The first message sets the tone

When a prospect reaches out — DM, email, contact form — your reply establishes whether this will be a professional relationship or an open-ended negotiation. The goal of your first response is not to close a sale. It's to qualify fit quickly and respectfully.

What a good first reply contains

  • Acknowledgment — thank them for reaching out. One sentence.
  • Your offer sentence (from Lesson 2) — so they know what you do before the conversation sprawls.
  • 2–3 qualifying questions — enough to know if this is a real fit before you invest time in a proposal. Examples: "How many people are you cooking for regularly?" / "What area are you located in?" / "Any dietary needs or restrictions I should know about?"
  • Next step — tell them what happens after they answer: "Once I know a bit more, I'll send a short proposal with pricing."

That's it. No menus, no pricing, no life story. You're screening, not selling.

Red flags vs workable weirdness

Not every awkward inquiry is a bad client. Learn to distinguish:

  • Red flags: asking you to undercut another chef's quote, refusing to answer basic questions, demanding a free trial cook, contacting you at odd hours with urgent timelines, pressuring you to skip your normal process.
  • Workable weirdness: not knowing what to ask, having unusual dietary needs (that's often your best client), seeming nervous or unsure about hiring a personal chef for the first time. These are fine — they just need clarity, which you provide.

Response time

Reply within 24 hours during business days. If you can't give a full response, a short "Got your message — I'll follow up by [day]" buys time without silence. Silence after an inquiry is how you lose the clients who were actually ready to book.

Templates are starting points

Write one reply template you can customize per inquiry. Save it somewhere you can grab it fast — notes app, text expander, pinned message. The goal is same structure, personalized details every time.

Before you continue

Draft your standard inquiry reply: acknowledgment, offer sentence, 2–3 questions, next step. Keep it under 150 words. You'll use this in real conversations starting now.