Tag

Professional speaker

Feb 12 2016

There’s Always a Cost

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I was conducting a private group mastermind the other day and the discussion turned to investments versus expenses. I remember reading that business people, including most CEO’s, always look at the cost of an opportunity, before asking about the potential return. I guess it’s just human nature that when presented with an opportunity you want to know how much it’s going to cost you. Then it dawned on me…there’s always a cost, but it’s not always money.

What’s the cost?
Whether it’s for your business, your family, or in a personal relationship, there’s always a cost of taking, or avoiding taking, action. Your cost may be: Read More

Dec 07 2015

You Win Some, You Lose Some – 5 WAYS TO HANDLE LOSING A SALE

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This article was published in the November/December 2015 edition of Wedding Planner Magazine entitled You Win Some, You Lose Some – 5 WAYS TO HANDLE LOSING A SALE.   If you would like to use this on your site or blog, email Alan to receive the .pdf and Word versions, along with the attribution to include.

You Win Some, You Lose Some – 5 WAYS TO HANDLE LOSING A SALE
By Alan Berg, CSP, WWW.ALANBERG.COM, Kendall Park, NJ

In a perfect world, we’d get every sale we want, for the dollars we want. But we don’t live in a perfect world, do we? There are no trophies for second place when it comes to winning a sale. You either get the sale, or you don’t, so what’s a wedding planner to do? Here are five ways to handle losing a sale:

1) Rejection is in the eyes of the beholder. When you don’t get a sale, you might feel like you’ve been rejected, but that’s not usually the case. They just liked/trusted/believed in someone else more. Is that semantics? I prefer to call it optimism. When it comes to choosing a wedding planner, there can be only one winner—that doesn’t make everyone else losers. Prospective clients may like you enough to hire you, but they have to choose one pro among the many available. How many weddings do you do each year? That’s how many times clients chose you and not another planner. Are you the winner? Yes, but you may not have been their only choice. Had you not been available, they would have chosen someone else, someone very capable, nice, and likely at a similar price point. This isn’t like second grade, where everyone gets a trophy these days, there’s a winner and then there’s everyone else.

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Jul 16 2015

The High-End Wedding – Debunked

By Blog

For as long as I’ve been in and around the wedding industry, businesses have been chasing the “high-end” client. When I ask them what they mean by high-end, they usually say that it’s someone who’s spending a lot on their wedding. In theory that sounds right, but is it in practice?

What makes it high-end?
A high-end client sounds like an aspiration, but just because someone spends a lot, doesn’t automatically make it classier, or creative or (in plain words) better. Lots of couples spend lots of money on things that make others scratch their heads and go “Huh?” We wonder why the money went to those elements of the wedding, while there may have been elements that seem a little lacking—at least in contrast. Read More

Jun 23 2015

What do you want when you’re the customer?

By Blog
What do you want when you’re the customer? What a simple benchmark, and one that we should all strive for when we’re serving customers. So why is it so hard for others to use such a simple benchmark?  I think it’s just a matter of paying attention. Too many people are just skating through their day with no thought other than getting to the end of their shift. There seems to be no sense of ownership. Years ago businesses were family-run and people understood the value of good customer service. The store, and the people who worked there, were a package deal. They greeted you when you came in, they thanked you when you left, and encouraged you to “come on back and see us”.

So what’s changed?
I think it’s a short term outlook. The feeling that this is only temporary, so why care. Whether temporary or not we should all care. My list of job stops is long and circuitous. I didn’t know it at the time, but each of those jobs provided valuable lessons in customer service.

May 14 2015

Is Showing Up Enough?

By Blog
Open vs Closed Mind - Toggle Switch I attend a lot of networking events and conferences each year and I’m amazed at how unprepared some people are for the experience.  You never know who you’re going to meet, what you’re going to hear and what opportunities might present themselves.  Life is full of wonderful surprises; yet, there are people with no business cards, no elevator pitch and (in some cases) no interest in being there.  I started thinking about the difference between showing up and actually being present.
Showing up is the easy part
Of course not showing up is even easier, and there are always other things to take up your time; however, if you never show up you’re an outsider in your own industry. No matter how long you’ve been in business, there are always new people to meet, new things to learn and new ideas waiting to be discovered. Being present and being a participant are harder than just showing up but that’s where the magic happens. I’ve made some terrific connections that have led to
business and friendships by showing up at events, often unexpected events.

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Apr 09 2015

DI Why? Why do they do it themselves?

By Blog
Do You Have the SkillsI’ve spoken over the years about the DIY (Do it Yourself) wedding couple. While many weddings have some element that was done by someone involved in the wedding (family and/or friends) there’s rarely a wedding that’s truly all DIY. Did her mom make the wedding dress? Did his/her aunt cook the food? Did his friend take the pictures or play the music? More likely they made the programs, possibly decorative items for the tables or church.

Why are they doing it themselves?
It might be their budget, or it just might be that they enjoy the creative process. I’m a DIY when it comes to home improvements and repairs. Rarely is it to save money, because many of my DIY projects wouldn’t get done if we had to hire a professional carpenter or handyman. They’re not emergency repairs, rather improvements or artistic expression.

So, when couples try to do things for their weddings…

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Jan 14 2015

Is your wireless router slowing you down?

By Blog
fiosinternet_routersHave you ever wished your wireless internet were faster? Maybe it already is, but you just don’t know it. That’s the experience I just had in my home/office. We have Verizon FiOS for our internet service and they’ve been bragging in their marketing how they’ve upgraded their internet plan speeds so that the upload and download speeds match. We supposedly have pretty fast service at 50mbps (megabits per second) for both upload and download speeds. That said, my desktop computer, a MacMini, always seems to be faster than the connections on the wireless computers.
 
So, how can you test it?

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Dec 16 2014

Ways to invest in yourself (so others will invest in you)

By Blog

How you can invest in yourself

In my last article I talked about how you need to invest in yourself and your business first, before you can expect others to invest in you. But what are some of the things you can do?

And the answer is?

So I got to thinking about the many ways businesses like yours can invest in your success, both personally and professionally. Some involve only your time (which I know you have oh so much extra of, I write sarcastically). Others involve money (which of course is limited for almost all of us). Here are a few things you can do to invest in yourself and your business: Read More

Dec 03 2014

Invest in yourself if you want others to invest in you

By Blog

I was giving a presentation recently and I used the phrase “Invest in yourself if you want others to invest in you”. In that case I was referring to your websites, branding, collateral marketing (business cards, brochures, etc.) and to your sales skills. Before you can expect your target clientele to invest their hard-earned money with you, especially for their once-in-a-lifetime wedding, you have to invest your time and money into earning their business.

Too often I meet someone who’s complaining that they’re not getting the clientele they’d like (usually one that will spend more for their services). However, that same company usually isn’t doing the things they need to attract, sell and service that same clientele. You see other businesses getting the clients you want, but what you don’t usually see are the behind the scenes things that got them where they are. Read More

Oct 28 2014
The Business of Gay Weddings Book

The Business of Gay Weddings – book review

By Blog
The Business of Gay Weddings Book

To get your copy or to find out more about Bernadette Covney Smith and the Gay Weddings Institute, click on the book image

Given the recent news in the world of same-sex marriage I thought it was finally time to finish my friend Bernadette Covney Smith’s book “The Business of Gay Weddings“. Have you ever wished you had done something sooner? That’s how I felt when I read the final chapter.

Some of you may have read my review of Kathryn Hamm and Thea Dodd’s book “The Art of Capturing Love“. Before reading that book I had thought that I was somewhat knowledgeable about the subject, but boy was I wrong. Now, after reading Bernadette’s book I can honestly say that I’ve learned so much, in a short time. Read More