A Text Follow-Up Cadence Merchants Don't Hate
Good follow-up feels like a helpful reminder from someone who remembers your situation. Bad follow-up feels like a vending machine that will not stop beeping.
Picture the merchant's phone the week after they inquire about funding. Three shops texting daily, one of them twice, each message a variation of just checking in. By Thursday the owner has muted all of them, including the one shop that actually had a useful question about their statements.
Texting works well with business owners because it is quick to read between customers and easy to answer later. That is also why it is easy to overdo. A good cadence is a short, purposeful set of messages, each one with a reason to exist, that stops the moment the merchant responds or says no.
Below is a way to design one, plus an example sequence you can adapt. Consent and registration come first; the article on A2P 10DLC and the TCPA basics guide cover those, and counsel should confirm your specific requirements.
Pre-flight summary
- Every text should move one specific thing forward; cut messages without a job.
- Space messages out and send only within permitted local hours.
- Build stop rules into the sequence: reply, opt-out, funded or closed.
- Write like a person who remembers the merchant's situation; never imply approvals.
- Use texts for logistics, calls for conversations and email for detail.
Leg 01Every text needs a job
Before writing a sequence, list what you actually need from the merchant at this stage. A callback time. Three months of statements. A signature. An answer to whether the cooler quote is still current. Each text should move one of those forward or give the merchant something useful, like a clear next step.
If you cannot name the job of a message, cut it. Just following up is not a job. It is the message merchants learn to ignore, and it teaches them to ignore the next one too.
If a text has no job, it is not follow-up. It is noise with your name on it.
Leg 02Timing that respects the business day
Merchants run businesses with their own rhythms. A restaurant owner is slammed at lunch; a contractor is on a site with no signal mid-morning. Pay attention to when each merchant actually responds and adjust. Spacing matters as much as hour: a sequence that front-loads several texts in the first day and then disappears feels frantic, while one that spreads out feels considered.
Send only within permitted hours in the merchant's local time, as set with your counsel. FundPilot campaigns respect the merchant's local time automatically, so a broker in one time zone does not accidentally text a merchant three hours earlier in another.
Leg 03An example sequence for a new inquiry
This is an illustration for a merchant who asked about funding and agreed to texts, with calls interleaved. Adjust spacing and wording for your own floor and have counsel review your messages and consent process.
- Day 0, shortly after the inquiry: introduce yourself by name and company and ask for a good time to talk. Include opt-out instructions.
- Day 0, a few hours later if no reply: one call attempt; if voicemail, a short message.
- Day 1: a text with one specific, useful question, such as whether the funds are for equipment, payroll or inventory.
- Day 3: call attempt. If it connects, the text sequence ends.
- Day 5: a text explaining exactly what you need to give them an honest answer, for example recent statements through the portal.
- Day 9: a final, polite text saying you will stop reaching out and how to contact you if timing changes.
Leg 04Stop rules are part of the design
The sequence should know when to stop without anyone remembering to stop it. Any reply should end the automated steps and hand the conversation to a person. A no thanks, a STOP, or anything that reads like an opt-out should stop it completely and apply company-wide. A funded deal, a declined file, or a merchant who chose another option should all end it too.
FundPilot campaigns stop on reply or on funding, which takes care of the most common cases. Brokers still need to recognize informal opt-outs like please do not text me and record them properly, so that no other campaign or teammate picks the merchant up again.
- Any reply: pause automation, notify the broker.
- Opt-out in any wording: stop everything, mark do not contact across the company.
- Funded, declined or closed-lost: end the sequence.
- Wrong number: remove the number and fix the record.
- Merchant asks for a later date: schedule one follow-up then, nothing in between.
Leg 05Writing texts that sound like a person
Short, specific and plainly written. Use the merchant's first name and the business name. Refer to what they actually told you. Avoid capitals, urgency language and anything that implies an approval, amount or deadline you cannot stand behind; merchants have seen enough limited-time-offer texts to recognize pressure immediately.
Compare two options. One: special funding approval available today only, reply now. Two: Hi Dana, it is Marcus at your funding contact. You mentioned the second truck; if you can send the last three statements through the link I shared, I can tell you honestly what is realistic. The second is longer, and it is the one that gets answered.
FundPilot's AI assistant can draft texts like this from the deal record, but it never sends without a person confirming, which keeps a broker reading every word before it goes out.
Leg 06Mixing texts with calls and email
Each channel has a strength. Calls are for conversations and nuance. Texts are for quick logistics and nudges. Email is for anything long, anything with attachments, and anything the merchant may need to forward to a partner or bookkeeper. A text that says I just emailed you the document list, it is short is far better than a text that tries to contain the list.
Keep all three on one record so the broker can see the whole thread before reaching out. Duplicated messages across channels, the same ask by text and email within minutes, make a shop look disorganized and add to the merchant's sense of being chased.
Questions from the floor
How many follow-up texts are too many?
There is no universal number, but if a merchant receives messages without a clear purpose, it is too many regardless of count. Most cadences work best as a handful of purposeful texts spread over a week or two, interleaved with calls, ending with a polite closing message. Watch your opt-out and reply rates; rising opt-outs signal you are overdoing it.
Should the first contact be a text or a call?
Many floors call first and send a short text if the call is missed, so the merchant can put a name to the number. Others text first when the merchant asked to be texted. Either can work if consent covers it. Test both on your own leads and compare conversations started, not just replies.
What should a final text say?
Keep it short and graceful: say you will stop reaching out, thank them, and explain how to get in touch if their situation changes. No pressure and no deadline. A clean ending leaves the door open, and merchants sometimes come back weeks later precisely because the last message was respectful.
Can we automate the whole sequence?
You can automate the timing and the routine steps, but a person should handle any reply and review messages before they are used. Automated sequences should stop on reply, opt-out or funding, and every message should be reviewed against your registered campaign and counsel's guidance before it goes live.
General information only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules for telemarketing, texting, recording, disclosures and data retention vary and change; confirm current requirements with qualified counsel.
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