Are your inquiry forms properly qualifying leads for your event planning business? In this episode, May Yeo Silvers addresses how to refine your initial inquiry forms to focus your time and energy on prospects who are right for your business.
May highlights a common mistake many event planners make: overly detailed inquiry forms that can discourage potential clients before even determining if they’re a qualified lead. She suggests including six essential questions in every initial inquiry form:
- Type of Event: Understanding the nature of the event helps determine if it aligns with the planner’s services.
- Scope of Services Needed: Identifying specific needs allows planners to assess if they can meet these requirements.
- Client’s Research and Prior Contacts: Knowing if the client has consulted other planners or done research provides insights into their understanding of event costs and readiness to hire professional services.
- Urgency and Timeline: Understanding the client’s timeline helps gauge the immediacy of their needs, as prolonged decision times can jeopardize potential deals.
- Overall Event Budget: Knowing what the client expects to spend on the event helps separate their financial expectations from the reality of potential costs.
- Planner Budget: Clarifying the client’s budget for planning services helps determine if their expectations align with the planner’s rates.
These questions are crucial for filtering out unqualified leads, ensuring that planners invest time in clients who are serious and ready to invest in their services.
Quotes
• “These six questions are what I use for my own event planning company as the very initial contact that I have with a potential client who’s thinking of hiring me. And this inquiry form is going to help me decide whether or not I even want to respond to their inquiry… This is my first gatekeeping. That means I am gatekeeping my time and my energy and not wasting my time and energy on people who are not ready or qualified for me to want to work with them.” (02:37 | May Silvers)
• “You do not ask them event-specific questions on your very first initial inquiry form. That’s how I qualify my leads. That’s how I can reserve a lot of my time and energy for people who are really qualified to work with me. Otherwise, what’s the point of asking all these event-specific questions if I don’t even know if I want to work with them… Do not make the first initial questionnaire so long that will deter people from filling it up. Make it straightforward so they already get a feel of how you work.” (22:39 | May Silvers)
• “By adopting these six questions on your initial inquiry form, I assure you, you’ll see a tremendous amount of time and energy saved. And you may not have people who want to fill this out. If they don’t even want to fill this out, you shouldn’t even bother talking to them.” (24:04 | May Silvers)
Links
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Connect with May at: [email protected]
Website: www.mayyeosilvers.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayyeosilvers/
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IG: www.instagram.com/mayyeosilvers
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mayyeosilversofficial
FB private group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/events4anyone
