Why they went quiet
Rarely because they decided against you. Usually because something interrupted — work, a child, a price they need to discuss with someone — and the conversation simply stopped. Nobody is offended by a follow-up in that situation; they are mildly relieved that the decision came back to them.
Which is why the tone matters more than the timing. A follow-up that reads as chasing a sale annoys; a follow-up that reads as a doctor's team being organised does not.
Selling products or courses alongside the clinic?
Shopify is the quickest way to put a store behind your name — try it free.
The three touches
Day one: the answer, the band, two times. Day three: something useful they did not ask for — the one-page explanation of the procedure, the recovery timeline, or the criteria for who it suits. No ask attached at all. Day ten: "still happy to hold a slot if it is useful — [two times]", and then stop.
Three is the limit. A fourth reads as pressure and costs you the referral even in the cases where it wins the booking, which is a bad trade in a market where people talk to each other.
Automate the first two, personalise the third
Day one and day three can be templates triggered automatically, which is what makes the sequence survive a busy week. Day ten should be written by a person and reference what they originally asked about — that single detail is the difference between a sequence and spam.
Track one number: bookings recovered from follow-up, separately from first-contact bookings. It is usually large enough to surprise the clinic, and it is entirely free.