As your photography business grows, keeping your clients slowly becomes more important than getting new ones. If you want to know the secret to turning a one-time corporate event client into a repeat customer, this guide is exactly what you need. Whether it’s event photography, headshots, or video, it’s all about creating simple follow-up systems so you’re sliding into their inbox at exactly the right time to get re-booked.
How to Get Repeat Corporate Photography Clients
The short version
- ✓Track the inquiry date. It tells you when the client started planning.
- ✓Ask about the next event. The dates may already be booked.
- ✓Tell them you’ll follow up. Make the next conversation expected.
- ✓Offer multi-event pricing. Reward a real commitment.
- ✓Check in every quarter. Call to say hello, not to make a sale.
Five ways to create repeat corporate business
Tip 1
Track the Inquiry Date
Whenever you book a corporate job, make a note of the date the client first contacted you. Then set a reminder for about one week before that date the following year.
The inquiry date tells you when the client was looking for a photographer. If you wait until the anniversary of the actual event, they may have already hired someone else.
Your reminder might say:
“Contact Jennifer about the Wilson Company conference. She originally contacted me on August 18. Ask if next year’s date has been confirmed.”
Your CRM is a great place to do this. If you use a system like 17hats, add the reminder directly to your workflow. You can also use a calendar notification or reminder app. It doesn’t matter where the reminder lives as long as it pops up when you need it.
- •The inquiry date
- •The event date
- •The client’s contact information
- •Any known future dates
- •When you plan to follow up
If the client contacted you at the last minute, ask when they normally start planning and set the next reminder earlier.
Tip 2
Find Out What They Already Know
Many corporate and association events happen every year. For larger events, the next few dates and locations may already be under contract.
Event size makes a big difference here. Future Partners found that the typical meeting planner sourced venues about 1.3 years before the event. An earlier PCMA survey that separated events by size found an average booking window of 2.5 years for large meetings and 11 months for small meetings.
The PCMA numbers are older, so I wouldn’t use them as a current benchmark. They do support a pretty obvious pattern. Big conferences need more space, more hotel rooms, more breakout rooms, and a lot more planning.
That doesn’t mean the photographer gets booked two years ahead. It means the client may already know the date and location of the next event.
Meeting Professionals International also points to reduced planning time, fewer repeated negotiations, and potential cost savings as benefits of multi-year venue contracts.
- •Is this event held every year?
- •Have next year’s dates been selected?
- •Do you know where it will be held?
- •When will planning begin?
- •Who should I contact about it?
- •When would you like me to follow up?
If you get a date, put it in your calendar immediately. Don’t assume you’ll remember a conversation you had in a ballroom twelve months ago.
Tip 3
Tell Them You’re Going to Follow Up
Before the current job is over, tell the client you’d like to work with them again.
“I’d love to help with this again next year. Would you mind if I made a note to contact you around August when planning begins?”
Now your future email isn’t coming out of nowhere. You told them you’d follow up, and you’re doing exactly what you said you would do.
Corporate events also have busy seasons. Letting clients know that you’ve marked their event and plan to check in helps them get ahead of your calendar.
There may be several people involved in the project. Ask who should be included in future conversations. You might have one contact managing the event, another handling marketing, and someone else dealing with contracts and payment.
Mention the next follow-up in your delivery email too:
“I’ve made a note to check in this August about next year’s conference. In the meantime, please let me know if you need anything else from me.”
It’s crazy how often good sales practices and good customer service practices turn out to be the same thing.
Tip 4
Offer Multi-Event Pricing
Any time you learn that an event is recurring, let the client know you may be able to offer a better rate if they book several events together.
“If you already know you’ll need coverage for all four events, I can quote them together instead of treating them as four separate jobs. That may allow me to give you better overall pricing.”
Booking several events together can reduce repeated planning, paperwork, travel, and setup. It also gives the client consistent service across every event.
Just make sure you’re rewarding a real commitment.
A client saying, “We’ll probably use you for all four,” isn’t the same as booking four events. Don’t discount the first job or hold several dates based on a possibility.
Put the dates, services, payments, and cancellation terms in writing. A better rate should come with a real benefit for both sides.
The important thing is to start the conversation. You may find out that the client has an entire calendar of events they hadn’t thought to mention.
Tip 5
Check In Every Quarter
At the beginning of every quarter, look through your corporate clients and make a few calls.
After more than 20 years in business, I’ve noticed that the vast majority of my corporate bookings happen during the first month of a quarter. That’s my personal experience, not an industry statistic, but the pattern has been consistent enough that I pay attention to it.
The call doesn’t need a pitch. You’re checking in because you want to see how they’re doing.
“Hey, I was thinking about you guys and wanted to see how everything is going. Did the photos work out well? Is there anything you need from me?”
Then let them talk.
Don’t run through a list of everything you sell. Don’t try to steer the conversation toward another booking. If they need something, they’ll tell you.
You’ll be surprised how often the answer is, “Actually, I’ve been meaning to call you. We have something coming up.”
A genuine check-in feels good. A sales call wearing a customer-service costume feels bad. People can tell the difference.
If you prefer email, keep it just as simple.
Two follow-up emails you can use
Annual event follow-up
Subject: Planning for [Event Name]
Hi [Name],
I hope you’re doing well. We worked together on [event] last year, and I made a note to reach out because this is around the time you originally contacted me.
Will the event be returning this year? I’d love to help again. If the dates have already been confirmed, send them my way and I’ll check availability.
Thanks again,
[Your name]
Quarterly check-in
Subject: Quick check-in
Hi [Name],
I was thinking about you and wanted to see how everything is going. Did the photos from [event or project] work out well?
If you need anything from me, I’m here.
All the best,
[Your name]
Key takeaways
- ✓Track the inquiry date, not just the event date.
- ✓Ask about future dates while you’re still working with the client.
- ✓Tell them when you plan to follow up.
- ✓Connect better pricing to an actual multi-event commitment.
- ✓Check in because you care about the client, not because you need to make a sale.
- ✓Put every future date and follow-up in your calendar immediately.
Common questions
Does the size of an event affect how far ahead it gets booked?
Yes. Larger events need more space, hotel rooms, breakout rooms, and logistical planning. That usually pushes venue sourcing much farther ahead. Venue booking and photographer booking are different timelines. A client may know the next three event dates without choosing the photographer until much later. Your job is to find out when that decision will happen.
How often should I contact a corporate client?
Quarterly check-ins work well for active clients. If someone has one predictable annual event, one well-timed annual reminder may be enough. Pay attention to the relationship. Staying in touch is good. Becoming a pen pal nobody asked for is not.
How much of a multi-event discount should I offer?
There isn’t a universal percentage. Base it on the efficiencies created by the booking. If several events share the same planning, setup, travel, or deliverables, you may have room to offer a better rate. Sometimes a rate lock or priority scheduling is more valuable than a discount.
What if my original contact leaves the company?
Keep notes about the other people involved in the project. If your contact changes roles or leaves, ask for an introduction to the person taking over. It’s another reason not to build the entire relationship around one person.
Great photos get you hired. Systems get you re-booked.
The Business of Headshots covers the pricing, marketing, client experience, and systems that turn headshot photography into a real business. You can watch the first module for free and see exactly how the course works before spending a dollar.
No credit card required. No commitment.
Start the Free Module