I’m currently in full wedding planning mode, which means I’m hiring more service providers at once than I probably ever will again. And holy shit, the number of businesses that went from “maybe” to “hard no” because of their clunky inquiry process is honestly shocking.
These weren’t visibility problems. I found these people on Instagram, loved their work, and was ready to throw my money at them. But then I’d hit roadblock after roadblock trying to actually work with them. If just trying to talk to you feels like a nightmare, what’s it gonna be like to actually be your client? So let’s talk about the inquiry process mistakes that are probably costing you dream clients without you even realizing it.
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You’re Obsessing Over the Wrong Things
If you’re struggling to land clients right now, your brain is probably going in circles thinking “I need to create more social content” or “maybe I should get into SEO” or “maybe I need a better lead magnet” or (this is my favorite) “maybe I should just rebrand again because clearly what I’m doing isn’t working.”
But signing more clients isn’t always a visibility issue. Often, the problem is that once the lead finds you, they simply get stuck.
Let me paint a picture here. You’re filling out an inquiry form, and it says, “What’s your budget?” and it’s just a blank text box.
For me, that is the ultimate brain-spiraling-into-chaos mode because in my mind, if I say too low, I don’t want to insult the service provider. And if I say too high, I don’t want them to think “well, if they’re going to pay me more, I’m going to charge them more.”
Most of the time, I freeze, and nine times out of ten, I’m just like “nope, I don’t like this.”
Remember that if your clients are hiring somebody for a specific task, it might be the first time they’ve ever hired somebody for this task!
Prime example: wedding planning. I have never booked a wedding venue before. I have never booked a photographer for a wedding before. I have never booked florals or a DJ. So I have zero concept of what pricing should be, what would be included, what do I even need?
I don’t know what the hell I’m walking into, and I’m sure that’s happening with your clients too. If somebody’s hiring a social media person for the first time ever, what you offer versus what somebody else offers could be wildly different, but they don’t know what pricing is reasonable or even what specific services they need.
So you shouldn’t let somebody who has no idea what you do, what your value is, or how much time it takes dictate your pricing. You know your prices. You know your worth. You know your packages. A lead has no idea.
Don’t make people haggle for your work. This isn’t a garage sale!
Give Them Clarity Before They Commit
Leads want clarity before they commit. Their brain is going, “I don’t know what I need, but can I afford this? Do they offer what I need? Is this even the right fit? How do I know?”
If someone’s coming in blind and they’ve never seen any of these services before, they’re confused. And your brain translates confusion into risk.
If something feels risky, they’re going to bounce, even if you could be the perfect fit.
And a super important part of this clarity is showing your pricing on your website. Sure, you don’t have to list every single package detail, but even saying something like “pricing starts at $999” or “most packages are in the range of $X to $Y” helps immensely.
Also, I know it’s fun to have cute names for your offers, but they don’t actually tell me what I’m getting. If you do go the cutesy route, at least have your deliverables laid out and include a section that says “this is for you if…” because again, a lot of people are coming in blind.
Make Your Form Simple (Not Scary!)
Don’t leave your inquiry form vague and open-ended. If there’s any point where somebody could think “ugh, I don’t know” and get confused, they could very well leave.
There were multiple times when wedding dress shopping that forms asked, “What is your Pinterest board? What’s your theme?” And I’m like, I don’t have any of this. I don’t know. What is my theme? I’m getting married. That’s the theme.
If you’re asking questions that don’t directly impact your ability to help them or that make your person think way too hard about things they might not have been considering yet, that’s going to make them go, “maybe I’m not ready for this, maybe I need to think about this more.”
Just get them on the call. You can ask these questions face-to-face and explain why they’re important vs. scaring them off before they even get there.
A good rule of thumb for forms is to only ask what you really need to know upfront. Everything else can wait for the discovery call.
Ride Their Momentum
If someone says yes after your discovery call, how fast are you following up with a contract?
If it takes literal days for a contract to be sent over, I’m panicking. My excitement’s fading. I’m starting to second-guess. Why is it taking five days for you to send me a contract?
As a service provider, you want to ride their high. You want to take that momentum of “yes, yes, yes, I am in, I want this” and ride that wave. Because the more time they have to think, the more their brain could go “oh, maybe this wasn’t right, maybe I should shop around more.”
Don’t give them time to simmer in their thoughts and start overthinking. Automate your proposals, your contracts, and your invoices. Have everything templated so you can just click, edit, and send. Make your whole client experience run faster.
Eliminate Any Type of Friction
Please, for the love of God, don’t make somebody inquire twice.
If you’re making someone fill out a mile-long form and then they hit submit and get an automated email asking them to fill out an even longer form (half of which asks questions they already answered), that’s insanity.
You have to respect your prospect’s time. They don’t even know if you’re the right person yet. They’re just trying to get to know you. Asking them for 75 different things before you even talk to them face-to-face? That’s a no from me.
The more friction you create, the more difficult you’re making it for a prospect to become a client.
If you remove friction, if you include your pricing loud and clear, set expectations, and make the process simple, the wrong-fit people will self-select out. They’ll realize it’s not in their budget or doesn’t meet their specific needs.
If you want those right-fit people to come in, make it super easy for them to self-identify and say, “yeah, you are for me.”
Take action: Have someone you know (preferably someone who has no idea what you do) go to your website and walk through your inquiry process. Ask them: Is it clear what I offer? Can you easily figure out if my services fit your budget? What was your experience like?
If they’re confused or frustrated, chances are your dream clients are too.
Sometimes you don’t have a visibility problem but a conversion problem. And thankfully, that’s way easier to fix!
🎧 Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
