What to send clients before the first call
Give new clients the context, questions and practical details they need to arrive ready for useful work.
Your first client call is tomorrow. You have a calendar link, a payment receipt and perhaps a short message saying “looking forward to it”. The client, meanwhile, may still be wondering what to bring, what will happen and whether they are expected to solve anything before you meet. A short pre-call note can remove that uncertainty and leave more of the call for useful work.
Start with the details they should not have to chase
Put the logistics near the top of the message. The client should be able to find the essentials in one scan, without opening several emails or searching through a booking page. Include the date, time zone, expected length, meeting link, preparation deadline and the best way to contact you if something goes wrong.
- 1Confirm the appointment in the client’s time zone, then include the length of the call.
- 2Add the meeting link and say whether they need an account, software or headphones.
- 3State what they need to send, and give a clear deadline such as “by 5pm the day before”.
- 4Explain the rearrangement and no-show process in one neutral sentence.
- 5Tell them what they will leave with: a decision, a plan, feedback, a draft or agreed next actions.
Ask questions that earn their place
A pre-call form is useful when the answers change your preparation or the order of the conversation. For a coaching call, that might be the outcome they want, what they have tried and where they are stuck. For a review, it might be the specific asset they want you to examine. Keep the questions close to the work rather than asking for a complete biography.
| Question | What it helps you do |
|---|---|
| What would make this call useful? | Choose a concrete outcome instead of filling the time. |
| What have you tried already? | Avoid repeating steps they have already taken. |
| Where are you stuck or uncertain? | Find the decision or obstacle that needs attention. |
| What should I review before we meet? | Limit preparation to the material that matters. |
| Is there anything I should know about the situation? | Spot constraints, sensitivities or accessibility needs early. |
Tell them how the call will work
Clients often arrive better prepared when they know the sequence. You do not need a rigid script. A simple outline might be: five minutes to confirm the goal, 35 minutes to work through the main issue, and ten minutes to decide the next steps. If the call is shorter or longer, change the timings, but keep the principle: show how the available time will be used.
Give preparation a sensible boundary
Be specific about what “prepare” means. If you want a client to bring three examples, name the three examples. If you need a document, provide the format and the section to focus on. If they need to think about a decision, give them the options you expect to discuss. You can sell and schedule coaching calls from a storefront, but the checkout cannot do all of the interpretation for you; your message still needs to turn a broad service into a clear next action.
- Ask for one primary goal, not five competing goals.
- Set a maximum amount of material to send, such as one document or three links.
- Say what you will and will not review before the call.
- Offer an alternative for clients who cannot complete the preparation.
- Do not make optional reflection sound like mandatory homework.
Make the message part of the client journey
Send the first version soon after payment, while the decision is fresh. If the call is booked weeks ahead, send a short reminder when the preparation deadline arrives rather than repeating the entire welcome note. Keep the answers and attachments with the client record so you can find them without searching your inbox. A storefront such as store.fan can take payment through your own Stripe account, and a customer CRM can help you keep the relevant client information in one place.
The wording should also match the promise made at checkout. If the offer says the client will leave with a prioritised plan, ask questions that reveal priorities. If it promises feedback on a sales page, ask for the page, its intended audience and the action you want readers to take. This is where the pre-call note becomes a quality check: if you cannot explain what you need before the call, the service may still be too broad.
Use a message you can repeat and improve
Write one reusable template, then add a small personal paragraph for each client. The template can hold the logistics and boundaries. The personal section can reflect the outcome they mentioned at purchase or in their form. After each call, note where the client was confused or underprepared. If several people ask the same question, move the answer into the template.
Send the practical details immediately after booking. If preparation is required, give a deadline that leaves you enough time to review the material. For a call booked the next day, keep the request short rather than pretending the client has a week of preparation time.
Send one reminder that explains what you can prepare without the answers. On the call, confirm the goal before moving into advice. If missing information repeatedly makes the service impossible to deliver, change the booking terms or the offer instead of adding more reminders.
Not necessarily. A short, repeatable session may only need the outcome and a few practical details. The more decisions, documents or people involved, the more useful an agenda becomes. Match the amount of structure to the risk of confusion.
You can make the process easier to repeat by keeping the booking, payment and follow-up close together. Store.fan gives you a storefront at store.fan/yourname, while paid plans start with a 14-day trial and take 0% of sales; Stripe’s own processing fee still applies. Money goes straight to your Stripe account. If you sell calls alongside downloads or courses, one clear post-purchase process can make each offer easier to deliver without turning the welcome email into a second sales page.
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