Lead Replies Sales

Still Waiting to Hear From a Lead? Here’s Why.

Securing responses to your lead replies is a common pain point for wedding professionals, and it’s easy to understand why. When potential couples reach out to inquire about your services, and you reply only to never hear back, it’s frustrating. Maybe the person was busy or forgot. But the harsher truth may be that your reply cut communication short.

WeddingPro Educator Alan Berg explains that there is always room for improvement in your lead replies. If you’re not getting the responses you want, Alan has some explanations and tips to help you turn your response success around.

You’re taking too long to reply

Seven in 10 couples say vendor responsiveness is the most important factor they consider when booking their wedding team. That seems totally rational, right? Our research also shows that after submitting an online inquiry, 40% of couples report not hearing back from vendors within five days. As wedding professionals, you should stay on top of your inquiries because if you aren’t, it’s probably costing you sales. Think about it: if you inquired about a product or service that you wanted to purchase and had to wait at least five days, wouldn’t you consider finding it somewhere else?

Approximately 50% of couples choose the vendor that replies first. Because time is clearly of the essence here, do your best to reply as soon as possible. Alan recommends waiting no more than 24 hours to respond.

You’re not using automation correctly

Sounding disingenuous will not result in a sale. When a couple sends you an inquiry, and they receive an automatic reply saying “someone will be in contact with you shortly,” it doesn’t add anything to the conversation, even if you end up sending your reply within five minutes of that message going out.

What does add something: Automating lead follow-ups in a way that is customizable to the couple and your personal style.

The Knot’s Auto follow-ups feature includes automated prompts that encourage replies, so you spend your energy on leads who are actually ready to book. We’ve found that couples are nearly 40% more likely to respond to Auto Follow-ups than a manually sent vendor response. 

One of the unique features of Auto follow-ups is its blend of automation and personalization. First, build your workflow using templates built from messages we know actually work. Next, set it live so it runs 24/7. Then, use our Smart fields to pull in each couple’s unique details to complement your message. It’s automation with a personal touch!

Additionally, it can be really obvious when things are copied and pasted. When a couple is under the impression that the email you sent to them is also sent to everyone else, they probably won’t believe that you can offer them the personalized services they want. If you do have generic copy-and-paste text, and you just can’t part with it, consider having someone who is completely unfamiliar with your business read it. If they believe that the segment reads like copy-and-paste, it’s time to nix it.

You’re asking for a phone call or a meeting

When a couple reaches out for the first time, it’s usually about something specific (“What is your price for x?”, “Are you available on x date?”). Remember that they did not ask you for a phone call or a meeting—they asked a question. Replying with, “Are you available anytime to chat or come in for a meeting?” instead of answering their question could miss an opportunity to reply.

You suggest a new communication channel

Along with timeliness, nearly half of all couples express frustration when vendors don’t use the communication channels they prefer. To improve your chances of a response, use the same communication channel until your back-and-forth exchange reaches a point where another method might be better. If a potential customer emails you, you should email back. In fact, more and more bookings are being made entirely over email, without a single phone call. Remember: If they wanted to call you, they would have called.

You’re not thinking mobile

If you don’t craft your replies for mobile, you’re severely lowering the chances of securing a reply back. Approximately 80% of couples use emails to inquire about services, and 70% of our consumers’ emails are opened on mobile devices. To fit mobile demands, keep your replies short. As we mentioned, couples are usually asking you a simple question. By keeping things short, not only are you guaranteed not to overwhelm, but you are maximizing the readability of your reply, too.

Another mobile-first tip: Alan suggests not sending attachments in your first few replies. Most attachments fall into the “overkill” category and can overwhelm a couple with information they don’t yet need. But, more importantly, most attachments are designed for desktops, so they can be hard to both read and display on a mobile device.

You don’t ask a single question

Not asking a question in your reply can be detrimental. While it may seem that ending with a friendly “I look forward to hearing from you!” suggests to the couple that you are expecting a reply, this line doesn’t demand a reply.

Instead, Alan suggests asking a “low commitment” question in every correspondence to guarantee a reply. Unlike “high commitment” questions such as “When would you like to come in to meet?”, low-commitment questions like “How many guests are you expecting?” or “Do you have a venue secured yet?” begin the conversational back-and-forth needed to make a sale.

You’re avoiding pricing

Price questions shouldn’t be something to fear. Be upfront about price and don’t duck the question. Put yourself in their shoes: when you ask about price, and someone tap-dances around it, how do you feel? If you are concerned about sharing an exact price, give a price range instead. That way, you are not overwhelming a couple with every price point and can leave it open-ended, asking the follow-up question, “What services in particular were you thinking about?”

You’re starting your reply with “Congratulations on your engagement!”

It might sound nitpicky, but we promise it’s not. Most wedding professionals start their reply with some form of congratulations to the happy couple. When couples are doing their research and are beginning to contact vendors, every preview line in their inbox starts to look exactly the same. Change things up to ensure that you get noticed!

It is easy to get defeated when lead replies don’t turn into sales, all the more so when the conversation quickly dies out. However, if a couple is reaching out to you, it’s because they are interested in you. Know that in reaching out, a couple has eliminated a huge portion of your competition. While they might also be reaching out to a few more similar wedding professionals, you are still part of the select group they liked and wanted to hear from, because they want to book you.