The best people who are worth their salt know how to do two things: 1.) paint a picture and 2.) shut up.
As I’ve previously mentioned, you should never have to convince anyone to book you. Your marketing and sales experience should tell a story for the client that makes not w0rking with you the very last alternative they have. It’s not just about telling them what the wedding day will look like, it’s also detailing what the planning process will look like.
Becoming a master StorySeller is reflected in your ability to weave your clients’ desires, hopes, and intentions for their wedding day into a masterful explanation of your services. This can start with detailing how you work with clients at different portions of planning to what the entire event will be experienced from the guest’s point of view. Share your thoughts on one or two things that would make their event unforgettable. People always say, “If I do that, they’ll run off and take that idea to someone else”.
***WE INTERRUPT THIS BROADCAST TO BRING YOU A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE***
Let’s establish a few things:
1.) There are very few things that are new under the sun. They can certainly take whatever concept you share and someone could take that concept and put their interpretation on it. They can copy the recipe but the sauce won’t taste the same.
2.) Learn how to give tastes and not a full meal. If you’re afraid that people will run away with your idea to have someone execute, how about not giving the full blueprint? You will have to give something as clients are not going to be impressed or expected to wait to know what you can do after they’ve booked. Know your cut-off for sharing.
3.) Think of what you will share at the consult to be a movie trailer. A good movie trailer– where it captures enough of the viewer’s imagination for them to come back and sit through a 90-minute movie and invest in tickets, popcorn, drinks, etc. The very worst kind of movie shows all the good parts in the trailer. Don’t be a bad movie.
***NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM***
No good story is complete without a villain, though.
Who’s the villain? It’s not your competition or a future monster-in-law. The villain is what your client fears the most for their wedding: going over budget, the event looking horrible, vendors not showing up, no one having a good time, etc. How do you know what this is? You shut up. Clients will tell you everything they think, want, and most importantly don’t want if you do more listening at your consults than you do talking. They are looking for a guide to help them fight this villain and help them achieve the most amazing wedding day. Share what you do to help slay that dragon– and show them how after they book.
Are you up for the task?
Major 💎s
- Build Your Question Arsenal. Create a cache of open-ended questions that will allow the client to tell you more about what they want and what they don’t want. Use these to guide the conversation as opposed to going directly into your pitch.
- Use Your Signature Style as a Vehicle. Think of how you can transport your clients to an up-leveled planning experience and their guests to a new place or space in time.
- Learn How to Descriptively Sell Your Services. Your work, your art, your performance, your production– your everything is a contributing element to the wedding day. Tell the tale of how they fit into overall scheme of the wedding day using key descriptors that are reflective of your brand.
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