How can I automate my lead generation process?
Automate the steps that are the same every time: an alert to your phone the minute an inquiry lands, a short first reply that says when you will call, a reminder to follow up, the source tag on every inquiry, and a monthly count by source and outcome. Keep the quote, the decision on fit, apologies and anything a customer may quote back in human hands. Send automatic texts or calls only with the person's consent.
Worth automating
The alert often matters most. In a 2011 Harvard Business Review article on online sales leads, one of the reasons the authors gave for slow responses was "retrieving leads from CRM systems’ databases daily rather than continuously". An instant alert can remove that wait, and the related answer on CRMs covers where reminders and tags can live.
| Step | What it does | Check that |
|---|---|---|
| Alert | Sends each inquiry to your phone the minute it lands, by any route | It reaches the person who will reply |
| First reply | Thanks the person and says when someone will call | You keep the time it promises |
| Follow-up reminder | Flags an inquiry with no second message | Someone acts on it |
| Source tag | Records the source: search, AI answer, social, referral, paid, email, campaign or direct | It matches what the customer tells you |
| Monthly count | Totals inquiries by source and outcome: won, lost or still open | Someone reads it and changes one thing |
Keep these human
Keep a person on anything that needs judgment or that a customer may hold you to. The related answer on answering services and AI receptionists draws the same line for calls.
- The quote: the price depends on the job, and an automatic figure can be hard to take back.
- The decision on fit: whether you take the job, and when you can start.
- Apologies, for a late reply or a mistake.
- Anything a customer may quote back, such as a date, a promise or advice.
Texts and calls: consent first
Send automatic texts or make automatic calls only with the person's consent, and stop as soon as they ask. The related answers on texting a new lead and on texting back missed calls automatically cover consent and opting out.
The trap: a sequence that does not stop
Automatic follow-up carries a risk of its own: a sequence that keeps sending after a no can do more harm than silence, so every sequence needs a stop that a person can trigger. For what a first reply should say, and when a person must follow it, see the related answers on leads after hours and on leads that go quiet.
Meet it the way a customer would
Before relying on any automation, be its first customer.
- Send yourself an inquiry by every route: the form, a call, a text and each message app you use.
- Time how long each alert takes to reach your phone.
- Read the automatic reply as a stranger: does it say when a person will be in touch?
- Check the inquiry reached your lead list with the right source tag.
- Repeat after hours, at a weekend, and after any change to the site, phone or software.
Sources
Related answers
- Can you text a new lead or a past customer, and what consent do you need?
- How should a small business handle inquiries that arrive after hours?
- Should a small business use an answering service or an AI receptionist?
- What is a CRM, and does a small business need one?
- Should you send an automatic text when you miss a call?
- How should you follow up with a lead that goes quiet?
Lead generation and lead tracking
A lead that waits a day goes cold, and a lead with no source teaches you nothing. Ascent Vision fixes both.