Our last article covered why, more than ever, speed matters. What we didn’t cover is how you can move more quickly while keeping your pitch to planners tight, relevant, and personal.
Here, we’d invoke legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and advise embracing one of his mantras: “be quick—but don’t hurry.”
How to be quick without hurrying
When time is of the essence, the only solution is to plan ahead. There’s one more piece of sage wisdom from Wooden that applies here: “failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”
So, here comes the part where we plug our tools as a perfect companion for being prepared when you’re chasing a new lead. Our response templates take some time to think through and set up initially—you will probably want a number of them for the different types of inquiries you field regularly—but once they are in place they will save inordinate amounts of time. It’s your library. Pull what you need off the shelf, quickly adapt it, and hit send.
Of course, it’s probably not possible (or prudent) to try to set up a response template for every kind of inquiry you’ll receive. Our Reply Assistant feature (available to subscribers only) can draft a response for you on the fly based on your website, Eventective profile, and inbox history. You’ll still need to review what it comes up with and adjust accordingly, but it’s a lot easier than having to stare at a blinking cursor in an empty text box every time something new lands in your inbox.
Finally—and probably most importantly—subscribers also get access to the email address and phone number of a planner when they submit a Referral. Use them! We find that responding quickly and through more than one channel is a force multiplier when it comes to booking new business.
We’ve got the tools to help you respond quickly and, just as critically, tailor what you say to your audience. You don’t need to use those tools to be Johnny-on-the-spot, but it sure doesn’t hurt. Sixty-two percent of the businesses on Eventective with a “Fast Response” badge on their profile (for having an average response time of 12 hours or less) use either response templates or the Reply Assistant, as opposed to 52 percent for those who don’t have the badge.
In an environment where competition is fierce, that quick, personal touch can make all the difference.
If you want to go deeper on how our tools can help, schedule some time with your account manager or check out our video series to find out how you can meet the moment, and meet planners where they are.
