Anya Stevens

Don’t make them fill out forms before you have a conversation

This is another listener suggestion. A friend of mine noticed that many wedding and event pros are asking their couples and customers to fill out questionnaires before they get to have a real conversation with them. While this is easier for you, because you get more information before your meeting/call/Zoom, it also adds friction and effort to the process. The thing is that in doing this, you may be missing out on good prospects. You never know who chooses not to reach out to you because of the extra friction and effort.

Listen to this new 10-minute episode for more insight into why using long contact forms and questionnaires could be hurting your business.

Read More

Are you still not replying to reviews?

I’ve done episodes about reviews before, so this time I want to address why so many wedding and event pros still aren’t replying to your good reviews. Many of you are replying to the less than stellar reviews, but not every review. Why not? You’re missing a great opportunity to stand out. Don’t worry, you don’t have to reply to every review you’ve ever gotten… just some. I spell that out in this episode as well.

Listen to this new 12-minute episode for why you should reply to all of your reviews, starting today!

Read More

David Newman – Do It! Selling

Every so often I read a book and think “I need to have them on my podcast!” I’ve known David Newman for years through the National Speakers Association, and I just finished listening to his book “Do It! Selling”, and while his target client is different than yours, there are so many takeaways and useful ideas for you. Listen to this episode and be sure to have your pen or keyboard ready to take notes.

Whether you’re a seasoned wedding and event pro or just getting started, David drops nugget after nugget and you’re going to want to pick up a copy of his book just to the rest of them.

Read More

This is another listener suggestion, this time from Brian in South Florida. He had a couple in to his venue for a wedding and they weren’t responding to the questions that seem to work with other couples. He wanted to know what to do in situations like that. What are some different questions? How do you get the quiet ones talking?

Listen to this new 9-minute episode for some questions you can use when your customers aren’t being responsive to your questions.

Read More

Who’s the real decision-maker?

I was doing a sales training for a small group and the question came up about figuring out who the decision maker is when you’re dealing with a group of people. In this episode I expand on this topic to figuring out who the decision-maker is when you’re on the phone, or when you don’t get to meet with everyone who will be involved in the final decision.

Listen to this new 8-minute episode for some tips to help you figure out when you’re dealing with all of the decision-makers.

Read More

There are so many analytics that you can get for your business, but which ones are going to make a difference for you and your bottom line? To help bring clarity to this I invited my friend Christie Osborne to join me for a conversation about business insights. This isn’t about Google Analytics, at least not very much, and you’re going to want to hear the business metrics that you really do need to know.

Listen to this new episode for an enlightening conversation with a really smart friend.

Read More

If you’ve heard me speak, read my books or had me do sales training, then you certainly know about the power of the choice of two. If you want someone to make a decision, you need to give them the perception of choice, while at the same time limiting their choices. That’s a balancing act, for sure, but not as difficult as it sounds. Once you can get their choices down to one or two, you can ask for the sale, and it won’t feel pushy or aggressive at all.

Listen to this new 10-minute episode for some ways you can use the power of the choice of two in you business and even in your personal life!

Read More

Why do people give up so easily?

I’m preparing a new presentation for this year’s Wedding MBA on my experiences and findings from the secret shopping I do. Sometimes clients hire us to secret shop them and sometimes we do it when someone inquires but doesn’t hire us, just to see how badly they might need help (cue the smiley emoji). What amazes us is how many times companies don’t reply at all to our inquiry, even when it’s directly through their website. Sometimes it’s a technological issue (easy to fix when you know about it) but other times the lead comes through, and we still get no reply. Then we’re waiting to see how many times a company will reach back out to us, when they don’t get a reply. The sad answer is that we usually only get one attempt from most of the companies we shop. A few others will try 2 or 3 times, and a small minority will try way more than that. Who do you think will get the business.

Read More

Weddings are down, get used to it!

I’ve been hearing and having a lot of talk about weddings being down this year. Yeah, and? We’re coming off an unfair benchmark, and a time that’s roiled the waters to the point that we’re still sailing on choppy seas. In this episode I try to give some perspective on where we came from and where we’re going, and what that might mean for you and your business.

Listen to this 8-minute episode for some musings on the current and future state of weddings and events.

Read More

Due to my extensive travel, I’m a prolific reviewer of restaurants and hotels. That said, there are more businesses that I don’t post about than I do, even if I had a good experience. While it’s frustrating, I can’t complain when people who are happy with my sales training or consulting don’t post reviews about me, when I am guilty of the same thing. What about you? Do you read reviews when considering purchases? Do you post reviews when you’re happy with the results? If you do, is it every time? Probably not.

Listen to this 6-minute episode for a little perspective on posting of reviews that will hopefully give you a little solace when you don’t get as many as you’d like.

Read More