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Jun 02 2014
Referrals

Referrals revisited

By Blog, Uncategorized

ReferralsI was recently asked by an industry connection about my thoughts on referral business. Many people assert that they’re getting most, or all of their business from referrals. If you don’t do any advertising, marketing or promotion, then there’s not many other sources for you except referral. However, most businesses I know are doing other things to get the word out, they just can’t connect the dots from those things to their bottom line.

One is the loneliest number
When someone gets engaged, they’ve likely already been exposed to many wedding service providers. Whether as a guest or part of a wedding party, or through their many friends, relatives, co-workers and acquaintances (at the gym, at church, etc.) there are countless people who are ready and willing to put in their 2 cents on whom you should use. The thing with referrals is that they’re not created or given equally. Read More

May 02 2014

When a 5K is not a race

By Uncategorized

5K GraphicI recently made it to 5K, but not in running, I reached 5,000 friends on my Facebook page. I have been using my personal page so I could be tagged in photos when I’m out speaking and networking (until recently you couldn’t tag a business page in the actual photo, only people). No bells went off. No special flags or banners. No awards or recognition.

Quite the contrary, everything that happened was negative. I couldn’t accept any more friends requests, even though they were still coming in. I wouldn’t get the validation that I’m engaging new contacts by seeing friend requests coming in.

What’s your goal?
I remember hearing wedding and event pros telling me that their goal was to have more friends than anyone else in their market and category. So, I asked them, what’s your plan once you achieve that? You’re not going to get any awards, so what’s your plan? What are you going to do and say to keep that audience engaged? Isn’t it better to have a smaller, more engaged audience, than a large disconnected one? Read More

Apr 08 2014
The New Art of Capturing Love

The New Art of Capturing Love – a book review by Alan Berg

By Blog, Uncategorized
The New Art of Capturing Love

The New Art of Capturing Love – Kathryn Hamm, Thea Dodds

When Kathryn asked me to read The New Art of Capturing Love: The Essential Guide to Lesbian & Gay Wedding Photography I knew that it would be filled with beautiful images. What I didn’t realize was the amazing gift I was about to receive. Woven around and through the amazing images is a treasure-trove of information about LGBTQ weddings, traditions and customs. It’s educational, in a very engaging way. Having been around the wedding industry for 24 years, I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about same-sex weddings. After the first dozen pages I found myself drawn in by the nuances and details of which I was unaware.

What I love about the images, and message, is that this is about the union of two people in love. Whether they choose an elopement, commitment ceremony or legal marriage, it’s about the love that has brought them to this time and place. That can sometimes get lost on opposite-sex couples, who often take for granted that they can marry, and focus too much on the pomp and circumstance. There’s plenty of cause and time to celebrate, but we should all take pause to enjoy the significance of the moment, and the wonderful images and photographers who capture them. Read More

Jan 19 2014

6 Steps to Wedding Show Success

By Uncategorized
Click the image to get the PDF to use for your exhibitors

Click the image to get the PDF to use for your exhibitors

Are wedding shows still relevant?
Of course you and I think they are, but do today’s wedding pros? To stay relevant you have to be more than just a booth-seller. You need to be a resource. You need to help them succeed, not just at your shows, but in their businesses.

I wrote “6 Steps for Wedding Show Success” for my presentations in Vancouver, for BSPI member, Gary Meister. Gary wanted me to be the voice to say the things to his exhibitors that he, and you, have been saying for years, but they aren’t always hearing. It’s the same as when your children think the neighbor is brilliant for saying today, what you’ve been telling them for years. The outside voice carries a different credibility to the familiar one. Sound familiar? I’m sure it does. Read More

Sep 10 2013

You get to review my new site – oooh, this is going to be fun!

By Blog, Uncategorized

Review my new siteHow’s this for a rare opportunity? Teach the teacher. Review the reviewer. Critique the critiquer (I’m not even sure that’s a real word).

I’m the guy who wrote a book on websites and who reviews websites for a living… and now you get to give me a dose of my own medicine and review my new site. And, for doing so I have a free gift for you if you take the survey before Sept. 30th. 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
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

Apr 25 2011

Profits are music to your ears… but are you really making any money?

By Uncategorized

I recently gave a presentation for the NJ ABC/ISES/NACE chapters called “Am I really making any money?” Too often I hear people talking about the number of clicks to their ad, how high they come up in search results or how many friends they have on Facebook, but rarely do I hear people talking about how much money they’re making. Of course there are good reasons for that; you don’t want to share your personal finances; you don’t want to brag; or maybe it’s because you don’t really know.

There’s a big difference between getting people to click through to your website and making money from those clicks. There’s a difference between getting someone to open your email campaign and making money from that campaign. Getting someone to read your mailing piece or print ad doesn’t make you any money.

Learn to connect the dots

What you want to do is connect the dots between the people viewing your ads and website and the sales you make. That’s a lot harder than it sounds since there are many steps along the way. For example: someone sees your ad on a website or a search engine result, so they click through to your site. Once at your site you want them to contact you, which probably happens via email, rather than phone (a topic for another article). They email you for information and pricing and hopefully you get them in for an appointment. Once in your office for the appointment you hope to make the sale. So how are you going to connect the dots from that sale back through them seeing your website to the original source… the ad or search engine?

Read More