“DM’s open for inquiries!”
If you’re in the entrepreneurial side of Instagram, I’d be willing to bet you’ve seen that phrase in a few bios before.
Heck, you might even be guilty of it yourself 👀
But today I’m here to tell you why you might just want to steer clear from accepting inquiries over Instagram DM’s, and what you should do instead.
3 Reasons why I never take client inquiries over Instagram DM’s
1. DM’s may come off as unprofessional
I doubt you would ever book a doctor’s appointment through an Instagram DM, would you?
That would definitely raise some questions. Like, uhh, “Is this even a real doctor’s office??”
That’s because Instagram is a casual social platform, used for connecting with people and building relationships.
It’s not, however, the best place for a business agreement to take place.
Instead, having a website with a proper contact form makes you look much more like a professional who is serious about their business and knows what they’re doing (because we business owners always totally know what we’re doing, right..?).
Only accepting client inquiries through Insta messages will often keep you as being perceived as a “hobbyist”, who hasn’t spent the time or resources to put together a proper form of contact.
Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a good ‘ole hobby! But if your goal is to scale your business to it’s most success, it’s time to level up your communication style.
Does that mean you should just ignore Instagram messages from potential clients? No way! But instead of starting the business agreement right then and there, try something like this:
“Hey there, Jane! Thank you so much for reaching out! I would totally love to help you out with this project. Please click the link below to fill out the short contact form on my website so I can learn more about your project, and I’ll be in touch shortly after. Looking forward to chatting with you!”
This way, you can still form a good connection with them, while still coming off as organized and professional.
2. Contact forms are more efficient & organized
No matter what type of service your provide with your business, chances are there’s a lot of details you need to gather before signing on a client.
And going back and forth in your Instagram messages, or even email for that matter, can come off as very disorganized.
Not to mention it’s mega time consuming.
Instead, using a proper contact form can let you decide immediately what information the client needs to provide right off the bat.
You can gather details like their email address, phone number, important dates, what service their specifically interested in, how they heard about you – the list goes on!
This way, you have all the information you need about the project before you even hit reply.
And as an added bonus, you can make things even more efficient and organized by using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
Personally, I use Dubsado and love it! I use it for my website’s contact form, invoicing clients, sending contracts, collecting feedback, analyzing my finances, tracking leads, you name it.
And once a potential client fills out my contact form, it automatically imports all the information into my Dubsado account to make it even easier to onboard the client.
2024 is the year we automate to save time 😌
If you want to check out Dubsado for yourself, use this link or type in my code “kmade” at checkout to get 20% off your subscription!
3. A website is a better salesman
Like I said, we’re all about figuring out ways to save time as busy business owners.
That’s why websites are such game changers.
You can absolutely pack your website full of helpful information, effectively answering TONS of questions before leads can even ask them.
“Do people actually enjoy working with you?”
“Why does my business need your services?”
“How is this actually gonna help me?”
“What are you like as a person? What’s your story?”
“What is it like to work with you?”
“What’s your process like? How long will it take?”
“What are your prices? Do you offer payment plans?”
“Are we gonna be a good fit?”
All of these questions and more can be answered simply from browsing your website, instead of them having to ask them all in your messages.
– or even worse, not asking them at all and moving on instead.
And when it comes to turning curious business owners into clients, the more you can preemptively answer their questions and ease their hesitations, the better.
At the end of the day, Instagram messages just aren’t the place to make maximum conversions.
Even if they stalk your Instagram posts for a bit, it won’t be nearly as effective as the sales copy and flood of information neatly organized on your site.
…and the next reel is just one scroll away.
Now I’m not saying that Instagram messages can’t be helpful – they can!
But if you want to make the best impression possible for your business, it’s time to level up to a website and contact form for your client inquiries.
And if you need help or have some questions, give me a shout!
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