How To Track Business Leads

Tracking leads is absolutely paramount in gaining photography bookings. Someone may be genuinely interested in photography services, but as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” Follow-up is an important component of customer service; often, people are grateful for the reminder, and for not having to take the first step themselves.

When a lead doesn’t convert immediately to a booking, it’s not necessarily because the client is no longer interested. Priorities, budgets, details, and dates may change. My rule of thumb is to touch a lead at least three times before I move on. Stay engaged, stay flexible, and stay in touch. Patience frequently pays off. 

A “lead” is generated when someone:

• Requests an estimate.
• Tells me they want to hire me but isn’t ready to book a date yet.
• Books but then postpones a job.
• Mentions they know someone who may be interested in hiring me.
• Suggests a future project when we are working together on a current project.

I generally have about a dozen leads at any given point, so it’s hard to actually remember all of the details. However, tracking leads is a simple process.

I immediately write down the following information when I get a lead:

• Name / Company
• Type of project (portrait, commercial, event)
• Target Date (of shoot)
• Rate (if discussed)
• Other Notes (such as dates of related emails and phone calls)

I periodically visit this list (maybe once a month), to remind myself what’s still in the pipeline. Usually, there are upcoming target dates that I would have otherwise forgotten.

I only stop tracking leads for two reasons: 

1. Conversion.  Estimate signed and date booked, in which case the leads moves over to my project management tracking, which I will go over in Part 4.
2. Dead End.  If the potential client books another photographer, indicates their project budget is cancelled, or fails to respond to at least three attempts at communication, I move on. But in many cases, I still stay in touch!

Review other workflow tips for photographers in these related posts: 

• Jared Platt on Lightroom Workflow
• Scott Jarvie on SmugMug Workflow
• Photography Workflow, Part 1:  Backup Procedures
• Photography Workflow, Part 2:  Why Photographers Need to Use Their Left Brains

I’ll wrap up soon with Part 4: Project Management. Come back soon!