The Conversation Starter Cheat Sheet

Turn a free download into a real conversation, and a real conversation into a client.

People keep grabbing your free thing and never becoming clients. The problem is almost never the freebie. It is what happens after, which for most practitioners is nothing. A list is not a relationship. Here are three moves, with ready-to-use lines, that turn a download into a conversation. Every one of them is built to do a single job: get a reply.

A download means someone wanted the free thing enough to hand over their email. That is the start of a conversation, not the win. Your one job with every follow-up is to trigger a reply.

Bonus: replies are also the strongest signal to Gmail and Apple that you are a real sender, so reply-getting messages keep you out of the spam and promotions folders.

Move 1

The one-question check-in

A short, personal-sounding note that asks one simple question about the exact thing they grabbed. It reads like a message from a friend, even though it can be fully automated. This is the famous 9-word email (Dean Jackson): subject line is just their first name, body is one question, nothing else.

Sleep freebie

"Are you still struggling to fall asleep at night?"

Stress freebie

"Are you still feeling stressed out these days?"

Confidence freebie

"Are you still holding back before you speak up?"

Your template

"Are you still [their problem, in their own words]?"

What makes it workSubject line is just their first name. The body is that one plain question and nothing else: no links, no signature, no P.S., not even a "hit reply." That bareness is the whole trick. Stripped down, it reads like a personal note from a friend, and people answer personal notes. The moment you add a marketing line, it starts to feel like marketing, and the replies dry up.

Move 2

Point at the bigger problem

Your freebie solved a small problem. But that small problem is usually a symptom of a bigger one, and the bigger one is what you actually help with. The sleep track helps them fall asleep, but the real issue might be the racing 2am anxiety underneath it. This follow-up gently surfaces the bigger problem and asks them to name it.

The case-study nudge

"This reminded me of someone I worked with. They grabbed this same guide, and it turned out the [surface problem] wasn't really the issue. The real thing going on was [bigger problem]. Does any of that ring true for you? When you think about it, what feels like the bigger thing underneath?"

The direct curiosity ask

"Most people who grab this are really wrestling with [bigger problem] underneath it. Is that true for you, or is it something else?"

Build your own in 3 steps1) Name the surface problem your freebie solves. 2) Name the bigger problem sitting underneath it. 3) Ask which one they are really living with. That question is what triggers the reply.

When they answer: resist the urge to solve it on the spot. Ask one clarifying question first ("tell me more, what does that look like day to day?"). Let the conversation breathe for two or three rounds. Feeling heard builds trust faster than any answer, and the call will start to suggest itself.

Move 3

Earn the call

Once you understand what they actually need, invite them plainly and presuppose the next step. No gym lets an interested prospect walk out with "we'll email you."

The invite

"Sounds like [bigger problem] is the real thing going on. Want to hop on a quick call so I can map out how I'd approach it? I've got a couple of slots this week."

Who to spend time on

Specifics mean serious. "I've dealt with this for years and tried four things" deserves your time.

"Sounds good, send info" is a tire-kicker. Send one thoughtful reply, then don't chase.

The math that makes it worth it

Roughly 3 new conversations a day is the path to a full practice.

A conversation isn't only a phone call. It's a DM, a comment reply, a text, or a chatbot handoff. Three a day is very doable.

✓

Prefer it done for you?

This whole reply-getting follow-up comes pre-built for every Pykthos member: the check-in emails, the nurture, and the reactivation questions, already written and automated. It is one piece of a complete, ready-to-install client-getting system we give all our members, called the Simple Machine. Build it yourself with this cheat sheet, or install ours and just add your own words.

Want us to help you build the follow-up that lands clients?

Bring your funnel to the next free Strategy Café, a live, no-pitch working session where Chris Thompson and Timothy September answer real questions from hypnotists and coaches and help you get unstuck.

Join the next free Strategy Café

P.S. When you are ready to build the whole client-getting system, the offer, the funnel, the follow-up, and the coaching to run it, that is the Pykthos Mastermind: pykthos.com/mastermind

The Strategy Café is where you get clarity. The Mastermind is where you build the system around it.

Conversation Starter Cheat Sheet | Pykthospykthos.com