How to handle Messenger and DM enquiries so none of them slip away
Treat a Messenger or Instagram DM exactly like a phone call. Send an instant first reply that gives a real time you will come back to them, move the conversation to a name and number, add it to the same list as your other enquiries, and set a reminder to chase. DMs get lost because they live in a separate app that only one person checks.
Why DMs are the leakiest place in most businesses
Website enquiries land in an inbox. Calls show up in your phone log. Messenger and Instagram messages land in an app that is usually on one person's phone, mixed in with birthday wishes and photos of somebody's dog. There is no list, no reminder, and no record.
So the pattern repeats. Someone asks "do you have anything Saturday?" at 8pm. It gets read on the sofa. It does not get answered, because you cannot check the diary from the sofa. By Monday it is buried under fifteen other notifications and the person has booked somewhere else.
The four steps that stop DM enquiries leaking
- Reply instantly, automatically, even at 11pm. One honest line buys you the whole night.
- Ask for a name and the best number in that first reply, so the conversation can leave the app
- Put the enquiry in the same list as your calls and website forms, not in a separate app
- Set a reminder to follow up if they go quiet, because most DM enquiries are chased once and forgotten
The wording to steal for your instant reply
Out of hours: "Thanks for messaging. We are closed now, but I will reply properly before 10am tomorrow. If it helps, send your name and the best number and I will call you."
During the day: "Thanks for getting in touch. I am with a customer until 4pm and will come straight back to you after that. What is the best number for you?"
Price question: "Happy to price that up. It depends on a couple of things, so the quickest way is a two minute call. Is later today or tomorrow morning better for you?"
Could this be happening in your business?
- Only one person can see the Facebook or Instagram messages
- You find unanswered DMs from three days ago
- DM enquiries never make it into your diary or your enquiry list
- You have no idea how many jobs came in through messages last month
If two of these are true, the messages are not the problem. The missing list is. The free guide shows how to get every enquiry into one place.
Get the free 5-Step Lead Follow-Up Blueprint
A 15-minute, plain-English guide that shows exactly how to stop enquiries slipping away, with the messages already worded for you. Free, sent by email straight away.
Send me the free BlueprintGetting messages off one person's phone
The lasting fix is a shared inbox: Facebook messages, Instagram DMs, WhatsApp, texts and website enquiries all arriving in one screen that more than one person can see. Then a message is just another enquiry, with the same instant reply and the same chase as everything else. That is how one enquiry list is meant to work.
Tools like GoHighLevel pull those channels into one inbox and send the instant reply for you, the same way missed call text back handles a ringing phone. If most of your enquiries come from social, start there and read how to manage leads from Facebook next.
Want to see it running?
GoHighLevel is the tool we use for all of this in our own business. You can try everything on the 14-day free trial and judge it on results.
See how GoHighLevel worksThat button uses our referral link: we earn a commission if you sign up, it never costs you extra, and we say so right here because trust matters more.
Common questions
Should I answer a price question in the DM or move to a call?
Give a range in the message if you honestly can, then offer a short call to confirm. Refusing to say anything about price makes people move on, and quoting a firm number blind usually costs you money.
Is an automatic reply in Messenger rude?
Not if it is honest and gives a real time. People mind being ignored far more than they mind an instant note saying when you will be back. Never make it sound like a person is typing when it is not.
How quickly should a DM be answered?
Automatically within a minute, personally within a couple of hours in working time. People message several businesses at once, so the first proper reply usually gets the conversation.
What if I do not want customer messages on my personal phone?
That is exactly the reason to use a shared inbox. The messages go to a business number and screen that anyone on the team can answer, and you get your evenings back.