Own Your Business

The best way to find consistent success with anything is to prep and practice. Discovery calls are no different. Getting good at conducting these important interactions with potential clients takes practice and patience. But you can easily prepare for them with simple tips and techniques. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why discovery calls are so challenging for most wedding pros - 9 ways to prep...

It shouldn’t be news to you that “brides” aren’t the only ones planning the wedding these days. Even if you’re working with two grooms - or a couple who don’t identify with a gender at all – it’s not just one person who’s calling the shots. Couples today are making joint decisions more than ever – and you’ve got to adjust your sales process to meet their decision-making process. In this episode, y...

It’s tempting to jump to solutions with couples who inquire. “Are you available, and can you send me packages and pricing?” Send them the information, right? Not so fast. And certainly not if you want to book more couples at higher rates. In this week’s episode you’ll see: - When and why you should to hold back your solutions - How to create more desire for your services - Two common missteps wedd...

Feeling a little stuck on how to get couples moving forward with the deal? If you’re getting ghosted from the start, losing momentum in the middle, or feeling pushback at the end of the decision, tune into this week’s episode: You’ll discover: - 6 principles of influence you can tap into - How scarcity negatively and positively affects people during the decision-making process - Ways to use scarci...

It’s hard to hear “no” from couples when you offer your services. It’s even harder when they don’t say “no” directly, but they just disappear from the sales process. And the worst is when they say “yes,” but it ends up being a no. In this episode, you’ll: - Find out why couples say “no” so much - See if it’s possible to skip the phone call without lowering your conversion rate - Discover how much...

Reason #294 why you’re getting ghosted? Your inquiry response. Truly. Most wedding pros end up over sharing and overwhelming, because you don’t understand the way you’re making couples feel when they first inquire. In this episode you’ll: - Dig into 7 frequent missteps you might be making on your first email - See why your excitement is actually smothering any spark you hope to create - Pick up th...

It’s not easy to keep up with all the emails in your inbox. But one kind of email is more important than any other – the initial inquiry – and you’ve got to find a way to prioritize it. Your business depends on it. In this episode you’ll: - Find out what researchers consider “too slow” for response time · How outsourcing your sales work can kill a business · Quick ways to get back faster · Dos and...

Your business exists to solve problems for your customers. But are you communicating that value in the specific services you offer each couple? If you’re not, it’s a big reason you’re leaving money on the table. In this episode, you’ll: - Understand the difference between a feature and a benefit - Learn how to translate your buyer’s desires into services you offer - Get a breakdown of why my sales...

Nothing says luxury like a personal service approach. And that’s exactly what Julian Leaver, one of the top wedding planners in the country, does for his clients - before they even start working with him. On this episode, hear how Julian shows couples through their buying experience what they can expect from his high-touch wedding planning experience.

Mike Zawadzki, a photographer out of New Jersey, found success quickly after immersing himself in the same approaches I talk about on this podcast. On this episode, I sit down for an interview to hear more about how he blew past his highest goals and what worked well for him, especially buyer types and the discovery call.

Do you ever feel like you’re working hard but not making much progress? It’s common to feel this way during an extended crisis like the pandemic. The fastest way to get traction is to prioritize your activities and tie them to a sense of purpose. In this episode, you’ll: - Learn the difference between taking your foot off the gas and pumping the brakes - See why time – and not just money – is a pr...

Your couples will tell you everything you need to know to book them – if you can hear what they have to say. It’s the number one skill for a wedding pro who wants to conduct successful discovery calls. In this episode, you’ll learn: -How your potential clients look to you as their leader -How you’re accidentally shifting the conversation back to yourself -The power of paraphrasing -What couples fe...

Putting pricing on your website is a double-edged proposition for wedding pros. How do you get couples the information they need without scaring them away? If you share too much or in the wrong way, then you could end up pushing off potential inquiries – even from affluent buyers. In this episode, listeners will get answers to questions like: - Do you put a pricing page in your main navigation? -...

The fastest way to make more profit is to raise your rates. It’s also the number one way to get more of your time back. But if you increase too quickly, and you might get ghosted. Increase too slowly, and you might keep leaving money on the table.  Listeners will take away: - 5 different indicators it’s time to bump rates - High and low conversion rates for inquiries-to-bookings - How much to...

Stop jumping to solutions when you don’t even know what issues you’re trying to resolve. Fast is slow, and slow is smooth. Learn 6 key indicators to pay attention to before you make any big changes - or investments - in your business. Listeners will take away: - How to tell what areas are working well - What needs to be improved in your buyer’s journey - Identify what you should spend your time an...

Couples expect you to feel confident talking about budget. But if you don’t know what to ask - or worse, talk about it too early - you could scare away potential clients. Get the prep you need to feel 100% discussing how much they want to spend - and why you’re worth every penny.  Listeners will take away: Why your contact form is NOT the place to ask about budget How you know it’s time to ge...

Turn Your Blog into a Storyselling Machine Real weddings are a hot commodity in wedding marketing. But you can’t just dump a bunch of photos onto a blog post and call it a day. The best marketers are storytellers, and when you know the formula you can become one on your website. Listeners will take away: Two different types of blog posts Why real weddings resonate with couples so much How to hook...

Let Your Website Sell for You You don’t have time to be a full-time salesperson for your business. And you can’t afford to spend time getting on the phone with everyone who’s interested. That’s why you should let your website do the heavy lifting for you – both to get more inquiries and also to help close the deal. Listeners will take away: How much sales work is done before couples inquire Why yo...

The Perfect Contact Form Is there such a thing as the “perfect contact” form? The short answer is no, because every business has different goals. And every business has different strategies to reach those goals. What we do know is that YOUR perfect contact form exists somewhere on a spectrum, and you need to ask good questions to find out exactly where. Listeners will take away: Touch on why conta...

The Power of Social Proof It’s scary for couples to make the decision to work with you. Or anyone on their wedding. In fact, it’s a little terrifying to even get married! One of the best ways you can offer reassurance and reduce the risk in choosing your brand over others is to pull on the persuasive power of the “herd effect.” Listeners will take away: What is social proof and how does it work Di...

If you’re not using personalized proposals to sell your services, you could be leaving huge amounts of money on the table. If you’re ready to make the switch or already doing it and want to convert more bookings, check out this episode to learn what makes the most persuasive proposals. Listeners will take away: Why selling wedding services is so hard How to design a successful sales process 3 mist...

Putting the right photos on your website sounds easier than it actually is. Will it catch their attention? Will it stand out? Will it trigger their biggest desires? The key to answering YES! to these questions and others is to choose photos based on the psychographics for your ideal client. Listeners will take away: The one thing you have to do before any work on your website What is a communicati...

We all know video is THE way to capture your clients’ attention. But it’s not always easy to create – or know where to use it. Discover the best places in the buyer’s journey to drop in a video to build value and provide reassurance to would-be couples. Listeners will take away: Why a well-designed sales process is like bringing a Ferrari to a horse race What to bake into your sales workflow to bu...

Ever worked with a client who rubbed you the wrong way? Or had a couple who you gelled with immediately? That’s because we’re all wired a certain way, and when you know how each client prefers to communicate you can make it easy to connect with every couple, not just your ideal ones. Listeners will take away: What leadership training can teach us about sales work The number one skillset to develop...

Not sure how to set your prices? Or maybe you’re too cheap to refer? Or what about that event you need to book, but it’s lower than what you know you need to charge? The good news is you have a few different pricing strategies to choose from. Learn about the upsides and downsides to each, as well as which one is best for you right now. Listeners will take away: Difference between pricing strategie...