The difference between the sales process for each was striking to me.
We hired a taco catering company for the food. Yummy made-on-the-spot tacos were just the right fit for our Shakespeare-meets-Cinco-de-Mayo theme. I wanted something authentic so I asked around. A wedding coordinator friend highly recommended one particular company so I called them up. Since I don’t speak Spanish, I did have to enlist the help of some friends to make it happen but I was shocked by the booking process. I told them the date, time and place but they didn’t take a deposit. No contract. No confirmation. Just both of us trusting each other to make this party happen. I got off the phone with my fingers crossed.
They came through and I wasn’t disappointed but, to be honest, if I hadn’t had the recommendation of my coordinator friend, I would have been mighty nervous.
I had a completely different experience reserving the photo booth (which actually was a super-cool Instagram-based photo booth alternative, by the way). I asked about availability via email. Once we agreed on the price, date, location, etc., they immediately sent me an email with all of the details and a link to pay online. Wow! How easy is that?
As you think about turning more of your rental proposals into confirmed orders, consider your customer’s experience. When you send the proposal, do you make it easy for them to complete the booking process? Do you explicitly tell them what the next steps are? Or are they left guessing about what to do?
Clarify what you need from them in order to confirm their order. People like to know what they need to do to firm everything up. Being clear helps them feel at ease rather than wondering if you’re all on the same page. You might be surprised at how quickly you can increase your closing rate just by telling your customers what to do next.
