What should I say when someone enquires about treatment?

You've done the hard part.

Someone has found your clinic.

They've looked at your content. Been recommended by a friend. Found you on Google. Visited your website.

And now they've sent you a message:

"Hi, I've been having some knee pain when running. Is this something you can help with?"

This is where something strange often happens.

The practitioner suddenly becomes incredibly formal.

"Thank you for your enquiry. We offer a comprehensive musculoskeletal assessment followed by an individualised treatment and rehabilitation programme..."

Or they go straight in with:

"Yes. Initial assessments are £60. Here's the booking link."

Neither is necessarily wrong.

But you've potentially missed the most important part of the enquiry:

There's a person on the other side of it.

Someone who probably doesn't understand exactly what's wrong.

Someone who may be worried about their injury.

Someone who might have already tried other things.

And someone who is deciding whether they trust you enough to help them.

Your job isn't simply to answer the enquiry. It's to make the next step feel easy.

Stop treating every enquiry like a sales opportunity

Of course you want enquiries to become patients.

You're running a clinic after all.

But if you approach every conversation thinking:

"How do I sell to this person?"

it can change the way you communicate.

You start trying to persuade rather than understand.

For most clinics, you don't need complicated sales techniques.

You need to have a good conversation.

Understand what the person needs.

Establish whether you can genuinely help.

Explain the next step.

Make it easy for them to take it.

That's it.

The best conversion strategy is often simply being helpful, clear and confident.

The first thing you should do is understand

Imagine someone messages:

"How much is a Sports Therapy appointment?"

The easiest response is:

"£60."

Question answered. Conversation potentially finished.

Instead, you could say:

"Of course. An initial assessment is £60. What are you looking to get some help with?"

You've still answered their question.

But you've also opened a conversation.

Now they might say:

"I've had pain in my Achilles for about three months. I've rested it a few times, but every time I start running again it comes back."

Now you understand the actual problem.

And more importantly, they feel heard.

You don't need to interrogate them.

You don't need to conduct an assessment through Instagram DMs.

You just need enough information to understand why they've contacted you.

Don't diagnose through messages

This is an important boundary.

Someone sends you three paragraphs describing their symptoms and asks:

"What do you think it is?"

It's tempting to demonstrate your expertise.

You start explaining possible diagnoses, tissues involved and what you think might be happening.

But you haven't assessed them.

Be confident enough to say that.

For example:

"There are a few things that could be contributing to that, so I wouldn't want to guess without properly assessing it. It definitely sounds like something I'd be happy to take a look at though."

That's not avoiding the question.

That's good professional practice.

You're demonstrating that your assessment has value.

Answer the question they actually asked

Another common mistake is avoiding questions because you're worried about losing the enquiry.

If someone asks:

"How much does it cost?"

Tell them.

If they ask:

"Where are you based?"

Tell them.

If they ask:

"Do you treat back pain?"

Answer them.

Don't force people through a script before you're willing to give them basic information.

People notice.

Imagine asking a restaurant how much its set menu costs and receiving:

"Before we discuss price, can I ask what you're hoping to achieve from your dining experience?"

You'd probably find it ridiculous.

Clinic enquiries shouldn't feel like somebody has accidentally entered a sales funnel.

Have a conversation.

Use their language

Patients don't always communicate in clinical terminology.

They might say:

"My back keeps going."

"I've got a dodgy knee."

"My hamstring feels really tight."

"Something doesn't feel right in my shoulder."

You don't need to immediately correct them.

And you don't need to reply with:

"It sounds like you may be experiencing patellofemoral pain associated with altered lower-limb biomechanics."

Talk like a human.

Professional communication can still be simple.

In fact, one of the signs of genuine expertise is being able to explain complicated things clearly.

Show them that you understand the problem

Once somebody has explained what's happening, acknowledge it.

Not with a generic:

"Sorry to hear that."

Show them you've actually read what they've said.

For example:

"I can understand why that's frustrating, especially if you've rested it a few times and it keeps coming back when you start running again."

Now they know you've understood the situation.

Then you can move towards the next step:

"That's definitely something I'd be happy to assess. The first appointment would give us a chance to work out what's contributing to it and then put a plan together to get you back running."

Simple. Relevant. Clear.

Sell the outcome, not the appointment length

A common response to an enquiry looks like this:

"Initial appointments are 60 minutes and include assessment, treatment and rehabilitation exercises."

That's useful information.

But it's describing what the patient gets rather than why it matters.

Compare it with:

"The first appointment is about understanding what's causing the problem, what might be stopping it from settling and putting a clear plan in place to get you back to running."

That's much more meaningful.

The patient isn't buying 60 minutes.

They're buying clarity.

Confidence.

A plan.

Progress towards something they want to do again.

Your service has features.

But patients make decisions based on what those features mean for them.

Be confident about your price

Someone asks:

"How much is the initial appointment?"

You reply:

"It's £60, if that's okay?"

You've just made your own price sound questionable.

Or:

"It's £60, but we can maybe do a shorter appointment if that's too much."

Now you're negotiating with yourself before the patient has even objected.

State your price clearly.

"The initial assessment is £60."

Then explain the value if appropriate.

You don't need to apologise for charging for your expertise.

And you don't need to justify every pound.

Confidence matters.

If you sound uncomfortable with your price, why should the patient feel confident paying it?

Don't overwhelm them with information

An enquiry doesn't require an essay.

You don't need to send:

Your full treatment philosophy.

Every qualification.

Your cancellation policy.

Six appointment options.

Three packages.

A paragraph about your clinical experience.

Your life story.

The goal is to move the conversation one logical step forward.

They ask a question. You answer it. You understand their situation. You explain how you can help. You offer the next step.

Keep it simple.

Give a clear recommendation

This is where practitioners can become too passive.

Someone has explained their problem.

You've established that it's appropriate for your clinic.

Then you finish with:

"Let me know if you'd like any more information."

There's nothing technically wrong with that.

But you've left the patient to work out what happens next.

If you believe an assessment is appropriate, recommend it.

"Based on what you've described, I'd suggest starting with an initial assessment so we can properly look at what's happening and put a plan together."

That's not pressure.

That's professional guidance.

Patients come to you because they want your expertise.

Use it.

Make the next step ridiculously easy

Once somebody is ready to book, reduce friction.

If you use online booking:

"I've got a couple of assessment appointments available this week. You can see the available times and book here: [link]."

If you book manually:

"I've got Tuesday at 6pm or Thursday at 4pm available. Would either work for you?"

Don't say:

"You can visit the website, go to appointments, select Sports Therapy, choose initial assessment, create an account and then find a suitable time."

Every extra step creates another opportunity for someone to disappear.

Make booking easy.

What if they stop replying?

This happens.

And it doesn't necessarily mean they're not interested.

They opened your message at work.

Their child needed something.

They intended to reply later.

They forgot.

Following up isn't automatically pushy.

A simple message a few days later might be:

"Hi Sarah, just checking you managed to see my last message. Happy to help if you still want to get the knee looked at."

That's enough.

You don't need:

"LAST CHANCE! I only have two appointments remaining!"

unless there is genuinely a relevant deadline.

A follow-up should feel like excellent service, not pressure.

What if they say they need to think about it?

Let them.

You don't need to immediately start overcoming objections.

You can simply say:

"Of course. No problem at all. If you have any questions before deciding, just send me a message."

Sometimes people need time.

Sometimes they need to check their diary.

Sometimes they need to wait until payday.

Sometimes they're comparing options.

And sometimes they simply aren't going to book.

That's okay.

Your goal isn't to convert every person who sends you a message.

Your goal is to make sure the right patients aren't being lost because your communication is unclear, uncomfortable or unnecessarily difficult.

What if they say it's too expensive?

Don't panic.

And don't immediately discount.

You might simply respond:

"No problem, I completely understand. If anything changes or you have any questions in the future, you're always welcome to get back in touch."

Not every potential patient is your patient.

That's an important part of building a sustainable clinic.

If you constantly discount the moment someone questions your price, you're teaching yourself that your service isn't worth what you're charging.

Create a simple enquiry framework

You don't need a rigid script.

In fact, I'd be careful with scripts because they can quickly make conversations feel unnatural.

But having a framework helps.

I would think about most enquiries in five stages:

1. Respond

Answer their initial question.

2. Understand

Find out what they're looking for help with.

3. Reassure

Demonstrate that you've understood their problem and explain whether it's something you can appropriately help with.

4. Recommend

Explain what you think the best next step is.

5. Make it easy

Give them a clear way to take that step.

That's a conversation.

Not a sales script.

Speed matters too

If someone sends an enquiry to three local clinics and you reply two days later, the quality of your response might not matter.

They may have already booked somewhere else.

You don't need to be permanently attached to your phone.

But you should have a system for responding to enquiries consistently.

That could mean checking messages at specific points during the day.

Using saved responses for frequently asked questions.

Having your pricing and booking information easily accessible (mine are all saved as quick responses on instagram, and before that were in my notes section).

Setting expectations if you're unavailable.

Good systems make good communication easier.

Review the enquiries that don't convert

If you're getting enquiries but very few are becoming patients, don't immediately assume people are too price-sensitive.

Look at the process...

How quickly are you replying?

Are you actually answering their questions?

Does your communication sound human?

Are you explaining the value of the assessment?

Are you confidently recommending a next step?

Is booking easy?

Are you following up?

And perhaps most importantly:

Are these the right enquiries in the first place?

Because conversion starts before somebody sends you a message.

Your marketing determines who enquires.

If your content and positioning attract the right people, the conversation becomes much easier.

You don't need to become a salesperson

This is probably the most important point.

A lot of practitioners dislike the idea of selling.

I understand why.

You went into this profession because you wanted to help people, not because you wanted to become an expert salesperson.

The good news is that you don't need to.

When someone enquires, they've already taken a significant step.

They're asking for help.

Your job is to understand what they need, decide whether you're the right person to provide it and confidently explain what they should do next.

That's not manipulation.

That's good communication.

And when you get it right, the conversation doesn't feel like:

Practitioner versus potential patient.

It feels like two people working out whether your service is the right solution.

So, what should you say when someone enquires about treatment?

Don't search for the perfect script.

Have a better conversation.

Answer their question.

Understand their problem.

Show that you've listened.

Explain how you can help.

Recommend the appropriate next step.

Make taking that step easy.

And then let them decide.

Because the best enquiry process doesn't make people feel like they've been sold to.

It makes them feel:

"This person understands what I need, and I trust them to help me."

That's what turns more enquiries into patients.

And, more importantly, it's the beginning of the patient experience you want your clinic to be known for.

Want to know where patients might be getting lost in your clinic?

The Clinic Growth Score helps Sports Therapists and MSK Practitioners assess the key areas behind a reliable clinic - including patient attraction, confidence, service, systems and growth.

If you're getting enquiries but aren't consistently turning the right ones into patients, the problem may not be your clinical ability. It may be the systems around it.

Start your free clinic growth score and identify what you should focus on next.