Copy-and-adapt templates for the first message to a new enquiry, built to get a response without sounding automated, and the consent rules that apply to each.
Figures in this article describe the wider market and are drawn from the third-party sources listed at the end. They are not Lead Foundry results, and nothing here is a projection of what any individual broker will achieve.
The first message is not a substitute for the call. It is what makes the call get answered, which is a much easier job and one that a short, specific message does well.
These templates are structures rather than scripts. Adapt the wording to how you actually speak, because a message that does not sound like you will not sound like you on the phone either.
Four properties, and the first one carries most of the weight.
The line that does the work: Naming the source brand is only available to you if your supplier tells you which brand produced the enquiry. Suppliers who cannot answer that are removing your best opening line as well as your best compliance artefact.
Sent within a minute of the unanswered call, while the missed-call notification is still on screen.
Hi [name], [your name] here from [firm]. You asked about [what they enquired about] on [brand] just now, so I tried to give you a call. Is later today or tomorrow morning better for a quick chat?
Template: missed first call
Hi [name], [your name] from [firm] again about your [brand] enquiry. Happy to answer it by text if that is easier. What is the main thing you wanted to know?
Template: second attempt
The second one works because it lowers the cost of replying. A person who will not take a call will often answer a single question, and a reply of any kind restarts the conversation.
Hi [name], I have not managed to reach you so I will leave it there. If [what they enquired about] comes back up, my number is here and I am happy to help. All the best, [your name] at [firm].
Template: closing the cadence
Subject lines that describe the enquiry outperform subject lines that describe you. "Your [brand] enquiry about [topic]" is specific, true, and recognisable in a list.
Hi [name], you asked about [topic] through [brand] on [date]. I am a [licensed adviser or broker] and your enquiry came to me. Two quick things I usually need to know: [question one], and [question two]. Reply here or call me on [number] and I can point you in the right direction. [Your name], [firm], [registration number].
Template: first email
Including your registration number is unusual and worth doing. It is checkable on a public register, which is a stronger trust signal than any adjective, and it costs one line.
Whenever you send information, attach a time. Information with no next step is where enquiries go to be forgotten.
Hi [name], here is the summary I mentioned. Rather than leave you to work through it alone, shall we take twenty minutes on [day] at [time] to go through the parts that apply to you? If that does not suit, [alternative] also works.
Template: information plus a booking
A marketing message to a consumer is a commercial electronic message, and both markets regulate it.
| New Zealand | Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Governing law | Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 | Spam Act 2003 |
| Consent | Express or inferred, given to a sender | Express or inferred, per ACMA guidance |
| Sender identification | Required and must be accurate | Required and must be accurate |
| Unsubscribe | Functional facility required | Functional facility required |
| Record keeping | Be able to show what was agreed | Method, terms and timestamp, producible on request |
The practical question on a purchased enquiry is whether the consent covers you as the sender. That turns on what the supplier's form told the consumer about onward supply, which is why reading the live form matters before you build any of this into an automation.
Name the brand they enquired through, say who you are in a few words, and ask one question or offer one specific time. Keep it to two lines so it can be read on a lock screen. Naming the source brand is the single most important element because it converts an unknown number into a call the person is expecting.
Only with a consent basis covering you as the sender. New Zealand applies the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 and Australia applies the Spam Act 2003, both requiring consent, accurate sender identification and a functional unsubscribe. Whether a consent given on your supplier's form covers your message depends on what that form told the consumer about onward supply.
Call first and message immediately afterwards if the call is not answered. The message exists to make the next call get answered rather than to replace it. Research found prospects who are also emailed are 16% more likely to be reached by phone, while 59% never receive one.
One per contact attempt, inside a six-attempt cadence across roughly a fortnight. More than one message per attempt reads as pressure and reduces replies. The final message should close the sequence cleanly and leave a route back rather than simply stopping.