Here's the thing though. Somebody filled out your form at 9:15 at night. They also filled out two other forms while they were sitting there, because that's what everybody does now. Whoever gets back to them first has a massive head start, and it's not close.
You're asleep. You should be asleep. But there's no reason that person should sit there for eleven hours wondering if anybody works at your place.
This is a saved email that fires the second a lead comes in. Not a robot pretending to be you. An honest note that says a person got it, here's what happens next, here's what I'd like to know. That's it. Takes about 20 minutes to build and then it runs forever.
What you need
- Gmail (free is fine)
- Claude
- Wherever your leads land now (a contact form, Facebook, a listing site, whatever)
Setup
- Turn on Templates in Gmail. Click the gear, See all settings, Advanced tab, find "Templates," click Enable, save.
- Open Claude, run the prompt below, and get your reply written.
- Back in Gmail, click Compose. Paste your reply in. Then hit the three dots at the bottom of the compose window, Templates, Save draft as template, Save as new template. Name it "New lead."
- Make it send itself. Open one of your actual lead emails. Click the three dots at the top, "Filter messages like these." Gmail fills in the sender. Click "Create filter." Check the box for "Send template" and pick your New lead template. Create it.
- Send yourself a fake lead through your own form and make sure the reply actually shows up. Do not skip this step.
If your form tool has its own autoresponder built in (most do), paste the same message there instead. Same result, one less moving part.
The prompts
Write the reply:
I run a [YOUR BUSINESS TYPE] in [YOUR CITY]. Leads reach me through
[HOW: my website form / Facebook / a listing site / people emailing me].
A typical lead is [WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR].
Write me an email that goes out automatically the second a lead comes
in. Requirements:
- Subject line under 50 characters, no hype, no "thanks for your interest"
- Opens by confirming I got it. Nothing else in the first line.
- Says exactly when they'll hear from a real person. Use this window: [YOUR REAL WINDOW, example: same day if before 4pm, next morning otherwise]
- Asks for the 3 pieces of information that would let me actually help
them faster. Based on my business, tell me what those 3 should be and
put them as short questions.
- One line that tells them what makes us different, written like a
person said it out loud, not like marketing
- Ends with my direct number and a line saying they can just text it if
that's easier
- Under 150 words total
- No exclamation points. No "we look forward to." No bullet lists of
our values.
Give me 2 versions with different tones so I can pick.Write the after-hours version:
Same business. Now write a version specifically for leads that come in
after 6pm or on a weekend. It should be honest that we're closed and
tell them the first realistic time somebody looks at it. Same length,
same voice.Write the "what if they answer" follow-up:
Same business. When someone replies to that auto-email with the 3
answers, write me a short response I can send to book the next step.
Under 100 words. It should propose two specific times instead of
asking when works for them.What to check before you trust it
Send yourself a test lead. Then send another one from a different email address. If the filter doesn't catch both, your filter rule is too narrow and you'll be sitting there thinking it's working when it isn't.
Check the response window you promised out loud. "Within the hour" that turns into tomorrow makes you look worse than saying nothing. Under-promise it. People are shocked when you beat it.
Make sure your reply doesn't go out to people who are already customers. If your form is the same one your existing customers use, add a line to the filter excluding their addresses, or you'll auto-reply to someone you were on the phone with an hour ago.
Read it on a phone before you ship it. That's where 80% of people will see it, and something that looks tight on a laptop can read like a wall of text on a phone.
Check your spam folder for a week after you turn it on. Auto-sent mail sometimes lands wrong at first.
— Jordan