What makes a good placement call?

We're writing down what a good placement call actually looks like, and your answers are what it gets built from. There are no right answers — write as much or as little as you like, and skip anything that doesn't fit.

Part 1

Your own calls

Think of the best call you've had in the last month or so. What happened on it?As much detail as you can remember — what you said, what they said, where it turned.

Now think of one that didn't work. Where did it start to go wrong?

At what point in a call do you usually know whether it's going to come off?

Part 2

Watching someone else

You're sitting in on a new starter's call. What would make you wince?List as many as come to mind — small things count.

What does someone else on the team do that you've started doing yourself?

What do you do on calls that you don't think is written down anywhere?

If you could teach a new starter one thing to make their calls better, what would it be?

Part 3

The hard moments

The client says £60–£80 is too expensive. What do you say — and what would you never say?

“How do you know who's right for me?” What do you say?

They tried therapy before and it didn't work. What do you do with that?

They're clearly hesitant and won't commit to anything. What do you do?

Someone goes quiet, or says they'll “have a think about it”. What's usually actually going on, and what do you do?

Part 4

Same call, same verdict?

Three short exchanges below. For each one: was that good, ok, or bad — and why?Trust your gut. Where two of us disagree about the same exchange is the most useful thing you can tell us.

Exchange A

Client…it's been since my mum died last year, really. I haven't been sleeping, and I've been signed off work for a few weeks now.

AgentOk, thank you. And did you have a certain budget you were hoping to stick to per session?

GoodOkBad

Exchange B

Client£70 a session? That's… a lot, if I'm honest.

AgentI completely understand, it is a lot of money. We do have a few therapists at the lower end, around £60 — I could look at those for you instead if that helps?

GoodOkBad

Exchange C

ClientThat does sound good, actually. What sort of times does she have?

AgentShe's got fairly good availability. And what's really lovely about her approach is she does a lot of work around self-compassion, which given everything you've said I think would be really valuable — she's also trained in EMDR, which is very effective for trauma…

GoodOkBad

Part 5

What we're scoring at the moment

Here's what we currently look at on a call. For each one, does it matter a lot, matter a bit, or is it not really part of the job?

Opening & purposeA lotA bitNot really

Framing the roadmapA lotA bitNot really

Invitation & listeningA lotA bitNot really

Empathy before logisticsA lotA bitNot really

Practical discoveryA lotA bitNot really

The match pitchA lotA bitNot really

Handling hesitationA lotA bitNot really

Payment & wrap-upA lotA bitNot really

Warmth & rapportA lotA bitNot really

What's missing from that list?

Which two of those matter most?

Is there anything on that list you'd be uncomfortable having one of your own calls scored on? Why?

When would you want to see feedback on your own calls?After every call · weekly · only when something stands out · not at all — and why.

After every callWeeklyOnly when something stands outNot at all