Mario Lucas2 min read
The text message that changed nothing
We texted old leads to warm them up before calling. Bookings didn't move, so we cut it and kept texting where it works.
On paper it made total sense.
You've got a pile of old enquiries. People who asked about a course months ago and never enrolled. Before the agent calls them, send a friendly text. Warm them up. They'll be more likely to pick up and book.
We ran it. Booking rates didn't move. Not up, not down. The text just didn't matter.
So we dropped it.
Where texting does work
The same agent still texts, just at a different moment. When a new enquiry comes in, the first text goes out straight away, any time of day. Someone who asked about a course ten minutes ago gets a reply while they still care. Calls only go out in normal calling hours.
And if one of those old leads texts back or rings the number, the agent still answers. We just stopped starting those conversations cold.
What I took from it
Timing decides whether a text works. The exact same message reads like help to someone who asked ten minutes ago and like spam to someone who asked in March.
It's also easy to keep something running because it sounds right. The warm up text sounded right to everyone, me included. The data said it did nothing. Cutting it saved money and took one more moving part out of the system.
What's one thing in your sales process that sounds right but you've never actually measured?