationship to food can feel a little scary, and opening up can be hard. So you want to work with someone you feel you can talk to and build that relationship with. And nutritionists don’t take it personally if you comment that they aren’t the right fit for you, sometimes it’s not something we can name - we just click or don’t with others. And that’s normal.

Some things that discovery calls allow us and you to assess:

• If the nutritionist works in your specialist area- for example, I work in Intuitive Eating, you may want to embark on a diet and a discovery call will allow me to explain further what I specialise in and if need be refer you on.
• To manage expectations and objectives - what do you want to get out of working with this nutritionist and what can be achieved?
• To give them a starting off point - you don’t want to start a session on a topic that is of no value to you - this brief introduction allows us to ask you questions that will lead to the next few sessions.
• To ensure they have a thorough understanding of where you’re at- whether they send a questionnaire beforehand or not, this chat allows more information to be shared that would be useful in helping you achieve your goals. Often we answer forms with short answers, or how we think we ‘should’ answer. Conversation allows organic information to be shared.
• To give you some options - at the end of the call you may be told “I think ___ sessions would be best for you” based on what you’ve shared. This will then dictate the financial and time cost to you, all outlined for your consideration. At this point you haven’t agreed to anything - it’s purely a conversation. You decide from here whether to continue...

Ultimately they set you up so that your first session is on track for what you are aiming for, using the information you’ve shared.

We’re trying to save you money - honest

Most discovery calls tend to be free, or a low cost relative to what a nutritionist charges. This is because they don’t want you to pay out your hard earned cash then realise they cannot help you. And so you have a session you’ve paid for that you may not get the most benefit from - to get the nerves out of the way. 

Feeling nervous about chatting via Zoom or on the phone?

You’re not alone. But if you’re going to work with this person and chat through your relationship to food you want to know they are someone you can talk to. And you can always ask to chat on the phone.

So take the leap and book the call, we're not too scary hopefully. 

Note: Everything above relates to how I run my discovery calls - some other experiences may vary.

Want to book a call with me? Book via my profile.