Direct messages are an evolution of emailing somebody through your social networks, like Facebook Messenger, Instagram Messenger, the direct messages, LinkedIn. But the thing about social networking is it can be super noisy and these messages can get lost. So this week we're going to talk about the importance of taking those conversations out of the DMs to get your full attention, follow-through, follow-up, and not forget about those leads.
Social media is noisy, and there's been this whole movement to move conversations into these platforms, like Instagram direct messages, Facebook Messenger, and like LinkedIn. And so what happens is, a lot of times, if you do not move them off these platforms, they get completely lost. So I am particularly passionate about this because a few months ago, I tried to hire several vendors. And those who did not take me off the apps, I've noticed weren't the greatest with follow-through. And if somebody's not really good with follow-through or follow-up, it's a good indication to me of somebody you may not want to hire. And these were high ticket folks. These were folks that I was willing to spend a good amount of money with. And if they weren't willing to give me high touch, high customer service, I wasn't willing to spend my money with them. In this case, a light bulb came on in my head. The light bulb was like I can use this as a teachable moment to teach you of things not to do.
Here are some tips to help you move conversations off these social networks and into your inbox. Now, how do you get them out of the direct message and into your inbox? It's super simple, guys. There's two ways you can do this. So the first way is just to say, "Hey, what's your email?" And like email them from your inbox. In most cases, an inbox is going to be less noisy. Your email inbox is going to be less noisy than your direct messaging inbox of your social networks. The option two is invest in a CRM system. My preferred method is to drop a link to my website into a message that goes to a form into my CRM. And a CRM is a customer relationship tool. That way, when they fill this out, I can bet that they're a lead before they even get on the phone with me.
Now, you're saying, "What's a CRM? Do I really need this?" I use HoneyBook and it allows me to create so many things, other than keep track of my leads. It lets me create forms in the back end of my website. And so somebody can fill it out, they answer the form, they answer some questions. I can then send them the link, if they're a good fit, in which they choose a time. So it's really on them. It's not a lot of back and forth, a lot of back and forth here and there. I'm working with a client right now who told me she is just in back and forth city. And I was just like stop the back and forth. Pay for something like Calendly. Connect it to your calendar, and you let the person choose. You get to choose the times on the back end. But they eventually feel like they've got the wheel and they're driving.
Option #1
Ask for their email and email them from your email box, or get a CRM system that helps you track your pipelines, your leads. It does more than that. It tracks where everything comes from too. So you can tell at the end of the year that Instagram, or Facebook, or a certain networking group are the biggest source of your leads. And so it also helps you spend time where you need to spend time and spend less time where you shouldn't be.
Option #2
So what you should do after hearing me talk about this. Invest in some sort of tool, CRM tool, or start grabbing those email lists after they first inquire about your products or services, especially if you are a high ticket priced item. Nobody wants to be forgotten about if they're going to spend $2,000 with you, right?