Making phone calls to sell out your event – do people still do that?

Being in the online event registration business we see a wide range of events and talk to a lot of event planners.  Occasionally we see events sell out, but more often we see Event Planners extending registration deadlines and sending out additional email blasts hoping to get more people registered.

Email and social media are great tools for promoting events, but if your event isn’t selling out it might be time to try something a little more old fashioned.

You might not want to hear it, but making sales calls can be a great way to sell out your event.  This is especially true if your event is happening soon and your numbers are down, as you can get almost instant results.

For a lot of people it’s been a long time since they made a sales call and some have never made one.  Before you start making excuses for not picking up the phone like “I hate cold calling”, “phone sales doesn’t work anymore” or “it’s not a part of my job” read on to see how easy it can be.

 

Here’s how to make a sales call to sell your event.

First, start with the easy calls.  If you’ve put on the event in the past, dig out the old attendee lists and start at the top.  Look at the name and then check your online registration system to see if that person has already registered.  If they aren’t registered, pick up the phone and dial away.

If you’re nervous, don’t think of it as a sales call, think of it as just following up with past attendees to make sure they are aware of the new event.  Remember, many people may be intending to register, but just keep putting it off, so your call may be helping them to get something off of their to do list.

 

Sample Script

Here’s a sample script that you can use to get started.  Never read from a script and be sure to adjust it to fit your style and relationship with the people you are calling.

 

Hello, _________, I’m _________ and am calling on behalf of _____________.


I noticed that you attended the (name of past event), but you aren’t currently registered for (name of the new event).

I’m calling to see if I can help you get registered.

 

Just wait to see how they respond and take it from there.  Here are a few likely situations:

 

If they say – “Sure, I’ve been meaning to sign up” – perfect that’s what you want to hear.  At this point it would be easy to tell them to go to the online form and register themselves, but I would recommend that you pull up the online form on your computer and register the person by asking for their details while you have them.

 

If they say – “I’m not sure if I can make it”

Say – “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, what part of the event can’t you make?” – once you know when the conflict is, maybe suggest registering for one day, just the gala or other part of the event if that’s an option.

If they can’t make it at all, it doesn’t hurt to ask if there is someone else at their company that would want to attend or if they can suggest anyone else you should call.  You have nothing to lose by asking and you may be surprised at how helpful people are.

 

If they say – “the price is too high, it’s not in the budget” or give another price related objection.

Say – “lots of people are excited about the event because it includes… (list the education, the networking, the food, etc. to show the value they are getting for the price).  The point here isn’t to go on and on, but make sure it is clear what the price includes.

If it is truly a budget issue try suggesting that they just attend a part of the event at a lower cost.  While you have them on the phone also ask how much they think would be a fair price.  This will give you valuable feedback for future events.

 

If they say – “I’m not interested in the event”

Say – “oh, what part aren’t you interested in?”  Try to get them talking a little more as “not interested” could be an easy excuse covering up the real objection.

Once you have the details of the objection you can respond appropriately; maybe they just didn’t think they were interested because they didn’t have all of the details.

If there really is no interest, try asking what they would be interested in attending to help you plan future events.

 

Other tips when calling

If you would like us to review your script or need some help coming up with some ideas, please let us know and we’d be happy to help.

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  1. Speak slowly and clearly, especially at the beginning.
  2. A good time to practice some calling is the day before a price change, this way you are really being helpful by calling to remind people the price goes up tomorrow.
  3. Avoid asking “how are you” at the start of the call, especially if you don’t know them.  People are busy, just get right into why you are calling.
  4. Just give your first name, people won’t remember your last name.
  5. Keep a few notes about who you’ve called, when you’ve left voice mail etc. so that you aren’t calling the same person too many times.  If you have more than one person making calls, divide up the list or have some other way to not duplicate calls.
  6. Keep track of the wording that works and modify your script.  You’ll be able to use it for other events or share it with your team.
  7. If you are leaving voice mail, give your phone number twice as it gives people a chance to write it down.
  8. Close your email and remove other distractions so that you can focus on getting though a series of calls.  Once you are warmed up you’ll want to keep going.

Jun 29th, 2011

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