How to Book Your Own Tour

So you wanna be hired more in your niche, but people aren’t booking you as fast as you want?

It’s time to go on tour and booking it isn’t hard – If you know what you’re doing.

So – How do you book your own tour?

People recommend things like talent agents or talent websites, but I’ve never had a talent agent come to me, and to be honest I have no idea where to find one that might want to sell me. Not yet anyway.

Instead, I reach out to my own potential customers and talk to them about what I do.

Here are 4 tips on how to book yourself a tour (which can help you hone your niche)

Cold Call and Cold Email

If your method of booking shows is word of mouth or more specifically: sitting around waiting for calls, then I have news for you, it sucks.

Unless you’re getting so many calls that you don’t need to be reading this, my bet is sitting around hasn’t been working too well.

Find out what audience it is that you’re trying to reach…. AND CALL THEM

That’s right.

Give them a call and tell them exactly what you do, why you do it, and why you’re perfect for them and their event.

If you can’t get a hold of their phone number you can send them an email.

Not Facebook, Not Twitter, Not Instagram, Not Snapchat

The options are: Phone or Email

Phone is WAY more personal with a higher conversion rate, but email is much less work.

Tell them who you are, what you do, and why what you do is perfect for them. If possible send them testimonials or even contact information of other groups where you did something similar.

Testimonials and past gigs that are similar go a LONG WAY in booking new gigs.

Until you have customers who want you (and want you back every year) it’s a numbers game.

Let’s say 5% of people you call book you – you need to reach out to 200 people to get 10 bookings.

Since most of the phone calls are going to be short, If you can make 20 phone calls a day, it will take you 10 days.

On one hand it’s like “What!!! I need to make 200 calls” but then on the other hand “All it takes is about 200 phone calls”

Give Them Deals for Helping you Get in Contact with Similar Groups in The Area

Depending on the type of gig you’re trying to get, you can bet other similar events and organizations know about each other.

If you incentivize helping you get in contact with other groups in the area, with bonuses or discounts you’ll find that people are happy to put you in contact.

This is the single best strategy to turn single events into tours.

For every yes you get, you can multiply the success of the event by getting their help in booking nearby gigs.

Barring their help, it’s well worth it to do your own research about nearby events to cities you are going to or groups that are similar.

You can call them and tell them that you’ll be in the area at a similar event, and mention the name of the event you will be at.

You will be surprised how well this works.

And, you’ll start to notice telemarketers using this trick “I’m going to be in your area, are you interested in having your ducts cleaned?” —— STILL NO!!!

Follow Up

Often times the person that you speak to needs to speak to a few people before giving you the go ahead. Although it might make you feel like a nagging mother, I assure you, following up is the #1 thing to do after cold calling. Way too many bookings have been lost in single emails, where one party doesn’t follow up.

If you make it your #1 priority to be in contact with the person until they book you it will help get you booked.

Over email there’s a lot of, “I’ll let you know” and “Let me get back to you”.

Give them a few days to do that, and if they don’t, follow up!!

Have an Appropriate Page for Them on Your Website

If you’re having a school tour, make a link on your website for school tours, if you’re touring trade shows make a trade show page, same as camps, lectures, or anything else. The link can be private, so that only people who you send the link to can access it, but it should exist!

They’re going to want proof that you actually do the events that you’re talking about. While phone is more personal than email, they both lack the visual proof that you can rock their event.

Try to have videos, photos and MOST IMPORTANTLY testimonials as soon as you possibly can.

They need to know that the event is going to be 100% perfect.

Bigger Picture:

The first time you try to book your own tour it’s going to suck. There is no way around that. But there are two things that you should know.

1. If you do a good job, they’ll want to bring you back year after year. If you’re area of specialty is seasonal – Trade shows, camps, schools, retreats… it’s likely that they will want you back. If you deliver, it will make next years tour easy!
   
2. Ignoring the fact that you will have repeat customers. After 200 phone calls, you are going to get very very good at making phone calls and writing emails that work. Do anything 200 times, and you will see how good you get at it.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Do you have a different method of booking a tour? Will you take a chance, and try emailing 200 people?

Let me know what you think in the comments section below!

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