Most small businesses lose some enquiries to slow answers, not to price. This issue walks through one process: a message arrives from your website form or inbox, and a good first reply goes out. You stay in charge of every reply. AI helps with the sorting, the drafting and the reminders.
Tools change quickly. This reflects what each product offered in October 2026. Check your own plan and its data terms before you paste in anything about a real customer.
Step 1: Decide what a “good first reply” looks like (once, with ChatGPT or Claude)
Do this one time, not every enquiry. Paste three first replies you were happy with and ask:
Here are three replies I sent to new enquiries and was happy with: [paste, with names removed].
Describe my tone and structure in 6 bullets. Then write a reusable template with [brackets] where details change.
List what I always include (next step, timing, price range if given) and what I never do.Edit the result until it sounds like you. Save it somewhere your team can find it.
Step 2: Sort the enquiry (ChatGPT or Claude, or Copilot in Outlook if you’re licensed)
Paste the enquiry (customer name removed if you prefer) and ask:
Here is a new enquiry: [paste].
1. In one line, what do they want?
2. Is it: a quote request / a question / a complaint / something we don't do / unclear?
3. What information is missing that we need before we can quote?
4. Is anything time-sensitive? Quote the words that tell you so.
Do not guess. If something isn't stated, say "not stated".You get a quick, consistent read, and a list of questions to ask. Check it against the original. It takes ten seconds.
Step 3: Draft the reply
Using my template and tone notes below, draft a reply to the enquiry above, under 120 words.
Ask only for the missing details you listed. Offer one clear next step: [a 15-minute call / a site visit / a short form].
Do not mention prices, dates or promises unless I wrote them here: [your facts].
[Paste template and tone notes]If your mail is in Outlook and you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence, Copilot can draft a reply inside the thread, so there’s no copying. Otherwise paste the thread into ChatGPT or Claude.
Step 4: Read it, fix it, send it yourself
Check names, prices, dates and every promise. If it doesn’t sound like you, change it. A person sends it. Don’t connect an AI tool to send replies automatically unless you’ve tested it thoroughly and you’re comfortable with what it may say to customers.
Step 5: Don’t let it go quiet
Keep a simple sheet: date received, who, what they want, first reply sent (date), next step, outcome. Once a week, paste the sheet into ChatGPT or Claude and ask:
Here is my enquiry tracker: [paste].
List every enquiry with no reply after 1 business day, and every one with no update after 3 days.
For each, draft a one-line, polite follow-up. Don't change any facts.Copilot in Outlook can also help find threads with no reply, if you have it.
Before and after (an illustrative example, not a client)
Imagine a 20-person landscaping company. Enquiries arrive through a web form and a shared inbox, and whoever sees one first replies.
Before
Replies vary in tone and speed. Some enquiries lack the address or the job type, so there’s a back-and-forth email before anyone can quote. A message sent Friday afternoon is read on Monday. Nobody tracks the ones that went quiet.
After
Each enquiry gets the same quick sort. The reply asks for exactly the missing details and offers one next step. A weekly check surfaces the ones with no reply. The team still reads and sends every message.
The improvement is consistency and fewer dropped enquiries. I won’t invent a figure for an example. If you try this, count how many enquiries you get, how many get a reply within one business day, and how many turn into a quote, for two weeks before and after.
Things to watch
- Privacy. Customer details are personal information. Use a business plan with data terms you’ve read, and don’t paste more than you need.
- Don’t automate the send until you’ve watched it work for weeks.
- Replying to an enquiry is fine. Marketing to the same person later needs consent (CASL). Our own rules for that are in Issue 3. This is not legal advice.
Not sure which process to start with?
The free Process Scan takes a couple of minutes, needs no email, and suggests a first process to look at and tools to test. The “which tool for which task” cheat sheet is at https://adapting-services.ca/newsletter/cheat-sheet/.
Reply and tell me how enquiries reach you today.
Sean Martin
Adapting Services