HINT: There is nothing being taught like this anywhere
If you had met me in the summer of 2010, you would have found me under-booked, underpaid and manically marketing in a desperate attempt to win wedding business. I had to in order to support my two girls and two boys.
It was the worst of times because I didn't have a dependable system that guided brides into my funnel, so enquiries were few and far between, and when they did come, couples price shopped me because I did not know how to articulate my value in a way they understood.
I was stuck in a cycle of being under-booked and underpaid with no idea how to break out. Have you ever felt like this?
Tired of the struggle, I remember sitting in my home office next to the family room wondering:
“Why can't I get booked by high-paying brides and grooms like the successful wedding suppliers?”
I knew until I could answer that question, nothing would change.
I can remember my son Brandon who was 15 at the time leaning against the office wall saying:
“Dad, why don’t you just offer your services to people who will pay more?”
I told him I would if I knew where they were.
“SO WHY DON'T YOU GO AND FIND THEM?!” - Kids can be such smart-Alecs' right? Lol.
With nothing smarter to come back with I replied, "It wasn’t as simple as that." And left it alone.
Brandon went off, probably to antagonise Jordan, his 11-year old brother. But his canny question kept echoing:
“So why don’t you go and find them?"...
It was years before I uncovered the answer, but little did I know it would change my life and the lives of wedding professionals in 10 countries across 19 different wedding industries.
Fast forward 9 years to today and my prices are 8-times higher than many in my industry, yet even at premium prices I'm able to turn away around 50% of the UK and destination wedding enquiries I get each year due to already being booked, and other people send me leads on autopilot while I do other things.
When I think back, I wonder what made the change for me?
There were other wedding professionals more talented than I, with better industry connections, and much more handsome :).
So what was the catalyst that transformed my wedding business?
Three things: