The Job Often Goes to the First to Respond
When you receive a customer inquiry, your competitor likely got it too. So the clock is ticking. Whoever responds first often has an advantage and has a good chance of winning the job.
Here is the scenario: Your business gets an inquiry through your website, text message, Facebook, or Messenger. You are busy. So you respond a week later only to find out that the job went to your competitor.
Most businesses offer products and services that are not exclusive to them. Think of contractors, plumbers, dog groomers, electricians, lawyers, accountants, or web designers. Because what they do isn't unique, they often differentiate themselves from their competitors in how they do the job. Hence many service providers promise an excellent service experience and support that claim with 5-star reviews and positive testimonials from past customers.
However, unfortunately, the gap between promising an excellent service experience and consistently delivering outstanding service is often wide. It requires a very different mindset.
1: Check for Inquiries Three Times a Day
When you receive a customer inquiry, your competitor likely got it too. So the clock is ticking. Whoever responds first often has an advantage and has a good chance of winning the job.
In my experience, the difference in response time from various vendors can be days or weeks rather than hours.
No customer expects you to respond to an inquiry immediately, especially a small business.
But I recommend checking for customer inquiries three times a day, in the morning before your first appointment, during lunch break, and in the evening after work. Try to respond the following morning at the latest. That way, you can set up a call to ask specific questions or give a timeframe by when you will send a detailed response.
2: Respond at the Promised Time
If a business promises to send me a response by the end of the week, I'll give them until Friday, even the weekend. But if I don't hear from them by Monday, I'll assume they are not interested, and I will work with those who responded. I don't see it as my responsibility to send them reminders. I just move on, especially when another equally qualified business has already emailed me back.
Unless you are the only game in town, and your customers have no choice but to wait, I recommend sticking to your promise and responding by the date you have set. It gives prospective customers the impression that you run your company well, which increases their comfort level with you delivering their project on time and on budget.
3: The Secret Enabler: Digitize Your Workflow
"Don't work harder, work smarter" is a famous adage.
Responding to inquiries consistently in a short timeframe requires more than will. It requires a secret enabler in the background: a digitized workflow.
A digitized workflow allows you to communicate with future and existing clients through one application that also stores your proposals, customer sign-offs, billing information, and payment history. Having all this information at your fingertips, wherever you are, will significantly boost your productivity with probably 80% of requests, giving you more time to deal with the remaining 20%.
With a digital workflow as your ally, you no longer have to keep your prospective customers waiting but can respond quickly to each new inquiry. Hopefully, you will be the first and get the job.
Why You Should Digitize Your Workflow: A digitized and integrated workflow has many advantages. Above all, they make it easier to do business with you and thus save you and your customers a lot of time.
