Podcast Transcripts & Articles

Decision complexity or decision simplicity?

I was reading a great book by Jon Picoult – “From Impressed to Obsessed”, and one of the concepts he wrote about is Decision complexity vs decision simplicity. In our world that means are we making it easy or hard for our customers to make a decision, whether it’s for the initial sale, or post-sale choices (menus, colors, music and more).

Listen to this new, 11-minute episode to dig a little deeper into this and see how you can apply the concept to your business and customers. Read More

If you’ve heard me speak about sales, or read my books, you’ve probably heard me use the phrase “Would it make sense…?” as a soft lead-in to asking for the sale. I also always credit a speaker friend, Lois Creamer, from whom I learned this, years ago. So, it’s only fitting that I have Lois on and talk about the origin of the phrase, how it’s used and more fun stuff. Listen to this new dialog episode for some fun tips and conversation about sales. Read More

Pick Your Hard

After recording an episode with Trip Wheeler he told me that he has been trying to live by the credo “Pick Your Hard”. When I asked him to explain, he told me that life is hard, business is hard, relationships are hard, and we have to make choices, every day to pick the hard that we want to go forward with.

Listen to this new, 6-minute episode to get a better understanding of what this means, and how it can help you in business and life. Read More

The lure of the friendor

When couples or customers choose to have a friend or relative do some part of their wedding or event for free, or cheap, it can be frustrating. Have you ever been a friendor, or used the services of a friendor? Have you ever had good results being or using a friendor? Is the problem really using a friendor, or getting bad results?

Listen to this new, 8-minute episode for a little tough-love perspective on this topic. Read More

Janelle Barlow – A complaint is a gift!

When is a complaint a gift? Actually, almost every time. I’m so happy to have Dr. Janelle Barlow on to discuss this topic that’s so relevant to our industry and the world we live in. It’s not just about customer complaints, it’s also internal from our staff. We had a great discussion about reviews and other forms of feedback. Janelle shares ideas from her book “A Complaint Is A Gift”, which is in its 3^rd printing, and available in over 25 languages! Read More

Mark Chapman – Are TikTok Ads Right for Your Business?

I hear a lot of talk about whether TikTok ads are something that you should be using. So, I reached out to my go-to expert, Mark Chapman, from The I Do Society, to break this down for us. So, in this new episode we talk about TikTok, TikTok ads and how they’re different than Instagram or Facebook ads, and whether you might want to consider them for your business. Read More

Do the same problems come up over and over?

Are there some problems that just keep cropping up? Whether it’s with your customers, your couples, and even with your staff or industry partners, if there are some things that seem to come up often, the problem just might lie in an unexpected place.

Listen to this new, 5-minute episode to see if the problem really is your customers, or maybe it’s in the mirror. Read More

How accessible should you be?

This is another listener suggestion. Valerie wrote to me on Facebook messenger and posed this question. So, how accessible should you be? Do you have to reply to every email, text and WhatsApp message, regardless of the time of day or night? Or, is it OK to set boundaries and regular business hours?

Listen to this new, 8-minute episode for some ideas on how to set your boundaries. Read More

Trip Wheeler – Is inflation eating your catering profits?

Inflation has taken a bite out of the profits of every wedding and event business. It’s not just food and supplies, it’s gas, shipping, supply chain disruptions and more. I invited Trip Wheeler back on to talk about what the future might bring, and to share his expertise, since his business is all about saving caterers on your food and supplies. He has some tips and thoughts, no matter what your line of work. Read More

Do they need more choices or just the perception of choice?

When we’re trying to help our couples and customers make decisions, do they really need more choices, or just the perception that they have choices? That’s the paradox of choice. When we’re the customer, we want to know we have choices. However, when we see the myriad choices out there, we can’t decide. So, what do your customers need – more choices, or just to know that they have choices.

Listen to this new, 7-minute episode for some ideas on how to balance giving your customers choice and making it easy for them to choose you. Read More