Speed to lead
Reply to every new lead within 5 minutes: an assignment routine, a WhatsApp template first message and a day 0/1/3/7/14 follow-up plan.
3 min read
In medical tourism, patients fill in forms with 3–5 clinics at the same time. The clinic that replies first usually wins the conversation. That makes your most important sales metric not price, but first response time. The target: during working hours, reply to every new lead within 5 minutes.
Why 5 minutes?
- A patient who has just filled in a form is holding their phone right now; 5 minutes later they may be reading another clinic's message.
- If the patient wrote to you on WhatsApp, a 24-hour window opens in which you can send free-form messages. For form leads, however, your first message must be an approved WhatsApp template: WhatsApp templates.
- Fast replies also help your quality rating with Meta: more conversations get answered and fewer get blocked.
1. Assignment routine
If nobody clearly owns a lead, everyone waits for someone else to reply. Set an assignment rule:
| Method | When it fits |
|---|---|
| By language | German lead → German-speaking coordinator. Best for multilingual teams: Managing a multilingual team. |
| Duty rota | Each day or shift, one "first-reply" person takes every new lead and distributes them during the day. |
| Round robin | Leads are shared between coordinators in turn. |
How to assign: Assigning and collaborating.
Note
If workflow automations such as automatic assignment and automatic first messages are not included in your package, run the routine above manually with a duty rota. For automation needs, message our support team on WhatsApp.
2. The first message
When a new lead arrives, the coordinator:
- Opens the conversation and assigns it to themselves (the assignee field at the top right).
- Uses the Templates button in the message box to pick the first-reply template in the patient's language.
- Personalises the message and sends it. The message should end with a question: ask for photos or X-rays.
The structure of a good first message:
- Greeting + name + who you are: "Hallo Jonas, hier ist Mehmet von Aura Dental."
- Repeat the request: "Thanks for your All-on-4 enquiry."
- One clear question: "Could you send a photo of your teeth or an X-ray?"
Heads up
Don't send a price list in the first message. If you quote before seeing photos, the patient compares you on price alone. Assessment first, then plan and price.
Building templates: Templates and snippets.
3. Follow-up plan: day 0 / 1 / 3 / 7 / 14
Most patients don't reply to the first message. If there's no reply, follow this plan:
| Day | What to do |
|---|---|
| 0 | WhatsApp template within 5 minutes. No reply: call within 1 hour. |
| 1 | Photo reminder (by template) + second call attempt. |
| 3 | A before/after case from a similar patient; clinic introduction email. |
| 7 | A real patient review and "Are you still considering treatment?" |
| 14 | Final message: "We'll stop messaging you — we're here whenever you're ready." Then mark the opportunity Lost (reason: no response). |
Add a task with a due date to the conversation for each follow-up so no lead is forgotten: Tasks and notes.
Measuring it
- If your package includes them, track response time with the SLA widgets on the Dashboard: Agent report.
- Add weekly targets to the table in Clinic owner KPIs.
- For out-of-hours leads (a form from the UK at 22:00, for example), reply first thing in the morning and track these leads separately.
Example
Jonas Weber fills in the form at 10:41. Mehmet, on first-reply duty, writes at 10:43 with the German template and asks for an X-ray. Jonas sends his panoramic scan at 11:20. Another German patient who filled in a form the same week and got a reply 6 hours later answers: "I've already agreed with another clinic."
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