Last week I put out a poll on IG Stories – and the results surprised me.
I asked the audience how you felt about 2022 bookings. Are you in good shape? Or feeling a little worried about your current position?
Keep in mind that 2022 will be a boom year for weddings. Not just compared to 2020 and 2021, but going all the way back to the mid-1980s.
Combine these high counts with pent up savings from the pandemic, and the wedding industry is charting a course on a rising tide.
Will it be a boom for everyone?
But not all boats are being lifted.
In fact, many of you aren’t seeing the kinds of numbers you’d hoped for. Some are seeing even less than what you saw before the pandemic. My IG poll came back split down the middle: 50% are in good position for a full calendar. But the other 50% of you are anxious about your booking pace.
If you’re one of those who needs more business, you’re not alone.
Also, know that I’m going to keep putting out free content through this newsletter, my Own Your Business podcast, our Facebook group, IG Lives, and online workshops to help you get those dates filled.
Searching for more than “more”
And yet, those who are filling your calendars aren’t fully satisfied. Nearly 70% who participated wanted better bookings instead of more. This is what I’m working on with most of my 1:1 clients.
You’re getting bookings, but the projects may not excite you and/or the prices aren’t what you feel you’re worth. If good enough is not good enough, I applaud you for going after the next challenge.
Whatever your 2022 calendar looks like, it seems pretty clear there’s room for improvement in everyone’s business.
And now that we agree on that, the biggest question is:
How do you get what you want most, whether that’s more clients or better clients?
The couples’ route to you
The buyer’s journey is a long and hard one for wedding couples. It lasts for months, costs a fortune, involves a plethora of decision-makers, and is fraught with risks like picking the wrong vendors who turn your dream day into a nightmare.
Even if you’re working with wealthy clients who have a planner guiding them, it’s not easy to host a wedding. High-net-worth couples face different pressures that add stress to the mix.
The flipside of their buying experience is your sales process. It’s also complex to navigate, especially because most wedding pros have as much experience selling their services as couples have buying them.
And still, you have to guide them to pick you from a sea of other vendors.
From “just browsing” to “I’d like to try this on”
Companies – even small ones – used to split up sales and marketing roles. One person or team was in charge of bringing people to the store, and a different person or team would sell the shopper on the services.
Billboards/TV and radio commercials/magazine ads would get people to the store and then the salesperson would guide them through the purchase.
Of course, that’s not how it works today. We all know that. We don’t watch commercials because we’re all on social media instead. IG, TikTok, Facebook ads bring people to your store.
But you (likely) don’t have a brick-and-mortar shop. You have an online storefront.
And most of the shopping takes place without a person to guide couples through the purchase process.
Just another element of complexity to an already difficult buying experience…
Unless you turn your website into your top salesperson.
How? Three big reasons:
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It moves couples to your inbox so you can convert them into clients
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It builds value with interested couples even when you don’t talk to them
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It does the heavy lifting for your sales process to save you time
#1 – Get more inquiries
When I first started coaching wedding pros on how to grow their businesses, I focused on the mechanics of direct sales work. Getting couples on the phone. Conducting discovery calls. Creating proposals. Preventing and overcoming objections. Following up.
But in the last half-decade much of the important sales work is done before the couple even inquires.
In fact, the most important sales work is done to get the couples to inquire in the first place. Getting someone to make that first big step is a big lift. That is the #1 job of your website.
#2 – Build value and close deals
The #2 goal for your website is to be as persuasive as possible when you don’t get a chance to influence potential clients directly on a call or in-person. Let’s be honest: Couples control the communication during the buying experience.
(Psssst. If you’re a luxury wedding vendor who gets a lot of referrals from planners but don’t get much access to couples because you communicate through the planner, this is really important for you…
Getting ghosted? Lots of times the couple hasn’t gone anywhere. They’re still shopping, but they don’t want the salesperson hovering around them so they stay engaged online.
That
means it’s up to your website to get them from “just browsing” to “do you have this in my size.”
#3 – Sell your services 24/7
The #3 way your website works as your top salesperson is by doing the majority of the saleswork for you.
Most wedding pros are the only employee of their company. You’re responsible for every aspect of your business and taking care of current clients to spend all your time on price shoppers out there.
And if we’re being real, here, even if you did have the time, you don’t actually want to do the sales work. (It’s okay to admit. Very few people like selling.) Besides, if you wanted to be a salesperson you would’ve picked something other than the wedding industry.
Run a small team? You’ve likely got less time than the solopreneur who’s reading this. You’re spread even thinner in your work duties, because you have a team to manage in addition all the other work you do for clients
No one has the time to say the same things over and over again to couples who email asking for pricing and availability. And even a great automated email sequence is nothing compared to an equally incredible website.
Plus, a well-laid-out, well-written website with images that speak to your ideal clients is always selling your services. 24/7.
It’s helping you book business when you’re sleeping.
When you’re serving other clients.
When you’re on vacation.
When you’re busy taking care of the other 283 things you have to do every day to keep your business running.
It’s your hardest working employee, and you don’t have to pay it overtime.
Tap into your potential growth
My job as a business coach is to help wedding pros grow your businesses.
To do that, you need to book more clients who pay higher prices.
To do that, you can either a) get more and better inquiries, or b) convert inquiries at a higher rate. The best way is to c) do both.
Many of you are focused on converting more inquiries by getting better at sales – and you should keep doing that!
But your website is THE untapped resource that will propel you to the next level. It has the potential to be your top salesperson.
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