The consult that did not book: four follow-up texts, word for word
Most med spa consults that end in "let me think about it" never hear from the clinic again. Four plain follow-up texts, when to send each, and what to avoid.
A client sits through a 30-minute consult, nods at the treatment plan, and leaves with "let me think about it." Then nobody from the clinic ever contacts her again. That is where a lot of med spa revenue goes to die, and it is not because she said no. It is because nobody asked twice.
Below are four texts for the days after an unbooked consult. Copy them, change the brackets, and load them into whatever system sends your texts. Keep them short. Keep them human. Sign them with a real name.
Before you send anything
Three ground rules.
Get consent on the intake form. Your intake or consult form should have a clear line saying the client agrees to receive texts from the clinic about her appointment and treatment. If you do not have that, fix the form first.
Never put treatment details in a text that someone else could read. "Your filler consult" on a lock screen is more than some clients want shown. Refer to "your visit" or "your consult" and let her bring up the specifics.
One person owns the follow-up. Usually the provider or coordinator who did the consult. Texts from a stranger feel like a sales sequence. Texts from the person she just spent half an hour with feel like care.
Text 1: the same evening
Send it within a few hours of the visit, while she still remembers your face.
"Hi [first name], it's [provider name] from [clinic]. Thank you for coming in today. I put your plan and pricing in an email so you have it in one place. Any questions that come up tonight, just text me here."
What it does: it hands her the plan in writing, so she can show a partner or compare it later, and it opens a channel without asking for anything. Do not mention a deadline. Do not push.
Then actually send that email. One page, plain language, the treatment, the number of sessions, the total, and the next open dates.
Text 2: two days later
"Hi [first name], [provider name] again. A lot of people ask me after a consult whether [common concern, for example 'there will be downtime before the holiday party' or 'it will look natural']. Happy to answer that or anything else. I also have [day] at [time] open if you want to hold it."
What it does: it names the doubt she probably has without making her say it. Pick the concern based on what she asked in the consult. For a neurotoxin client it is often "will I look frozen." For laser it is downtime. For body contouring it is whether it works for her.
This is also the first time you offer a specific time. One time, not a calendar link with 40 slots. A specific time is easier to say yes to.
Text 3: one week later
"Hi [first name], it's [provider name]. No rush on your plan. If timing or budget is the hold-up, we can start with [smaller first step, for example 'one area' or 'one session'] and go from there. Want me to send a couple of times?"
What it does: it gives her a smaller yes. The most common silent reason for not booking is the total on the plan. Offering a first step keeps the door open without discounting the whole thing. If you run memberships, this is the place to mention them in one sentence. The pricing and memberships guide covers how to structure that first step so it does not train clients to wait for deals.
Text 4: three to four weeks later
"Hi [first name], [provider name] here. Just closing the loop on your consult from [month]. If now is not the right time, totally fine. I will keep your notes on file so we do not have to start over. If anything changes, text me here."
What it does: it ends the sequence with a respectful close. A good share of replies tend to come from this one, because it takes the pressure off. Some clients reply "actually, can I come in next week." Others reply "not right now," which is still useful because you can stop texting and put a note on the file.
After this, she goes onto your regular list for seasonal offers and nothing more from the provider directly.
What not to send
- "Just checking in." It says nothing and asks her to do the work.
- A discount in the first text. It tells her the price on the plan was never the real price.
- More than four texts. After four with no reply, you are no longer following up. You are bothering her.
- Before-and-after photos. Not in a text sequence. Show those in the consult and on your site.
Why this matters more than another ad
Consider what a consult costs you. Between ad spend, the coordinator's time and the provider's half hour, a single consult can easily represent $100 to $300 of cost before anyone books. If a clinic does 40 consults a month and lets every unbooked one go quiet, it is throwing away the most expensive part of its marketing.
The same logic applies to phone leads. The missed calls guide and the calculator walk through what a slow response costs. And because the clinics with the strongest review counts tend to be the ones with good systems everywhere, it is worth checking where you sit in the benchmark report: the median med spa in our data has 50 reviews, and the top 10% have 333 or more.
Set it up once
Write these four texts into your scheduling or CRM system as templates today. Assign one owner. Review the replies every Friday. That is the whole system.
If you want the follow-up texts built and running for you, the free 14-day trial covers any one service, no card: text or call (385) 217-0892.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, med spas among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor