Why did you reach out to me specifically?

A big part of the inquiry form on any agencies website is filtering leads.

There’s a balance between asking enough questions to weed out the tire-kickers, and making it so long even reasonable people go down a shorter path (on your competitor’s website).

Over the years, I’ve experimented with my form a ton — building in conditional logic so I only ask what’s necessary and try to find that balance.

But, by far, the single most valuable question I’ve added is this:

“Why did you reach out to me specifically?”

It doesn’t necessary eliminate people, but it tells me a lot about what I’m up against…

If they say “You came up when I was searching Google for a local web designer”, that’s fine — but I know they’re shopping. I’m just one of the many tabs open in their browser. In this case, I know the intro call is a first date and I’m going to have to win them over.

If they say “So-and-so told me to reach out”, things are quite a bit easier. I can reach out to the person who referred them (to say thanks) and usually learn a few things about my new prospect. That background information is really helpful, and knowing who sent a lead can be telling as birds of a feather flock together.

But when they say “I’ve been following your YouTube channel”, the way I approach the intro call totally changes. At that point, my content has already done the heavy lifting. They already trust me, and all we have to do is figure out if we’re a good match and if the budget works.

This one question helps me walk into intro calls more prepared — like having a cheat code activated.

All of that is really helpful insight walking into a meeting… but, more than that, it’s momentum.

It gets prospects to reaffirm their decision before we ever speak. When someone writes out why they choose you, they’re also selling themselves on working with you.

A simple contact form can provide a ton of value — but it’s easy to set it and forget it. When was the last time you reviewed yours? Is it doing everything it can to set you up for success?