How to reply to a booking enquiry in under 5 minutes

A booking enquiry arrives while you are working. Not while you are at a desk with a coffee, waiting for the phone to ring. That is the whole problem.

Speed beats wording

Not because fast replies are charming, but because the client messaged more than one business. The first reply that contains something real, a price, a time, a next step, is the one they answer. A beautiful reply tomorrow is a reply to a job someone else already booked.

Four things every first reply needs

• The service and the scope you heard them ask for, in their words.
• A price or a price range from your own rate card, not a maybe.
• One specific time you can actually keep.
• The next step: what you need from them, or the deposit to hold the slot.

If you cannot supply all four, supply three and say when the fourth is coming. Never send a reply whose only content is that a reply is coming.

Script 1: the enquiry is complete

They gave you the service, the size and a time. Quote and hold a slot.

Hi Sam, thanks for the details. A 3-bedroom end-of-lease clean is A$330, and that includes the oven. I can do Thursday 9am or Friday 1pm. If one of those works, I'll send the deposit link and put your name on the slot.

Script 2: one thing is missing

Ask exactly one question. A list of five questions loses the job.

Hi Sam, happy to help. Is it a standard clean or end-of-lease? That's the only thing that changes the price, then I can give you a number and two times straight away.

Script 3: you are on a job right now

One line, then follow through. This reply exists so they do not message the next business.

Hi Sam, I'm on a job until 4. If you send the suburb and the number of bedrooms, I'll come back with a price and times by 5 today.

The promise is the whole message, so keep it: if you said 5, it is 5. A missed promise is worse than a slow reply, because now they have a reason to be annoyed.

Script 4: it is out of area, or not a service you do

Say no in the first line, then be useful. A clean no gets remembered better than a slow maybe.

Hi Sam, I only cover the eastern suburbs, so I'm not the right person for Parramatta. If you're ever closer in, message me and I'll sort you out.

The four things to never send

• We will get back to you shortly. It tells them nothing and promises nothing.
• Can you send more details. It puts the work back on the client.
• A price with no time attached. It starts a negotiation instead of a booking.
• A time with no deposit. It holds your week for a maybe.

The part nobody says out loud

Scripts only help in the minutes you happen to be free. The actual fix is that the first reply stops depending on whether your hands are wet: it goes out within seconds, built from the prices and times you have already decided on. That is what BOOKYO does with the enquiries you are already getting.

If you want a number before you change anything, the calculator takes about a minute.