As a wedding photographer, are you always following up with potential clients? If you aren’t, you’re leaving money on the table! I heard from my audience on Instagram that a lot of you aren’t taking the time to follow up with potential clients and leads. I’m here to help you make following up a little easier.

Does this sound familiar?

A potential client fills out your contact form or sends an email reaching out about a photo session or wedding photographer. You respond back professionally, maybe even have a call or meeting with the potential client. Then.. crickets, nothing. You realize weeks (or months) later you never heard back from them, and you didn’t follow up either.

I’m going to chat about the two biggest reasons my audience said they aren’t following up.

If You Forget to Follow Up

It happens, we are crazy busy juggling clients, shoots, social media, client communications, and our actual life.

But, if you are forgetting to follow up with clients, use a system to make it automated and easier to manage. You can use tools like Honeybook, Asana, Zapier, etc. to keep track of your leads. You can even schedule a follow-up email right after you are done with your call or meeting with the client!

If You Feel Like Following Up Seems Desperate or Salesy

This is a mindset issue, folks! Instead of thinking that it makes you seem desperate or salesy, focus on the excitement you feel and the excitement around the potential of working with the client. Show that excitement in your follow-up and be genuine!

How Should I Follow-Up With Clients?

You’ll find a process that works for you, but my best advice is to follow up at least twice.

Here is what I do in terms of client follow up:

1. I always send potential clients a ton of information after our phone call and encourage my clients to spend some time reviewing it all. If I haven’t heard back from them within a week, I will send a quick follow up email that includes:

• Asking if they have any questions
• Let them know I’m excited to work with them

2. If I have no response 10 days after that, I will send my final follow up that says something like, “I’ve loved chatting with you and hearing your story! I’m assuming because I haven’t heard from you that you have decided to go in a different direction for your wedding photography” and wish them the best. Simple, genuine, and easy!

If a potential client does respond and confirm they have gone in a different direction, I usually respond and ask them if there was anything I could have done differently. This is a great time to see if they are willing to provide feedback on your communication and business practices. Most of the time, the reason is because of the cost, which is completely fine and don’t worry about it! That’s the life of a photographer sometimes, right? But, if they say anything else or provide other feedback, it can be beneficial feedback for growing your business!

Do you have any other questions about following up with potential clients and leads? Let me know in the comments!