A busy inbox should feel encouraging. But when many enquiries contain unusable details or requests you cannot serve, it can quickly become another job for the sales team. You are paying to attract attention and then paying again in time to sort it out.
To reduce fake leads from Facebook and Instagram ads, I would begin by being precise about the problem. A fake number, a duplicate and a genuine person asking for the wrong service are not the same thing. Once you separate them, the next change becomes much clearer: better expectations, better qualification or better data handling.
In this guide
Define the different problems
Ask your team to stop using one label for every disappointing enquiry. Create a few simple categories: unusable contact details, duplicate, outside coverage, wrong service, not ready and unreachable. Keep them easy enough that staff will use them consistently.
Why does this matter? Because the remedy depends on the cause. If people want a job rather than your service, the advert may be unclear. If numbers are mapped incorrectly into the CRM, the integration needs attention. If good prospects wait several days for a call, the follow-up process is part of the problem.
Review a handful of records before drawing a conclusion. Look at what the person submitted and what the team actually did. Do not assume a missed call proves an invented enquiry.
This gives you a useful conversation with whoever manages the campaign. Instead of saying the leads are terrible, you can explain the recurring mismatch and decide which part of the journey should change first.
Make the offer difficult to misunderstand
Name the service, the intended customer and the coverage area in the advert and form. Explain whether the next step is a quote, consultation or purchase. Avoid ambiguous free offers that attract people seeking something your business does not provide.
For commercial cleaning, say that the enquiry concerns recurring business premises cleaning if that is your service. For logistics, specify the routes or shipment types you handle. Clear exclusions can save sales time, but keep the tone helpful rather than hostile.
Ask a few questions that reveal fit
Use questions such as required service, delivery or site location, timeframe and business need. Prefer options the customer can understand quickly. A relevant answer gives the closer a useful opening and can expose inconsistent requests.
Do not turn the form into an intrusive identity check. Requesting excessive documents for an initial quote creates friction and privacy risks without proving purchase intent. If verification is needed later, explain the reason through a suitable process. Read how to qualify leads before calling.
Improve data handling and follow-up
Check field mapping, phone formats and duplicate rules. Two records from the same customer may reflect a retry or several channels, not fraud. Link related records where appropriate and retain the original enquiry details so your team can understand the history.
Respond within your staffed workflow and explain which request you are following up. Delayed contact can make a real lead appear unresponsive. Track contact attempts and outcomes; do not blame the advert for a lead that never reached an available salesperson.
Test changes against commercial results
Change one important element at a time and compare enquiry cohorts with similar follow-up time. Track accepted lead cost, connection rate and customer cost. A form that produces fewer enquiries may be better if it removes unsuitable demand, but the evidence should establish that.
Keep the improvement loop open between sales and campaign management. See improving quality without increasing spend and instant forms versus website forms for further tests.
How clearer wording can save the team time
Imagine a cleaning advert says professional cleaning available and asks for a phone number. The business really wants recurring office contracts. The campaign may attract households, one-off requests and people looking for work because the offer leaves too much room for interpretation.
Now make the service explicit. Explain that it concerns recurring business-premises cleaning in a defined area and that the next step is a discussion or survey. Ask what type of premises needs cleaning and when the service is required.
These changes do not guarantee perfect enquiries. They give genuine customers a better chance to recognise whether the offer fits, and give the salesperson information that improves the first conversation.
After the change, compare accepted enquiries and connected conversations, not only the number of forms. A lower volume may be worthwhile if the team spends less time on mismatched requests. Equally, a question that confuses suitable buyers may need rewriting.
Keep the improvement process calm and specific. You do not need to rebuild the entire campaign after every poor enquiry. You need to identify a pattern, make a relevant change and check what happens next.
Fill out the customer acquisition plan form if your campaigns are creating more sorting work than useful conversations. Describe the service you want to sell and the reasons your team currently rejects enquiries.
Frequently asked questions
Can I eliminate all fake leads?
No process can guarantee that. You can reduce avoidable problems and detect patterns, while keeping the journey usable for genuine customers.
Should I add more form fields?
Add fields only when the answers affect suitability or follow-up. More fields do not automatically produce better prospects.
Is a duplicate enquiry worthless?
Not necessarily. It may indicate renewed interest or a failed first attempt. Check the history before rejecting it or counting it as a new customer opportunity.
Ready to work on this for your business?
If you would like me and the DIL team to help you put this into practice, fill out the customer acquisition plan form. Tell us where you are now and what you want to improve, so we can start with your situation.