Podcast Transcripts & Articles

What is luck?

Are some people really luckier than others, or is there something you can do to improve your luck? Much of what you see that looks like luck from afar really isn’t. As the Roman philosopher Seneca said: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” So, what can you do to be luckier? Listen to this new 8-minute episode and find out. Read More

Ron Ruth – Customer Service or Customer Experience? Part II – New Bonus Dialogue Episode

We had such a spirited discussion that I invited my good friend Ron Ruth to join me again, to continue our talk about the customer experience. Through Ron’s speaking and training, and his lifelong addiction to all things Disney, Ron has some great perspective on how you can create a better experience for your couples and customers, right from the start. If you didn’t hear Part I, you can find it here. Enjoy! Read More

What do couples really think of the way you discuss or display pricing?

I got a Facebook message from a wedding band owner, John LaPalomento, with a link to a Reddit post (bit.ly/3blWdZA) with someone complaining about how hard it is to get pricing for their wedding. The post, with over 270 comments, gives some very good insight into what couples think about how wedding and event pros talk about and display pricing on your websites. Listen to this 11-minute episode and hear some of the highlights, so you can tweak what you do. Read More

Reducing the Friction – Shep Hyken on Customer Service

Too often we put obstacles in our customers’ way and add friction to the sales process. Join me for a great discussion with my good friend, and fellow member of the National Speakers Association, Shep Hyken. Shep is one of the leading customer service experts in the world, and a down to earth, nice guy. Through his many books and trainings, Shep helps companies, big and small, create a better customer experience. Listen to this new, bonus dialogue episode, for ideas on how you can reduce the friction to create a better customer experience for your couples and customers. Read More

Sell the Outcome to get the Income

I got an email that had the words ‘income’ and ‘outcome’ in the subject line and that was the spark for this episode. In my sales training and speaking I always say that you should be selling the results of hiring you, not your list of services. Listen to this 9-minute episode and see how changing what you talk to your couples and customers about can lead to more bottom line profits for you! Read More

The many sides of the word Why

Asking “why” is a great way to learn more, except of course if it’s your 4-year old asking “why” repeatedly! But there are many ways to interpret “why”, including “why not?” or “why should I?” In this 7-minute episode I’m going to help you see the many ways to look at the word “why” and show you which versions can help you and your customers the most. Read More

Rob Ferre – His Pivot Within The Events Industry

For my Series: ”The Pivot” I’m inviting wedding and event pros to come and talk about how and why they made their pivots, into the industry, out of the industry and within the industry. For this episode, I invited my good friend, and fellow speaker, Rob Ferre, to talk about his pivot from being a wedding and event DJ, to MC, game show host and more. Rob is still doing weddings and events, but he’s also finding a new niche to supplement his event work. Listen to this new bonus dialogue episode for ideas on how you can find your pivot. Read More

The answer is Yes. Now, what was the question?

This is a quote I read on the Forbes.com website by Micah Solomon – “The answer is Yes. Now, what was the question?” It’s such a powerful way to approach the customer experience. However, too often people’s first reaction is to say “no”, or to resist anything that’s outside your normal procedures. “No” can be a powerful word in sales, but in the customer experience you want to default to “yes” whenever possible, and even sometimes when the ‘yes’ the customer wants isn’t possible. Listen to this 12-minute episode and find out how to have less confrontation and happier customers. Read More

What’s your elevator pitch?

I was consulting with a client and his sales team the other day and I asked them to tell me, in 7 seconds or less, what it is that they do. After stumbling over their words they realized that they couldn’t do it. It’s called an ‘elevator-pitch’ because the theory is that you have to be able to explain to someone what you do, while in an elevator, before they get to their floor. Many people think that their elevator-pitch can be 30 seconds. That’s way, way too long. Listen to this 9-minute episode and find out how to craft your elevator pitch so you’ll be ready, whether at a wedding show or on line at the grocery store when someone asks “What do you do?” Read More