How to Book Next Year's Events Before Your Clients Even Ask
Picture this: you glance at your calendar and realize the multi-thousand dollar corporate party you decorated last year is happening this weekend... and nobody called. Maybe they forgot. Maybe someone new is in charge. Either way, that job just walked out the door and it's one less repeat client for your balloon business.
That scenario used to make me so nervous; I know I've lost people that way.
The project ends; the client doesn't
Most of us run our businesses one event at a time. A lead comes in, we book it, we decorate, we archive the project and move on. The project is done... but the client is still there.
Here's the thing: we don't need that many customers. Invest in the people who already like and trust you and you spend far less energy chasing brand new leads.
Start the next project when you close the last one
Amanda Rae, COO of 17hats, gave me a fix that changed how I think about repeat clients. When you archive a project for a client with a recurring event, start a brand new project for next year's event right away.
- Name it clearly, like "Corporate Event" plus the year
- Tag it with the year
- Add a tag like "internal lead" since they haven't reached out yet; you just know it's coming
Now you can sort your projects dashboard by tag and see every job that's waiting to be won back.
Let a workflow do the remembering
Inside that new project, set a workflow with a date for when you want to reach out. You can have the email send automatically or pop up as a manual send so you can adjust it first.
Not using workflows yet? Just set yourself a to-do to reach out!
Tag the families you already serve
Balloon artists often decorate for every sibling in a family. Amanda's tip is to tag contacts with the year a younger child graduates. The spring or summer before, pull everyone with that tag and invite them to book early.
The same separate-project idea works for birthdays and anniversaries, too: an email on the a date that repeats every 365 days.
Keep it personal, not promotional
17hats is not a marketing platform; there's no unsubscribe option. These are personal check-ins along the lines of "I know this is coming up and I'd love to help again,"... not newsletter blasts.
Amanda compares it to a doctor who reads your chart before walking in. Jot down the details clients share (where the graduate is headed, which kid is next) so the next conversation feels like catching up with a friend.
Listen to the full conversation here!
Want to give 17hats a try? Get started with my referral discount here.
