Words to send · Selling more than hours
How to offer a retainer when a package ends
Send it before the last session, not after. Say what you’d work on next, what the month includes and what it costs: “2 sessions + notes, $480 a month.” A client who has a next step doesn’t have to decide whether to stop.
When to send it: After the second-to-last session of the package.
The message
Hi Sam, We have one session left. You’ve got the interview plan done, and the next part is the first ninety days in the new role. If you’d like to keep going, I do a monthly arrangement: 2 sessions + notes, for $480 a month. You can pause it for a month or stop it from your own page. The link to start is below, and there’s no need to decide before our last session. Maya
Shorter
Hi Sam, one session left. If you want to keep going into the new role, it’s $480 a month for 2 sessions + notes. Link below whenever you’re ready. Maya
Why it works
- It names the next problem, so the retainer is about the work, not about you.
- Saying they can pause or stop takes the risk out of saying yes.
- Sent before the end, it arrives while the work still feels unfinished.
What not to say
- “Would you like to continue?” It asks them to invent the reason.
- Waiting until after the last session, when the habit has already stopped.