A simple checklist for answering new enquiries

A good answer to a new enquiry has four stages: confirm fast, reply with something useful, agree a next step, and follow up if it goes quiet. The checklist below puts these stages in order so that you, or anyone on your team, can do it the same way every time.

Before the first enquiry: set up once

Most problems with enquiries start before the enquiry arrives. Check these points once, then again every few months.

• One inbox. All forms, the email address on the website and the address in your Google profile lead to the same place.
• A working form. Send a test message from your phone. Did it arrive? Was it in spam?
• An alert. Your phone tells you about new enquiries, with a sound that is different from normal email.
• A stand-in. Somebody knows what to do when you are ill or away.
• Saved replies. Two or three templates are stored in your email app.
• A list. A simple table or notebook with name, date, what they want, next step.

This takes an hour or two. It saves you from the worst case: a good enquiry that nobody saw.

The first minutes: confirm

The person should know at once that the message arrived. This can be automatic.

• A confirmation goes out right away.
• It says when a personal answer will come. A real time, not "soon".
• It comes from your own business address, so a reply reaches you.
• It gives a phone number for urgent cases, if you offer that.

Hi [Name],

Thank you for your message. We have received it and [your name] will answer you personally by [time or day].

If it is urgent, call us on [phone number].

Best regards,
[Business]

For the technical side, see how to set up an auto reply for your contact form.

The first personal reply: be useful

This is the message that wins or loses the job. Go through these points before you press send.

1. Use their name and spell it right.
2. Repeat the request in one sentence. It shows that you read it.
3. Answer the question they asked. If they asked for a price, give a price or at least a range and say what it depends on.
4. Ask at most two questions. A list of ten questions feels like homework.
5. Offer a clear next step. Two possible dates for a call or a visit work better than "let me know when you have time".
6. Keep it short. It should fit on one phone screen, or a little more.
7. Sign with a name and a phone number.

Hi [Name],

You asked about [request]. Yes, we can do that.

For a job like this the price is usually between [amount] and [amount]. It depends on [one or two factors].

To give you a fixed price I would like to have a short look. Does [day] at [time] or [day] at [time] work for you?

Best regards,
[Your name], [phone number]

The same day: write it down

Two minutes of notes now save a lot of searching later.

• Add the enquiry to your list: name, contact, request, date of your reply.
• Write down the next step and its date. For example: "Follow up on Thursday".
• Put that date in your calendar.
• Note where the enquiry came from: website form, Google, a recommendation. After a few months you will see which source brings real work.
• If they called and you missed it, call back the same day.

A simple table is enough:

The following days: follow up, then close

Many enquiries go quiet after the first reply. That is normal and usually not a no.

• Day 2: a short message to check that your reply arrived.
• Day 5: a second message with one useful point or an offer for a short call.
• After about two weeks: a closing message. You will not write again, but they can come back any time.
• Stop at once when the person answers, says no or asks you to stop.
• Update the status in your list: won, lost or open.

Keep these messages about the enquiry. Do not use them for other advertising. Rules for marketing email differ by country.

Once a month, look at the list for ten minutes. How many enquiries came in? How many got a reply the same day? How many turned into work? You do not need software for this. An honest look is enough to see where enquiries get lost.

The checklist on one page

Print this part and put it next to your desk.

1. Confirmation sent at once, with a real time for the personal answer.
2. Personal reply sent within the promised time.
3. Name correct, request repeated, question answered.
4. One clear next step with two date options.
5. Enquiry written in the list, follow-up date in the calendar.
6. Follow-up on day 2 and day 5 if there is no answer.
7. Closing message after about two weeks.
8. Status updated: won, lost or open.

You can run all of this by hand. If steps 1, 6 and 7 are the ones you keep forgetting, they are also the easiest to automate. Astranode's Never Miss a Lead does exactly these steps: an instant reply from your own email address, an alert to you, and follow-ups on day 2 and day 5 that stop when the person replies.