Discovery comes after the contract

We're designing the client onboarding process for my firm right now.

My assumption was simple: talk to the client, understand their business deeply, then send the contract.

So I asked a friend who works at a large agency how they do it.

Their order is the opposite. Pitch, negotiate, close, contract signed — and then the discovery call happens.

That felt backwards to me. I pushed on it.

Her answer stuck with me: "This is an arranged marriage. I need to understand you in order to work with you — so tell me what you like."

The discovery call isn't a sales tool for them. It's the first day of work.

Because both sides have already committed, the client actually opens up. Nobody is performing. Nobody is holding back information to protect their negotiating position.

The discovery sheet they use is filled live on the call — order values, sales channels, gaps, who the customer really is. The client goes through a lot of self-actualization in that one hour.

And that only works because the deal is already done.

I'd been treating discovery as part of selling. It works better as the first act of delivering.