A typical meeting for most wedding photographers will end with the person promising to call back within just a few days to approve the booking. In practice, they becomes distracted and doesn't call back ever and it's important to chase them down for a decision. However how can this be done without seeming to be i) too desperate or ii) a stalker?
Here is a straightforward guide taken from many experience in tele-sales. The largest problem is that many folks do not answer when you ring. If you leave a message, it is terribly tricky to then call back if you do not get a reply. At some specific point you have to cut your losses and mark the potential customer as 'lost ' and go on. If you spend too much time chasing an individual then you won't be spreading your time evenly and your success rate will fall.
Firstly what's the best time to call?
Weekends are usually poor times and calls during private time is often not appreciated. However this isn't always true with wedding photography as this is often considered considered critical. You might want to experiment by making some calls at the weekend.
Do not try on Mondays or Fridays. Mondays they're too pushed dealing with all of the things they have to do in the week and Fridays they're planning their weekends.
The best days are Tuesday, Wed. & Thursday. 11:30am and 7pm appear to be fun times.
How Long to Spend on Tele-sales?
Only spend a maximum of of an hour on each day on these calls. It's far better to have consistency than try and do too much and then stop wholly.
What About if there is No Answer?
Let the telephone ring 5 times. If there isn't any answer, hang up and make a note in your database. Try again after two days.
After 5 attempts with no answer, leave a message. Say that you've tried numerous times, but haven't been able to get in contact. Remind them of their promise to give you a decision or update and day that you're going to make the assumption that they've found an alternative supplier. Follow this up with an email saying the same thing and mark the account as 'lost'.
By following this strict regime your productiveness will improve and you will be far less concered about making cold calls.
Here is a straightforward guide taken from many experience in tele-sales. The largest problem is that many folks do not answer when you ring. If you leave a message, it is terribly tricky to then call back if you do not get a reply. At some specific point you have to cut your losses and mark the potential customer as 'lost ' and go on. If you spend too much time chasing an individual then you won't be spreading your time evenly and your success rate will fall.
Firstly what's the best time to call?
Weekends are usually poor times and calls during private time is often not appreciated. However this isn't always true with wedding photography as this is often considered considered critical. You might want to experiment by making some calls at the weekend.
Do not try on Mondays or Fridays. Mondays they're too pushed dealing with all of the things they have to do in the week and Fridays they're planning their weekends.
The best days are Tuesday, Wed. & Thursday. 11:30am and 7pm appear to be fun times.
How Long to Spend on Tele-sales?
Only spend a maximum of of an hour on each day on these calls. It's far better to have consistency than try and do too much and then stop wholly.
What About if there is No Answer?
Let the telephone ring 5 times. If there isn't any answer, hang up and make a note in your database. Try again after two days.
After 5 attempts with no answer, leave a message. Say that you've tried numerous times, but haven't been able to get in contact. Remind them of their promise to give you a decision or update and day that you're going to make the assumption that they've found an alternative supplier. Follow this up with an email saying the same thing and mark the account as 'lost'.
By following this strict regime your productiveness will improve and you will be far less concered about making cold calls.
About the Author:
Clwyd is a wedding photographer based in London. He's employed generally in the area of Indian wedding photography covering many Asian weddings in England and at assorted world destinations.
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