Contacting 172 Prospects: Tips for Reaching Bridal Fair Attendees

[Intrepid_Chef]

I recently worked a 2-day bridal fair with another consultant and my recruiter. (They both live 30 to 45 minutes east of me and while the event was 15 minutes from their homes, it was a haul for me.)

We all did individual drawings and I am still making calls from those slips. I'm choosing to start with them since all of them were interested enough in PC to fill out a slip. I've gotten some preliminary very positive results from these calls.

Recruiter finally got the list of more than 600 names of people who registered for this event. It lists their name, address, phone number, e-mail, wedding date and other info. My share of this is 172 names, minus the 10 or so of them that filled out slips for someone else's drawing. Some have wedding dates in 08 ... some have wedding dates in 09, some in 2010 and some have none listed. ALL of these people are a long-distance call. Oh, and the vast majority of the people have not entered any of our drawings.

How do you suggest I contact these folks?

• Go through the slow, ardurous process of trying to reach each and every one of them by phone, sorting by wedding date?
• Send out a mass e-mail to them, explaining the benefits of a Pampered Chef bridal registry.
• Send a mailing conveying the same information.

I don't want to blow off all these contacts, but with limited time, I also want to invest my time where it will pay off first!

 

[cincychef]

What part of Ohio and what Bridal event? I just did the Bridal Rama in Cincinnati which is why I was wondering. I would say for the time and money just go ahead and start with an email and then I would follow up with phone calls. I think the more you contact by phone the better your results. Every year I do the Bridal Rama I wish I would follow up better. This year I made myself promise to do a better job which means a phone call to everyone. I also set a goal of what I want to get out of it for the time and money and I try to work it until I reach that. Don't know if any of this helps, but bridal showers tend to be really good shows.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Nowhere NEAR Cincy! It was closer to Y-Town ... and some of the contacts are from Pa!One of the brides I talked to last night gave me her e-mail but said she rarely checks it ... guess it depends on the person.

 

[JAE]

I would call everyone. What a great way to get your 3 contacts a day and your 100 "no's".
"I'm Di Can Cook with The Pampered Chef. I was at the Bridal Fair in city/town. Have you heard of the Pampered Chef? Do you have a Pampered Chef consultant? Would you be interested in learning about The Pampered Chef Bridal Registry?" or questions like that.
I think this is a great opportunity. I would love to have a list of people to call who don't know me from Adam!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

If you are looking for a response, and don't want it to be a waste of time - call!

No one will respond to an email or a mailing. That's just the way it is.

 

[PCMelissa]

IF you do an email, and I don't think it could hurt to do that, it is just one more contact (I say that because I think you should call them all too, at some point) you would have to do something to get a response from them. A call to action... call me in the next 3 days a get a free set of bamboo spooners, something small. This MIGHT help weed out those who are more interested than the others. That would give you a good starting point, but I think you should call each one!!! Why not! It might take time, I would start with those getting married in '08 and work from there!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Having done that very thing for my own monthly newletter, even (offer something if I hear from them within a certain time period.) I would say that, yes you could do it - but, really, just don't expect much of a response. When you call, you may hear alot of "Oh, I was meaning to call you"......but most people, even if interested, won't call you first.


It's been said on here many times - but it bears repeating:


"It's not their job to call me, it's my job to call them!"

 

[AMTC]

I did a bridal fair last fall and got 40 names.

If you have the PWS send out the Wedding Registry e-mail to EVERYONE! Originally I got no response, but as wedding dates got closer, I began to get a few brides wanting to register.

I also called and booked a couple of shows from Brides who had already registered somewhere else but who wanted a show.

DEFINITELY do e-mails AND calls ....

Does your phone service offer any service that includes long distance calling? We have National Calling with Comcast which helps because I can call my director who lives in SC and my best PC friend and guru Kristi in Florida!!!!!

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

My phone service currently charges 10 cents a minute for all calls, and 30 free "out of state" minutes (which comes in handy for the Pa. people.)Digital phone is pricey.I am toying with calling my current ld provider to see if I can get a cheaper deal and also with the thought of calling my phone provider, AT&T, to see what they will offer. Right now I am only making $5 to $7 in calls and still my ld bill is $12 or more every time. My internet is linked to my phone service through AT&T, so digital phone is pretty much out. Most people I know don't like it anyway.I found my nifty tri-color highlighter which I plan to use to sort the contacts.My only concern ... I have recently heard a recording on bookings that emphasizes "doing what makes money first." They referred to it as phone calls vs. e-mail ... but I also see that as investing my time first in those who are interested.

 

[Koolotus]

my 2 cents....

I would do a mas email late at night. After "phone call" Time. Include your newsletter and a special note at the top on where you met them and that you will be contacting them over the next 2 weeks by phone.
Then I would grab a handful and start making calls.
Don't have any expectations. Just a nice call with the information of what you can provide. Ask them if you can follow up with them and if they want to stay on your newsletter list.


***Not to scare you, just as an FYI. I did this before with about 115 contacts from a bridal fair and my very first call ended up being a girl who just got dumped!
I told her I was sorry and explained that I was not the only vendor to get her contact info and if she didn't want to have this conversation again that she should screen her calls for a bit. Ended up being a pleasant conversation considering the circumstances. AND, she is now a great host and customer!
So, you never know just hop in with a positive attitude and have fun!
Good Luck