T O L M A N M E D I A
Tolman Media
Mexico
How to be Assigned Projects
All extra sessions, weddings, and events will be assigned via Wedding Smash. Check your Wedding Smash account often for new projects. Watch this tutorial on how to sign up for projects:
On the rare occasion a project needs to be assigned immediately, projects will be posted on the GroupMe chat. Check the GroupMe chat often to pick up last minute projects or to cover for other team members.
Please note that there is a cyclical nature and seasonality to the wedding industry. Most weddings are booked early in the year and fulfilled during the summer/early fall seasons. Most weddings are also booked 6-18 months in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Tolman Media assign projects to creatives?
All Tolman Media projects are assigned by the area manager. The manager takes into account the client's special requests, if any. These special requests may be they requested an all female team or their friend used a specific photographer and they would like to use that photographer for their event, etc. The manager also takes into account the creative's quality score (see below). They also look at the creatives availability. Ultimately, the manager chooses the creative who they think would be the best fit for the event. They do their best to assign projects fairly, without bias, and give everyone equal opportunity.
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What is my quality score and how do I improve it?
Quality scores are our way of keeping track of how you are doing. Quality scores are based on responsiveness, timeliness, professionalism, good/bad reviews from clients, etc. It also helps us determine who needs some more training. For this purpose, we keep the quality scores private and do not share them with creatives. If you want to know how you are doing and what you can do to improve, reach out to your manager.
There are several ways to improve your quality score - improve your communication with clients, go out of your way to make a client's experience better, take on extra projects and help your fellow team members, show enthusiasm and kindness to your client's, etc.
Everyone starts off at the same quality score. Your score will go up or down depending on how you are doing. For example, if we get a great review from a client that raved about how great you were during their wedding, we will raise your score. This means you will have a higher chance of being assigned to more weddings. On the other hand, if we hear from a client that you were late and you ended up just eating their food the whole night instead of shooting, your score will be dropped and your chances of being assigned to more weddings will be lowered.
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I can no longer cover a wedding, what do I do?
Sometimes you get sick, or have to work, or have a family obligation come up. Sometimes you have a personal client reach out to you asking you to shoot their session/wedding at your rates on the same day you agreed to shoot for a Tolman Media client. We understand things come up and you have to do what’s best for you. However, if you were assigned to an event and agreed to shoot that event, it is your responsibility to find coverage if you can no longer shoot that event.
Here are a few things you can try to get someone to cover you:
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Send a message in the GroupMe chat - this is by far the most effective way to find coverage. Most creatives are always looking to pick up jobs so they will respond right away.
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Reach out to a few creatives individually to see if they can cover you. You can find contact information for creatives in your area here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hsGASXYfwMUbD4H0BIHqfHpvoYeqGSdm?usp=sharing
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If you’ve tried #1 and #2 and still have not been able to find coverage, reach out to your manager and they can help you.
Once you have found coverage, add that person to the Honeybook project. Please reach out to the client and let them know that you are no longer able to cover their wedding and introduce them to the new creative that will be taking over.
*Note - If you are handing the session/wedding over to another creative because you had a personal client obligation come up, please do NOT tell the Tolman Media client that you are choosing your personal client over them. This makes the Tolman Media client feel unimportant and usually causes problems. You can just say “Unfortunately, something has come up and I am no longer able to shoot your session/wedding.”
Per the new creative agreement, if you are re-assigning a wedding within 90 days of the wedding, you will be charged a $50 fee. If you are re-assigning a wedding within 30 days of the wedding, you will be charged a $75 fee. If you are re-assigning a wedding within a week of the wedding, you will be charged a $250 fee. This fee will go directly to the client as an apology for a change in their team so close to their wedding. The fee will either be taken out of your next invoice or we will request payment through Venmo.
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How do I add/delete someone on a Honeybook project?
When you are assigned to a wedding on Wedding Smash, you are assigned to that wedding on Honeybook. Honeybook is where we keep track of the client's contract, invoices, wedding details, etc. You can communicate with the client through Honeybook and take notes about their project.
Watch this tutorial on Honeybook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NcLsPLBgSGTJfVy_ePJimTtEcVCSn0g2/view?usp=sharing
Sometimes, after you are assigned a wedding, you find out you are no longer available. You are responsible for finding coverage to replace you (see previous FAQ). Once you find coverage, you need to add that person to the Honeybook project. This video shows you how to do that: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ybjfYFSnSj1T0UaxWI8woq8gcZe6cd5D/view?usp=sharing
If you have any problems, you can always reach out to your manager and they can help you add/remove a person from the Honeybook project.