yay you’ve got a potential client looking to book with you for their wedding! you’ve been working hard to show off your work and now it’s time to officially book a couple!! now what? before you hit the screeching brakes on your momentum, take a deep breath and just keep reading. i’ve got a simple process that will help you learn how to book that next client with ease!

1. provide a contact form

this one comes first and it’s SUPER helpful through the whole process!! chances are you already have a contact form on your website or a way for potential clients to reach out, but just in case you don’t––you should.

getting all the info from clients in the beginning not only helps you connect back with them, but also helps get contracts written quickly so you can get all the formal stuff out of the way and get to truly serving your clients!

there are countless options for integrating an easy app or plug-in that will capture all the relevant data you need from a client, and that will sync with your email or newsletter system.

I have incorporated floforms into my wordpress site and have set it up to have every inquiry popped into honeybook quickly for me to connect with my client asap!

booking new clients is even easier when you have this process set up because they will already be in your email system, ready for the next step!

which is…

2. make your initial connection

i know, i know, emails sound sooo easy, but a text, phone call, or even personal video text can really go a long way and show the potential client how excited you are to see their inquiry! a great way to know what your client prefers, is to ask them in that contact form we talked about!!

on your first connection, wether it’s an email, text, whatever it is, it’s important for both you and the potential client to get to know each other a little. find out if you have their date available, what style of photography they are looking for and if you can meet their needs, etc!

while talking over the formal details is important, this is also the time to make sure you are a great fit (for BOTH of you!) and can connect, because the process really is unique!

3. set up an email sequence

an email sequence is another must that you ideally want to have set up as you start connecting with couples! it’s a simple way to nurture your existing clients AND to have a process already in place for new clients!

email sequences are the few emails in a specific order that get sent out after a potential client reaches out + you connect, or after the client books to serve them helpful info! the purpose of an email sequence is to keep the communication going but to also bring value to the potential bride and groom, and having automated systems in place make this easy peasy!

you’re not only proving your expertise to your next potential clients, so they know they are in great hands – but you are also serving them in so many ways for their wedding and your knowledge can be truly so valuable to them!

the best way to follow up with a client once you have connected with them, is to send over your details email, and have some follow-up emails in place to send their way if you don’t hear back or if they have any questions! i have my emails canned in honey book and some set emails to send out to make it easy and timely!

4. make it official!!

once you’ve figured out if you’re a good match for the client, it’s time to book em’! after you have sent all the fancy details, chatted and become bffs, nows the time to send over a proposal and have your client sign + pay their deposit!

again, i use honeybook to gather all the important info from your clients and add them to your records. i use honeybook to track eeeevvvverrrything.

honeybook has a calendar to keep track of dates, tracks ongoing tasks, has a bookkeeping feature for invoicing, a correspondence capability, annnd i can even run reports on it. this is the place for those auto emails, proposals, where you can take payments and sharing timelines + extra goodies with your clients all in one place!

5. send client gifts!!

YAY! my FAV part!! if you didn’t know, i’m a big fan of client gifts. like, BIG fan. i believe they help you create a memorable and exciting client experience, because to be totally honest…. this will not only help your clients connect more with you, but it will also be something they will want to tell their friends about!

if you are’t sure about the whole process, i’ve done all the work for you.

i’ve developed the best client gift guide for wedding photographers and you can snag it for FREE right here on sincerelyjules.co!

you’ll get all the deets on when i send my gifts and the whole process i go through! you’ll also see how i keep track of the timeline so that i never miss a gift-giving opportunity, because why the heck would you wanna miss any sweet moment!!

don’t forget to keep those emails going through the whole process, and more! read my blog on how to serve your clients through the wedding process!

learning how to onboard your photography clients does not have to be stressful! if you want help working through every detail of booking new clients, i can help! book a call with me here.