Episode Overview: Why are some wedding businesses so successful, while others struggle? What do they have that you're missing? In this episode we discuss an unspoken foundation that all successful wedding businesses have built, one that has allowed their businesses to flourish. Nicole goes over 4 essential pillars that create trust, this trust builds a solid foundation which becomes a magnet to new Brides and Grooms. It's what makes new couples reach out to you naturally and consistently, what makes vendors recommend you, and what gets you a booked out wedding calendar. Curious as to what these magic pillars are? Tune in, this episode is a juicy one.
Notable Quotes:
“You need to create and establish trust before anyone is going to pay you money, so what and how do you create this trust? What do all successful wedding businesses have in common that you could be missing? It’s the 4 essential pillars of trust. Once in place, they allow couples to feel connected to you, build confidence and demand (that feeling of ‘I must work with her’), see you as an authority, and create excitement and likeability”
“Implementing these 4 pillars can change everything for you, and every successful wedding business has these 4 pillars in place”
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Connect with Nicole: nicole@weddingproacademy.com
Learn more about The Wedding Business Masterclass: https://weddingproacademy.com/
Follow Nicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wedding.pro.academy/
Chapters
Episode Overview: Why are some wedding businesses so successful, while others struggle? What do they have that you're missing? In this episode we discuss an unspoken foundation that all successful wedding businesses have built, one that has allowed their businesses to flourish. Nicole goes over 4 essential pillars that create trust, this trust builds a solid foundation which becomes a magnet to new Brides and Grooms. It's what makes new couples reach out to you naturally and consistently, what makes vendors recommend you, and what gets you a booked out wedding calendar. Curious as to what these magic pillars are? Tune in, this episode is a juicy one.
Notable Quotes:
“You need to create and establish trust before anyone is going to pay you money, so what and how do you create this trust? What do all successful wedding businesses have in common that you could be missing? It’s the 4 essential pillars of trust. Once in place, they allow couples to feel connected to you, build confidence and demand (that feeling of ‘I must work with her’), see you as an authority, and create excitement and likeability”
“Implementing these 4 pillars can change everything for you, and every successful wedding business has these 4 pillars in place”
.
Connect with Nicole: nicole@weddingproacademy.com
Learn more about The Wedding Business Masterclass: https://weddingproacademy.com/
Follow Nicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wedding.pro.academy/
What is Wedding Pro Academy?
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.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
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 2 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 Salmoiraghi:
Each week, I'll cover strategies, ideas, tips, and tricks that will give you your dream wedding business too. Thanks so much for tuning in today. Let's dive in. Hi, everyone. Today is episode 8, and we are going to be discussing the 4 essential pillars to establishing trust, and I want to specifically relate this to wedding businesses.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So here's something to really think about, a question that maybe when you're just getting started in building your wedding business or even in your if you're, like, in the first, I don't know, year or 2, you probably aren't thinking about this question, but you should be. And it's a really important thing to consider if you want to become successful. You need to look at what everybody else is doing and what's working and what's not working. So this is the question I want you to think about. Why are some wedding businesses super successful while others are struggling or while you are struggling?
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
What do they all have in common that you might be missing? Is there something specific or a few specific things that all of them are doing that is making them successful? Have they just been around longer or is it something else? Like, are there common factors that all of them have, and can you duplicate that? And if you haven't thought about this question, why are some wedding businesses super successful while others aren't, you should.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Like, literally stop what you're doing and just think about it for 5 minutes. Jot down some notes and see what you come up with. What do all of them do? What do all of them have in common? So I I was thinking about this when I was building my course.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Like, what is the foundation that every successful winning business has that allowed them to be successful? What is it about these specific businesses that attract brides to them that make them the ones that all of the brides are talking about, that all of the brides are coming to over and over and over again. Well, there are so many other wedding businesses that can't book a single wedding that are struggling to book, you know, one wedding, let alone the other half of these more established businesses have consistent bookings over and over and over again. What are they doing that you might not be? So this is where I came up with the concept of this idea of what it is that these more successful established white businesses have in common and it's the 4 essential pillars to establishing trust.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
And why do you need trust? Well, if anybody's going to pay you money and it this doesn't only have to do with wedding businesses but for any business, if anybody's going to pay you money they need to trust you and you need to create that trust before they'll be willing to book you and pay you money. And that that feeling of trust, it's more than just that, it's you need the couples to see you as an authority. You build this trust so they see you as an authority, so that they feel safety, so that they can feel excitement, connection, likability, confidence, demand, respect. You need to have all of those kinds of feelings pop up within your bride and groom when they think about working with you and if you don't have that they're not going to see you as someone they want to work with, someone they want to pay money, someone that they feel like they need to work with to have on their wedding with them.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
And so that feeling of trust, it brings up all those other feelings. And when I talk about these four essential pillars, this is what creates the trust. And this is the thing that the the winning businesses that are getting bookings consistently all have. I want to break down these 4 pillars, but before I do that, I'm just going to give you an overview of what they are. Okay.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
The first pillar, website. 2nd pillar, testimonials. 3rd pillar, online presence, and the 4th pillar is professionalism. And I go into detail on all of these different pillars, why they're important, how to implement things so that they are at a level 10, each of the pillars, and if you can do all of that, that's when brides will start coming to you naturally. You'll start to see an influx of new couples just heading your way, just wanting to work with you, but you have to have all of these pillars in place.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So if you want to learn more about the details of that, definitely check out weddingproacademy.com, but for right now in this quick little podcast episode, I wanted to give you a breakdown of why these pillars are important and what they do basically to allow brides to trust you. So the first one, website, your website is super important, and here's why. It's one of the first things that a couple will see when they discover you. Even if they hear about you through word-of-mouth, the first thing they're gonna do is check out your website. They're gonna look at it.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
They're gonna see, is it professional? Does it clearly communicate who you are, what you do, who you help, what your packages are, what what they can get if they work with you? Is it easy to navigate? Does it create a feeling of excitement with them? Does it give them a feeling of trust?
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Do they see sample weddings and pictures and testimonials on there that make them think, I gotta have this person work with me. I love their work because that's what your website should do. It needs to do all of that, and so having a professionally designed website is so important. And I know in the beginning you probably can't afford to pay a web designer to do this, but there are tons of free or almost free services that can help you with this. There's templates.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
There's so many opportunities out there to get a beautiful website, but it's more than just a beautiful look. It needs to have that professionalism. It needs to have clear messaging. It needs to be able to communicate to the couple very directly who you are, what you do, who you help. And they should be able to figure out really quickly all of this stuff without having to, like, search for it.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
There shouldn't be too much information. That's one of the biggest mistakes I think so many newer wedding businesses do is that they they're so excited about their new business that they wanna put everything on there. Their about pages are, like, you know, so long with so many pictures and so much detail. Well, guess what? The bride doesn't care about where you went to elementary school and what your favorite color is.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Like, they only care about what's in it for them. So when you're doing each section of your website, you wanna think you wanna put yourself in the the bride and groom's shoes and think, what do they need to see? What do they need to hear? What do they need to feel in order to wanna work with me? They don't really need to know that I love spaghetti or burritos or whatever.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Like, they wanna know that I have experience, that I'm good at what I do, that I've done this many weddings, that communication is important to me or whatever. They need to know these they need to build this feeling of trust and excitement and connection through your website And having it ooze a level of professionalism is the way that they see you as an authority. They need to see you as an authority before they're ever gonna want to pay you money because, otherwise, they could just ask their friend to do it. And what do you have over their best friend as far as a wedding photographer, wedding planner, whatever? Like, what experience do you have that makes you different, that makes you worth this many 1,000 of dollars or whatever it is that you're charging?
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
You need to be able to prove that really quickly with your website. So website, super important. The second pillar is testimonials. And if you don't have that many weddings under your belt, it doesn't matter. Get some experience and then get people to write testimonials for you.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
It could be just from photographing their family for their christmas cards, it could be planning that baby shower, like it doesn't have to be wedding related but it you should have some kind of you know, proof that you you know what you're doing, that you're trustworthy, that you're likable, that you're reliable, that you're good at this, that you have experience. And over time, you'll build up these testimonials, but in the beginning, you've got to get what you can get. I can remember when I first started my wedding business, I was asking guests at my wedding to write me testimonials because my wedding was the first wedding that I planned. Then I was asking other vendors that I had worked with to write me testimonials. So some of my earliest testimonials are from photographer friends, from people that attended my wedding.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Then as I got more weddings under my belt, I would start to ask everybody for testimonials. The bride and the groom and their mother and their father, like, everybody. The more testimonials you can get, the better. And you don't know who's gonna write a good one, so just ask everyone. Some people don't, you know, reply when you're asked requesting testimonials, so there is a really easy way to get them to write you a testimonial.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
There are tricks to this but getting it in a timely fashion like right after you do their event and just being really kind when you're asking for it, it goes a long way. And if you did a good job, they are going to be happy to write you a testimonial. If you go above and beyond for them in the event, they will write you a testimonial and you can use these over and over and over again and the more proof or reviews or testimonials that new couples see, the more they're gonna be able to trust you. And, again, it's all about building this ground level of trust, like, so sturdy that the couple is like, there's, like, everything is right about this person. I have to work with them, and that's what you're trying to do.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So getting testimonials and then having them across the board in multiple places is super important. You don't just want to have testimonials on your website. You want to have it on Google. You want to have it on Yelp. You want to have it on The Knot on WeddingWire.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
The knot used to be super important to have testimonials, but things seem to be changing a bit with them now. But still, it's good to have it in multiple different places because couples are gonna go search around the internet. And if they keep seeing your name pop up and reviews for you, that is what's gonna sell them. So it's really a great way for for other people to sell you, and it it's part of this foundation of trust that's really, really important. And then you also wanna take that testimonial all the testimonials and add them to your website and then link back to Yelp, to Google as proof.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Like, you wanna prove, like, yes, I do have 5 star testimonials everywhere. Check it out. Look, I'm here. I'm here. I'm here.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
And that builds this level of confidence with a possible new couple so the third pillar is online presence and this is a tricky one because I when I was thinking about what makes wedding businesses work, what builds that trust, what makes couples want to work with me over somebody else, why am I getting so many inquiries and the other person isn't? A big part of that, in addition to website and testimonials, is your online presence. That gives potential new couples a feeling of respect, a feeling of connection, a feeling of knowing that you are legit. They need to believe that you have been in business for a while and you know what the f you're doing. You are not a newbie, I don't care if you are a newbie, you can still appear like you're not if you have a solid online presence.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So what do I really mean by online presence? I know that one's kind of tricky. So what I mean is that when they are searching say you are a wedding planner like me and they're searching for a wedding planner in hawaii when they search wedding planner hawaii wedding photographer hawaii when they're searching anything wedding hawaii your name had better pop up in multiple places you want them to see you online again and again and again and again. The more places that you can be found online, the more times they bump into your name accidentally, whether or not they're looking for wedding planners specifically, somebody else talks about you, they see you in a listing, they use they see one of your reviews, they happen to, like, get onto your Instagram or whatever, like, the more times they can see you and you pop up in their feed, in their Google search, the more they're going to remember you and think, like, there must be something to this wedding planner that I'm missing and I better check them out. And you better believe that if they're seeing you over and over and over again, they're going to see you as a legit established company and they're gonna be curious about you.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
They're gonna wanna check out your website and they're gonna have that, you know, foundation feeling of trust. And that is why you wanna be popping up all over the place. So if they're searching for your name directly, like, for your wedding business directly so say they you they hear about you from somebody and they Google search you, if you can take up that whole entire page, the first page on Google with just your name over and over and over again in different websites, your your personal website, your Instagram, like, of course, there's the basics, your website, your Facebook, all those things. You could also have a LinkedIn, you could have listings that maybe you pay for that are free, but if you can take up that whole first page, they are going to immediately feel safe. Like, okay, this this girl knows what she's doing.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
She's been around. I can trust her. I better check her out. That is what you want to do with this online presence and it's almost like a circle of trust. Like, their website's awesome.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Oh, I saw them pop up again over here. Here's a testimony. Oh, here's another testimony. Oh, there they popped up again. I'm gonna check out their website again.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
And sometimes they need to go through this circle a few times before they're like, okay, this is the one. This is the wedding planner that I have to work with. This is the photographer that I have to work with. I I just have this feeling in my gut that this is the one, but the truth is, they've just been seeing you all over the place and you did that on purpose. You set that shit up so that they already trust you on multiple levels.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So they are going to be more willing to just want to work with you. You don't have to convince them when you're doing your consult, and that's so important. Because when they don't see you anywhere, when they look up your name and they're like, I can't even find this person. They look at your website, it looks crappy. They only see like one testimonial, maybe 3.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
They're already their level of trust is like at a 0, maybe a 1. So, when you talk to them on the phone, you have to do all this convincing, all this proving, all this switching of how they're feeling to make them feel safe, to make them feel connection, to make them feel confident in working with you. And you don't have any of that proof already established. So they're at a negative trust here. And that is what you do not wanna do and that's why you can't book them.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
That's why you're having such a hard time. And so the 4th pillar, and this one was something that took me years to figure out. I am embarrassed to say. But once I did, it does make a humongous difference, and I'm telling you guys, it is so worth it to just make sure you prioritize this now. And the 4th pillar is professionalism.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So just quick review, first website, second pillar testimonials, 3rd online presence, and 4th professionalism. So professionalism is how you appear, how you are portrayed when people first see you. And this could be through your photos of you online. This could be when you meet with people in person, anytime that you come into contact with them on a web meeting, if you're doing a zoom meeting or a Google meet, however you meet with people. And this isn't just new couples, this is also vendors.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
How you appear externally, so I'm talking about your physical appearance and how put together you are, It makes a big difference in how couples are going to feel confident or unconfident about working with you and it builds this very important top layer of trust that every established vendor has. If you start looking at the other businesses, wedding businesses that have been around for a while that are getting consistent bookings, they have a booked out calendar. Are they dressed sloppy? Do they look messy online when you see them at an event or at a, you know, community meeting or something? Do they look like they just popped out of bed in their, you know, sweatpants and messy hair?
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Or do they look put together? Do they look like they took some time to make sure they were presentable and they looked professional? Because they probably do look professional, which is part of the reason why they're continuing to get so many wedding bookings because this little thing, which seems unimportant, is actually really, really important, and it does count. If you want other vendors to recommend you to throw you business, to, you know, mention your name, they're only gonna wanna do it if you don't look like a slob. You gotta look professional, address the part.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
When you are doing meetings with possible new couples and you're doing your initial consultations, your initial meetings, you wanna make sure I don't care if you're, like, in your bedroom. Your background better look professional and your clothes and your makeup and your hair and all of it. You need to look professional, like you are a real business and you're not, you know, in your jammies. Because this is what couples need to build that level of respect for you. They need to see you as an authority.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
In order for them to see you as an authority, you need to dress and look professionally. So that means taking, you know, 20 minutes to make sure that you you've done your hair. You've brushed it. You you've done some makeup. You have a nice blouse on.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
You are wearing, you know, something that you would wear to perhaps a business meeting. And I always find it super important to do this and not just on wedding days, but anytime I'm doing anything business related. If you want them to take you serious, you gotta look like a professional. That is something that is so glossed over when you're a newbie business. You think it doesn't matter.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
I see so many so many photographers that are just getting started come show up at my weddings with outfits that are, like, cute to go to a concert, but you're not going to a concert. You're going to a wedding. I like, you should be properly covered, and I don't wanna see shorts that are too short or shirts that are too sure short or you know any kind of sloppiness. I won't my vendors that I recommend that I work with are always dressed professionally. It goes a long way.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Trust me. It's a very little tweak that makes a huge difference. So, okay, let's recap here. There are 4 pillars that will establish a high level of trust with couples and increase your bookings. It is these four things that successful winning businesses all have.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
They all have these things in common. If you are able to implement all of these four things, then you will have a much easier time booking couples. You will see new brides and grooms coming to you more frequently. You'll get more inquiries, and you won't have to convince them as hard when you actually get talking to them because they're already going to be pre sold. That's what you want.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
You want them to be pre sold. The 4 pillars are your website, testimonials, your online presence, and professionalism. If you can get all of these things at a level 10, this is going to make a huge impact in your business. It's going to make a significant change in how many people are attracted to you and how easy it is to book new weddings. You won't be struggling as hard to convince anyone and you will get more vendors recommending you as well.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So if you want to learn more about these 4 pillars, I go into detail about what exactly needs to happen in each of them. A list of all the things that need to occur, places to get listed to improve your online presence that are free, specific ways to get testimonials that like email I have email drafts that you send to your couples and to your vendors that actually get quality, you know, testimonials coming back to you regularly, and then I I give you ideas on where to post them and stuff. So I have all of that in my course. It's called the wedding pro academy business masterclass, and you can check that out at weddingproacademy.com. But in the meantime, you can do all this stuff yourself too.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
Like, just start making sure that your website is professional, that it's easy to navigate, that it has very clear messaging. It talks to a specific person and it makes it very easy for them to figure out what you do, who you help, and why they should work with you. You need to have testimonials everywhere. Your online presence needs to be consistently worked on. I would be doing this for like I'm still doing this and I've been I have been in business for like 10 years and I'm consistently working on my online presence.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
That is always going to be important. It's also going to help with SEO. And then professionalism, hands down. One of the secret things most newbie wedding businesses miss. It's so important to present yourself in a very professional, sophisticated manner if you want to be seen as an authority in your field, which you definitely do if you want to have a successful wedding business.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
So that's what I have for you today. I hope you found that helpful. If you have any questions on any of this, please email me nicole@weddingproacademy.com. I'd be happy to give you some suggestions or ideas on what you could be missing, and you can check out weddingproacademy.com to learn more about stuff like this. I'm always looking to help newer wedding businesses that are really looking to make it in the wedding industry get established because it's such a fun place to be.
Nicole Salmoiraghi:
I want all of us to succeed and there's so much room for everyone. It's just the best business, and I want all of us to experience this kind of joy. So hope you guys have a good weekend, and I will talk to you next week. Bye for now.