Organise business enquiries
Decide what to capture from every enquiry and give each one a simple status, so nobody slips through.
7 min · BeginnerRead guide
Leads & bookings
Front Office OS planning walkthrough
A manual planning walkthrough for how enquiries move from first message to booking, using a fictional business. Nothing is connected or automated.
Before you start
What you’ll work toward
You will have a written plan of your enquiry stages, a sample follow-up and a handoff to booking, tested against edge cases.
What you’ll need
- A business, side project or club that takes enquiries
- A notes app, a document or paper
- Optionally, the guide “Organise business enquiries”
Cost
- No paid tool required
Scope
- This is a manual planning walkthrough. It does not connect to email, calendars or booking tools, and nothing is sent or automated
- The example business, a mobile dog groomer, is fictional
STEP 1 OF 5
Define the stages
Name the stages an enquiry passes through from first message to booked.
- List what happens between a person first getting in touch and a confirmed booking.
- Group those events into four or five stages.
- Write a one-line meaning for each stage.
Worked example. New (not yet answered), Replied (waiting on them), Quoted (price sent), Booked (date confirmed), Closed (nothing more to do).
Expected result
A list of four or five stages, each with a one-line meaning.
Check your work
Check that every enquiry you can remember fits exactly one stage.
If something goes wrong
- If stages overlap, merge them or rewrite the meanings so they do not.
Read all steps
Define the stages
Name the stages an enquiry passes through from first message to booked.
- List what happens between a person first getting in touch and a confirmed booking.
- Group those events into four or five stages.
- Write a one-line meaning for each stage.
Worked example. New (not yet answered), Replied (waiting on them), Quoted (price sent), Booked (date confirmed), Closed (nothing more to do).
Expected result. A list of four or five stages, each with a one-line meaning.
Check your work. Check that every enquiry you can remember fits exactly one stage.
If something goes wrong
- If stages overlap, merge them or rewrite the meanings so they do not.
Capture a fictional enquiry
Practise recording an enquiry using a made-up example.
- Invent one enquiry for your type of business.
- Write down the details you would need to reply well.
- Mark its stage and its next step with a due date.
Worked example. Chris asks about grooming for a small dog on a weekday morning in Marrickville. Stage: New. Next step: reply with two mornings by Tuesday.
Expected result. One filled-in example enquiry with a stage, next step and date.
Check your work. Check the record has everything you would need to write the reply without searching elsewhere.
If something goes wrong
- Use a fictional person, not a real customer, in this walkthrough.
Draft the follow-up
Write a short, helpful follow-up message for the example enquiry.
- Write a first reply that answers the question and offers one next step.
- Write a second message that adds something useful.
- Decide when you would send each and when you would stop.
Worked example. Reply: “Hi Chris, I have Tuesday at 9 or Thursday at 11 free. Which suits?” Second message after three working days: “Still have Thursday free if that helps.” Stop after a final close-out message.
Expected result. Two draft messages with timing and a stop point.
Check your work. Read each as the recipient. Does each give them something to use, rather than just chasing?
If something goes wrong
- If you cannot think of anything useful to add, make the second message a short answer to a common question.
Map the booking handoff
Write what happens at the moment an enquiry becomes a booking.
- List what you need to confirm: date, time, place, price and contact details.
- Write the confirmation message you would send.
- Note where the booking is recorded and who needs to know.
Worked example. Confirm: Thursday 11am, at the customer’s home, quoted price, mobile number. Record in my calendar. Update the enquiry list to Booked.
Expected result. A handoff checklist and a draft confirmation message.
Check your work. Check that nothing in the confirmation depends on information you do not have yet.
If something goes wrong
- If two places record bookings, choose one as the source of truth and note the other as a copy.
Test the exceptions
Walk your plan through three awkward cases and fix the gaps.
- Test a case where the customer never replies.
- Test a case where they ask to change the date after booking.
- Test a case where the enquiry is something you do not offer.
- Update your stages or messages wherever the plan breaks.
Worked example. No reply: the third message closes the enquiry. Date change: add a line to the confirmation about how to change. Not offered: write a polite reply and mark Closed.
Expected result. A plan that handles the main exceptions, with edits noted.
Check your work. Each exception should end in a stage, not a loose end.
If something goes wrong
- If an exception has no clear ending, add a stage or a rule for it.