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Insights, Tips, and Updates on Text Automation and Follow Up Boss Integration
Why You Need to Change Your Email & SMS Messaging (And What to Do Instead)
Why You Need to Change Your Email & SMS Messaging (And What to Do Instead)
Let's be honest: most follow-up messages don't work.
You send an email or text to a lead, and… nothing. Silence. You follow up again, and still nothing. After a few attempts, you give up and move on — assuming the lead just wasn't interested.
But here's the truth — it's not your leads who are the problem. It's the way you're messaging them.
The Problem: You're Sending LINEAR Messages
Dan Martell, bestselling author and business coach, introduced a concept that perfectly describes why most outreach fails. He calls them LINEAR messages: Long, Impersonal, Not Expecting A Reply.
A LINEAR message looks like this:
"Hi [Name], my name is John Smith and I'm a real estate agent with XYZ Realty. I noticed you submitted a form on our website about homes in the area. I'd love to schedule a 30-minute call to discuss your home buying needs, learn about what you're looking for, share some of our current listings, and explore how we can best serve you in your home search. Please click the link below to book a time that works for you."
Exhausting to read, right? Now imagine receiving that as a text message.
LINEAR messages fail because they feel transactional, impersonal, and require a lot of effort from the recipient. They look like a sales email within the first two seconds — and people disengage immediately.
The Solution: SPEAR Messaging
The antidote to LINEAR messaging is what Dan Martell calls SPEAR: Short, Personal, Expecting A Reply.
SPEAR messages are brief, feel like they came from a real person, and end with a question that naturally invites a response. They don't sell — they start conversations.
What a SPEAR Message Looks Like
Instead of the lengthy email above, a SPEAR message might look like this:
"Hey [Name] — still looking for a home in [City], or did you find something?"
That's 13 words. No pitch, no pressure, no fluff. Just a genuine question that requires a simple answer. And because it's easy to respond to, people actually do.
Here's another example for SMS:
"Hey [Name] — quick question. Is buying still on your radar, or should I close your file?"
The 5 Key Principles of SPEAR Messaging
1. Keep It Short
Long messages signal "sales email." Short messages signal "real person." Aim for under 5 sentences in emails, and under 2 sentences in SMS. The shorter your message, the more personal it feels — and the easier it is to reply to.
2. Make It Personal
Reference something specific about the lead — their name, location, situation, or a recent interaction. Generic messages get ignored. Personalized ones get read.
3. Expect (and Invite) a Reply
Every SPEAR message should end with a simple, easy-to-answer question. Don't make your prospect do work — a yes/no or one-word answer is all they need. The goal is a reply, not a sale.
4. Don't Sell — Serve
Reframe your outreach as service, not sales. When you come from a place of genuine curiosity and service, your messages feel completely different. Ask yourself: "Am I trying to serve this person, or close them?"
5. Create Curiosity
Leave out some details to create intrigue. A message like "I found something you might want to see — want me to send it over?" gives just enough to make someone curious enough to respond. If you include everything in one message, there's no reason to reply.
A Simple 4-Message SPEAR Sequence
Here's a complete sequence you can use for your leads — applicable to both email and SMS:
Message 1 — The First Touch
Subject: [City] — quick question
"Hey [Name] — noticed you were looking in [Area]. Still searching, or did you find something?"
Message 2 — The Value Hook (Day 3)
Subject: Before it hits the market...
"Hey [Name] — just got access to a couple of off-market listings in your area before they go public. Want the details?"
Message 3 — The Social Proof (Day 7)
Subject: Saved a client $22K last week
"Hey [Name] — helped someone in [Area] save $22K on their purchase last week. Still in the market? I can walk you through how."
Message 4 — The Break-Up (Day 14)
Subject: Should I close your file?
"Hey [Name] — haven't heard back and totally understand if the timing isn't right. Should I close your file, or is this still on your radar?"
Why This Works
SPEAR messaging works because it respects the recipient's time, feels human, and makes it easy to respond. Instead of overwhelming someone with information and a heavy call-to-action, you're simply opening a door and asking if they want to walk through it.
When someone replies — even just to say "not right now" — you've started a conversation. And conversations convert.
Start Sending SPEAR Messages Today
If your email and SMS response rates are low, the fastest fix is to make your messages shorter, more personal, and question-focused. Stop sending brochures. Start sending conversations.
At Leadengage, we help businesses automate and personalize their follow-up messaging so every lead feels like a priority. Ready to see how SPEAR messaging can transform your outreach?
Pricing
Affordable Plans, Starting At Just $149
Get powerful tools and seamless integration for as low as $149. Choose the plan that helps your business grow.
FAQ
How do usage credits work?
Each plan includes a monthly Wallet Credit that covers communication and AI processing costs — including SMS (A2P compliant), phone calls, voicemail drops, email sending, and AI features.
When you send messages, make calls, use email, or trigger AI features, the cost is deducted from your included Wallet Credit.
Higher-tier plans receive lower carrier and AI rates, which is why they include more usage per month.
Most agents never exceed their included usage.
What happens if I go over my monthly included usage?
If you exceed your included Wallet Credit, additional usage is billed automatically at standard carrier and AI processing rates.
There are:
• No surprise charges
• No penalties
• No plan interruptions
You simply continue operating as normal, and only pay for the additional usage you actually consume.
You can view detailed usage rates at any time on our Transparent Usage Pricing page.
What is a Message Segment?
A message is counted as a standard SMS segment, which is up to 160 characters of plain text. If a message exceeds 160 characters, it may be split into multiple segments. Certain special characters or emojis can also reduce the character limit per segment. Most standard text messages fall within a single segment.
Does Leadengage work with Follow Up Boss?
Yes, we offer an embedded app within the Follow Up Boss sidebar for easy access to many our features as well as the enabled drip texting within action plans! Most of our features run through FUB notes and then SMS gets converted to show as marketing text messages in FUB.
Not using Follow Up Boss? No problem, we suggest the Platform plan for access to additional features however you can still use the Messaging Plan for some of the functions.
Is there an extra cost per user?
There is one subscription fee for Leadengage for each master Follow Up Boss account. Your Leadengage account covers all users within your Follow Up Boss account, whether it's one or fifty users (or more). Once enabled for one user, all users have access to the Leadengage widget and drip texting in action plan ability in FUB. You will pay additional for going over your usage limits if your team is very active in messaging. Each plan with texting includes a complimentary credit to the wallet balance every month to cover some usage. We have additional plans with lower usage fees and more credit coverage, or you can pay for usage as you go. Visit leadengage.com/pricinglc for usage costs and complimentary credit amounts.
We recommend only the team owner and admin/operations manager have access to the Leadengage Platform and optional mobile app as all leads, billing, and communication can be viewed.
How does drip texting work?
Leadengage works within Follow Up Boss by adding an additional code to a note within action plans.
For example, the command code and message
[SMS] Hi %contact_first_name% This is %agent_first_name% with %company_name%. I was just notified you registered on our website and I would love to help! Are you currently in the market or just browsing? If you'd rather not be texted, reply stop.
would send a text through your Leadengage number pulling in the merge field data with the [SMS] removed. New texts on days 2 and beyond in the action plan with code [SMS] will send around 9 am
Leadengage also offers timed drip texts through action plans with commands that include 15 minute, 1 hour, and 2 hour delays and texts sent around 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, and 7 pm. Make sure to use the exact commands we provide, you can see a longer list and full guide at leadengage.com/help
Follow Up Boss action plans drops the note onto the lead at 5 PM of your local time and sends to our system. Leadengage then sends action plan texts with bracket commands (i.e. [SMS]) between 9 am - 8 pm of your local time zone Monday through Friday, and 11:30 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Texts scheduled for after those times on any given day will be send the following day at 9 am. We also hold action plan texts on the following holidays Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day and will deliver the text the day after the holiday.
Any manual texts you send yourself without a delay (not through the action plan) or in action plans without brackets (i.e. SMS) will send instantly without regard to the holiday or time of day.
Leadengage currently allows one action plan text per day per lead. We also suggest spacing at least one day between most texts, if there is an action plan text held from the evening or day before the 2nd text in line will be skipped.
How many social media accounts can I connect?
Social Messages to FUB
At this time Leadengage can connect to one Facebook Page and the primary business Instagram page that is connected to the Facebook page as well as one Google Business Profile. We are working on increasing that limit for message connections. These messages will be pushed into your Follow Up Boss profile and default to the account owner. You can also reply to the messages in FUB through our Leadengage widget or the mobile shortcuts in notes. You can use the tags we send to set automations if you'd like to automatically assign these message leads to another user. At this time we do not support messages to FUB from personal social media profiles.
Social Planner (Add-On for Messaging & Automation, Included with Platform)
You can connect multiple profiles, pages, groups for each source. Send posts immediately to multiple places or schedule for the future.
Supported Profiles: Facebook Business Page & Reels. Google My Business (limited to GMBs with 10 locations or less). Linked-In Pages and Profiles. Instagram Professional Accounts including Posts, Stories, and Reels. TikTok personal profiles (business accounts coming soon). Both Instagram and Facebook also allow you to add the initial follow up comment which is great for initiating engagement.
Is there a limit to how many sites I can place the web chat widgets on?
There is no limit to the number of sites you can place either the Standard Chat Widget (included in all accounts) or the Engagement Widget (Add-on) on. The Engagement Widget is limited to 5 custom pop-up welcome messages, which we can customize by url.
Does Leadengage reply to the lead responses for me?
Not by default. We want you to be in control of the conversation. You can set up your own action plans for drip texting, use our templates as a guide, or use Kee Technology Solutions for your initial automation and action plan set up. After that, you are in control of monitoring replies and choosing your responses.
Update 2025: We now offer Conversation AI for an additional fee that can respond to incoming messages.
Hear From Our Clients
Integrating FUB and leadngage has been a game changer for my business. It automates all my outbound texting, and has helped me convert tons of leads!
Eileen H
Keller Williams
Before adding Leadngage to Follow Up Boss, we were missing inbound conversations and opportunities from our website, social media, and text inquiries because we were juggling multiple apps. Now, everything is managed seamlessly within Follow Up Boss, all in one place.
Jeremy S
EXP
Our team is thrilled with Leadngage. We've saved money by no longer needing VAs to copy and paste text templates to new leads—everything is automated now.
Brian G
Remax
