How To Tie The Knot on a Wedding Lead

Closing on Your Wedding Gig Leads

You’re getting email leads for wedding gigs, and you’re responding to them in a timely manner, yet for some reason you can’t seem to close. Logically the next step is to get frustrated and give up, right? Wrong.

I’m going to teach you a system to get couples to respond back to you every time: the 4-Step Followup Funnel.

Exclusive Download: The 5 Do’s and Don’ts of Selling Gigs — Common mistakes musical group leaders make when selling gigs and how to fix them.

Let’s talk about the main issue here. You’re getting the leads, but when you follow up you get no response. Take this familiar scenario:

Bride-to-be: Hello! I’m reaching out to ask your availability for my upcoming wedding. I’ve reviewed your rates and services, and it seems like you would be a great fit for our event. Please let us know if you are available on July 22, 2020 to perform on our big day. Thanks!

Ok, you think to yourself, this is perfect. Another gig in the books, another accomplishment for the group.

Frustrated Band Leader: Hello! Yes, we are indeed available to perform. Let’s get the ball rolling on the finer details of the event. Based on your timeline and request we could confirm the date for X dollars. Does that work for you? We are excited and honored to take part in your celebration. Thank you!

You wait, and wait, but all you hear is… crickets.

This is problematic on at least a few levels. It feels awful, and you’re missing out on that gig opportunity! Not only that, there’s the simply unethical nature of being left hanging. It’s like you had an awesome date, genuinely seeming to enjoy one another’s company, yet for some reason when you try making plans again you get no response. Getting ghosted is a real bummer, no doubt, and it can be just as much of a conundrum in your professional world.

Ruminating on a Missed Connection

So what can you do about it? You’re led to speculate a multitude of reasons they may have left you on read. Did you set your price point too high? Was your tone too casual? Too formal? Did you address them by the wrong name?

Truthfully, it’s probably none of those things. They are busy planning a wedding, preoccupied with a thousand different arrangements and things to get done, and you simply didn’t make the cut on their to-do list. How then do you solve this? Well, it really is as simple as following up — the right way — which you actually need to do with most people.

Following Up, Upping Your Game

When you start employing proper follow-up methods, you will be floored by the increase in gigs that you see. You’ll go from booking a couple shows a year, to a couple every month or even week.

If you don’t follow up, you’ll miss opportunities, you won’t make as much money and you won’t make as much art. If you do, bookings will increase by at least two or threefold. It’s easy to do if you simply follow these steps:

Step 1: Keep track of all of your leads, using a spreadsheet to record when somebody requested your information, and when you contacted them.

Step 2: Establish a follow-up rhythm, meaning you decide how long until you send another follow-up.

*Coincidentally this duration between contact and follow-up is known as your sales cadence, perfectly fitting for a musical business endeavor. Maximum suggested cadence, two days ( a moderately aggressive strategy).

Also, be sure to draft meaningful follow-ups that are personal: don’t copy and paste, don’t be too short, and show that it’s a personalized email by demonstrating you actually know who you’re emailing.

Step 3: Always end your email with a question — make it an easy, simple to answer yes or no question.

Example// “Would you be interested in securing your date?”

“No” is better than no response any day of the week, because it clarifies the situation and frees you from communication limbo.

Step 4 (optional but advanced): Change communication methods. If you emailed on Friday, on Monday pick up the phone, and on Wednesday send a text message

Enact these steps, and your schedule will fill up quickly. People will be getting back to you, you’ll be wasting less time with deadend leads, and most importantly you’ll be booking more gigs.

Your competitors don’t follow up, but you will.

Take note — if you don’t follow up you’re going to lose that gig to someone who does. Moreover, you’ll end up wasting your money if you use a service like Wedding Wire and you don’t follow up on your leads.

However, if you do start following up, you’ll go from somebody who felt hopeless to somebody who feels empowered, and has too many gigs to play.

Automate The Date

If you really want to hack the process, try this on for size: BookLive Pro automates all of this. With automatic follow-up reminders, set to your personal cadence, you’ll not only be equipped with that, but also so many additional tools to set you apart from the pack.

Sign up for your free thirty day trial today — no credit card needed — and find out why BookLive is where all the best musicians live.

May all your performances be spectacular.