A local lead is someone who can reach you.

A like is not a lead. A follower is not a lead. A visit that leaves because the phone number is an image they can’t tap is not a lead. A lead is a person who told you they want the thing, in a way you can answer.

For a local business that usually means one of three doors. They call. They book. They send a short form, and it lands where you actually look. Everything else is attention. Attention is useful. It is not a lead until someone can be answered.

The short version

• Count the calls, the bookings, and the forms. Don’t count the likes.
• Put one next step on the page. Five buttons is a menu of hesitation.
• The phone number has to be tappable. A picture of a number is a dead end.
• Then answer. A 2011 Harvard Business Review audit of 2,241 companies found the firms that replied took 42 hours on average. A local customer will not wait that long.

What people count, and what you can answer

A form that asks for a life story gets nothing. Name, a way to reply, what they want, and the business. That’s enough to answer. I use the same four on my own project form.

One door, not five

Call, text, form, chat, and a calendar on the same screen is not more helpful. It’s five ways to hesitate. Pick the one you will actually answer today.

If you answer the phone, make the number a link, not a picture, and put it where a thumb can hit it. If you book, the button should land on a time, not on a homepage where they have to hunt. If you use a form, test it from your phone and confirm the email arrives. A form that files itself into a folder you never open is not a lead. It’s a suggestion you ignored.

The order that works

Be findable first. The Google profile is filled in. The name and the phone match everywhere else. The reviews describe the real job. I wrote the matching part in your name, address, and phone have to match.

Say what you sell in the words people type. “Drain cleaning in Spring Valley” beats “passionate about homes.” If you buy ads before that sentence exists, you paid to send people to a page that still makes them guess. That’s why the ads don’t fix a confusing page.

Then answer. A lead that sits until Thursday is a lead you rented and didn’t pick up. The famous “call in five minutes or lose them” line comes from a 2007 study of web leads inside a sales dialer, not from a salon or a plumber. Don’t treat it like a law of your trade. The part that does apply is smaller. People who just asked will call the next name if you don’t. I tell people I reply within one business day because the promise is part of the offer.

Harvard Business Review’s 2011 look at 2,241 companies is the number I trust more than the viral one. Among the firms that replied within 30 days, the average first response was 42 hours. That’s a lot of chances for a local customer to hire someone else. The Short Life of Online Sales Leads.

Run this on your phone today

1. Open your site. Can you tap the number, or is it a picture?
2. Send the form to yourself. Did it arrive in an inbox you open?
3. If you book, does the button land on a time, and do you see the booking?
4. Count last week’s likes. Then count last week’s calls, bookings, and forms. Only the second number is the business.
5. If a lead came in yesterday and you haven’t answered, answer that before you post anything.

If the door isn’t there yet

I don’t sell a “lead generation package.” The door is the listing, the page, and someone answering. If the profile is the hole, Get Seen Sprint is $297, or Google Setup starts at $750 for one location. If you want me to look at the site and name three specific misses, the visibility audit is free.

Questions I get

Should I count profile visits?

Watch them. Don’t pay rent with them. A visit is a person who might ask. A lead is the person who did.

Is a DM a lead?

Yes, if they asked for the thing and you can reply. A heart on a photo is not the same message.

How fast do I have to answer?

Faster than the next business they find. One business day is the promise I make. If your whole offer is “call us,” the phone has to be a number a person answers, not a voicemail from 2022.

Sources

• The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, Harvard Business Review, 2011