If weddings are all or part of your business, then the Wedding Business Solutions podcast is for you. You’ll hear ideas to help you sell more, profit more and have more fun doing it from Alan Berg CSP, who’s been called “The Leading International Speaker and Expert on the Business of Weddings.” Whether it’s ideas for closing the sale, improving your website conversion or just plain common-sense ideas for your wedding business, the episodes here, whether monologue or dialogue are just the thing to get you motivated to help more couples have great weddings, and more profits for you . . . . . . . . . You can read full transcripts of each episode at podcast.AlanBerg.com . . . . . . . . . Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so you'll know about the latest episodes. And if you have a question, comment or suggestion for topic or guest, please reach out at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com . . . . . . . . . And if you don't get my email updates for new episodes, as well as upcoming workshops and Master Classes, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com . . . . . . . . . If you'd like to find out about Alan's speaking, sales training, consulting or website review services, you can reach him at Alan@AlanBerg.com or visit Podcast.AlanBerg.comNote: I invite my guests on for the value they provide to you, my listeners. Occasionally I have a guest on where I'm an affiliate or have a relationship that may involve compensation for me. My first priority is the value to you and therefore I don't sell placement or guest spots on my podcast.
The Rolling Stones got it right when they sang: “You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime, you’ll find, you get what you need!” Very often we, or our customers, are asking for something because we know what’s possible. We can’t ask for what we don’t know is possible. Apple was really good at selling us things we didn’t know to ask for.
Listen to this new 9-minute episode for some ideas on how you can ask a be...
No, I’m not channeling Brittney Spears. I went shopping for a sports jacket and came home with shoes and pants as well. The store did Top Down Selling… good for them! It’s a lesson for all of us on showing what’s possible, not only what’s been asked.
Listen to this new 9-minute episode for some ideas on how you can sell more, and have your customers and couples be happy about the outcomes!
Many wedding and event pros made pivots during Covid. Some out of necessity and some through opportunity. Rod Baker pivoted to DFW Neon after an unexpected response to a sign he had on his DJ façade. That has turned into a whole separate business that’s thriving. Listen to this episode and hear how you can learn to see the opportunities around you.
If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a su...
Do your customers ask you for things that you can’t or won’t do? When you can’t give them what they ask for, how do you say No without antagonizing them? Should you always just say Yes? Or, is there another way to handle the situations when you can’t say Yes, but still want to please the customers?
Listen to this new 13-minute episode for perspective on whether more leads is better, or worse.
There’s a difference between Top-Down Selling and Up-selling. Do you know the difference? How and when should you be upselling to bring unexpected results to your couples and customers. How can you go about offering new and better experiences to your customers, event after they’ve formerly said, No?
Listen to this new 11-minute episode for ideas on how and when you can upsell, without being pushy.
Many of the businesses I come across are looking to grow, whether they’ve been in business months or years. Every so often I come across someone who’s in a different stage. My friend and client, Adam Tiegs grew his business and then decided it was time to scale back. I’m sure many of you can relate to feeling that it’s time to scale back.
Listen to this episode and see whether scaling down is in your future.
Adam Tiegs is a Professi...
Very rarely do I come across businesses who don’t get enough leads. Most wedding and event pros I work with or speak with complain about getting too many inquiries. Which one are you? Do you really want more inquiries, or do you want better ones? Do you have enough time to follow up the way you know you should (or the way I recommend in my books)? Or, do you know that you could follow up better… if you only had more time? If you go...
Do you clear your mind before you have a call, meeting or send an email or text? Or, do you bring the baggage of your prior conversations with you to the next one? Learning to be more present and staying open to the unexpected can lead to unexpectedly wonderful outcomes.
Listen to this new 7-minute episode for some ideas on how to hit your own reset button.
If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or h...
Sometimes you come up with a good idea and sometimes it comes to you. It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Well, Holly and her chef husband came up with an idea to fulfill both a need and a lifestyle.
Listen to this episode for some inspiration for your next idea!
Holly Powers-Verbeck, founded and continues to operate HeyChef!, Lake Tahoe’s premiere culinary staffing company since 1997. In 2018 she formed MakeYou...
Imposter syndrome is defined by Google as “doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud.” This listener suggestion came from Meg Ramos and I’m so glad she suggested it. I’ve had my moments of self-doubt, wondering why I’m the one that has been given some of the opportunities or how I got to be the expert, without going to school specifically for this. It’s a trait common to successful people, maybe even you.
Listen to this new 7...
Does inaction have a cost? The easiest thing for most people is to do nothing different. Keep going the direction you’re already going, don’t rock the boat. Is that the best course of action, or are you missing out on more by taking no action? I’ve spoken about opportunity cost before and this ties in with that discussion.
Listen to this new 7-minute episode for some perspective on what you may be missing out on by not acting or by ...
Getting published in a wedding magazine or on a blog or online site can help give your business credibility and the reach of audiences that might not otherwise know about you. Listen to this new episode with Brittny Drye, founder and editor-in-chief of Love Inc., and hear how to get your business on the radar of the editors of publications and websites.
Brittny Drye is the founder and editor-in-chief of Love Inc., the leading equali...
This is a listener suggestion from Matt Campbell, who has been a guest here on the podcast. What is burnout, and when is it time to pack it in and move on to something else? I discuss my thoughts on this (and I’m not a psychologist and don’t play one on podcasts) to hopefully give you a different perspective on how to view your situation.
Listen to this new 8-minute episode for a different look at a serious topic.
I’m often approached by people who’ve come up with a new technology or business idea, the spark of which was them seeing the need for themselves and/or their business. Sometimes there isn’t a solution for their problem. Other times there is, but it just isn’t the right solution. So, when is it time to build something versus customizing something that already exists, or just learning to work with what’s already out there.
Listen to t...
If you’ve been paying attention to marketing for your business, you’ve probably heard about “marketing funnels.” What are they? How do you use them? Do you need to use them? If you’re confused about what they are or how you can use them for your business, listen to this new episode where Aleya Harris breaks them down for you.
Aleya Harris, CPCE is an award-winning marketer and former chef and catering company owner. She is the Owner...
Very often I’m consulting with wedding and event pros, and I’ll hear complaints about them getting inquiries from less than their ideal couples/clients. It always begs the question whether it’s their marketing and advertising attracting the wrong customers, their pricing and packages aren’t correct for their target market, or whether they’re just settling for the wrong customers.
Listen to this new 8-minute episode for some thoughts...
I was listening to Brian B on his The Travel DJ Blend podcast where he was talking about commission versus salary for salespeople. It got me thinking about all of my clients who ask me about the right way to set up a compensation plan for their sales teams (whether they’re a team of 1 or more). While there’s no one way that’s right for everyone, there are some things to consider when setting up your compensation plan.
Listen to thi...
Continuing my series on “Scaling”, for this episode I talk with my friend Mike Walter on his journey from DJ working for another company to growing his own company that does over 1,000 events per year! How big is right for your company? Listen to this episode for another angle on how to grow a business.
Mike Walter is the proud owner of Elite Entertainment, a Multi-System DJ Company in New Jersey that has been selected by TheKnot.co...
I got to thinking about all of the people who tell me that they provide better results than their competitors. How do they know? It’s not like we get to see the results, side by side. So, in this shorter than my usual short musings I give my perspective on this topic.
Listen to this new 4-minute episode for some food for thought on whether you are actually providing better results, or if they’re just different.
A few years ago I did a presentation “How to be the experienced wedding pro, without sounding old.” I had a lot of feedback from wedding pros, young and old, about what it means to be too old to do what you’re doing now. There are 50+ year old DJs rocking it every weekend, and others in their 30’s who think their clock is ticking loudly as they approach 40. What’s the difference?
Listen to this new 8-minute episode to see how lo...
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