Small Business Follow Up Strategies
Recently I was talking with a Brand Magic Society member, and he told me he got a contract signed after 17 follow ups! 17!!
Most likely, if you are an event professional, you are one of the 10+ vendors your potential client is trying to lock down. They are overwhelmed and trying to absorb all of the details they need to feel confident in pulling the trigger on you as their number one.
I talk about the client experience in four parts—
The cold lead: the visuals, marketing, and relationships that get you the inquiry.
The post-inquiry, pre-contract phase.
The post-contract, pre-event phase, and—
The follow-up and referral generating phase.
Number two, the post-inquiry, pre-contract phase, is where things can get stagnant. Tracking and follow-ups will be your best bet to get business.
When thinking about my own inbox management, sometimes those high decision-making or heavy-reading emails sit longer than others. It is our responsibility to help share our expertise, the process of having the event of our client’s dreams, and what steps are involved... in bite-size pieces.
It's important to deliver your process and proposal in more bite-sized pieces to keep a quick cadence of replies and commitments. If you feel like you are still getting ghosted, consider how you might continue to nurture your lead to feeling more confident. Likely it’s not you; it’s just poor timing, and they are overwhelmed or finalizing their budget—if anything, they might feel embarrassed they haven’t been in touch.
Most people aren't ready to commit after the first inquiry, so reduce friction by avoiding asking for their budget before it's finalized, or asking for a phone call too soon. Providing genuine human connection over email correspondence will help you win their business. One of my favorite tricks in the business is from Alan Berg — keep replies and follow ups simple, don't make it all about your pricing (right away), and ask a low commitment question that prevents client overwhelm. Here's an example!
"Thanks for reaching out, I’d love to give you my pricing information. I want to make sure I don’t leave out anything important to you and I don’t want you to pay for anything you don’t need. Let me get a few details from you so I can give you the right price. Have you already reserved a venue or are you still working on that?"
Tips for a successful follow up after the initial response:
A couple of days in: “Just following up to see if you have any questions or concerns on what I proposed?”
A few days after that: “Are you still looking for X to make your wedding day great?”
One week later: “I know planning can be super overwhelming! Let me help you understand how we make our process simple by doing X, Y, and Z."
Another week later: “Did you two elope? I can remove you from our system if you feel like we aren’t a good fit or have found someone else.”
If you feel comfortable, a phone call can be incredibly powerful once you've built rapport. Ask them if they got your email and let them know how excited you are for their event vision and being able to help them achieve their vision.
The early bird gets the worm, but the one who leans in, supports, and gives their client the time they need can win big at business.