The Conversion Code, 2nd Edition

Chapter 19How to Convert Leads Using Text Messages

Everyone loves to text, except businesses. You do not need to ask yourself if it is appropriate for a business to text someone. It is inappropriate for them not to, and here is why:

• Text messages are 3–8× more preferred than face-to-face communication across all generations.¹
• 89% of people prefer to text with a business but only 6% of companies use text messages to follow up with leads.
• 43% of people have proactively texted a business but one-third of them never got a response (Figure 19.1).
• 10% of people would rather give up sex than texting.
• 20% would give up coffee first.
• 30% would give up being able to ever make or receive calls.

When I get a new lead through one of our landing pages that collects a phone number, I use an auto SMS with merge codes that says, “Hi [lead first name]. I got your information from [lead source name]. Can you talk now?”

We often get more leads to reply to that text than we have opening our first drip email. Why? Speed matters; so does personalization, plus our inboxes are clogged compared to our SMS messages.

Beyond the first text, you can also put leads on drip text messages just like you can drip emails. Be sure to bake in a few into your lead follow-up campaigns so that they complement your calls and emails.

Another way we use SMS to create appointments from our hot leads is by putting a dozen or two of them on one list and mass texting them, asking if they have time for a quick call. “Hey ...