I Lost 2 Weeks of Bookings (Don’t do This)

This morning I hop out of the shower, my hair wet, I’m wrapped in a towel getting ready to meet with my students in Headshot Academy® and I get a call from my assistant.

Jess never calls unless it’s really important. So when I pick up, she says that she just discovered that we have text messages on our texting platform from two weeks ago that we weren’t notified about.

She discovered this because a client emailed her saying they never heard back. Ooops.

We just moved email servers and we’re both wondering if that’s the reason for the glitch.

So, it’s a bit of a tech panic moment because I barely have time to get ready and hop into an hour-long meeting, let alone investigate where the disconnect is.

Sometimes these tech failures can throw off my whole week and take hours of my life 😤 to troubleshoot and resolve.

This time however, thank gawd, she discovered that it was simply a notification setting on our SMS platform that had somehow switched itself off.

How that happens? I don’t know, but it does. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Something that was working and you didn’t touch it, all of a sudden breaks. Don’t you hate that?

But whew. My day didn’t turn into tech hell.

BUT even though I got back to people all the way from two weeks ago to last night and prefaced my text with, “So sorry for the delay, we had a tech issue and were not notified…” when I asked if it’s too late to send them the info they needed (as in, did they move on and already find a photographer?) and to let me know, I heard back from only ONE person. 

The one from last night (and she booked 😃).

Why?

Because you know that saying “if you snooze, you lose”? Well, it applies to our business as well.

‼️If you don’t get back to prospects inquiring about your services right away, they move on.

If you wait even one day, there’s a chance they’ll connect with someone else before they connect with you and make a decision before doing their due diligence.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s important to set boundaries. And believe me, I do.

I have an outgoing auto-reply that specifically spells out my business hours and that I’m not at my desk on weekends (so don’t expect to hear back from me on a weekend if you email me) and next to my SMS number on my website it says something similar.

On a side note: 👉 if you’re a business and you don’t have an auto-reply set for inquiries or emails, get one done now. Acknowledge receipt of their email, spell out your business hours, and set expectations as to when they should hear from you.

I’m always surprised by makeup artists we email who get back to us two weeks later saying they were on vacation.

And what, you couldn’t be a professional and set up an auto-reply? See how judgy I am? So are your clients!

Anyway, I digress…

During the week, I don’t wait to get back to people.

If I’m at my desk and I see an email come in, I get back to them right away. I don’t wait until I feel like it at the end of the day.

Not only does this increase the chances of me booking them (strike while they’re hot!🔥), but it also has them impressed that I’m on it.

It gives them a clue about the rest of the experience with me which is also fast and efficient. For example, I turn over my web galleries to clients in one business day. Apparently that’s not common.🤔

In today’s world of fast, fleeting attention, you need to stay on top of it with quick replies. That’s actually WHY one of the options to reach me is via text. For those quick back-and-forths to book clients!

Bottom line? Your prospects are impatient. So get that auto-reply set up and don’t wait a day, don’t wait hours to get back to people or you’re losing clients without even knowing it. 

If you’re interested in a super affordable and awesome texting platform to promote those mini sale days, comment below and let me know. I’ll send you my sales rep’s name. My referral gets you a better deal and supports the creation of this newsletter.😉