What to do with an enquiry in the first day

Most enquiries do not die because the person changed their mind. They die in the gap between “I wrote to you” and “there is a time in the diary”. A slow reply, a vague offer, or a long explanation, and they book the therapist who made the next step obvious.

Reply the same day. This is what that reply needs, and the two notes to send if they go quiet.

Short, human, and it offers a way to book. Thank them. Say you can see them. Give two times. Point at the page that answers the practical questions. That is the whole message.

Here is a reply you can adapt. Change the days, the times, and whether you are in a room or online.

“Thanks for writing. I would be glad to see you.”

“I can do Tuesday at 10am, or Thursday at 6pm. The page below shows the fee, what the first session is, and how to book either time.”

“If you tell me what you would like to be different, I can make sure I am the right person.”

Offer two real slots from the diary you actually have. “Let me know what works” hands the work back to someone who is already nervous, and a lot of them will not do it.

Name the day and the time. Say whether it is in the room or online. If both times have gone by the time they reply, offer two more. You are narrowing the choice to two, not asking them to plan your week.

One question is enough. You need to know you can help, not to run an assessment by email. A useful one is what they want to be different, or how long this has been a problem.

Example: “What would you like to be different in a month?” If the answer shows you are not the right person, say so, and name the kind of help that would fit if you know it. Leave the longer history for the first session.

Do not send a long PDF about your approach, a pile of forms, or a lecture on how hypnotherapy works, before they have a time. Those belong after they have booked, or at the start of the session.

The forms protect you. They also tell a stranger that getting started is a project. Send the one link that covers the fee, the first session, and how to book. Save the paperwork for the person who has said yes.

If they have gone quiet, send one short note the next day. Assume the message got buried, not that they have decided against you.

A line you can adapt: “In case yesterday got lost, those two times are still free, and the booking link is below. If neither suits, tell me a day that does.” Then wait. A second message the same day feels like chasing.

One more note, about a week after your first reply. Shorter than the last one. You are still there, and the link still works.

Do not add a discount, a new package, or a longer explanation of your work. A shape: “I will leave this here. If you still want to talk, the booking link is the easiest way, or reply and I will offer two new times.” Then stop.

After that second note, leave it. Another message, a call they did not ask for, or a fresh note every few days is not a method. It teaches them that writing to you has no end.

If they come back in a month, reply as if the gap was ordinary. It usually is. Start again with two times and the same link.

Point at one page. The booking page is the right one if it shows the fee, what the first session is, and how to take a time. If the calendar on its own does not say those things, point at the part of the site that does, with the booking button on it.

Open that link on your phone before you send it. A link that fails, or that drops them at the top of a long page, is the same as not replying.

Take the last enquiry that went quiet and send the next-day note, if it is still fair. Fair means the last few days, not a message from the spring.

If nobody is waiting, write the reply now, with two real times and your link, and save it where you will find it the next time someone writes.