People rarely say "I want to buy" in a private message. They ask in public, under your post, between a thumbs-up and a joke. "Bei ni ngapi?" "Mko wapi?" "Do you deliver to Thika?"
If nobody answers within a few hours, that person usually buys from whoever does. The good news is that finding these questions takes about ten minutes a day, if you follow a routine.
The routine
Minutes 0 to 2: open the right posts. Start with your newest post, then the posts from the last two days. Old posts matter too, but fresh ones hold the people who are ready now.
Minutes 2 to 6: scan for five kinds of question. Read quickly and look for anyone asking:
- the price ("bei", "how much", "sh ngapi")
- the location ("mko wapi", "where are you", "mnapatikana wapi")
- how to order ("naweza order vipi", "how do I order")
- delivery ("do you deliver", "mnafikisha")
- a quantity or a date ("150 people in November", "for Saturday")
Minutes 6 to 8: write each one down. One line per person: who, what they asked, which post. A phone note is enough. This is your list for the day.
Minutes 8 to 10: reply in public, then move to chat. Answer the question in one or two lines where everyone can see it, then invite the person to continue on WhatsApp or inbox for the details.
What a good reply looks like
Weak: "Check inbox."
Better: "Karibu! Our chapati pack is KES 500 and we are in Kisumu town. Send us your number on WhatsApp and we will confirm your order."
The better reply answers first. A person who gets the price in public is far more likely to carry on than one who is told to go and ask again.
Three mistakes to avoid
- Ignoring comments in Kiswahili or Sheng. Often these are the most serious buyers.
- Replying only to the first comments. Buyers arrive hours later, at the bottom of the thread.
- Deleting complaints. Answer them. A calm public reply to a complaint can win more trust than ten compliments.
Measure it once a week
At the end of the week, count two numbers: how many people asked a buying question, and how many you answered within an hour. If the second number is much smaller than the first, you have found money you are leaving on the table.
If your posts get hundreds of comments, doing this by hand stops being realistic. That is the part SikiaIQ does for you: paste the comments, and it lists the people ready to buy and drafts the reply. The routine above still works without it, and it is the best way to see how much you are missing.