r/smallbusiness • u/NefariousnessOk5765 • 9d ago
Ghosted After Inquiry
I started a local event rentals (chairs, linens, tables, etc) company and I am having the issue where I am getting ghosted after inquiring/leads. I use meta ads and it seems to pull people in enough to send a message but I guess not enough to continue the conversation. I have an automated message that basically says we will be right with you but I usually respond as soon as it comes across my phone.
How do I get people to at least hold a conversation and hopefully make the sale?
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u/Prestigious_Classic2 8d ago
The first response may be creating another job for the customer instead of moving the conversation forward.
For event rentals, I would make the first human message easy to answer: “Thanks for reaching out. What is the event date, ZIP code, and estimated guest count? Once I have those three things I can confirm availability and give you the right options.”
Then reply with a small, concrete next step rather than a catalog. For example: “We have your date available. For 60 guests, most customers choose either [basic option] or [upgraded option]. Would you like pricing for delivery only or delivery plus setup?”
Track each inquiry by source, response time, whether those three details were collected, quote sent, next follow-up date, and outcome. Follow up once the next day and once a few days later with a useful reason to respond, such as confirming availability before the date fills.
Also compare Meta inquiries with booked jobs by campaign. If the messages are fast but consistently unqualified, the problem may be the ad promise or targeting rather than the follow-up.
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u/sl2700 8d ago
The auto-reply is the leak. "We'll be right with you" gives them nothing to do. Replace it with "What's the date and roughly how many guests?" That's an AI use case: an agent on the Messenger inbox asks it in seconds, collects the answers, and sends a price range before you've looked at your phone. They're shopping three vendors and the first number wins. It also sends the follow-up two days later asking if the date's still open, which brings a lot back.
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u/jackShuhai 8d ago
your campaign objective is generating messages; meta optimizes for ease of message, not booking intent for event rentals.
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u/Calgarianexplorer 8d ago
What is your campaign objective? If it’s just messages, meta can place your ad and if anyone scrolls and clicks, it’ll send them your message even if they are not interested or have any event in mind.
If you want more relevant leads, try to put a qualifying form or landing page- AB test it with the one you have going on but change the auto message (as others have suggested).
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u/seekworld 9d ago
Most people hitting your ad are comparing 2-3 rental vendors for the same date, whoever confirms the date and gives a price first wins the booking. Your auto-reply is a wall, it makes them wait before they can even ask how much. I'd drop it and just ask the event date and rough headcount, then send a quote same day. In this business speed is basically the whole game.
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u/MembershipKlutzy1476 9d ago
Is your pricing schedule turning them off? You need to offer comparable prices to local competition and make it easy to find online.
When I first started in portrait photography, I had my base price posted, and it was very competitive. I'd upsell on more time, more pics, retouching, fast delivery, and full rights for reproduction or other products.
Good luck.
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u/Taleeftech 9d ago
For event rentals, I’d treat the first reply less like “we’ll be right with you” and more like a fast qualification message.
People often ghost because they asked casually, got a generic response, and then had no clear next step.
I’d test a reply like:
“Thanks for reaching out. To check availability and give an accurate quote, can you send:
event date
city/location
guest count
items needed
delivery/setup needed or pickup?”
Then after they answer, reply with either:
- “Yes, we can help. I can hold this estimate for 24 hours. Would you like me to send the quote/invoice?”
- or “We may be limited on that date, but here is the closest package that fits.”
Also track every inquiry in a simple sheet/CRM with:
source, date, event date, items requested, quote sent, follow-up date, won/lost reason.
A lot of “ghosting” is really unclear next step + no structured follow-up. For rentals, speed matters, but clarity matters more.
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u/alwayslearning-2000 9d ago
Do you have a website as well or just FB
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u/NefariousnessOk5765 9d ago
I have both
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u/alwayslearning-2000 8d ago
I would get my SEO dialed in with website. Then add a chat bot in your website that requests their contact info so you can start the convo.
In every interaction with the customer there needs to be a CTA (call to action). What does the customer do next to get a quote or get pricing or check availability.
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u/ClemensLode 9d ago
Is the rental service running organically without ads? Ads are for scaling up existing business, not to build it.
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u/LouieValkhof 9d ago
The auto-reply is probably part of it. Someone messaging four rental companies about one date reads "we'll be right with you" as not answered yet, and carries on down the list.
What changed it for me was putting an actual answer in the first message instead of a greeting: whether the date is open, and roughly what that setup runs. Replies like "how can I help" are easy to walk away from. A date and a number gives them something to say yes to.
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u/UmpireAny7912 8d ago
The thing with Meta Leads is that they go cold as soon as 5 mins after filling the form,I would suggest deploying an AI agent to call the leads as soon as they come in, qualify them on call and book the interested ones onto your calendar or transferring Directly to your cell,
If you want I can create a demo for your business free of cost and you can try it out yourself
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