111. Your Doula Consult Went Great... Until It Didn't

She loved your energy.

She opened up about her birth. You connected instantly. The conversation felt easy. You hung up thinking, there's no way she's not booking.

Then comes:

"I need to think about it."

"I need to talk to my husband."

Or worse... silence.

And your first instinct might be to blame your price or the other doula she's interviewing.

But what if you're losing the sale somewhere completely different?

In this episode, I'm breaking down five mistakes I've repeatedly spotted while auditing real doula consultations- and most of them look like things you're supposed to be doing.

Building rapport. Educating. Explaining your value. Giving her options. Giving her space to decide.

You know that connection is one of your greatest strengths..

But connection without leadership creates hesitation. And hesitation doesn't convert.

We're getting into the tiny moments that can completely change the outcome of a consultation, what happens after you say your price, why giving a mother more options can actually make the decision harder, and the place I see doulas unknowingly abandon the sale altogether.

And if your immediate thought is, "But Lisa, I just need more inquiries..."

Listen to this episode before you spend another minute trying to create them.

Because more leads won't fix a conversion problem.

And you may be much closer to consistent $10K months than you think. 

Struggling to grow your doula business? Tired of chasing prospects online? Imagine effortlessly attracting your dream clients and consistently generating a steady income month after month. 

⬇️ START HERE ⬇️

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, Lisa, I need more inquiries. I need more visibility. I need more content because I don't have enough consults. Take a beat because most of the time, there's more to it. Because if you call in more mothers, you better be closing the ones who already showed interest. You need to convert the ones sitting in front of you. Welcome to the Six Figure Doula podcast. This is where confidence becomes currency. If you're a birth worker who's ready to stop overthinking, stop undercharging, and start leading like you mean it, then you're not here by accident. Every week we talk sales without the ick, money without shame, and building a business that actually holds you and your clients. Welcome home, Doula. Happiest Tuesday, my friends. Before we get into today's topic, I want to take a second and anchor into what this month really represents for me. And I've put a lot of thought into this and I want to share it. I think that this matters. And it matters more than anything I could teach you today. Even though today's topic is a super juicy one, I want to just pause and recognize what April means to me. April is about to be a month of rest and reset, a regroup, like a recalibration. And I have to say it out loud with intention because I need the accountability from my people. If you're someone that operates the way that I do, or we have those similarities, you know that you can keep pressing on and you can continue to push and you can show up and perform, even when something deeper is asking you to take it slow. And the reason that I wanted to show up here and be super honest about this is that this last season of my life has felt like I'm weathering a storm. A storm that I'm absolutely very, very close and almost ready to talk about more openly here, but I'm not fully on the other side of it yet. And it just doesn't feel like the right time because I'm still in it and I'm still processing, feeling it, making sense of it. And I don't ever want to come on here and package things up tidy and neat just to sound like I've got things figured out because I don't. Not right now. But what I can share in this moment is that I recently went away and I was able to mastermind with two doula colleagues of mine who've become two of my absolute closest friends. And in that space that we created, there were things that were revealed. And we had the kind of conversations that don't just like inspire you, they actually shift you. And these women helped me see some blind spots. They helped me recognize some patterns that I absolutely couldn't see on my own, the places where I thought I was leading, but I was actually avoiding. Like life immediately asked me, okay, so now what are you gonna do with what you just saw? And it was so, so needed, but also really hard. Like the kind of hard that eats away at you a little bit and makes you question things and reevaluate things and sit with things maybe you didn't want to sit with. So all of that to say, I want you to know that I am going to share more about this and I'm not trying to be secretive. I'm ready soon, because I just don't believe in hiding the mess or the challenge. That's where the real transformation happens. I wish more coaches allowed us in so we could see what's actually going on. I think that would benefit all of us, but right now I'm very much still in it. And April is giving myself permission to slow down enough to actually move through it instead of skirting around it. I also just need to say, I think even for my own vanity, I guess, is that that does not mean I'm losing focus, right? There's intention behind this shift, and it doesn't mean that everything falls apart or that I can no longer measure success. So I feel like for my own sake, I have to go on record and say there's a difference. And truly, this really does tie directly into what we're discussing today, because one of the biggest things that came up for me when I was masterminding with these incredible women was how often we think we're showing up in leadership and we're actually sitting in what feels more comfortable. And I do see this all the time on doula consults. And I have the benefit and the absolute honor of watching my clients' consultations, their recorded calls, and giving them direct feedback, auditing it beside them, debriefing and using that data to grow. So what I want to start off with is that most doulas are absolutely incredible at connection. And I know you're shaking your head going, yeah, that's me. But a lot of doulas struggle to lead. So let's just call a spade a spade. You have been trained, right? Or through your experience, you have developed skills to hold space, to validate mothers, to nurture and to educate. And you are damn good at those things. And that is why your consultations feel so productive. And it's why moms open up to you. It's why you get off that call thinking that was such a beautiful conversation. But then you're often hit with, well, we need to think about it. And then you're sitting there like, wait, wait, wait, wait. What? Because in your mind, the connection should equal conversion. But there's this thing that I had to learn the hard way more than once. And that is connection without leadership creates hesitation. Ouch. Hesitation does not convert. And I also want to classify what we do here. So a consultation is not just a vibe check. It is not as simple as a heart-to-heart. It's not just seeing if you click with this mother. It is a leadership moment. She is absolutely not getting on that call to interview you like it is a job. She is getting on that call because she's overwhelmed. She's unsure. She is craving safety and she is looking for someone to guide her. And if you fail or refuse to step into that role, she will walk off that call unsure. Even if she loved you, even if she trusted you or wanted to say yes, there's a gap. And it's not your pricing, it's not how many births you've been to, it's not how many postpartum hours you've completed. It has nothing to do with your Instagram. It is your ability to lead the moment. So I want to break down the five mistakes that I see over and over again. And this is not an exhaustive list, but based on even just the last 30 days of the calls that I've audited, these are the five that have come to the forefront and been the most common. These are the five that are killing the yes on your consultations. And I'm going to tell you how to fix them. So let's start here, because this one feels like you're doing it right, but it's actually where you lose the sale. So you are asking questions like, what are you looking for in a doula? What do you envision for this birth? And she's answering, but she's answering from her head, not her truth. So the conversation stays at this safe level, surface level, polite. And when that happens, you never uncover the real reason that she showed up, which means you cannot lead her to a real decision. Because women don't buy support based on logic. They buy it based on emotion, urgency, safety. And if you never access those things with her, there is nothing to move her forward, to take an actual action. So this may sound something like, I don't trust the hospital system. My last birth was traumatic. I'm scared. I'm gonna panic in labor. I don't really feel supported by my provider if I'm being honest. That is where that decision lives. So your job is to go there. Not aggressively, but with intention. Follow those threads. Ask things like, what about that feels scary for you? Tell me more about that. What would it mean to you to feel fully supported this time around? Do not rush past these answers because the depth of the conversation determines the power of the close. All right, let's go to another one. This one, I see all the freaking time. You start explaining, you start going full-fledged on your process and what doulas do, the comfort measures that you're gonna go over in the prenatals, even your certifications. And in your mind, you're thinking, if she understands how valuable this is, she will absolutely say yes. But what actually happens is she's gonna disconnect. Because now, once again, she's in her head, analyzing, comparing, thinking to herself, do I really need all this? You accidentally shifted her from do I want her to do I even need a doula? That is a dangerous place to put yourself in. Chat GPT can educate her. None of that creates certainty. What creates certainty is anchoring her in the transformation, not what you do, what changes her. So instead of listing your features, say something like, based on what you shared here today, what I'm hearing is that you're really craving someone in your corner so you don't feel alone or dismissed in that environment. You want to feel calm instead of panicked. You want someone who can help you stay grounded when things get intense. That is the work that I do with my clients. Help her feel seen. Don't teach her. And that is gonna build trust faster than any credential ever will. She does not care. All right, mistake number three. And this is where things start to fall apart structurally for so many of you. So you present multiple packages, maybe three tiers, right? You talk about add-ons, custom options, flexible pricing, because you want her to feel like she's got choice in this. But what she's actually gonna feel when you do that is more overwhelm. Because now she's not deciding, do I want to work with her? She's deciding, okay, what option here is the smartest for me? What can I maybe remove to make this cheaper? Do I really need all of this? You literally handed her the clipboard full of stuff. She doesn't want that. She needs certainty. She wants to feel like this is the right level of support for me. I want you to lead. So instead, maybe say something like Based on what you brought here today, this is the level of support that I would recommend for you. And here's why: one offer, one price, one clear pathway. And then you hold that. No customizing, no scrambling, negotiating with yourself out loud. Clarity creates the safety. Safety creates the decisions. Mistake number four. This right here, this is the moment. This is where doulas lose the sale. But you're thinking all along that you're still in it. Breaks my heart. You say the price, and then you immediately start talking faster. You justify the cost. You explain what's included again. You soften your tone, you fill that awkward silence because that silence feels unbearable. And in that moment, you're literally giving away your power. And it has, it's not even about what you said. It's because of the energy that was behind what you said. Because when you rush in to explain what her brain converts that, what her ears hear, oh, she doesn't feel solid about this. And if you don't feel solid, why would she? So here's the fix say the price and pause. Let it land. Let her feel it. Give her a moment to process it and react to it. Because that pause is where the decision is forming. Do not interrupt it. Don't interrupt your own sale. The sale is absolutely not lost at the price. I hear that every single day. Lisa, it's my pricing. No, it's not. The sale is lost in how you respond after, which leads us directly to the biggest mistake of all. And this one feels like you're being professional and non-pushy, but it's actually killing your conversions. So you're ending the call with, okay, so I'm going to send everything over via email or take your time. Let me know what you think. I'll circle back with you. And then you just leave it up to chance. Hope she comes back. What you've done there is removed all leadership from that moment. Now she's just alone with her thoughts and a lengthy email. Her partner. Chat GBT, her fears. And guess what grows in that space? Doubt. So instead, I want you to stay in the moment. Ask, so based on everything we just talked about, how are you feeling about moving forward today? Or maybe even more direct. So what do you say? Do you feel ready to move forward with this level of support? And then just listen and lead. Because objections and they are coming, okay, they're not rejection. Those are the doorway to the sale if you stay in it. So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, well, Lisa, I need more inquiries, I need more visibility, I need more content because I don't have enough consults. Take a beat. Because most of the time, there's more to it. Because if you call in more mothers, you better be closing the ones who already showed interest. You need to convert the ones sitting in front of you. And that only happens when you stop over-explaining, when you're underleading, and you quit abandoning the close. I want you to start showing up as the guide because the doulas who are booked out, it's because they know how to lead a decision with heart. Now, if you're realizing, wow, I've been doing like at least two or three of these. I've been making these mistakes consistently. I want you to take my free assessment. And it's called why your doula business is stuck under $10,000 months. Because this is gonna help you diagnose exactly where your bottleneck is. It's not always obvious. Is it your consultation structure? Is it your offer, your package? Is it your content strategy, your follow-up? I'm gonna help you break it down. So instead of guessing, you will actually know what's keeping you stuck. So go take the assessment. It's free, it's in the show notes. Or you could go to thhelisa v V-E-E dot com slash assessment. So you can start fixing the real problem. You could start hearing, I'm in, let's do this, where do I sign? A hell of a lot more. You are not that far off, doula. You are not that far off from sixth figure doula status.