Module 10 workshop: an inquiry-to-booking pipeline

What you will be able to do

• Map every stage from first inquiry to rebooking, with an owner and a next step for each
• Set up the CRM fields, form, templates and reminders that run the pipeline
• Run a weekly pipeline review and calculate the revenue your pipeline is likely to produce

Every lesson in the module has given you one part of a system: a list you own, consent you can prove, a CRM with stages, fast first replies, a quote follow-up sequence, a newsletter and a plan for past clients. The workshop connects them into one pipeline, so that every inquiry follows the same path and nothing depends on remembering. Block three hours. You will finish with a working system and a one-page map of it.

Read the transcript

Module 10 workshop: an inquiry-to-booking pipeline.

Every lesson in the module has given you one part of a system: a list you own, consent you can prove, a CRM with stages, fast first replies, a quote follow-up sequence, a newsletter and a plan for past clients.

The workshop connects them into one pipeline, so that every inquiry follows the same path and nothing depends on remembering.

Step 1: Draw the map.

On one page, draw your pipeline as a row of boxes from left to right, using the stages you defined earlier in the module.

Under each box, write three things: what triggers entry, who owns the lead at that stage, and what happens next.

Step 2: Set up the CRM fields.

Open your CRM or spreadsheet and make sure every lead record has these fields.

Add any that are missing now, before you build anything else.

Step 3: Build the front door.

The inquiry form is the start of the pipeline.

Rebuild it with three goals: capture the facts you need to qualify, record the source, and ask for marketing consent separately.

Step 4: Load the sequences.

Write or paste every template into your CRM or email tool and attach each to its stage.

Quote sent: the five touches on Days 0, 3, 7, 13 and 21, as reminders or scheduled emails that stop when the client replies.

Step 5: Forecast the pipeline.

A pipeline lets you predict revenue, not just track it.

Multiply the value of leads at each stage by the chance that a lead at that stage books, based on your past conversion rates.

That is the lesson. The worksheet and the quiz are just below this video.

Step 1: Draw the map

On one page, draw your pipeline as a row of boxes from left to right, using the stages you defined earlier in the module. Under each box, write three things: what triggers entry, who owns the lead at that stage, and what happens next. Here is Lantern & Lane’s map.

Step 2: Set up the CRM fields

Open your CRM or spreadsheet and make sure every lead record has these fields. Add any that are missing now, before you build anything else.

• Name, email, phone, and preferred contact method
• Event type, event date, guest count, venue and budget range
• Source, recorded on the day of the inquiry
• Stage, and the date it entered that stage
• Inquiry received time and first personal reply time
• Quote value and quote date
• Consent type, date, source and wording; consent expiry date
• Lost reason
• Trigger date for nurture: anniversary, next birthday or next annual event

The consent and trigger-date fields are the ones most businesses skip, and they are the ones that make the nurture stage work.

Step 3: Build the front door

The inquiry form is the start of the pipeline. Rebuild it with three goals: capture the facts you need to qualify, record the source, and ask for marketing consent separately.

Lantern & Lane’s form asks for: name, email, phone (optional), event type, date or season, approximate guest count, venue if known, budget range from a short menu, how did you hear about us, and a free-text box for anything else. Below the submit button sits a separate, optional box: “Yes, send me Lantern & Lane’s monthly planning newsletter. I can unsubscribe at any time.” The form connects to the CRM so each submission creates a lead in the New inquiry stage with the source and consent recorded automatically.

Then write the auto-reply and the first personal reply, using the templates from the speed-to-lead lesson, and save both where whoever is on inbox duty can find them.

Step 4: Load the sequences

Write or paste every template into your CRM or email tool and attach each to its stage.

1. Quote sent: the five touches on Days 0, 3, 7, 13 and 21, as reminders or scheduled emails that stop when the client replies.
2. Booked: a welcome email with the planning timeline, how you take payments, and who to contact.
3. Completed: the thank-you, the deliverable or debrief, the review request and the referral invitation.
4. Nurture: the newsletter for those who consented, and a reminder on each trigger date.
5. Lost: a short, gracious reply asking what made the difference.

Automate what can be automated, but keep the thank-you and the rebooking emails personal. Those are the messages clients remember.

Step 5: Forecast the pipeline

A pipeline lets you predict revenue, not just track it. Multiply the value of leads at each stage by the chance that a lead at that stage books, based on your past conversion rates.

Lantern & Lane on the first Monday of March:

• 8 qualified leads at an average of $5,800 and a 20 percent chance of booking: 8 times $5,800 times 0.20 = $9,280
• 5 consultations booked at $5,800 and a 30 percent chance: $8,700
• 7 quotes out, worth $41,300 in total, at a 45 percent chance: $18,585

The weighted pipeline is $36,565. If their target for bookings signed in March and April is $40,000, they are about $3,400 short, and they know it in early March, not in May. They respond by sending the spring newsletter early and asking two venue partners for referrals. The percentages come from their own past results; yours will differ.

Step 6: Run the weekly pipeline review

Put thirty minutes in the calendar every Monday morning. Work through the pipeline from left to right and ask the same questions each time.

1. Does every new inquiry have a first reply, and was it within target?
2. Does every lead have a next step with a date?
3. Which quotes are due a follow-up touch this week?
4. Which leads have sat in one stage too long, and why?
5. Which past clients have a trigger date in the next six weeks?
6. What is the weighted pipeline, and how does it compare with the target?

Finish by noting one improvement for the system itself, such as a template to rewrite or a form question to drop. A pipeline gets better every week it is used.

In peak season, when Mondays are spent recovering from weekend events, move the review to Tuesday rather than skipping it. The weeks you are busiest are exactly the weeks leads slip, and a missed review is usually the first sign of it.

Your one-page pipeline

• The stage map with triggers, owners and next steps.
• The list of CRM fields.
• The inquiry form, auto-reply and first reply.
• The templates attached to each stage.
• This month’s weighted pipeline and target.
• The weekly review time, booked.

In Canada and the GTA

A pipeline touches nearly every rule covered in this course, because it handles personal information, sends commercial messages and ends in a consumer contract. Run your finished pipeline through this checklist. It is general information, not legal advice, so check the linked sources or a lawyer for your own situation.

The compliance checklist for your pipeline

• Replies are exempt; promotions are not. Under the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations, messages sent in response to a request, inquiry or complaint are exempt from CASL’s consent, identification and unsubscribe requirements. Newsletters, rebooking emails and automated promotions are commercial electronic messages that need consent, your business name, mailing address and contact details, and an unsubscribe mechanism that works for at least 60 days. Process unsubscribes within 10 business days at the latest, and remember that Google expects bulk senders to honour them within 48 hours.
• Consent clocks are in the CRM. An inquiry gives implied consent for 6 months from the inquiry; a purchase gives it for 2 years from the purchase; express consent lasts until withdrawn. The consent expiry field tells you when to stop or when to ask. The onus of proving consent is on the sender. See the CRTC’s CASL frequently asked questions.
• Privacy is built in. PIPEDA generally applies to private-sector organizations doing business in Ontario. Name the person accountable for privacy, collect only what you need, protect the CRM with individual logins and two-factor authentication, explain in your privacy policy which service providers hold client data, and keep a record of every breach for 24 months. Report breaches that pose a real risk of significant harm to the OPC and notify those affected as soon as feasible.
• Quotes show the real price. Under the Competition Act’s drip pricing rule, a quoted price must include every mandatory fixed fee. Only amounts imposed by law, such as the 13% HST, may be added on top. Tell the customer that the total includes HST, show the HST amount separately, or state the rate.
• Invoices meet CRA rules. For sales of $500 or more, invoices must show the GST/HST charged, your registration number, the buyer’s name, a brief description of the services and the payment terms.
• Contracts follow Ontario consumer law. The Consumer Protection Act, 2002 remains in effect until the 2023 Act is proclaimed. Under the 2002 Act, you cannot bill a consumer more than 10 percent above an estimate without their written agreement, any uncertainty in a consumer agreement is interpreted in the consumer’s favour, and under a future performance agreement, where a consumer pays now for something delivered later, the consumer may cancel and get a refund if delivery is more than 30 calendar days after the agreed date. Read Ontario’s guide to agreement types.
• Follow-up stays honest. False urgency and pressure are unfair practices under Ontario law and can be false or misleading representations under the Competition Act.
• Reviews are asked for fairly. Ask every client, offer no incentive, and never filter out the unhappy ones. Google prohibits both incentives and review gating.
• Contact is accessible. Ontario’s accessibility rules require organizations with one or more employees to offer accessible ways to give feedback and to provide information in accessible formats on request. Offer phone, email and form, and make your form usable with a keyboard and a screen reader.

Local timing for setup

Build or rebuild your pipeline in the quieter months, January to March for most GTA event businesses, or right after your peak season ends. Load your trigger dates for the year in January: corporate rebooking emails for late summer, wedding anniversaries, and the moving dates of the cultural and religious occasions your clients celebrate. Then test the whole pipeline yourself, from a personal email address, before the spring rush begins.

Worksheet

Download the worksheet and complete it for your own business, using Lantern & Lane as the model where it helps. Keep it with your marketing plan. It takes about 13 minutes.

Download the worksheet (PDF)