I’m excited to dive into today’s topic because I recently had a student inside the Beauty and Birth Photography program ask me a question about inquiries.
She said, “I’m losing people at the inquiry stage. After they respond, I’m not hearing back from them. Can you give me feedback on my inquiry reply and what I’m saying to them?”
I thought it was a great question and one that many of you might also be dealing with, so I wanted to bring it to the podcast.
Before we dig into her inquiry response, I’m going to share how I’ve refined my own inquiry process over the years. First impressions matter, and your inquiry response is often the first impression with a potential client.
My Journey with Inquiry Responses
When I first started, I included full pricing on my website: everything from the cost of 8x10s to digital packages. My inquiry responses were very technical.
I assumed that clients had already seen my pricing, so my replies were cut and dry:
“Hey, thanks for inquiring about this type of session. I’m available. Here’s how to book.”
Over time, I realized the importance of building relationships before talking numbers—especially as I raised my prices. While we could spend an entire episode discussing whether you should include pricing on your website, the main takeaway is this: building relationships matters.
At one point, I tried getting clients on the phone to build rapport before discussing pricing. I’ll admit, I hated talking on the phone. I’m a true millennial—I’d much rather email or text. But experts said it was key to landing luxury bookings.
Looking back, I realize there are other ways to build relationships that don’t require doing something you dislike. Running a business means finding strategies that align with your strengths and are sustainable for you.
Refining the Process
Eventually, I created a hybrid inquiry process:
- I responded to emails while building relationships online through my brand.
- This approach led to “super hot leads”—people who were ready to book because they already felt connected to me.
As my business grew, I began including a pricing PDF in my inquiry responses to streamline the process and qualify leads.
However, if you’re newer to business and want to maximize inquiries, I recommend focusing on building relationships first. Save sharing detailed pricing for later.
Over the years, I’ve really not been able to find a specific rhyme or reason as to why some months, you’ll get a huge number of inquiries and a large percentage of them book and other months, there’s no inquiries or very few, or if there are, they’re just the wrong people that are not booking. It’s just the nature of the business, to be honest, and it always happened in my photography business. So just keep that in mind, if you’re like, “Man, there has been such a lull of people booking or I’m getting the inquiries and they’re not booking,” look at your business as a whole in the last six to 12 months and get your data from that versus just looking at the last month because there are just naturally going to be ebbs and flows in business.
Three Metrics to Track for Inquiry Success
There are three key insights that you need to monitor about your inquiry process:
- Booking Rate
What percentage of inquiries actually book? If you received 10 inquiries last month and booked 5, that’s a 50% booking rate. Track this number to make data-driven decisions rather than relying on feelings. - Lead Temperature
Categorize inquiries into three groups:- Hot leads: Ready to book immediately.
- Warm leads: Familiar with you but need more information.
- Cold leads: Found you through Google or Facebook and are price-focused.
- Pricing Transparency
Do you have starting prices or a range on your website? Monitor how this affects conversions. There’s no right or wrong answer, but tracking this will help you see what works.
Breaking Down a Real Inquiry Response
Here’s an example of an inquiry response from a student:
Opening:
“Thanks for reaching out! I’d love the opportunity to work with you. Tell me a little about yourself. Is this your first baby? When are you due?”
Feedback: This is great! Asking specific questions helps build a connection.
About Me Section:
“I’m a certified professional birth photographer in [City]. I specialize in maternity, birth, and baby photography—pretty much all things motherhood!”
Feedback: This establishes expertise and builds trust.
Session Details:
“My maternity sessions are all about making you feel beautiful. We’ll likely be outdoors in a scenic location. I also have a client closet of maternity dresses (sizes 4–14) you can borrow!”
Feedback: This highlights the value of the session and creates excitement.
Pricing PDF:
“I’ve attached my pricing PDF. I also offer payment plans.”
Feedback: This is where many inquiries are lost. Instead of sharing a full pricing PDF upfront, focus on building excitement and rapport.
Closing:
“If you think we’re a good fit, I’d love to chat more about your vision! Let me know if you have questions.”
Feedback: This is too vague. End with a specific call to action, like:
- “Reply and let me know if you’re ready to book!”
- “Would you like to schedule a quick call to chat about your session?”
Key Takeaways
- Build relationships before discussing pricing.
- Be clear about the next step for your client.
- Track your data to refine your process.
If this episode was helpful, share it with a fellow photographer! Remember, your passion is not an accident—it’s there for a reason. Go out, pursue it, and make it happen.
Have a great week!
