Watch me build · a build from my own business
A CRM is just the system that remembers every customer for you. Mine saves what each new lead tells me, moves them along as things happen, and sends the routine texts on its own. The only part I do myself is the call and the proposal.
Swipe through the carousel to follow one lead from my website form to a signed deal. Jess is a sample lead I made up for the post. The stages and texts are the real ones I use.
7 steps and 5 templates you can copy straight into your own tools.
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Before you touch stages or texts, decide where leads live. Any CRM works, and if you already pay for one, use it.
The rule I follow is that every form fill, call and DM ends up in the same place. If a lead only exists in your texts or someone's notebook, it will get lost eventually.
A stage is just where someone is right now. I run a few more than this, but these five are where everyone should start. You can add more later if you need them.
1. New: they filled out a form or reached out, and nobody has replied yet. 2. Contacted: we replied (a person or an automatic text). 3. Booked: they picked a time to talk. 4. Quoted: we sent a price or a proposal. 5. Won: they said yes and signed or paid.
Give people who say no their own spot (I call it Lost) so they stop cluttering the board. You can reach back out to them in a few months.
Your form should fill in each lead's file for you. Here's what I save on every new lead: what kind of business they run, their biggest problem right now, how soon they need help, how they found me, and whether they said yes to texts (plus when they said it).
Change the wording to fit your world. A dentist might ask what someone is coming in for instead of what kind of business they run.
What kind of business do you run? What's the biggest problem you want help with right now? How soon do you need help? (This week / This month / Just looking) How did you hear about us? [ ] Yes, you can text me about my request. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
Keep the date and time someone checked the text box. If anyone ever asks when they agreed to texts, you can show them.
Connect your booking calendar to your CRM so that when someone picks a time, they move to Booked on their own. Most CRMs have a calendar built in, and most booking tools can connect to a CRM in their settings.
Once it's on, the calendar moves the cards so you don't have to.
These go out automatically, and only to people who checked the text box. The parts in curly brackets get filled in by your CRM.
Texting rules are different from place to place, so check the ones where you do business before you turn these on.
Hi {first name}, you're booked for {day} at {time}. See you then! Need a different time? {reschedule link}
Reply STOP to opt out.
Hi {first name}, we're on for tomorrow at {time}. Need a new time? {reschedule link}
Hi {first name}, sorry we missed each other today. Want to grab another time? {booking link}
Send one follow-up after a missed call. If they want to talk, one nudge is enough.
Have the call. When you send the price or proposal, move them to Quoted, and when they sign, move them to Won.
After a week of this, you can open the board and see exactly who is waiting on you.
Fill out your own form with your own phone number, then book a time for tomorrow. Check that you land in New, move to Booked, get the confirmation text right away and get the reminder the next day.
Then cancel the booking and make sure nothing strange sends. Fix anything that looks off before a real customer sees it.
