Tag

Alan Berg

Jan 14 2014

5 Signs It’s Time To Fire Your Website

By Blog
5 Signs It's Time To Fire Your Websitez

Click the image to get to the MP3 of this presentation

I recently gave a new presentation at The Special Event Show (TSE) in Nashville titled “5 Signs It’s Time To Fire Your Website“. It’s the sequel, if you will, to my book “If your website was an employee, would you fire it?“. As a consultant, website reviews are one of my most requested services, and I don’t really want to tell you that it’s time to make a new site. I know that it involves stress, time, money and aggravation… and who needs more of that?

When it’s time, it’s time
However, there comes a time for every site when it’s time. For most of us, that time comes sooner than we’d like. I recently launched my new site after 2 1/2 years with the old one. Now, that may not seem like a long time for the old site, but there were some things that made me know it was time. Those things, at least for me, weren’t that it was outdated or non-functional. Rather, for me the signs were that my old site wasn’t designed for e-commerce. When I first launched it, in March 2011, I only had one book. As I developed more products, DVDs, Audio CDs, ebooks, Spanish-language books and MP3s, it became clear that I was outgrowing the architecture of the site. All products were on one, long (and getting longer) page. I wouldn’t want to keep scrolling down, down, down to get to the other products, so I knew none of you would either. Read More

Dec 19 2013

Are you too busy to be successful – 2014 edition

By Blog

Last year I wrote an article and new presentation titled “Are you too busy to be successful?“. I got the idea, as I do most of my topics, from speaking with people just like you. We meet at conferences, conventions and in my consulting practice, and what I noticed is that many of you seemed to always be busy… but not all of you seemed happy with the way things were going or feel successful. Others are flying high, but which is you? So, I put out a survey and had over 400 responses – thanks!

How was 2013? Are you living the dream? Are you spending enough time with your family, making the money you’d like to make, doing the things you most enjoy? I’d like us all to revisit that survey and see how we did in 2013, compared to 2012, and to get a feel for how things are going in 2014, now and throughout the year.

So, please take this 10-question survey, whether you took last year’s survey or not. I’ll be releasing the results in the updated presentation in 2014. Thanks, and please let me know how I can be a part of your success.

Click to take the survey

 

 

 

 

Nov 05 2013

5 More Things Your Guests Won’t Tell You

By Blog
5 More Things Your Guests Won't Tell You

If you’d like a copy of this article to post on your website or blog, please email me and I’ll send you the PDF and WORD versions, along with the attribution to use.

I had such great feedback after my last article for engaged couples, “5 Things Your Guests Won’t Tell You” that I wrote the sequel: “5 More Things Your Guests Won’t Tell You“.

Please share your ideas for a sequel to the sequel. If you’d like to use this on your site or blog, just email me and I’ll send you the PDF and WORD versions, along with the attribution to include.

————————————-

5 More Things Your Guests Won’t Tell You
By Alan Berg
In my article for the last issue I shared 5 Things Your Guests Won’t Tell You, with some of the things that you and I, as guests, have experienced at other people’s weddings and events. You know, the things we say as we’re leaving, or when recounting the tales of the affair to those who weren’t there. Read More

Oct 21 2013

What’s wrong with this picture?

By Blog
Business cards

What’s wrong with this picture? All of these cards look alike.

At the many conferences where I speak each year I’m privileged to meet a lot of wedding & event pros. Along the way I collect stacks and stacks of business cards. The photo to the right is just the latest in my collection.

So, what’s wrong with this picture?

Do any of these cards stand out from the others? While they’re different colors, paper stock and fonts, they’re all the same size. What’s the first impression your prospects and clients will have of your business? Is it a thin, standard-sized business card? If it is you’re missing out on an opportunity to stand out. 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

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