We all know that our websites are an important part of our marketing and branding. They’re waiting, 24/7/365 for someone to come from somewhere, and that’s when your website’s job begins. If you sell on your site (e-commerce) then your site’s job is to get people to put things in the cart and check out. If you don’t sell online, then your site has one job – get you the inquiry. If you’re getting the right people to your site (the j...

I’ve often referred wedding and event pros, like you, to Traci Brown and her books/courses on body language and detecting lies. I got to wondering recently what reading body language is like in the age of Zoom meetings. Do the same rules apply as in-person? What signals are you sending with your body language on a Zoom sales meeting? Great questions, huh? So, I asked my friend, and National Speakers Association Member, Traci Brown ...

I know, it’s a strange title for a podcast episode on a platform called Wedding Business Solutions. This is actually a true story that I first shared in a keynote presentation and my book “Your Attitude for Success”. This story shows how something as simple as my friend need to paint her house can teach you how to tackle your daunting business and personal projects. Listen to this 8-minute episode, hear the story, and start accompl...

Some wedding and event pros look at advertising as a necessary evil. Others see it as an integral part of their marketing plan. While others either never pay for advertising and look for every free option out there. Which one sounds like you? I have a unique perspective on this as I’ve published wedding magazines, I was VP of Sales at The Knot and I’ve helped many thousands of wedding and event pros directly through consulting, sal...

Three of the most common sales objections that wedding and event pros hear are: The price is too high; We got a lower price elsewhere – and - You're the first one we've seen. Do those sound familiar? Do you sometimes get stuck in how to best address those and still get the sale? In this 11 minute episode I’ll give you some ideas, and actual wording on how to handle these, so you can close more sales!

If you have any question...

I’ve sold wedding advertising, published two wedding magazines and I was VP of Sales at The Knot. Those are things I know a lot about. But when it comes to Facebook and Instagram ads, my knowledge isn’t that deep. So, when I need help, or one of my client’s needs help, I refer them to my expert, Katelin Brogan. I asked Katelin to join me for this episode to help you better understand how these ads work and so you can decide if they...

What can a game with wooden blocks teach us about how to sell more and profit more? It’s a great parallel, with each block representing a product or service you offer. I’ve used this analogy many times on webinars and in trainings and people, like you, always tell me that it makes Top-Down Selling much clearer. Listen to this 9-minute episode and find out how you can sell more via Jenga!

If you have any questions about anything in t...

I was doing a remote consulting session with a client and I said this phrase: “Perfect is the Enemy of Profit.” It was one of those serendipitous times where we say something we know, we just phrase it in a different way. In this case it was a client who was working on a new website and marketing materials and they were getting caught in the “it’s not ready yet” phase. I think most of us have been there at one time or another. The ...

When I’m consulting with venues and caterers, just like you, we’re usually talking about ways to improve their sales and profits. Whether it’s their pricing (packages vs a-la-carte), websites or having better tours, we can always find some improvements. What about the ‘hidden profits’? Those are when you can make more money without selling any more than you are now. Imagine if you could make 10% more profit without making even one ...

Why is “How much do you charge?” so often the first question that your couples ask? The short answer is that they don’t know what else to ask, because they don’t know how to shop for your product or service. They’ve never needed your products and services before, so they default to asking about price. You need to be prepared to answer this so that you can keep the conversation going, whether you want to give them price yet, or not....

One of the good things to come out of the last year is that many wedding and event pros have learned how to have meetings, and do sales, remotely. But what will you do when it’s safe to meet all of your customers in person again? Will you go back to all face to face meetings, or will you continue to do some, or all of your sales remotely. Listen to this short episode for some thoughts on what you can, and maybe should, be planning ...

Almost every day my inbox has someone offering to make an app for my business. I’m sure you can relate. So, I started thinking about my clients, wedding and event businesses, like you, and when you might decide that an app is the right way to go, and when a website will do. So I invited my favorite tech guys, people who’ve designed many apps for wedding and event venues, Abed Elsamna and Hassan Mahmoud, founders of VenueX, to join ...

I’ve been asked this question for as long as I’ve been in the industry, which is over 25 years. It’s a great question, because every dollar you can raise your prices without giving the customers any more products or services, is additional profit. So, can you raise your prices now? I’m pretty sure you can. Listen to this episode and find out how much more profit can you make! (only 10 minutes).

If you have any questions about anythi...

I’m sure you know that having a strong brand can help your business stand out. But there’s a difference between how you represent your brand – which is ‘branding’ – and how you express your actual brand. Listen to this new episode and find out how to show your real brand and what makes you unique. (only 11 minutes)

If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, ple...

I've been asked this question so many times over the years, and it's such a relevant topic. While a-la-carte pricing appears to give your couples more information and choices, it actually makes it harder for them to make a decision. You want to avoid decision-paralysis and make it easier for them to buy from you. Listen to this episode and see some ways to make it easier to sell your products and services... and also make i...

Getting ghosted is definitely one of the most requested topics these days. It's so frustrating to get an inquiry, reply quickly and then... nothing! Or, you reply and they get back to you and then... nothing. There are three possible outcomes to an inquiry: Yes, No or nothing (ghosting). And ghosting is worse than a No. At least with a No you have an answer. And some of you may have something else to offer (rehearsal dinner, ov...

When it comes to divisive topics, this one is right up there: Should You Put Pricing On Your Website? I chose this so you can hear more than one way to approach this for your business. When I’m doing consulting, sales training and website reviews, this is always one of the subjects we tackle. In this episode I'm giving you four different ways to address this, so you can choose which one, or ones, are right for your products, se...

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 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 episo...