You’ meet with a bride and present your wedding planning proposal. But when you contact her to follow up, she says isn’t ready to make a decision. Don’t get discouraged, say you’ll call back then quickly hang up, find out the reasons she is hesitant to hire you then address her issues.
Here are 3 common reasons why a bride hesitates and what you can do to win her business:
1) She can’t make the decision alone
If the bride is not the only one paying for her wedding, she may not be able to hire you without getting agreement from the other person. Find out if she needs to talk with her fiancé, parents or someone else before hiring you and offer to have a joint discussion with them
2) She’s considering another wedding planner
Ask questions and make sure you’re clear about what the bride wants, then differentiate yourself from the competition and explain the benefits of your unique services. You need her to recognize the value that your skills and experience will bring to her wedding.
3) She doesn’t feel confident about you
A bride really needs to feel she can trust you to help her plan a fabulous wedding before she’ll hire you. Take the time to listen and understand what she wants then offer her the services that meet her specific needs. Give her evidence that you are the wedding planner that you say you are by showing her photos and testimonials from former brides. And, always act in a professional manner by being on time, being honest and speaking respectfully to and about everyone.
You may be wondering, “What about price?” If you’ve taken the time to pre-qualify a bride before presenting your proposal, you’ve eliminated someone who was just looking for a low-cost wedding planner with discounts so price won’t be the reason for a bride’s hesitation.
Learn more about starting and running your wedding planning business in my Free Special Report “7 Steps to Becoming a Top Wedding Planner.” You can get it here.