SentinelHow to follow up WhatsApp and Instagram leads without losing any
Chat enquiries are easy to start and easy to forget. A simple routine, the same for every person on the team, keeps them from going cold.
1. Give every chat an owner within minutes
The most common failure isn't a bad reply; it's no reply, because everyone assumed someone else had it. Decide who owns new chats: by rotation, by product or by type of customer. Make unassigned chats visible to a manager.
2. Set a response target
Pick a number your team can hit during working hours, such as 15 minutes for new leads and one working day for existing conversations. Measure it. Customers on chat compare you with whoever answers first.
3. Make the first reply do the qualifying
A good first reply thanks them, answers what it can, and asks the one question that decides what happens next:
4. Follow a schedule, not a feeling
- No reply after 24 hours: a short, useful nudge, such as a photo of a similar job or a one-line price range.
- No reply after 3 days: one last message offering a call at a specific time.
- After that: mark the lead lost with a reason. Clean data beats a full inbox.
Remember WhatsApp's 24-hour rule: replying to a customer within 24 hours of their last message is free-form. After that, a business-started message must use a Meta-approved template.
5. Move to a quote quickly
Once you know the requirement, send a written quotation the same day. A link the customer can read and accept on their phone beats a PDF they have to download.
6. Measure three numbers
- Leads by channel: where enquiries come from.
- First-response time: how fast you answer.
- Win rate by channel: which enquiries turn into money.
Sentinel runs this routine for you: owners by rule, response-time targets, timed follow-up checks and online quotes. See WhatsApp CRM, Instagram CRM and CRM automation.