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Mar 05 2012

And the winner is…

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I’m just back from another great Catersource conference, this being my first representing my own company, not a media company. My time was jam packed with presentations, consultations and my trade show booth. I saw some familiar faces and made some new friends.

At my booth I had all 3 of my books, my 5 DVDs and I was featuring my new online video site AlanBerg.tv, which now has 3 different “All Access” pass subscriptions: 3 months, 6 months or 12 months, where you can watch all of the full-length presentations for one, low price.

I had a box at my booth where I was offering a Free One-Year All Access Pass subscription for one winner who dropped their card in the box.

And the winner is: Laurent Glasroth, from Out To Lunch Catering in Vancouver, BC.

Laurent will be able to watch these full presentations and more (keep reading and see how you can, too):

• Close More Sales, Today!
• Your Attitude for Success
• 5 Reasons Why They’ll Leave Your Website in 5 Seconds
• Speak Like a Pro
• Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience
• Bridal Black Belt (my highly acclaimed keynote presentation from Wedding MBA 2011)
• Bride’s Buying Signals (also from Wedding MBA 2011)
• and 6 more videos (with more to come)

As I add more videos, Laurent will be able to see those as well.

Everyone Wins!

In honor of a successful conference I want to offer all of you a discount to get on AlanBerg.tv to watch these videos. Just use the Coupon Code “SAVE10” and you’ll save $10 off any “All Access Pass” 3, 6 or 12 month subscription.

Feb 07 2012

What do brides really think about your websites and Facebook pages? Alan’s Top 10

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I had the privilege last week of presenting at the Wedding Biz conference in Atlanta. Donna Jakulski and Linda Surles did a great job arranging and producing not only the day of vendor education, but also a fantastic bridal show the day before.

The highlight of Wedding Biz, for me, was the first session where 5 real brides were invited to be on a panel. Donna asked them some great questions and here’s what stuck out for me.

Here’s my Top 10 list highlighting what these real brides had to say:

  1. The brides said that very, very few of the wedding professional’s websites they went to were good. Some even implied that none of the ones they saw were any good. (ouch!) Read More
Jan 22 2012

Can your business survive without social media?

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I attend a lot of conferences around the country, both local and national and one of the hottest topics is always social media. Too often I see attendees coming out of these sessions with that deer-in-headlights look. They’ve just heard someone pontificate about all of the things they need to be doing with social media or their businesses will wither and die. While I agree that social media is an undeniable piece of your marketing puzzle today, it’s not the be-all and end-all that some would have us believe.

So, what is social networking and how is it different from social media… or is it? When you attend Wedding Biz or any trade association meeting or event you’re doing social networking. You’re be surrounding yourself with like-minded businesses who are also there to jump-start their success. Social networking has been going on throughout the ages. Connecting with others who have a common interest is a basic human need. Whether it’s a trade association, a PTA group or the Girl Scouts, people have and will continue to get together around a common interest. Social media has just added a new dimension by eliminating the need to physically be together. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is a debate for another time. Read More

Dec 21 2011

Announcing the launch of AlanBerg.tv

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I’m very proud to announce the launch of my new video site AlanBerg.tv where you can watch free and paid videos. I want to thank everyone who was involved in the filming and post-production of the videos.

Why not YouTube?

Some of you may be asking “Why not use YouTube or Vimeo?” and the answer is simple. I wanted to have a site that was only my videos and both of those sites don’t fit the bill. While I may decide to put some of the free content up there as well, once you finish a video on YouTube you’re presented with lots and lots of other videos to watch… but they’re not my videos!

What are the Ask Alan videos?

I’ve created a series of short (5 to 8 minutes) videos that answer some of the most commonly asked questions and topics by wedding pros and other small businesses, such as “Why do they always ask ‘How much do you charge?” and “Should I have pricing on my website?”. These Free Ask Alan videos will help answer those questions and concerns. There are 4 Ask Alan videos online for the launch and I’ll be adding more in the future. Read More

Dec 09 2011

Why you’re not being as unique as you might think

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Every photographer and videographer I meet likes to tell me that they’re unique. It’s their shooting or editing style. It’s their personality. It’s the quality of their work. But what if you had to tell a potential client why you’re different and you can’t say it’s your eye, your personality or your quality? You actually have to do that every day, right now.

You see, you can look at each other’s work and tell who shot it, who edited it, what equipment was used and more. Potential customers aren’t educated on the nuanced-differences between one great photo and the next, or one great video and the next. You’ll watch a wedding video and notice things about how it was shot and edited. A bride will look at the same video and proclaim “Did you see her hair?” Read More

Nov 14 2011

How was your year? Painful or Plentiful?

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As we approach the end of 2011, how do you feel? Are you exhilarated over a great year? Or do you feel beat up and can’t wait for the year to end? I meet a lot of wedding pros every year as I travel around the country for presentations and training. What I find particularly interesting is that, in the same cities, I meet people whose businesses are thriving and those that are dying. It doesn’t seem to matter which segment of the market they’re targeting, there seem to be those that are finding a way to succeed while others are failing.

Why do you suppose that is? The common thread appears to be a mindset. Some have the success mindset while others have the victim mindset. I’m not saying there aren’t real issues affecting businesses all over the country, of course there are. What I’m saying, and seeing, is that despite those challenges there are people who are finding a way to thrive. Read More

Oct 12 2011

What’s more important when choosing a wedding venue, the food or the photo ops?

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I had the good fortune to be consulting the other day with a DJ/Photo/Video company. I sat in on a couple of actual sales appointments with two brides and their mom’s. What was very interesting, and coincidental, is that the second bride considered using the venue that the first bride chose, but she decided not to. While she acknowledged that both are great venues, with excellent reputations for their food and service, the second bride didn’t think there were enough photo opportunities at the venue. The venue she chose is also more expensive.

That alone is not shocking. I’ve heard the same thing for years. I’ve also been talking for years about how reception venues need to be showing more real shots of brides at their most popular photo ops. Advertising is ASPIRATIONAL. You want the prospect looking at your ads and marketing materials to Aspire to be like the person they see in the ads/marketing materials. Read More

Sep 08 2011

What’s the value of an idea?

By Blog

Take a look around you. Everything you see is the product of an idea that someone had at one time. Your desk, your chair, your computer, your shoes, each of those started as someone’s idea. If you’re like me you have lots of ideas on pieces of notepaper, or on a white board in your office. There’s no lack of good ideas. The ideas have no value until someone takes the actions necessary to make that idea a reality.

We act upon our ideas all the time without consciously thinking about them. Some of our ideas are simple. Some are complex. Some will take a lot of time and thought and some can be accomplished quickly.

If you started your own business, that was the product of an idea. If you’ve created a new way of doing your job or craft, that was the product of an idea. Where the magic happens is when you put that idea into action. If you think about doing something, but don’t take any actions, the idea has no value. Not only does it have no value to you, it has no value to the countless others who could benefit from it.

Read More

Aug 04 2011

Who made my site?

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I get asked this question a lot because some people assume that I made my own website. While I had a lot to do with the content, I turned to professionals for design, structure and the actual creation of this site (much as I advise you to do). There are loads of people that you could ask for help from, for example you could choose Cefar or even influce.com but there are many others that you could also use.
In my book is not about how to design a site, rather it’s about how to think about your site, regardless of what you do, your audience or the purpose of your site. I speak about what makes a good, usable, effective site, not how to actually design and build it.

So, let me directly answer the question and then elaborate on why. Local Traffic Builder is the company that made this site. I went with them because they really listened to what I was trying to accomplish and they have the skills and background to take my ideas and make them even better. Are they the only ones who do quality work? Of course not, but it’s hard to find a company that understands design and marketing. Most are good at one or the other, not both.

This is a WordPress site?

We went with WordPress for the Content Management System (CMS) capabilities. It’s not a template but and it doesn’t look and feel like it’s a blog. The site design is totally custom, not a template. That’s because a template is only as good as the content and the people who use it. A real designer can be limited by a template. Non-professionals need templates (that are designed by professionals) to give them a starting point. Read More

Jul 26 2011

Alan’s Sales Training, Mastermind Day, Consulting and Website Review Services: Post or read reviews here

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