The Missing Piece That’s Costing You Bookings

Your client journey is one of the most powerful tools for growing your business. But what if I told you there’s a missing piece in that journey that could be costing you bookings, aligned clients, and even revenue? Most creatives divide the client journey into two stages: the pre-client stage (inquiries and leads) and the client stage (booked and working together). However, the real magic happens in the space between these two stages—the sales process.

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Transcript

Your client journey is such an incredibly important piece to the overall growth and health of your business. Today, I want to uncover one piece of the client journey that so many creatives are missing so that we can dive in and really discover if this piece is missing within your business. And how you can fix it to really amplify your results.


And when I say amplify your results, I mean, increase your bookings, book better aligned clients, increase your revenue, whatever your goals are for 2025. It's really time to start thinking about them now, especially if you're in the wedding industry, we are entering into Q4 today, as I'm recording this, it's October 1st, first day of the last quarter of 2024.


Which means that engagement season is quickly approaching and 2025 will be here before we know it.


In last week's episode, I talked about serving existing clients on a deeper level and the importance of doing this to not only increase your bottom line, but also to strengthen the relationships and to be able to continue. working with your existing clients, the ones that you've already done the work to gain the know, like trust of, and, um, who are already excited to work with you.


And I shared how for me, that is many sessions. So I run many sessions every fall. I make five figures for my mini session sessions. I've paid for a month in Hawaii with them. It is it's such a great strategy because these people already have your value anchored at a higher price point. Right. I'm going too much on a tangent.


If you want to listen to that, then head back to last week's episode, um, and you can get a deeper dive. But I bring that up because I want to circle back to some of the stats that I started to share last week. About the value of really focusing on your client experience and deepening those client relationships and client experience starts before they're even ever booked.


Uh, so some of the stats, the chances of selling to an existing client is 60 to 70 percent higher versus selling to a new customer, which is five to 20%. Okay. Which is why again, To go back to last week, creating a bite sized experience is huge in retaining existing clients and boosting your bottom line in the very short term.


But there are a few more interesting tidbits that really tie into today's message about a complete client journey. And that is that existing customers spend more over time, which makes them more profitable than acquiring a new client. Okay. Loyal customers spend 67 percent more than new ones. Happy customers are 51 percent more likely to try other products and services from you and spend 31 percent more.


Over 39 percent of customers are willing to spend more with a brand they're loyal to, even if there are cheaper options elsewhere. And people are 90 percent more likely to trust and buy from a brand recommended by a friend. All of this to say that it pays to focus on your client journey and the client journey actually starts well before somebody becomes a client well before they pay you the retainer and sign on the bottom line and this is where so many miss the mark on building a strong brand that really creates those.


I just freaking love you so much and want to tell everybody about you raving fan clients because most creatives think about the client journey as Not just one singular journey from finding out about your brand to, you know, delivering the last deliverable in the process. But most creatives think about the client journey really as two very unique and very separate stages.


Stage is pre client. So that's really the inquiry or the lead stage. And the second stage is booked client. So after they've paid their retainer, after they've signed on the dotted line and they are officially a client in your world. Pre client, post client, right? And on the pre client side, the actions there are really marketing.


So that's posting to Instagram, blogging, paying for ads or listings on different wedding sites, maintaining your website, updating your website, etc. However you are attracting and gathering your inquiries. This is the pre client stage, okay? And then on the flip side, then there's the client stage. And so that's actually doing the work.


Emails and scheduling meetings and actually, you know, handling their sessions and then Any of the work that has to be done after if you're a photographer like me that's Having sessions and then post production. It's editing. It's You know uploading to their online galleries all of the nitty gritty that goes into serving our clients and many creatives really do make this post client experience very special too, so Uh, like I love that gifting is a regular thing You In the industry and just thinking about ways that you can make your client feel special.


But what about the place between when someone is a lead to when someone is a client, there's a massively important journey that happens here. Taking a person from really just learning about your brand, not knowing much about you to raising their hand and saying, yes, I'm ready to take the next step and paying that deposit or that retainer.


This piece of the journey becomes even more important when you're ready to take your business to the next level, whether that be the next level of volume of clients. So you want to expand the number of bookings that you're taking, where you want to focus on a more aligned client. Or your goal is actually really more revenue, but ideally less clients.


And this actually, those three goals, those three agendas is basically what the iteration of my own business has looked like over time. So there was a point in my business when I was newer that my number one goal was volume. I wanted to book as many weddings as I could fill up my calendar and make money through volume while I curated my portfolio, got my name out there, all that good stuff.


Then once I had the number of bookings that I was interested in, I was fully booked. I really wanted a more aligned client. So clients who trusted me valued me and were getting married at the places that Shared my aesthetic. I started to realize that the weddings that I loved photographing and really incorporated that into my client journey and into this missing piece that I'm going to talk to you about, um, to become a match for the clients that I wanted.


And then the third and final was really increasing revenue while taking less clients. So as I built my business, my kids also. Grew from baby stage to now they're like preteen teenage. And so as a mom, as my family has evolved, my business has evolved along with it. And now while Saturdays are always valuable, they're even more valuable to me because my kids are older.


I'm missing their sports activities. I'm missing time with them to, you know, Go to where right now it's the fall. So fall festivals last weekend, we went to an amusement park, rolled road, roller coasters, made like memories, core memories that we will have forever. And so for me, my business has grown over these different goals over the years.


That is all possible for you too. So whatever goals you're thinking about focusing on this missing piece of your, of your client journey is going to help you get there way faster. And the missing piece is the sales piece. Of your client journey. So you're probably pretty active when it comes to marketing, whatever, you know, marketing strategies that you're using, um, to attract new leads and new inquiries.


And you're probably pretty active on client service. So actually fulfilling on the jobs that you've booked. But when I ask attractor Academy, what their sales process looks like when they first enter the program, it's typically, it's The, their sales process typically is that they get an inquiry and they send an email, a templated email that includes a price list.


Okay. And when we dig into those steps, the email that they send. They spend a lot of time to tweak and customize there's, it could be upwards of an hour on one email to a new inquiry and they're feeling like they have this pretty priceless that they've either invested in working with a designer or they purchased a template or they spent the time to make it on their own that has their best work in it, along with a couple of different packages.


Or maybe like a starting price range or a price range, right? And likely that price list also gets tweaked frequently. And so it feels like every time a new inquiry. Is coming in, even though they have a template, a templated process, they know that it's weak and they know that they're spending a ton of time still customizing that and it's almost like an experimentation.


So every inquiry becomes an experiment, like, well, this tweak to my email be the thing that gets them to book or the thing that gets them to schedule that consultation. Um, I've also had people who try to use one single email to do all of the selling for them. So if you listen to episode 24, I talk about Lauren in her 10 page email, where she literally stuffed this email with everything that any potential client And already booked client would ever want to know so that it would do like the selling, the booking, the onboarding, the client service for her.


It was all in this one email. And so then for anybody who actually responds, typically the process continues on to look like a back and forth to schedule the consultation. And then the consultation, you know, maybe there are a few intentional questions to get to know more about your client, about their wedding day.


But it's generally a casual, get to know you conversation designed to see if you vibe with that person or not, because they already know about your work, right? They already know about you, your work, your approach, because it's all on your website. If your process looks like this, you're clearly not alone.


95 percent of the members in my academy have some variation of that process. Inquiry, email with price list, casual chat to get to know each other. Done. The problem with that is that it's just not strategic, and it's not aligned with the demands of today's market. Okay, this is why so many people are struggling with ghosting and feeling like Clients are flaky or everybody out there is just a price shopper and looking for the best value, but there's proof out there that this isn't actually true.


So for me personally, I significantly increased my prices over the last two years, beautifully booked out 2024 with ideal clients at premium rates. And, um, am actively booking 2025 now, and the success rates coming out of the super attractor Academy are literally insane. So Lauren came in, she went from booking just two weddings over a span of six months.


Lauren, the one that I mentioned with that 10 page email to, uh, 16 weddings booked in three months, which is a 1500 percent increase in bookings. 1500%. That is insane. By focusing on this missing piece of the client journey. Yeah. Jilly bird booked 71, 000 in weddings in just seven weeks. And really you can find this proof anytime that you open up Instagram, people around you booking the clients that you want booking like gorgeous weddings at venues that you really want to be shooting at.


And they're doing this with what seems to be so much ease and abundance while you're wondering how, like why you're feeling so stuck. Cause like I said, it's easy to think it's the market and yes, the market has shifted, but to be honest, it's really like, there's a missing piece. If you're struggling with any of this, there's a missing piece in your client journey and that's the sales piece.


So let's talk about it. It's my favorite thing to talk about. Okay. But first I really want to acknowledge. I get it. Sales feels icky. Even just the word sales itself on its own. I went to dictionary. com and looked up the definition and there are a couple. The one that I think Most of us think of when we think of sales is to persuade or induce someone to buy something.


And the examples were the salesman sold me on a more expensive model than I wanted. The clerk really sold the shoes to me by flattery. And we've all had those icky sales experiences that we just don't want to recreate. Honestly, one of my worst fears is that someone will feel sold to. I've made this mistake while I was, you know, working on creating this piece of my journey in the past, and I still feel about it.


And I teach sales. I think. You know, in hindsight, it helped me build a stronger sales system that builds desire and is completely unsalesy because it doesn't have to be that icky feeling. The sales clerk sold me on a more expensive model than I wanted. Right. When you really switch your focus to the fact that sales is really just a transfer of value, it's a transfer of goods or services in exchange for money.


Value for value. And most people love to buy in general. It is a natural, just any pleasure to make purchases. Think about an experience when you bought something that you loved. Most of the time, the things that we love that we buy are actually bigger investments. For me, there was a time that I had really wanted to buy a pair of earrings and.


These, this was a pair of diamond studs that I had been eyeing for a bit. And so I decided that once I was able to build the business enough so that Ben could leave his full time engineering job, that was going to be my reward. Okay. A pair of beautiful diamond earrings. I bought them 10 years ago. I still wear them nearly every single day.


I freaking love these earrings. And when I think about that sales experience, It was really, really beautiful. I spent a lot of money that day, and I was so happy to hand over my credit card. Just think about a time that you bought something that you loved. For me, this was walking into Barmakian's, the jewelry store where I got my earrings.


There was, there's so many layers to the experience. The smells of the store. The just luxury curtains and fixtures, all of the beautiful sparkly gems and jewels that were throughout the two levels of the store. The sales started before I walked through the door. All the sales clerk had to do was answer some questions, provide different sizes for me to try on, options for me to take a look at.


And wait, relaxed, leaned back energy. She was there to simply help support me in making the right decision for me. There was zero pressure. I was going to say there was no high pressure, but there was zero pressure. There were no, you know, sleazy sales tactics. I spent a lot of money that day and I loved every single minute of it.


And this is the type of experience. That you can create in your business when you fill in this missing piece of the client journey. In this example, I'm so glad that I spent that money. These earrings still mean the world to me when I put them on. I feel special and I remember the big accomplishment that I had and it was just, it was just something that I wouldn't trade.


People love to buy, so really let's give them a beautiful, aligned experience that makes it fun and reinforces their decision to work with you. In a well thought client journey that bridges the gap from pre client to post client. Okay, because in this example of Barmakian's, it's really proof that good sales does not have to feel like selling at all.


And this is the experience that you want to create for your clients. So if you've been avoiding sales because salesy, or if you've used, if you're using any of those high pressure, you know, deadline type tactics, this And it doesn't feel good and you're not getting the sale or if you're kind of just avoiding it and doing the process similar to what some of the students in my program are doing, where you're spending a ton of time thinking about the email and the price list and your pricing and your packages, but you're not really building out that full journey, then really, really, I urge you to look at this piece of your business and build it out.


The strong client journey really cultivates. a relationship with your clients on another level where you start to feel very aligned and they're really indoctrinated into your approach in the way that you do things. It builds trust. So if you've ever had an experience where you feel like your clients don't really actually value your expertise or trust you as their guide, then a client, a strong client journey that takes them.


Through pre lead prebooked to postbooked is going to help you there aligned values, a higher level of service, higher level of referrals, higher investment levels like this. The client journey elevates all okay, without it, you might end up with clients who don't value you, who don't trust you, who book you more because you were the cheapest option versus seeing what about you.


They're really excited about. You might feel stuck at a certain price point in your business, um, or a certain level of weddings or portfolios, and you just don't get referred. Okay. You might get like nice reviews, but you're not really getting those referrals. Focus on building a really beautiful, really supportive sales experience that builds desire with your right clients.


And I've got four tips for you so that you can first take a look at what your sales process is right now. Because yes, as even though we're creatives and we feel like we're not good at sales, it is an imperative part of your business. So you have to get strategic, whether it's, you know, leveraging a sales system that's already proven and somebody else has created.


Or it is figuring out it, figuring it out on your own and becoming your own version of a sales expert. This is the piece that will take your business to the next level. So four tips for you. First, your sales experience, your sales process should be really intentional to build trust. And showcase your aligned values.


Now when I say aligned values, I'm really talking about digging into who your right fit client is and then aligning your online presence and your sales process with that person. It should be very intentional to be able to build trust and show aligned value with that one right fit client. So first step is intentional.


Second one is to avoid the pretty copywriting and get right to it. So I mentioned aligned value. This is really like getting specific and speaking to those right fit clients, speaking to their goals in a way that has them thinking, this is exactly what I've been looking for. Like this is how you get people so excited to book with you before you even talk to them live.


Okay. Number three. Multiple steps. So just like Lauren's 10 page email did not work and she wasn't booking weddings. She booked two weddings over a span of six months. Once she changed it, she then booked 16 weddings in three months. Room was not built in a day. Okay. You need to have multiple steps in your sales process and your ideal client is not going to be sold in one email.


Your job is really to meet them where they are and hold their hand so that every step of the journey really gets them to the next stage. Okay, you want to be building desire and keeping it exciting for them and keep them wanting more. Number four is keep it simple. Client journey does not need to mean complex, okay?


Like I mentioned when in step three, multiple steps like meeting them where they are holding their hand and taking them over to where you want them to be, which is a booked client. Picture just two people strolling in a park together. Chatting. Okay. This is how simple the sales process should feel when you ditch the mentality of pre client versus post client.


And you just create a seamless overall client journey. This is when clients will be more excited. Your bookings will come with ease. Just like the example at Barmakian's where I walked in because I wanted a pair of diamond earrings and the sales clerk never had to sell me. All she had to do was show me the options, answer any questions that I have, and just wait.


This is what your sales process should feel like. Bookings are easy. People invest more because they see that value. They get, they get a full experience versus, you know, sort of a slap together, unintentional, you know, couple of touch points. Maybe there's a follow up. You are thinking about where they are.


As they're just starting to get to know you what they need to know most in order to get to the next stage. Okay, and then once you create this process and in a way to show your value on a different level, they're going to be they're going to be like raving fans. They are all about the way that you do things.


They are excited to see the work that you do because they know what goes into that and why you do it that way. And that's exactly what they want. And they're going to tell everyone around them to book with you. Okay. Client journey is transformational. When you fill in this missing piece, your full client journey should look like marketing and messaging on the front end to align with the right fit clients that you want.


Sales process that easily holds their hand and takes them over that bridge of from pre booked to post booked. And then obviously the piece that we all think about when we think client journey is fulfilling on the order that was booked. So actually serving our clients on the day to day to make sure that they have a really beautiful experience with us.


But the client journey really starts far, far beyond serving clients who are booked. Make the shift in your business and see beautiful, beautiful things come your way.