You're behind the camera, not by the phone.
During a wedding or a session your phone is on silent. That's exactly when the next couple calls about their date. AlloPlace answers in English or French, explains your packages, and books consultations and studio sessions into Google Calendar.
The calls you get
"Are you free on August 16 next year?" "How much are headshots?" "Do you do family mini-sessions in the fall?" "When will our gallery be ready?" "Can we come see the studio?" Inquiries come in on evenings and weekends, which is when you're working. If nobody answers, they may just try the next name on the list.
What it does for you
Takes wedding and event inquiries properly. The date, the venue, how many hours, how they found you. It tells them you'll confirm availability yourself, and you get an alert by email or text.
Answers package questions. Starting prices, what's included, travel fees, turnaround, from what you've written. If a question isn't covered, it says so.
Books consultations and sessions. Discovery calls, studio headshots and mini-session slots go into Google Calendar at the lengths you set.
Handles "where are my photos?" It takes a message with the client's name and session date, so you can reply without digging through texts.
Answers on your website too. The chat widget uses the same information, so a late-night visitor can ask questions and book a consultation without calling.
A typical call
Saturday afternoon. You're shooting a wedding in Knowlton. A couple in Montreal calls about next September. AlloPlace says you're on a shoot today, gives your wedding packages' starting price, and takes the date, the venue and the guest count. Then it books them a video consultation for Tuesday evening. You see the summary when you put the camera down.
TBD: replace with a real call once a customer agrees.
Rules you might write
- "Never confirm a wedding date. Take the details and say I'll get back to them within two days."
- "Mini-sessions are only in the slots already on the calendar. Don't add new ones."
- "Headshots are weekday mornings at the studio only."
- "If a past client is upset about their gallery, take a message and mark it urgent."
Good to know
- Calendar or software: it books into Google Calendar only, and doesn't connect to client-management apps. Zapier or the API may help pass inquiries along. Talk to us if your setup is unusual.
- Money and contracts: it doesn't take deposits, card numbers or signatures. Those stay with you.
- French: it follows the caller into French or English. More on that
What it costs
Starter is US$30 a month (about CA$43) for 150 minutes, with booking included. You can start with free test calls from your browser before you get a number. Full pricing