How to Deal with Clients Ghosting you?

Being ghosted is never fun. It’s not exciting in romantic settings and it’s definitely not enjoyable in professional settings.

Most professionals have experienced this scenario – they meet videography or wedding photography clients, they discuss all the details.

Seemingly, chemistry exists between the couple and the service provider. Hopeful of exciting developments the professional waits. And waits. And waits some more. Yet, the client never comes back.

While being ghosted by clients is sometimes a random occurrence, it usually has a very specific reason.

If you’re finding yourself being ghosted by promising leads, you may have to look for ways to improve the situation. Here are a couple of suggestions bound to give you good results.

 

Be Specific

 

Trying to avoid direct questions about budgeting, your availability or deadlines is not a good idea.

People who get in touch with you already have some knowledge about who you are. They’ve checked out your website and portfolio. These potential videography or wedding photography clients know your style and like it.

Thus, they want some additional information to make up their mind. In other words, they’re looking for the price tag of a product that they’ve already started enjoying.

Being vague never works as a strategy to win potential clients over.

Rather, you appear sneaky and indecisive. It’s a much better idea to state a number people feel uncomfortable with (and to negotiate it) than to skirt around what matters the most.

Nobody likes having their time wasted. This is especially true for people who are feeling the pressure of organizing a wedding in a fairly short period.

The absence of concrete answers is going to cost you. Get in the habit of being direct and honest. By doing so, you’ll soon be working with the right clients who are fine with all of the terms and conditions.

 

Keep the Lines of Communication with Wedding Photography Clients Open

 

Sometimes, people will ghost you because circumstances change.

Many couples are unaware of just how quickly wedding costs can pile up. Thus, a photography or videography offer that seemed good in the beginning is now appearing to be way too expensive.

These potential clients still like you and your work. They simply have experienced some changes during the planning process that keep them from pursuing a professional relationship.

Chances are that they don’t know how to share such information, which is why they’re likely to go into ghosting mode.

Keeping the lines of communication open in such instances can eventually result in a change of heart.

If you liked these potential clients during your first meeting, drop them a quick email. Inquire about wedding planning and how it’s going. Refrain from being pushy but do use the opportunity to state your availability.

Sometimes, people need a little push in order to commit. So, don’t give up on all clients who ghost you. Some of them could come back to you when the time is right.

 

Work on Attracting the Ideal Videography or Wedding Photography Client

 

 

Here’s another very common problem – attracting the wrong kind of client.

Professionals who are getting ghosted way too often are probably marketing to the wrong crowd.

Focusing your efforts on delivering a consistent message to your ideal client will significantly reduce the risk of getting ghosted.

You can do a number of things to attract ideal leads. The first one is knowing your perfect client. Are they a younger couple? Are they creative and drawn to unorthodox solutions? Or maybe they’re a bit more settled, a bit more into sophistication and luxury?

To attract the right persona, you have to create a portfolio appealing to the respective demographic. Know your strengths and focus on those.

Having some niche skills and a chance to work on specialized photography/videography solutions is obviously a great choice.

By highlighting your biggest niche strengths, you’ll automatically be eliminating lots of leads that are never going to convert.

You don’t want to be wasting your time on meaningless communication with people who aren’t a good match to you. Sure, getting lots of inquiries will make you feel optimistic.

In the world of lead acquisition, however, quality is a gazillion times more important than quantity.

 

Focus on Improving Your Communication Skills

 

People are going to disappear if they don’t enjoy communication with you.

Are you a bit too slow to respond? Or maybe you seem a bit too direct and maybe even abrasive? Can you offer some emotional support to people planning the most special day in their lives? Are you capable of having some small talk to make brides and grooms feel at ease?

Good communication ranks among the most important social skills for wedding photographers and videographers.

Just think about it – you’ll be alongside the couple during the entire wedding day. If people aren’t finding you too pleasant to talk to, chances are that they’re not going to book you for the wedding.

Improving your communication skills will always be beneficial, not just in the case of addressing ghosting incidents.

You may be shy and introverted while getting people to still like you. True, it takes some nerve and effort to achieve such results. In time, however, you’ll notice serious results from such endeavors.

Some of the easiest things you can do to improve your communication skills include preparing ahead of time, being empathetic (trying to put yourself in the client’s shoes), understanding the power of body language and being a good listener.

 

Refrain from Becoming Emotionally Invested

 

One of the worst things you can do is become attached and emotionally-invested in a relationship that’s not set in stone yet.

We all have these instances of really liking a potential job and hoping way too hard that it’s going to work.

When it doesn’t, the disappointment is massive.

Getting ghosted by clients is a normal part of being a wedding photography or videography service provider. You shouldn’t be dedicating emotions to something not meant to be.

This is a big mistake newcomers to the field often make. Even experienced professionals may fall in the trap of wanting a project too bad and becoming emotionally involved ahead of time.

Try to keep some distance from potential clients until you’ve managed to finalize an agreement.

True, being passionate about your job requires some degree of commitment and attachment. At the same time, you shouldn’t be wasting emotional resources on stuff that’s not meant to be.

Also, don’t focus on trying to guess why clients ghosted you. Refrain from blaming yourself. There are many reasons why potential clients don’t come back – bad timing, personal issues, finding a better alternative.

All of these are valid reasons not to move forward together. Clients don’t owe you an explanation. It’s nice to get some feedback but being left in the dark is a normal part of your job. You’ll have to learn how to get over it.

 

Learn a Lesson from Every Single Experience

 

While moving on is important when you get ghosted, it’s still a good idea to learn a lesson and use the experience to make your business better.

Wedding photography clients can be fickle. They can be indecisive or looking for the cheapest offer. It’ your job as a professional to educate and convince.

You ca do that better by strengthening your marketing, acquiring soft skills, improving scheduling and coming up with packages your ideal clients simply can’t resist.

Should you give up on ghosting clients? That really depends on the circumstances. It’s always a good idea to follow up and acquire some additional information.

In the best case scenario, you’ll win those clients over. In the worst case scenario, you’ll get some clarity on what went down.

Whatever the reason, don’t try to sell harder in an attempt to win a ghosting client over. Such an attempt may only turn them off even more. Be sensitive, be open, be available.

These are the things you need to accomplish in order to address the situation. Finally, accept the fact that some things aren’t dependent on your efforts.

It’s impossible to influence every aspect of an interaction with a lead. Sometimes, communication fails regardless of your best efforts. Moving on will let you cut your losses and focus on something a bit more meaningful.

With time and experience, you’ll get a better sense of when to give up and how to “extract” key information from a challenging situation that leads to ghosting clients.