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A Wedding Business Podcast - Tips and tricks to, grow and sustain a amazingly successful wedding business in a way that's is fun and gives you tons of freedom.
Welcome everyone to the Wedding Pro Academy Podcast. I'm Nicole, your host. I'm an expert in the wedding industry and I've personally built two 6 figure businesses from the ground up. I am obsessed with building businesses that make lots of money but do so in a way that also create luxurious amounts of freedom. So, if you're looking to build, grow, or scale a wedding business in a way that doesn't burn you out and you'd love some guidance from someone who has done just that, this podcast is for you.
Nicole:Each week I'll cover strategies, ideas, tips, and tricks that will give you your dream wedding business too. So much for tuning in today! Let's dive in! Today I'm going to do part two of questions new entrepreneurs are too embarrassed to ask someone who's already made 6 figures and we're going to relate this specifically to new wedding business owners. New wedding business owners are too embarrassed to ask someone who's already made 6 figures part two.
Nicole:Today we're going to talk a little bit more about pricing, about selling, about how to close new couples and those kinds of questions that you guys might have. I'm going in-depth about this because my wedding business masterclass is now open you need to get in that if you are struggling to book weddings and you want things to be a lot easier because I go over all this stuff in there and I teach you exactly how to close couples all this stuff that nobody else teaches that you're probably missing and you have no idea but first let's get into these questions hopefully this helps you some okay question number one How do I confidently talk about my pricing? The easiest way to get confident about talking about your pricing is to prove to yourself the value that you're bringing. If you aren't confident in your value, if you can't stand behind how much value you bring to this wedding to this couple then you're never going to be confident about your pricing. If you're still questioning your value then maybe you're pricing yourself too high.
Nicole:You need to prove to yourself all the reasons why it's worth like so much more than what you're charging. It should feel like a fucking deal, you know? That's that's how it should feel and that's when you know you got your pricing right. So what I would do is I would start listing out all the value that you bring not just like the actual physical value so not just the I provide 50 edits and I'm on-site for four hours or whatever for wedding photographers. It's not just that physical value.
Nicole:It's I organize your family and make them feel included and get the best possible family photos you've ever had. That's worth, you know, at least $500. Right? Probably more like $1,500. I am able to work with kids and get them to smile.
Nicole:I make parents feel comfortable. I'm really good at organizing groups and saving you time so that you have more time at cocktail hour. That time savings right there the fact that I give you an extra two hours at cocktail at cocktails because I'm so good at organizing groups that's worth a thousand dollars right there. Start listing out all the things that you're really really good at. Maybe you're good at so I'm a wedding photographer let's think I'm really really good at creating a wedding like vibe that feels calm and comfortable and easy.
Nicole:I handle all of the issues around me in a way that everybody feels secure and confident and calm and that calms down the bride significantly. If I come in with a very very grounded safe confident energy I'm handling everything for her and she doesn't need to worry or stress because everything's handled my energy just feels very grounded and comforting and, like, confident. I know what I'm doing. I'm just gonna help her. I'm gonna be there for her.
Nicole:She's not gonna have to worry about anything else. I mean, how many thousands of dollars is that worth? Right? That that gives her the experience where she gets to be in the moment where she doesn't have to stress about anything, where she gets to be really, really present. She doesn't miss out on this very, very special, important moment.
Nicole:She's not thinking about anything else because of me. That's worth thousands of dollars. So you need to like list out the types of things that you do, not just the physical things, so not just how many hours you are there for but all the other little things that you do that makes it like makes their day so much better than if you weren't there. That is how I would get confident about my pricing. Okay question number two: What should I say on a sales call with a couple?
Nicole:Well it depends what you're selling and it depends on the couple. I think each sales call is totally unique. You want to build connection with the couple but the one thing I think many newer entrepreneurs newer wedding business owners miss is that they're so focused on selling. Here's what I offer here's all the things that are included here's what it costs like do you want it? Like you're just trying to sell just trying to like give them this sales speech and they're not listening enough to what the couple actually wants what their worries are what their concerns are what what their reservations are and if they're not giving the couple a chance to voice all of this they don't know where the couples really at they can't navigate to shift to give the couple what they actually need then they're missing everything.
Nicole:The sales psychology of reading a couple is super important. I have a whole module on this in my wedding business master class And if you don't understand how to read a couple, you're not listening to them. You're just trying to sell them. You're never gonna book them. So what you say on a sales call with a couple is you want to lead and guide them but you also want to give them room to talk you want to listen to what they want what they need.
Nicole:I would try to say less and listen more. Question number three: How do I stop feeling so awkward when I'm selling my services? Well here's a really simple easy answer for you think about the bride and groom think about the bride as your best friend before you get on the call think I'm just talking to my best friend who's going to yap about her wedding I wanna hear all about it. I'm so excited. Like, let me just hear what all the things she has to say.
Nicole:Talk to her like she's your best friend. Not like you're trying to sell to her. Not like you're trying to upgrade her, not like you're trying to get something out of her, but just like she's your best friend. How can you help your best friend? Can like, listen.
Nicole:Like I said earlier, you need to listen more and sell less. The, the reason you're feeling awkward is because you're, you feel like you, you're trying to reach this level of perfection. If I make the sale, then then I'll get to feel good, but it's not about the result about achieving the result during the sales call it's about building the connection it's about helping it's about getting into a state of openness where you're like seriously just there for her. Tell me all the things. What what do you need?
Nicole:What are you looking for? What are you hoping to get out of working with me? What do you need out of a photographer? What do you need out of a wedding planner? Like what tell me about your day how it flows?
Nicole:Tell me all the things. So when you get into that state where you're like really open just listening you stop feeling awkward. There's no like weirdness because you're not trying to get anything out of it. That's not like the whole goal right? When your whole goal is to book the sale, gotta book the sale then you think everything has to be perfect, you you have to have this script you you don't want to fuck up that that's where things go wrong that's where you start feeling awkward you think you have to like perform this isn't a performance okay This is about connection.
Nicole:This is about authenticity. This is about building trust. All that happens when you open yourself up and you genuinely listen and you genuinely want to help. You stop feeling awkward when you stop trying so hard to book them, you stop trying to sell them, you stop trying to be perfect, when you stop putting on a show. Question number four: Do successful business owners still feel awkward selling?
Nicole:Well, I don't feel awkward selling but I think that it's because I have really mastered the psychology of sales I understand now what it takes to book a couple what couples need how to navigate through that sales process and I don't make it mean anything about me so I used to like feel like I had to book a certain amount there's all this pressure to like sell this if I'm gonna you know I'm gonna I used to think I had to get this many sales calls and then I had to book this percentage. That made me feel like there was so much pressure around achieving these specific goals and that is not what it's about at all. Once I changed my perception to feeling like this is only about connection, is only about helping, this is only about me really understanding the bride and groom and seeing if I'm a good fit for them. Just like if they're a good fit for me we have to be a good fit for each other. That's what this call is about.
Nicole:It's not about me trying to push something on them at all. When I shifted perception to be in this place of helping versus trying to sell that's when things stopped being awkward. Don't feel awkward at all anymore. If they're not a good fit for me or I'm not a good fit for them, no big deal. The next bride will come.
Nicole:I'm not worried about it. I'm not going to push them to try to be a good fit for me because I don't want that couple if they're not a good fit and vice versa. If I'm not a good fit for them why would they want me? No big deal. We will find the right fit.
Nicole:So gaining that confidence and knowing the right people will come is part of it. The other part is just letting go of the perfection of needing to book that couple no matter what because you don't need to book them no matter what. They're not always going to be the right fit and that goes both ways. How do I close more bookings without being pushy? I don't feel pushy when I'm doing sales calls and the reason being because there's no need to be pushy.
Nicole:Like I said earlier, if they are the right fit for me, great I also want to be the right fit for them and if I am in a state of being pushy then I've lost the plan completely I don't need to push someone to buy from me. I need to stand in my authentic power, my confidence, in my knowing that I have a really really amazing service and they need me. I know that. So the other half of what needs to happen is that do they need what I have? Okay, let's find out.
Nicole:Tell me what you need. Okay, now that they've told me what they need, I decide do they need what I have? Can I help them? Will my working for them or will hiring me be the best option for them? If it is, then I need to tell them that here's why you need me.
Nicole:Here's all the things I bring to the table. Here's how I can help you. Here's how I make it easier. Here's how you feel after working with me and this is to help them. This isn't to push them into buying.
Nicole:It isn't to push them so that I make the sale. It's like okay you guys really need me. I can really help you. It would be so much easier for you if you hire me so it becomes more of like this yeah I have exactly what you need and here's here's how I can help you here's how I can make it easier here's how I can make your day so much better and this is why you need me. Now whether or not they actually book me that's up to them.
Nicole:I'm not going to push them into it. If they're not ready they're not ready but most of the time when I come from this energy of wanting to help and like showing them this is exactly what they need and why. It's like a no brainer for them. By the time we get off the call they're like yeah let's do it. Let's book.
Nicole:Let's let's let's get a date down. What do you have open? And they're willing to move around their whole calendar like to even change their wedding date to work with me because they know that I'm the right fit for them that's kind of where you want to get to. Question number six: What makes a couple emotionally connect with a vendor? Well listening to them honestly it's how you show up to the call it's how you you come across and it needs to be in an authentic genuine real way.
Nicole:You aren't here to sell to them. They connect with you because they feel like you get them. Like you really care. Like you understand them and like you can give them what they need and they need to see you also as a leader as someone who knows more than them who can help them who can guide them in a way and make everything so much better so they'll emotionally connect with you one when they feel seen heard understood you know they feel like you gave them space and and you feel genuine like you care you really care you're not just there to make a sale and two when they know they can feel that you know what you're talking about okay you're not just like bullshitting them you're not just trying to sell to them you you can help them you know more than them you're in this industry that you live and breathe and you know everything about it you can really help them they are going to want more from you they're going to want to emotionally connect to you. Number seven: What mistakes make couples lose confidence in a vendor?
Nicole:What mistakes make couples lose confidence in a vendor? Well pushing! If you're pushing them too hard and just trying to go for the sale and trying to like go over all like stuff all the things, you know, my package includes this, includes this, and I do this, and I worked with this, and you're doing all the talking and none of the listening that's a huge mistake. Couples aren't going to feel they aren't going to have the space to feel connected to you and they're not going to feel this like pull towards you because they're going to feel like they're being sold to and even if you have the best possible package and you're offering all the things and it's such a deal and they see you as someone who can do the job, they didn't feel held by you and that is a skill that you need to learn to master. It's really like a back and forth thing it's not just a like sales call.
Nicole:So if you don't establish that kind of emotional connection that they're not going to have confidence in you. Another thing that will make them lose confidence in you is if you don't know what you're talking about so I wouldn't try to pretend that I know what I'm talking about or fake it they can tell right off the bat what's real and what's not but if you don't have any experience think about what you do know more than them what what I mean obviously if you're in this industry you know more than someone who's doing a wedding for the first time so there are skill sets that you have that they don't have. You want to be able to share some of those skill sets. You want to show them that you are someone that they can trust that knows their way around that is going to be able to help them. If you're not talking about that at all they're going to lose confidence in you.
Nicole:The other part is like if they look you up online and they don't see you you're nowhere to be found you don't have an online presence they don't see any testimonials your website looks like crap that's going to make them lose confidence real quick. Okay number eight how do I create a wedding business that generates consistent inquiries? Well I mean again, this is a visibility thing. You need to be found on Google or with an ad or whatever. People need to find you.
Nicole:They need to see you when they search for wedding photographer in Austin Texas. You need to pop up. That's number one. If you don't pop up, if they can't find you, you're not going to have consistent inquiries. Like that's just not going to happen.
Nicole:If you're not showing up that should be your first priority. If you're not on the first page of Google, your SEO isn't up to par yet, you need to work on ads. Of course there's a second half to it which is you need to establish trust. You need to have those four pillars of trust which I go over in the master class I kind of went over it in my previous podcast if you missed that go back and check it out and if you don't have those four pillars of trust in place even if they find you they're not going to book you so there there's different levels of what needs to be in place in order for couples to book you to create consistent you know revenue but the part about consistent increase that's just a visibility problem you need to show up on Google if you're not then you need to get it ad up. Okay I have a couple of other questions I thought would be fun specifically around kids.
Nicole:So a lot of you guys have kids you're wondering how to run a business with kids. I have three kids when I was building my wedding business I had three kids in three years so I didn't have a lot of time and shit was crazy so let's go over some of the questions that you guys have around building a business with kids. Number one is it realistic to grow a wedding business while raising young kids? Well I don't know if realistic is the word anything is realistic if you want it you can achieve it that's I mean that's the way I see things you can do anything that you want it's realistic if you make it happen now how you make it happen that's a whole another ballgame right so can you have young kids while building a wedding business? Absolutely!
Nicole:Like, why not? Like, I had two businesses with three babies, three babies. Like, and I figured out how to do it. It's just really a logistical thing like you need to get better at time management, you need to have set work hours, you need to figure out how to schedule work time and sleep time and organize your time basically so that you can get all the things done. You need to be more efficient with how you spend your time so I used to like just spend twenty four hours working on my business I could just work all day work work work work work work and now I have kids and you know there's just not that much time I can't spend that much time I don't want to spend that much time and so I will carve out two work hours for my business and everything needs to get done in that time so how do I move around all the work that I have to be more efficient with it?
Nicole:Can I stack all my meeting days? Can I stack my email days? Can I only do one thing that makes me way more focused and efficient when I'm working? You know, wedding days, I mean those are built out in advance so you can work those in but like the work times you're doing all the same kind of work like you can stack it in a way that makes you way more efficient so you can definitely figure out strategies to work quicker to get things done in a faster way and be get just as much done but just in less time. I don't know maybe I should build a whole course on that because that's something I'm really good at but there is a definite way to do it and don't think that it's not possible it totally is.
Nicole:You just have to decide that you want it. Okay question number two how do you deal with mom guilt while building a business? I didn't have that problem. I didn't have mom guilt. It was more like, how do I work with these babies?
Nicole:Like, literally. How do I do it? It was more in about, like, how do I find the time to get things done? How do I get my brain into like separate from like mom mode to work mode? From mom mode to work mode and that that was difficult for me at first but once I got into a rhythm of doing it I had set work times you know I really enjoyed my work time and I really enjoyed my kid time.
Nicole:I separated the two so I didn't have guilt when I was working it was more like this is time for my kids only. I wasn't trying to work while I was with my kids and I wasn't trying to be with my kids while I was working. I would have a babysitter come in to my house and watch my kids while I worked in my room and that was separate. I wasn't like, oh, I should be with my kids. No.
Nicole:This is my work time. When I'm with my kids and with my kids I didn't feel like pulled between the two because I totally separated them. Question number three: Do successful wedding vendors ever say no to weddings for family reasons? Some of them don't, but I do. Like, I decided early on, like, this business is I love my business, but, like, I'm not working birthdays.
Nicole:I don't work on any of my kids birthdays. I don't work on my birthday. When it's spring break, I take that whole time off for my kids. I don't do weddings during that time. I plan out family vacations before I take weddings.
Nicole:So that in my schedule is just out like I don't take weddings during that time. I decide what days I want off and those are non negotiables. You can do that too so you do not have to take weddings if you don't want to but that needs to be your mindset going in. For me it's not worth it. I also have the belief that my people will come so I know that like even if I don't take this wedding it's okay because another one will come and they always do.
Nicole:Question number four and this is the last one: Can you build a 6 figure wedding business without working every weekend? Well I did. In fact, I almost never work weekends and I don't like to work weekends. I prefer weekday weddings. I do brides and grooms so weekends don't matter.
Nicole:I set my whole business up around not doing weekend weddings. My weekends are completely stacked with sports. My kids are like on six sports teams which is insane. We do sometimes four or five games on a Saturday. I like to be there for my kids games.
Nicole:I want to cheer for them. I want to watch them score goals. I want to see them hit home runs. I want to be involved. That's important to me.
Nicole:Maybe it's not important to you so it depends on what your priorities are. For me, I needed to be the kind of mom that makes dinner every night, that does homework with my kids that takes them to practices that shows up at the games. I wanted to be present really present so like my businesses work around that You get to decide how your business works around your life and whether that's with kids or in some other way. That's up to you. You decide how it works and you work your business around that.
Nicole:And that's really the best part about being an entrepreneur and having a wedding business is that you can set it up in a way that works for you not against you. Okay so that's all I have for you guys today. I hope you found that helpful if you are trying to build a wedding business maybe you you've started one you're still struggling with it a little bit and you'd love some help get in the wedding business master class it's open right now there's $500 off if you sign up before March 22 and if you have any questions definitely reach out to me. You can find all this information at weddingproacademy.com. Alright guys have a great weekend.
Nicole:I will see you next week.