Not a campaign. One afternoon that leaves you three things: a list, an order, and three written messages.
Ninety minutes the first time. Twenty every time after.
Where your list actually is
Not in your contacts. Contacts are everyone at the same rank, and a list where everyone is equal settles nothing.
Go where the payments are. Only place carrying the two things you need: when and how much.
Four places. Almost nobody has just one, and none of them is the database you think you're missing. Together they are your list, today.
| Where | What you get | How |
|---|---|---|
| Where you take payment (your payment system, terminal, app) | Name, date and amount. The most complete source | Export or print the last two years of history |
| Your booking software or calendar | Who came, how often, and when the last time was | Look for each person's last appointment, not the list of appointments |
| The notebook or spreadsheet someone on your team keeps | Often the most accurate, because a person wrote it | Ask whoever keeps it, and don't rewrite it yet |
| The inbox your invoices go out from | Backup for everything above, and sometimes the only thing there is | Search the word you use in your invoice subject lines |
The sheet where it lands
No software. Five columns: Name - How I reach them - What they bought - Last time - How much they paid
Blank cells stay blank. An incomplete list that exists beats a perfect one you won't finish today.
Who comes off first
Four minutes, before the cuts, and it saves you grief.
The three cuts, in order
Not everyone on the same day: you can't serve them all at once, and they don't all deserve the same message.
Cut 1. Had a rhythm, broke it
Who: came at intervals, stopped. The signal isn't elapsed time, it's that their own rhythm broke.
How: beside each name, two things. How often that person came back, and how long it's been. Keep anyone past double their own interval. Every three months and gone eight, in. Every two years and gone eight, out.
Why first: the only cut where the message writes itself, because you have something checkable to say. Fastest return too.
Cut 2. Spent well, once
Who: paid above your normal, happy, never back.
How: sort by amount, highest first, keep the top names appearing once.
Why it's hardest: no rhythm to point at. "We noticed you haven't been back" doesn't work on someone who never had the habit. Your reason has to be news.
Cut 3. Long gone
Who: past two years.
How: whatever's left after the first two, dated beyond two years.
Plainly: most won't reply. Do it anyway, because typing costs the same, but last and with low expectations.
The three messages, written
Three things decide this, and none of them is phrasing:
Message for Cut 1
Hi [name], it's [your name] from [business]. I was going through our records and saw the last time you came in was [month], for [what they bought]. Wanted to check in and let you know [what changed, or: we're heading into the season for that again].
Want me to hold a spot for you this week or next? A yes or no is all I need.
Message for Cut 2
Hi [name], [your name] from [business] here. You came to mind because of [the specific job they hired you for], which was one of the ones that came out best.
I'm writing because we now also [the new thing], and it struck me that it might fit you in particular, because of [the specific reason].
Want me to explain it in two lines, or would you rather I not bother you with it?
Message for Cut 3
Hi [name], it's [your name] from [business]. It's been a long while, so this is more a hello than anything else.
If you ever need [what you do], we're still here, and we now [what changed]. And if you'd rather I didn't write again, just say so and I'll take you off the list right away, no problem.
Keep these three traits when you adapt them: something specific to that person, a small ask, a clean exit.
How to send
Whatever channel they already used with you. All WhatsApp, WhatsApp. All email, email. Switching channels on the first message looks like you bought their number somewhere.
One at a time, never a broadcast. People can tell, and the only thing you're proving is that a human was on the other end.
What to write down
Three numbers per batch, nothing else: how many you wrote to - how many replied - how many booked
That's your own data, the only kind worth having. No benchmark from us: any figure belongs to an industry, a message and a list that aren't yours. Your first batch hands you the real one.
And one line: what the people who said no told you. That's where the actual reasons live, and no other route reaches them.
One way to do this badly: build the list and send nothing.
So when Cut 1 is done, send three messages today. Not fifteen. Three, to the three clearest fits.
One reply tomorrow tells you this works in your business and the rest is repetition. Three silences tell you the message needs work, and you found out for three names instead of a hundred and fifty.
Three messages sent today beat a perfect list saved for Monday. That's the whole guide in one line.
