Marketing & Brand Growth
An enquiry that is not followed up is an advertising cost with nothing to show for it
Many owners think of lead generation as getting more people to click. The harder part comes after: making it easy to enquire, answering quickly, handling people's details with care, and knowing where each enquiry came from. This session works through that whole path using the owner's own business.
Explore this page6 sections
Most small businesses lose enquiries they have already paid for, in time or money.
A phone that rings out, a form that goes to an email nobody checks, a WhatsApp message answered two days later: each of these quietly cancels the effort that produced the enquiry. Owners often respond by buying more attention, when the cheaper fix is further down the path.
Lead generation is the whole route from a stranger noticing you to a real conversation with someone who may buy. This session looks at each step of that route, and at the responsibility that comes with holding other people's contact details.
What the session covers
39 topics across 7 areas. Seven parts, following the path of one enquiry.
What a Lead Is, and What It Is NotDefine it before you count it.5
- An enquiry, a qualified enquiry and a customer are different things
- Writing a plain definition for your own business
- Why ten curious enquiries can be worth less than two serious ones
- Deciding what a serious enquiry looks like, in your trade
- Why counting form fills alone can mislead
If two people in the business define a lead differently, the numbers will never agree.
Where Online Enquiries Come FromA short map of the possible sources.6
Not every source suits every business. The next session, on choosing a channel, helps decide which to pursue; here the aim is to see which are already producing enquiries.
- Search and map listings, for people who are looking now
- Your own website or page, for people who want to check you first
- Messaging links and click-to-chat buttons
- Social media posts and, where used, paid ads with lead forms
- Marketplaces and trade directories
- Referrals that arrive through a link, a forward or a shared contact
Making It Easy to EnquireTest it as a stranger would.5
- One obvious action: call, message or fill a short form
- A phone number that works on a tap, on a phone screen
- Hours and expected reply time stated plainly
- Language the customer is comfortable in
- Asking a friend to try to reach you and noting where they get stuck
Every extra step or unclear button costs enquiries, and none of it shows up in a report.
Lead Forms and Landing PagesAsk for less, explain more.6
- One page, one offer, one action
- Fields: name and a way to reach them, then only what you need to respond usefully
- Telling people what happens after they submit
- A confirmation message that sets expectations
- Checking the form on a phone, and checking where submissions go
- Sending yourself a test enquiry every month
Handling People's Details ResponsiblyThey trusted you with a phone number.6
- Collect only what you need, and say what you will use it for
- Do not add people to promotional lists they did not agree to
- Promotional calls and messages in India are regulated by the telecom regulator; check the current rules before sending
- India's data protection law and its rules are being brought into force in stages; check the current position on the official site
- Keeping lead details in one place, with access limited to those who need it
- Deleting details you no longer need
This is awareness, not legal advice. For anything specific, ask a qualified adviser and check the current official rules.
Following Up WellWhere most of the value is won or lost.6
- Setting a reply-time target you can keep, and keeping it
- A short, personal first reply that answers the question asked
- Asking one useful question to understand what they need
- Deciding how many follow-ups are reasonable before leaving someone alone
- Who in the business owns each enquiry
- What to do when you are not the right fit
Speed and courtesy cost nothing and are often what separates two similar businesses.
A Simple Lead Tracking SheetEnough to learn from, small enough to keep.5
- Columns: date, name, source, what they wanted, status, outcome, value
- Recording the source by asking, not guessing
- Marking outcomes honestly, including lost ones and the reason
- A weekly five-minute look at what is waiting
- What the sheet shows after a month
Exercises owners can do the same week
- Write a one-line definition of a lead for the business
- Ask a friend to enquire as a stranger and time how long it takes to get a reply
- Check where every form, call and message actually ends up
- Write a first-reply message that sounds like a person
- Start the tracking sheet with the last ten enquiries, by memory and phone history
- Ask the next five new customers how they found you
What this session is not
- A course on running paid advertising
- A way to buy contact lists, which we would not recommend
- A promise that any method will produce a set number of leads
- Legal advice on data protection or telemarketing rules
How the session runs
A practical workshop of about two hours. Participants bring a phone and one example of how a customer could reach them today. They walk through their own enquiry path, find the breaks, write a first reply and set up a tracking sheet in the room. A marketing practitioner guides the discussion and answers questions; the exercises are done on each participant's own business.
What your students leave with
- A written definition of a lead for their own business
- A clear list of the places enquiries can come from online
- A tested enquiry path: what a stranger sees and does to reach them
- A simple lead form or contact method with only the fields they need
- A follow-up routine with a time limit and a standard first reply
- A lead-tracking sheet they start the same week
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Before getting more enquiries, look after the ones you already get.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.