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The Discovery Call Playbook

Maya Ellison · May 30, 2026

The Discovery Call Playbook

Diagnose, don't pitch. Seven questions that surface the cost of standing still — and make your proposal obvious.

The discovery call is not a pitch. It is a diagnosis — and the consultant who diagnoses best wins the engagement.

My playbook runs in four movements: open with the commercial stakes, map the current state with seven exact questions, quantify the cost of standing still, and only then sketch the path forward. The magic is in the third movement. When a prospect hears themselves say the problem costs $25k a month, your $18k engagement stops being an expense and becomes obvious arithmetic.

Read on for the seven questions, the note-taking method that makes follow-up proposals write themselves, and how to close the call with a clear next step every time.

Maya Ellison

Independent strategy & growth consultant

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