Should the Wedding Industry Lower Its Pricing Now?
I’m being asked a common question these days:
“The world is imploding… should I lower my prices?”
In a nutshell: NO.
Here’s why:
Want more help with this? Talk to me.
I’m being asked a common question these days:
“The world is imploding… should I lower my prices?”
In a nutshell: NO.
Here’s why:
Want more help with this? Talk to me.
I’ve invited Meryl Snow to share her wisdom on converting sales via email. With 30 years of experience owning event planning, high-end catering, and design and décor companies, Meryl is on a mission to help businesses get on their own path to success. As a Senior Consultant & Sales Trainer for SnowStorm Solutions, Meryl travels throughout North America training clients in the areas of sales, marketing, design, and branding. As a valued member of the Wedding Industry Speakers, she speaks with groups from the heart with warmth and knowledge and covers the funny side of life and business.
One of the most common remarks I hear from salespeople is: “If I could just talk to them, that’s all I need.” A true salesperson knows that having a conversation and building rapport with client is paramount. In fact, many salespeople are great at what they do when they have a prospect’s attention — but getting that first conversation going can prove to be a challenge.
It hasn’t always been this way, but in the digital age, today’s businesses are subject to a multitude of internet inquiries. Back in the day, clients would find us through word-of-mouth or perhaps a print ad that we had published in a local magazine. The market wasn’t quite so oversaturated and prospective clients could clearly see the value in our expertise when they saw our photos and heard our ideas.
Now, a potential client can scour your website before contacting you — as well as those of your competitors. The thing is that a great web designer can make any company look perfect on the internet. In your clients’ eyes, you and your competitors are the same. This means they’ll treat your business like a commodity and make their decision solely based off of price. They’ll be quick to fill out the contact form on your website, as well as on your competitors’ sites, so it’s a matter of standing out from the crowd and showcasing what makes you different from your very first email response.
Here are a few ways to use your email strategy to turn a simple response into a full-blown conversation with a prospective client.
Don’t give away the secret sauce.
Most event professionals are quick to respond to inquiries with a wealth of information and resources: photos, videos, sample menus — truly the works. Instead of jumping into this mindset, consider doing the opposite: Be brief and don’t give everything away! Don’t overwhelm them with photos and such upfront; instead, give them a reason to want to talk to you! They’re seeing things from everyone else, which can quickly get jumbled into a mess of information — stand out by initiating a conversation before sending additional resources.
Change the subject.
Chances are that your leads are sending emails that they’ve copied and pasted to all of your competitors. These emails often come with a subject that they’ve used to stay generic: “Catering Inquiry” or “April 26 Wedding Inquiry.” You know what I’m talking about. When they start to receive responses, they’ll suddenly be hearing from multiple companies all with the same subject line. Don’t get lost in the noise. When you respond, change the subject to catch their attention: “You picked my favorite spot!” or “We have your date open!” will trigger a personal response to your subject line and will set you apart from others, all with minimal effort on your part.
End with a question.
Of course, you can’t just wait around for them to ask you for more information. You need to always respond to inquiries with a question. Psychologically, humans will instinctively answer questions; however, if they’re buried in the first paragraph of an email, they’ll be overlooked and left unanswered. This will leave the ball in their court to respond with their thoughts.
Here’s a typical email inquiry:
Good morning! My fiancé and I are considering having our wedding at Greystone Hall. As you are on the list of preferred vendors, I wanted to reach out and inquire about your catering options/packages, price ranges, and available dates. We are deciding between August 19th and 26th of next year and have a guest list of 200 people (expected 180). Any details you can provide would be appreciated! Thank you!
Does that look familiar? It probably does because most inquiries look like this. When we consider it from a client’s perspective, they are likely waiting to get your prices so they can see which company will be the lowest cost. Remember: They consider you a commodity. In your response, you can change their mindset and show off that your business values the client experience and offers more than just another product or service. Here’s an example of a great response that will have them wanting more:
Hi (name), it’s great to hear from you! Greystone will provide a unique backdrop for your summer wedding. Elizabeth is wonderful to work with too and will assist in coordinating all details, so it becomes a stress-free day for you and your family! We have had the pleasure of assisting with countless receptions at Greystone over the past twenty years.
My day is fairly open and I would love the opportunity to speak with you directly about your wedding details. Please let me know what is most convenient for you. Would you be available to chat this afternoon or this evening?
In the first paragraph, you are establishing your expertise in the industry and, particularly, with the client’s chosen venue. This put them at ease with your experience working with the venue coordinator. The second paragraph shows enthusiasm to learn more about their event and, of course, ends with a question that encourages them to schedule an appointment to chat.
It’s a short, simple, and sweet response that will spur a conversation instead of dropping a bunch of photos and pricing details to let a client figure out what to do. As opposed to letting them infer and make assumptions based on an email, you can gain control of the discussion and highlight your value propositions directly — that is the gold that leads to a sale.
As business owners, we inherently strive to move forward. We want to be better. We are continually working on a strategy for the next place as entrepreneurs. BUT – How do you set goals when it’s hard to see the end of a crisis? If you’re having a hard time thinking about how your business will look at the end of the pandemic, you’re not alone.
Here are my tips for building strategy during these tricky times:
When I’m looking at event pros’ cash flow plans, we keep getting caught up in the postponement of events which translates to the postponement of cash. This leads to a lot of questions: do we adjust sales goals for 2021 to accommodate the 2020 events? What if I run out of dates? What if I don’t have enough cash?
I’m finding that it’s much easier to plan for one SUPER LONG ERA rather than trying to confine events into 2020 or 2021. Also, we don’t know how long we’re gonna be semi-isolated (and sans events). Let’s create our plan inclusive of 2020 & 2021, together… and focus on what survival looks like at the end of that road.
This long #shitshow year, or 2020-2021, is the year of survival. What does that look like? Let’s not get wild and crazy with ideas on growth and expansion just yet. Sure – explore a pivot or two if you fancy that. But, the name of the game right now and thru the end of this pandemic is SURVIVAL.
But – don’t get lost in just that as the end-all-be-all. Let’s look beyond. What does your ‘real’ business look like? What do you want to be building after all this? What are your ‘real’ sales goals? What are the opportunities for growth after the pandemic? I find it so refreshing to do this: create the ‘real plan’ and not just the survival plan.
Feeling the COVID blues? Tired of dealing with emotional clients and their cancellations and postponements? Exhausted from (maybe) having kids at home for the last 5 months? Then this may not be the best time to plan your next BIG business steps.
Take a break. Your business will still be here next week, or next month. Revisit this with a stronger mind and more rest. And, when you’re ready, start thinking of life after all of this chaos.
Need someone to talk to? Talk to me.
I’ve invited Jennifer Taylor to share her thoughts on workflows today. Jennifer is the principal of Jen Taylor Consulting, a consulting firm that works with creative businesses of all sizes to implement streamlined workflows and organized systems to find more time and space for business growth and personal development. She is also the owner and founder of Taylor’d Event Group, a leading event planning company that serves local and destination clients in Washington State and Maui, HI.
Think back to when you first started out in the wedding industry. What drew you to the business? Perhaps it was a certain skill (like photography or stationery design) or maybe you loved the idea of working with engaged couples — more than likely, you didn’t start a business to spend your hours writing emails and dealing with paperwork.
Over time, it can feel like the operational side of things only becomes more demanding, leaving you less time to invest in the creative process — or forcing you to sacrifice personal time to make ends meet. It doesn’t need to be like this. If you feel like you’ve burnt out and no longer feel the excitement and passion you experienced in the beginning, there’s a good chance you need to revisit your workflow to find more efficiency in your daily activities.
You see, when everything is in place and your systems are working for you, you’ll free up more hours in the day to spend doing what you love the most: the design, the photography, the music, the cooking, the client interactions, or whatever it is that drove you when you first started.
Let’s explore how you can carve out more space for what matters most.
Evaluate your existing workflows
Before anything, you need start with where you are. Look at all of your current processes and outline them, step by step. For example, when you book a new client, note each step you take from intake through execution. Do you follow a specific formula? Are there certain apps or tools that you rely on throughout the process? Once these are laid out in front of you, you’ll be able to look at each step to identify efficiency gaps. Where is time being spent unnecessarily?
The idea is to standardize all of your business operations, so there’s no guesswork when it comes to next steps. Only then can you reclaim your mental space and reallocate it to other projects and priorities, with trust that your systems are in place to keep the ship moving.
Beyond the planning process, you’ll also want to consider internal operations that could use a refresher. Review your social media, email marketing, accounting, client communications, day-of execution, deliveries, and the like — continue identifying gaps and making your business as lean as possible.
Remain open to new solutions
Some of the best solutions are likely ones you haven’t tried yet, so do some research and seek out new programs and apps that can help you to bridge those previously identified apps. By now, you should already have a list of areas that could use some work — start with the biggest time-sucker and begin working your way down in terms of priority. Perhaps you enjoy posting to social media, but you need to find a way to spend less time in your inbox — in that case, you’ll want to look at ways to develop email templates and automate marketing funnel communications.
Some software is multi-faceted and provide multiple features, like Aisle Planner, Dubsado, Honeybook, and 17 Hats. The only way to know the best fit for your business is to try them out and evaluate which fills your needs best.
Prepare for a period of change
It may feel counterintuitive to spend your time implementing new solutions when you’re actually trying to save time, but it should be considered as an investment. The ends certainly justifies the means, but you do need to be prepared to spend time on the transition — especially if you have a team. You will need to learn the new process and develop a habit with repeated use.
Within a few months, it will be a part of your process and you should start to see the results in your day-to-day schedule. This is a good time to evaluate how your new systems are working and whether you need to make additional improvements. Finding the best fit takes time and effort, but rest assured that you will be far better off once it becomes second nature.
Oh boy! 11 years ago today, I sat down to write a blog post. I wanted to share knowledge from my history in the finance industry, my time in sales and marketing, and also my experience as a wedding stationery designer. My goal was to connect with wedding professionals worldwide. And… here I am 11 years later! Happy birthday to Sage Wedding Pros!
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