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Aug 12 2013

Living outside your comfort zone

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Living Outside Your Comfort ZoneFor my opening keynote address at Wedding MBA this year I presented “Free Falling – Jump out of your comfort zone“. Shannon, from Wedding MBA, who is is pushing herself outside her own comfort zone is taking tap-dancing lessons. She felt if was an appropriate topic for me to explore, given my history of starting Tae Kwon Do at 39 (achieving a 2nd degree black belt), skydiving and now studying to be conversationally fluent in Spanish.

You were the shy kid?

Most people who know me wouldn’t believe that I was a relatively shy child. As a matter of fact, I read recently that a lot of professional speakers are introverts offstage (not me, but many). My road to public speaking wasn’t a personal goal, nor did it happen overnight, but I was a willing participant. I began standing in front of audiences by playing piano in the school jazz band and in rock and roll bands as a teenager, then moving to the speaking stage, many years later. Read More

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

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 07 2013

You don’t get any business from your website

By Blog

That’s right you’re’ not getting any business from your website… you’re getting business through it! Visitors to your website have to come from somewhere before they get there. Maybe be it’s an online ad, a search engine result or even your business card, but they have to come from somewhere, they don’t just miraculously know your website’s URL. That brings up a couple of interesting questions:

• Where is your traffic coming from? and
• Where is your business coming from?

Traffic does not equal business

Where your site’s visitors are coming from is an important piece in figuring out where your business is coming from. Unless you can track the sales back to the source, you really don’t know where your business is coming from. You may guess, but that’s not helpful in knowing where to invest your marketing dollars. So, unless you have a toll booth on your site, where people are paying just to view it, traffic is not a good indicator of business success.

E-commerce or offline sales?

If you make sales on your website, where someone can enter their credit card info and check out, then you may be able to track back to how they got to your site in the first place… maybe. If this wasn’t their first visit to your site then, unless you have cookies, or some other tracking software, you won’t really know what brought them to your site. Even with cookies or other software you may not be able to connect the dots all the way back. Read More

Feb 05 2013

Article – Reflections of a Guy Who’s Been (Happily) Married for 29 Years

By Blog
Alan Berg - Beautiful Bride Magazine article - reflections of a married man

Call or email Alan for a PDF or text copy of the article to share with your customers

published article by Alan Berg for engaged couples on why they should hire wedding pros and other tips

I like to joke that when I got married, in 1983, they told me where and when to show up, and that was the end of my involvement. It’s funny (maybe), but not really true. While we didn’t have access to the Internet, or local magazines (there were only a couple of national magazines), I do remember driving around to look at venues with my fiancée. I also remember driving her around to dress shops looking for the perfect dress. I remember going to countless jewelry stores trying to find the right setting for the engagement ring and matching wedding bands. We knew we were getting engaged, but I was still able to surprise her with the ring, the one she’d suspected I’d gotten, but wasn’t sure.

While it feels now like I wasn’t that involved, I really was more than I let on. That said most of the details about design were made without me. I didn’t choose a single flower. The colors were not my idea. The tuxedo style was chosen without me (at least I got to get fitted). The band, which my parents paid for, was the same one that played my sister’s wedding the year before.

So what do I wish I’d known before, that I know now (after being around the wedding industry for over 22 years)? I don’t think I realized the significance of the day. Sure, I knew it was special, but no one took the time to explain that it’s really two parts: the ceremony and the reception. I always looked at it as one, cohesive event, especially since we had our ceremony at the reception venue. I don’t remember our vows, I imagine they were the standard, by-the-book phrases. Read More

Jan 07 2013

What a relay race can tell us about marketing

By Blog

In my last article I spoke about how wedding pros have more in common than they think when it comes to their marketing. It transcends categories, with photographers, florists, caterers, plumbers and dress shops all using the same basic principles when it comes to attracting new business. It also transcends borders, cultures and languages.

I spoke about marketing recently at a WeddingWire Networking Night in Minneapolis and I used the analogy of a relay race where the baton is passed from one runner to the next. Only instead of runners, you have these steps: Advertising/Marketing/Social Media > your website > email/phone > you. Your marketing is only as strong as its weakest link, where the “baton” is getting dropped the most.

Follow the bouncing baton
Your prospects find out about you through your advertising, marketing and/or social media. Their next likely step is your website. If they like what they see on your site they email you, use your online availability checker or fill out your contact form. You then have an email conversation with them (phone if you’re lucky). If you do that well you get them in for an appointment. If the appointment goes well you get the sale. At each of those points the baton is getting passed. At any, or all, of those points the baton can get dropped.

If your ad is not compelling or well designed, they won’t go to your website. If they don’t like your social media presence they’ll move on. If they do get to your website, but aren’t moved to take action, once again, the baton has been dropped. If they do like what they see on your site and contact you, but your email communication skills are weak, you don’t get the appointment. If you do get the appointment but your sales skills are lacking, you don’t get the sale. Read More

Nov 19 2012

We’re a lot more alike than we are different

By Blog, Uncategorized

 

One thing I hear over and over again is how different it is for one category of wedding pros versus another. The photographers like to tell me that it’s different for them than it is for the caterers or florists. The DJ’s tell me that they’re different than bands, or even dress shops. While there are distinct differences in the services you provide, there are a lot of similarities when it comes to the business aspects.

You’re a lot more alike when it comes to marketing and advertising than you are different
When I give presentations on marketing and sales, each group wants me to customize the presentation to their needs, which I’m happy to do. The thing is that when I talk to them about their needs, those needs sound almost exactly the same as those for the other categories. You all want more, high-quality leads. You all want your websites to convert more of those leads. You all want more serious buyers and less price-shoppers. You all want a good return on your investment in advertising. Oh, and you all want to spend as little as possible in the process. Read More

Oct 22 2012

What’s the value of FREE?

By Blog

 

Over the years I’ve heard many discussions revolving around “free” things. Couples may be asking for you to throw in free services, or wedding pros may be talking about getting free ads, so I got to thinking about the value of “Free”.

On the surface free usually seems like a good idea: free parking, free samples, free speech, free advice, etc. When we’re on the receiving end of free services and products, we rarely seem to mind. Everyone likes free stuff, regardless of their income bracket.

Is free really free?

In reality, free is not free. There is a cost, it just may not be yours to bear. Free parking is paid for by the merchant who owns the land, or the municipality that built the parking lot (paid for with tax dollars). Free samples are paid for by the merchant who wants to get your business. Similarly, the free advice you get on the WeddingWire Pro Forums is supported by the technology and manpower behind it, paid for by WeddingWire. You get to use the Pro Forums for free, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a cost. Read More