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.

Other tips when calling

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.

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.