What to Say on a Free Consultation Call
By Lisa Reidsema, LMHC • Craft Your Practice™
The free consult call is where good therapists lose ready clients. Not because of skill, and not because they are a bad fit. Because they never decided what to say, so the call wanders, the person hangs up unsure, and books elsewhere with someone who sounded a little more certain.
A fifteen-minute consult is not therapy and it is not a sales pitch. It is a short, warm conversation with one job: helping both of you find out whether to work together, and making it easy to say yes if the answer is yes. Here is how to run one that turns an inquiry into a booked session, or into a kind and clean goodbye.
Open by setting the frame
Start by telling them what this call is, so neither of you is guessing. Something simple: Thanks for reaching out. This is just a quick call for us to get a feel for whether I am the right fit for what you are looking for. I might ask a few questions, and you should feel free to ask me anything too. Now the call has a shape, and you are the one holding it.
Ask what brought them in
Give them room to say, in their own words, what is going on and what they are hoping for. You are listening for two things: whether this is something you actually treat, and whether you are the right person for it. You do not need their whole history. You need enough to know if there is a fit. A few open questions and honest listening do the work.
Name what working together looks like
If it is a fit, tell them plainly how you work. Your general approach, your session length and frequency, and what the first few sessions tend to look like. People book when they can picture it. Vagueness makes them hesitate, so be concrete about the practical shape of the work.
Say your fee out loud, without flinching
This is the moment most consults quietly go sideways. Name your fee clearly and stop talking. My fee is [rate] per session. Do not rush to soften it, discount it, or explain it. A steady, plain statement of your rate signals a therapist who runs a real practice, and that steadiness is reassuring, not off-putting.
Make the next step easy
If you both feel the fit, do not leave it floating. Offer a concrete next step right there: I have an opening Tuesday at four or Thursday at eleven. Would either of those work to start? A specific choice is far easier to say yes to than a vague let me know.
Let the goodbyes be clean
Not every call ends in a booking, and that is a good outcome, not a failure. If it is not a fit, say so warmly and, when you can, point them somewhere useful. A kind, honest goodbye protects your energy and often comes back to you later as a referral. You are allowed to not be the right person for everyone.
Have the whole call ready
If you want the whole practice mapped out in the order that actually works, my free Private Practice Starter Kit is the place to start. Grab it here.
If you want the words start to finish, from the opening line to naming your fee to the clean goodbye, the Consultation Call Scripts in my Practice Library are written for exactly this call. See it here.
If you want your whole practice foundation in order, my Private Practice Foundations course walks you through it. See it here.