Alan

Traci Brown – Body language in the age of Zoom – Bonus Dialogue Episode

I’ve often referred wedding and event pros, like you, to Traci Brown and her books/courses on body language and detecting lies. I got to wondering recently what reading body language is like in the age of Zoom meetings. Do the same rules apply as in-person? What signals are you sending with your body language on a Zoom sales meeting? Great questions, huh? So, I asked my friend, and National Speakers Association Member, Traci Brown to come on and discuss these questions and more. Listen to this 27-minute episode and find out. Read More

Podcast Transcript – Don’t Paint The House

I know, it’s a strange title for a podcast episode on a platform called Wedding Business Solutions. This is actually a true story that I first shared in a keynote presentation and my book “Your Attitude for Success”. This story shows how something as simple as my friend need to paint her house can teach you how to tackle your daunting business and personal projects. Listen to this 8-minute episode, hear the story, and start accomplishing more. Read More

Podcast Transcript – Should you pay for advertising?

Some wedding and event pros look at advertising as a necessary evil. Others see it as an integral part of their marketing plan. While others either never pay for advertising and look for every free option out there. Which one sounds like you? I have a unique perspective on this as I’ve published wedding magazines, I was VP of Sales at The Knot and I’ve helped many thousands of wedding and event pros directly through consulting, sales training, webinars and more. Listen to this 12-minute episode and gain some new insight on how to approach any advertising opportunity. Read More

Podcast Transcript – 3 Common Sales Objections, and how to handle them

Three of the most common sales objections that wedding and event pros hear are: The price is too high; We got a lower price elsewhere – and – You’re the first one we’ve seen. Do those sound familiar? Do you sometimes get stuck in how to best address those and still get the sale? In this 11-minute episode I’ll give you some ideas, and actual wording on how to handle these, so you can close more sales! Read More

Should You Be Using Facebook and Instagram ads for your business with Katelin Brogan – special dialogue episode

I’ve sold wedding advertising, published two wedding magazines and I was VP of Sales at The Knot. Those are things I know a lot about. But when it comes to Facebook and Instagram ads, my knowledge isn’t that deep. So, when I need help, or one of my client’s needs help, I refer them to my expert, Katelin Brogan. I asked Katelin to join me for this episode to help you better understand how these ads work and so you can decide if they should be a part of your marketing mix. In this 19-minute episode we talk about how they work, budgets and more. Read More

Podcast Transcript – Top-Down Selling is like Jenga

What can a game with wooden blocks teach us about how to sell more and profit more? It’s a great parallel, with each block representing a product or service you offer. I’ve used this analogy many times on webinars and in trainings and people, like you, always tell me that it makes Top-Down Selling much clearer. Listen to this 9-minute episode and find out how you can sell more via Jenga! Read More

Podcast Dialogue Transcript – How Caterers Can Find Hidden Profits with Trip Wheeler

When I’m consulting with venues and caterers, just like you, we’re usually talking about ways to improve their sales and profits. Whether it’s their pricing (packages vs a-la-carte), websites or having better tours, we can always find some improvements. What about the ‘hidden profits’? Those are when you can make more money without selling any more than you are now. Imagine if you could make 10% more profit without making even one more sale. Are you curious? If you’re doing catering for weddings and events, you’re sitting on hidden profits that are yours for the taking. For this episode I’ve invited my friend Trip Wheeler, from SB Value, to share these ideas from his years of helping caterers like you. Listen to this 16-minute episode and find out how. Read More

Podcast Transcript – Perfect is the enemy of profit

I was doing a remote consulting session with a client and I said this phrase: “Perfect is the Enemy of Profit.” It was one of those serendipitous times where we say something we know, we just phrase it in a different way. In this case it was a client who was working on a new website and marketing materials and they were getting caught in the “it’s not ready yet” phase. I think most of us have been there at one time or another. The opposite of that is a sign in Facebook’s offices “Done is better than perfect”. Do you get stuck delaying new products, pricing, services, websites and/or marketing because it’s not quite ready yet – it’s not perfect? Listen to this 8-minute episode and find out how to get unstuck and reap the rewards of those new projects. Read More

Podcast – How should you answer the “How much do you charge?” email?

Why is “How much do you charge?” so often the first question that your couples ask? The short answer is that they don’t know what else to ask, because they don’t know how to shop for your product or service. They’ve never needed your products and services before, so they default to asking about price. You need to be prepared to answer this so that you can keep the conversation going, whether you want to give them price yet, or not. Listen to this new episode and hear four ways you can answer the “How much do you charge?” email (or text, or messaging). It’s only 14 minutes! Read More

Podcast – Will you be having Zoom appointments post-Covid?

One of the good things to come out of the last year is that many wedding and event pros have learned how to have meetings, and do sales, remotely. But what will you do when it’s safe to meet all of your customers in person again? Will you go back to all face to face meetings, or will you continue to do some, or all of your sales remotely. Listen to this short episode for some thoughts on what you can, and maybe should, be planning to do with your current and future customers. (less than 8 minutes) Read More