What to say in the first reply to an enquiry

Your competitor is writing to the same person this afternoon. Both of you will be polite. The difference between the two messages decides a surprising amount of business.

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A first reply should answer something rather than only acknowledge, show you read what they wrote, explain briefly how you work and what shapes cost, propose one specific next step, and ask no more than two or three questions. Speed matters, but a fast reply that says nothing loses to a slightly slower one that helps.

Most first replies say nothing

The standard reply thanks them for getting in touch, confirms receipt, and asks when they are free for a call. It is polite, it is fast, and it is identical to what everybody else sent.

From the customer's side, three such messages arrive and none of them help. They now choose on some other basis, most often price, because nothing in the messages gave them anything else to choose on.

Answer something immediately

The strongest thing a first reply can do is resolve one uncertainty. Not everything, just one thing they asked or clearly wanted to know.

If they asked whether you cover their area, say yes and mention a nearby job. If they described a problem, say what usually causes it. This demonstrates competence in a way that no amount of describing yourself can.

The shape that works

Six short elements, none of them long. The whole message should be readable on a phone without scrolling much.

  • A line showing you read what they actually wrote.
  • One useful answer to something they asked or implied.
  • A brief note on how you work and what shapes the cost.
  • One specific next step, with a time attached.
  • Two or three questions at most, and only what you truly need.
  • Your name and a direct number.

Propose, do not ask them to propose

When are you free is a small piece of work handed back to a busy person. Offering two specific times, or a link to a real calendar, removes it.

The same applies to next steps generally. Suggest what happens next rather than asking them to decide what should. People agree to a proposal far more readily than they construct one.

Speed and substance together

Both matter, and they are frequently traded against each other unnecessarily. If a full answer needs time, send the short version now and the detailed one when it is ready.

A two-minute message that answers one thing and promises the rest tomorrow keeps the enquiry warm, and it beats a thorough reply that arrives on Thursday when three competitors answered on Monday.

Write it once, then adapt it

The reason replies are slow is usually that each one is composed from nothing. Write a version you are happy with, keep it somewhere accessible, and adapt it each time.

The adaptation is the part that matters: two or three sentences specific to what this person wrote. A message that is visibly a template will be read as one, and templates are what everybody else sends.

How Licheo handles the first reply

The confirmation that goes out automatically is written properly rather than left as a default, so the person is held while a human prepares something useful.

The site also gathers enough context in the enquiry, without a long form, that a first reply can answer something rather than merely ask for a call.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of Follow-up revenue. The other parts:

Questions people ask

What should my first reply to an enquiry say?
Show you read what they wrote, answer one thing usefully, explain briefly how you work and what shapes cost, propose one specific next step with a time, and ask no more than two or three questions.
Is it better to reply fast or reply well?
Both, by splitting them. Send a short message now that answers one thing and promises the detail tomorrow. A fast message saying nothing loses to a helpful one, and a thorough message on Thursday loses to everything.
Should I ask when they are free?
Offer two specific times or a real calendar link instead. Asking a busy person to propose times hands them work, and it is one of the most common places where a promising enquiry stalls.
How many questions should I ask?
Two or three at most, and only what you genuinely need to move forward. A first reply that reads as a questionnaire feels like effort, and effort at this stage is what competitors are counting on.
Should I use a template?
Write one and then adapt it every time. The two or three sentences specific to this person are what make it work; a message that is visibly a template reads exactly like everybody else's.

Make the first message count

Enquiries that arrive with enough context to answer properly, and a confirmation that holds the person while you do.

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