Podcast Transcripts & Articles

Jun 18 2013

Find Your Fortune – One Cookie At A Time

By Blog

Send your fortune cookie sayingsI’m gearing up for this year’s Wedding MBA, and I hope you are, too! As with each conference I always bring at least one, brand new topic. This year I’m bringing THREE! I’ll be doing the opening keynote, a session on Wednesday and then the closing keynote… and that’s where I need your help.

I’m working totally outside the box for the closing keynote and challenging myself to do a presentation using only Fortune Cookie sayings as the slides, and inspiration for the messages.

Have you saved any Fortune Cookie messages because they connected with you in a special way? I need you to take a picture and email them to me. Don’t create one, they have to be actual, little papers that you’ve pulled out of a cookie and saved. My wife and I will sometimes put the date on, because they were relevant to what was happening at that time.

So, please send me any you have now, that have a special meaning. If there’ a short story you’d like to share with it, that’s great. If not, no worries, I’ll look for the inspiration in it. If you get a new one next week, or next month, send that over as well.

Please email them to me at [email protected]

Have you registered for Wedding MBA yet? If not, use this link and save off the lowest posted rate

Jun 03 2013

What’s the value of an industry conference, webinar or article?

By Blog

Malcolm Forbes once said that “the purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one”. I love that quote because no one can give you a desire to learn. No one can make you feel that there’s more and better things of which you’re capable. That’s something that has to come from within.

In this interconnected world, there’s no shortage of educational opportunities. Whether it’s a webinar, an article, a local trade association, a networking event, a local conference or a national conference, if you want to improve your creative skills, or business skills, the opportunities are there. That said, I understand that everyday life gets in the way. Your day to day obligations can often make it hard to find the time for education. I call that your Today List and your To-Do List. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making or trying to give you any excuses, I’ve written and spoken, a lot, about how you have the time for whatever you want. You just have to prioritize your time. Read More

Jun 02 2013

AWEP Day of Education

By Speaking Events

AWEPIt’s a summer of firsts for me… that is, the first time I’m getting to present in an area. I’m happy that AWEP, Alabama, Wedding & Event Professionals, has invited me to come to Birmingham for a Day of Education.

I’ll be presenting 3 great topics:

– How to communicate better via email
– Close More Sales
– Creating an Exceptional Customer

For more information and to register, click here

Jun 02 2013

BrideLive Webinar

By Speaking Events

BrideLiveI’m honored that BrideLive has invited me to host a webinar entitled: “How to communicate better with brides via email”

It would be so much easier if they would just pick up the phone and call you, wouldn’t it? But these days that’s not happening very much. Do you know why? Does it really matter why? You’ve always had to adapt to how your prospect’s preferences, not the other way around. In this session I’ll walk you through the ins and outs of communicating with today’s prospects.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • Why they won’t call you
  • How to have a real conversation via email
  • How much you should write in an email
  • When and how to use attachments

For more information and to register: Click Here

Jun 02 2013

Maine Wedding Association

By Speaking Events

Maine Wedding AssociationI’m very happy to coming up for my first presentation and Day of Education in Maine, for the Maine Wedding Association.

Stay tuned for more details, but Save the Date! I look forward to seeing you there.

May 29 2013

Thoughts from Ireland and how wedding pros are very similar, everywhere I go

By Blog, Uncategorized
Alan Berg speaking in Galway Bay, Ireland

Alan Berg speaking at the Galway Bay Hotel, Ireland

I just got back from speaking in Ireland for weddingsonline.ie, the busiest wedding website in the country. We had 3 conferences in Cork, Galway and Donegal where I had the opportunity to meet some great wedding pros. It’s actually my third time speaking in Ireland since November. What strikes me, as I reflect on the events and networking, is how similar wedding pros are, wherever I go. I presented “We Want Action, Conversion is the Key to Your Success”, “Angry Brides, Protecting Your Online Reputation” and “Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience”, 3 of my favorite topics.

We’re a lot alike

I’ve had the privilege of speaking around the US, Canada, Mexico and now Ireland and, other than a few cultural differences, the business of weddings and events is pretty much the same. Even just traveling around the US there are many differences in the weddings themselves, but the business side is similar. You’re all trying to identify your target audience, put yourselves in front of them and get them to take a series of actions to get closer to doing business with you… because it’s rarely one step. Read More

Apr 05 2013

10 Reflections on my 2nd Anniversary

By Blog, Uncategorized

I can’t believe that it’s my 2-year anniversary already. No, not my wedding anniversary (we’re approaching 30 years), rather my business anniversary. It’s been 2 years now that I’ve been an independent speaker, business consultant and author and I wanted to share some of my reflections of the last two years and what I’ve learned. I’ve had the opportunity and privilege to work with so many wonderful people, travel to so many new places (which is not easy for me as I’ve been traveling a lot over the years), and make many, many new friends.

So, here are 10 things I’ve learned from you over the last 2 years:

  1. There are so many creative and talented people, with wonderful passion. There’s no end to the ingenuity I’ve seen.
  2. However, being passionate and creative does not guarantee business success. That requires a different skill set.
  3. Everyone I meet is busy… some are just more successful. This was the spark for my new presentation “Are you too busy to be successful?” – I posted a survey for this, so if you didn’t get a chance to share your thoughts, please click here to take the 10 question survey.
  4. Life happens! Sometimes your day to day gets in the way of your big ideas and dreams. I’m working on a new presentation about this, tentatively titled “Don’t let your Today list get in the way of your To-do list” – stay tuned for the debut of that one.
  5. Lots of businesses are thriving, while others, in the same market and category are struggling. It’s not a lack of opportunities. I believe it’s an attitude of success, something I’ve written about extensively. Read More
Mar 08 2013

Boston Area Afternoon of Education for Wedding & Event Pros

By Speaking Events

 

Alan Berg, Sales & Marketing Expert

Attention Boston & New England Wedding Pros:

Join us on Monday, April 22nd for a special afternoon of education, with marketing guru, Alan Berg. He’ll be giving two great presentations that can help you do more business and there’s a Bonus:

1) Close More Sales, Today! – until you close the sale there’s no work to do, so the better you get at closing sales, the more you get to do what you love – video, music, food, flowers, photography… you know, the creative stuff. Come hear Alan give one of his most popular presentations and learn how to close more sales so both you and your customer feel better about the process.

2) 10 Ways your website is Killing your business – that’s right, many websites are actually costing you more in lost business than they’re getting you. Come to this session and hear Alan, who wrote the book “If your website was an employee, would you fire it?”, teach you quick and easy fixes for your current website. If you’re thinking about making a new site, this is a must-see so you don’t build in some of these mistakes to your new site.

Bonus: Time permitting, Alan will do live website reviews of some of the attendees. Are you brave enough to let him look at yours? You should, people pay him hundreds to review their sites and you may get it for free!

Where: Holiday Inn Dedham MA, 55 Ariadne Rd, Dedham, MA 02026

When: Monday, April 22, 2013 – 1:00pm – 5:30pm
Videographers: Then stick around for dinner and the NPVA meeting that evening, which requires separate registration, click for more info)

Special Early Bird Pricing – extended!

Alan Berg, Marketing Guru, Professional Speaker

If you register now you pay just $99, with no additional fees. Not only is Alan going to teach you how to make more money, he’s going to make it easy for you to save, too!

If you get one more sale from the ideas you hear, most businesses will make this small investment back many times over.

The live website reviews alone are worth seeing and the closing the sales ideas are priceless. Sign up today to ensure your seat.

If you’d like to have a private website review or consultation with Alan while he’s in town, he’s got 3 time slots available on Tuesday before he leaves. Click here for the times and the $100 savings

Choose your option, single ticket for only $99 or bring friends or associates and save with 2, 3 and 4 person tickets!


How Many Tickets – the more you buy the more you save