Brand Photography Lead Follow Up Survey

Brand photography is a visual industry where perceived value separates photographers who close deals on a rolling basis from those who do not. A lead follow-up survey helps create this value by creating a reengagement opportunity between you and the client to potentially close an outstanding deal. It also provides guidelines on how to fix areas of the business that currently deter clients, potentially bringing in more business for you.

Photographers who don’t conduct lead follow-up surveys are allowing blind spots that can cost the business revenue and client retention.

The follow-up survey is a structured professional document that allows you to make important decisions about your business. When preparing it, ensure it has key elements like:

• Original inquiry information: Provide details about the lead's original inquiry, whether it’s for a personal brand shoot, website photography rebranding, or product-based brand session for quick remembrance.
• Timeline confirmation: You may ask them if the timeline for their original inquiry is still intact to get an idea of whether this is why they haven’t reached out.
• Budget range clarification: It’s important to ask them if budget is the reason they haven’t reached out, so you can respond with a counterproposal that aligns both your and their cost expectations.
• Decision status: There’s also a high chance that they’re still in the decision-making process and have yet to finalize some of the key terms in the agreement.
• Objections or concerns: Outside cost and schedule; this lets you know what else could be influencing their decision not to proceed with you, so you can adjust accordingly.
• Preferred next step: Add a section on what's next they’d like to do, whether to schedule a call with you or close the inquiry, so you’re clear on what their decision is and can move on to other leads.

An effective lead follow-up survey is warm and welcoming, short, and doesn’t overwhelm, and asks the proper questions about what could have most likely impacted your lead’s decision. There are generally two ways to achieve this:

• understanding what clients usually want for specific service requests, which you get from experience
• using the proper survey template or document, which you can get from HoneyBook

Common mistakes brand photographers tend to make here include sending a multi-page document, guilt-tripping the lead, and sounding desperate about closing the opportunity. Ensure you avoid these mistakes as much as possible, indicating instead how you can help elevate their business’s status in a consistently professional and formal tone.

Brand photographers typically spend a significant amount of time generating and prospecting leads, which means that they typically have numerous follow-ups to do. A template helps address this challenge by:

• Creating a consistent process across all inquiries
• Standardizing the lead management workflow
• Creating a reusable format that maintains the same brand voice and saves time
• Letting you automate follow-ups inside your CRM.