Not keeping a few simple records of every original inquiry that comes into your photography business is like trying to sail a ship across the ocean without ANY navigational tools at all - not even a compass - you might end up somewhere, sure - but who knows where that will be? It certainly WON'T be where you wanted to go!
If you want more paying clients in your photography business, this "Marketing GPS Tool" is going to be extremely valuable to you - and it's totally FREE to set up and use! It just takes a little time.
When the phone rings with a new prospective client, or an e-mail inquiry comes in, most photographers do their best to "book it," of course. But that's all they usually do. They totally miss the fact that there is valuable information that can to be collected, logged, reviewed and used to make decisions about their future marketing and selling methods. This information really is like "GPS for Marketing" for your photography business.
I use a simple "Original Contact Record" to do this. It's simply a list where I log specific information about every original caller or e-mailer.
Here's what the Report contains:
1. The date the call or e-mail came in - this is important because you can track the number of calls, and the type of calls that come in by month and by year-to-date. This way, you can compare this year with previous years, and see exactly how you're doing.
2. How she heard about you - this tells you what parts of your marketing efforts are working, and what parts of it are not working. This is very valuable information which you can use to improve your marketing efforts and methods. (So you ALWAYS ask the caller or e-mailer how she happened to hear about you.)
3. Who she's thinking of having photographed - this is the "type" of call or e-mail - by tracking this, you can look at how many of this type you have received this year, compared to previous years.
4. Whether or not prices were discussed, and what specifics were given - this will give you insight into whether or not it is best to give out prices, and if so, how best to do it.
5. Who took the call or answered the e-mail - this gives you statistics as to who on your staff are the "best" at closing the sale, and who needs more work.
6. Whether or not the client "booked" the next step - this will tell you who actually agreed to take the next step with you - based on where they heard about you in the first place.
7. The prospect's name - you put this in the Contact Record, so you can go back and fill in what happens next with that prospect. (See #8 below.)
8. Did she actually show up for the "next step?" - this is where you go back and fill in whether or not she actually took the next step in your sales process - which for me is to come into the studio and "chat" with us - no charge and no obligation.
9. Any notes or comments about the call or e-mail - why it was or was not successful.
By putting together a simple "Original Contact Record" and using it for every call and e-mail inquiry you receive, you are compiling valuable information which will greatly help you make the correct marketing decisions for your photography business. It works amazingly well for me, and I know it will work great for you, as well.
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