Are You Priced Too High?

Sep 12, 2022

If you are asking yourself if your pricing is too high, there are most likely 2 reasons for this, but they both are still because of the same reason. Let me explain. If you are new to the business, you may want to price your services low.  It is a great way to get business and gain experience at the same time. I stand behind this principle all the way. 

So, what if you have been in business for a while you raised your prices, but you just can't book as many clients as you would like?

This has happened to me often throughout my career.  When it happened, I did a few things, offered specials and discounts just to get the business.  It did indeed work. Then after a few months, I ended up regretting giving the discounts. I and my staff ended up working really hard, I still had to pay my staff and myself and did a high-quality job, but was disappointed that I got paid less than I should have.

Analyzing this, it is obvious that I placed the negative feelings on the...

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Persona Principle

Sep 05, 2022

I know many planners/coordinators who put on a particular persona when they start their business.  I believe I may have even have fallen into this trap in the beginning.  I think I and many others may have thought a wedding planner needs to be a certain type of person. So, I acted that way and then got trapped in that character. So what is the Persona Principle? Personas are fictional characters, that we create based on our idea of an image that will represent what we feel will reflect an image we want to project. Then we will use that for our service, product, site, or brand in a similar way.

Creating a persona will help you to identify and understand your client's needs, experiences, behaviors, and goals.

However, if this isn't done carefully, this can cause problems in the future because it is hard to continually put on a fake image. Then this can send a mixed message.  I think it is important to do some self-reflection into who you are and...

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Emotional Purchases-Selling the right service

Aug 01, 2022
 

It would be almost impossible for me to list every service we offer.  We provide a plethora of services because every client is so different.  Couple that with the family dynamics, guests, budget, cultural background, so on and so on...  How can I communicate that to each and every client that comes in?  They would quickly become disinterested.

Why are they hiring me or you?  What do they want?  Do they love the photos of my work, large support staff, my brick and mortar building? Do they want to brag about having a planner, the awards I received, or did I sell them with my compassion?

Here is my very point, if I showcase my awards, but they wanted my compassion, I missed it.  If I sell them on my large staff, but they wanted a personal connection with me, well, then I missed the opportunity to provide something for them that I was easily able to give them.

With that in mind, let me tell you a simple process that I developed to help me discuss with...

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Getting more sales

Jul 18, 2022

Everyone wants more sales right? How do you get more sales?  Well, this is actually of course a very complex answer. I know you reading this because you want a solid answer that will bring you sales. Well, hang in there with me and I promise, if you follow these few steps, you will definitely get more opportunities for sales.

To sell more people, you have to ask and answer a few questions that will help you develop a solid sales process. 

You first have to ask yourself why don't you have more sales. Are you getting leads and not as many bookings or do you not have enough leads? If you don't have enough leads, you need to look into ways of getting them.  There are many options to seek out. You can book a booth at a bridal show, subscribe to wedding resource websites, you can strike a deal with a few local venues and vendors.  Some local services offer t small bridal shows or other means of advertising. If your answer was you have plenty of leads but not enough...

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Selling To The Emotional Buyer

May 09, 2022
 

Do you provide service to an emotional buyer?

I am continually surprised when I meet vendors or a new venue and they communicate to me that they don't care what the client wants.  They say, this is what I offer and if they don't like it, that's their problem.  I really want to say, no that's your problem.  Mainly because they just told me they are having trouble getting sales.  Do you want to sell your product or service or do you just want to do what you want to do and hope someone will buy it from you?  That philosophy only really applies to the Art world and honestly, why do you think the term "Starving Artists" came from? Do you want to run a business or be an artist?   

If you want to run a business, you actually need to focus on the opposite philosophy, what do people need and can I provide it for them to the point that they would pay for it?
 
With this in mind, you are most likely selling your service to an emotional buyer....
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Starting Your Referral Business

Feb 21, 2022

 

 

Referring a Vendor or Venue can be a great asset to your business. Did you know that most Planners/Coordinators get a commission or a referral fee for recommending another business?  You can make quite a bit of money doing this.  The national standard rate is 10%-40% of the referred business's sales and that can add up quickly. 

Developing a referral program is a great way to increase your profits and if you are considering this as an option here are some things to think about.

Doing The Right Thing

When you are giving a referral, you can put yourself in a tough spot.  If you have committed to your client to do the best thing for them and you know they are on a tight budget, you may be tempted to serve your own best interest instead of by recommending a more expensive service because you know you will get a higher commission.  If you are a DOC and just provide a list of recommended vendors and they choose their own, then you are free from...

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Becoming a Full Service Wedding Planner

Feb 07, 2022

When I was developing this program, I thought about the varying skills everyone would need, the wide range of dynamics, budgeting, planning, networking, vendor relations, customer relations... and to be honest, I thought it just wasn't possible to cover everything effectively. So, I became discouraged and thought creating the program would be impossible.  Then, I realized that breaking it down to have you all start as a Certified Day of Coordinator would be a great foundation to build on.  This way everyone had a solid equal foundation and then you have the ability to grow individually into any area you desire.

 

When thinking about becoming a Full-Service Planner, you need to ask yourself a very important question, why do you want to become a Full-Service Planner?  Is it because they make more money, you want more involvement, the prestige that comes with it, or is it something else?  Let's look at these options a little closer.

Making More Money

It is...

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Setting the stage for a perfect sales pitch.

Feb 04, 2022

Many of us are the type that gets a little nervous when we meet a new client and rightly so.  You will find out if these people value you enough to pay you money to be at their wedding.  It makes sense that you would be nervous. 

I actually think it is pretty exciting trying to create just the perfect situations to get people to "want" to buy from you.  I really enjoyed figuring out the perfect greeting, the right amount of time to let them wait, what they will be looking at while they wait, do I leave desserts for them, have my award and thank you cards in plain sight, and all of this before I even enter the room. 

What you may not realize is that is all part of the sale.  I would have my assistant greet them and walk them to my consultation room where we had a beautiful wedding video playing above the fireplace.  My awards were to the side and I have 1 of the walls almost completely covered with thank you letters.  Much of what they...

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Stand Out By Breaking the Stereotype

Jan 31, 2022

We all know that we hate to believe a stereotype about a people group, but then again, how did it become a stereotype if it isn't common? There are personality traits and behaviors that do typically follow a Wedding Planner/Coordinator.  From my perspective, they are not positive and can make people not want to work with you.  I think it is a good move to your long-term success to try to break those stereotypes as people relate to you. Do you know what the stereotype of a Wedding Planner/Coordinator is?

So what are the common stereotypes and if you possess those traits how do you break them?

#1 Being Bossy

Many other business owners don't like to work with Wedding Coordinators because they are pushy, try to go beyond the rules, and boss people around. You are in charge of running the schedule supervision the activities and it is your job to make sure things get done, but let's clarify a few things. First, you don't own the Venue and if you are not kind and easy to work...

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1st Steps to setting up your new business

Jan 24, 2022

So you just got Certified.  Congratulations!!!  You did it.  That is pretty exciting.  Now you have to figure out what comes next.  Every city, county, and State is different and you want to make sure you follow all of your local laws.  To get your business all set up, use the free guide that we provided when you first signed up for your program. You will find it in your library labeled Starter Kit.

Setting Up Your Work Space

Once you have everything completed you need as far as the law goes.  You will want to decide a few things.  Where will you meet your clients or potential clients?  For your safety, I suggest never using your home for a meeting location.

If you can afford it, a small office will be nice, but there are many other options to consider as well.  You can have a shared office, a virtual office, set up meetings by video conference, or meet them at a local coffee shop. 

Once you have decided where you will meet...

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