Whether you’ve been planning weddings for a few months or a few years, if you act like an amateur, brides will not be interested in hiring you.
Here are 5 signs you might be acting like an amateur and what to do instead to attract the brides you want:
1) You DIY all of your marketing
If you have some graphic and web designing skills, by all means design you own business cards, mailers, handouts and website. But if you don’t have these skills, you need to hire experts to do these things for you. Brides get an idea of your level of professionalism and style from your marketing so make sure it represents you well.
2) You work alone
Professional wedding planners have assistants to help them, they don’t try to run their business and plan weddings themselves. Assistants give them the ability to spend quality time with their brides and take on more clients.
3) You don’t have a good vendor network
I’ve heard it said that a wedding planner is only as good as his/her vendor network. You must have a wide network of high-quality vendors who you can work with to plan fabulous weddings.
Find vendors at wedding industry events, wedding and event planner associations, bridal shows, business networking groups and through word-of-mouth.
4) You don’t know the value of giving a good impression to everyone, everywhere
You represent your business everywhere you go. You must give a good impression to brides, vendors and the people who can give you referrals.
Always look neat and appropriately dressed, be on time, well-prepared and organized for meetings, speak respectfully about past clients, even if they were bridezillas or groomzillas, don’t bad mouth your competition and always give excellent service to your brides.
5) You lack industry knowledge
Bridal magazine are great but they don’t offer enough information for professionals. Read industry magazines and websites such as Special Event and Catersource/Event Solutions, attend industry conferences and join wedding and event planner associations. Also, spend quality time with some of your vendors to learn what they do and how you can work together to create beautiful, well-planned weddings for your brides.
And if you want more help to become a top wedding planner, sign in to get my ezine “Wedding Planner Tips.”
