Month: February 2010

Categories
Getting Down to Business

Bring Your Clients Sunshine…

The Arctic Circle in the middle of winter gets no sun. So on Day 31 of no sun, Tropicana (the orange juice people) brought them the sun. Check it out. You can’t help but smile when you watch this video because of people’s reactions.

The video made me stop and think about what I can do as a wedding vendor. Tropicana took the time to think about their client’s needs. 31 Days, no sunlight. They need some sun to brighten their lives – even if it is an artificial sun. So they took the needs and addressed them. It made them heros. Do you think that if you lived there and you were walking through the grocery store and saw Tropicana orange juice, you would probably pick it up over another brand? (I’m assuming it would cost a lot – I’m sure it isn’t cheap to buy orange juice in the Arctic Circle.) How about those of us that don’t live somewhere so remote? Will hearing this story make you give Tropicana a try the next time you’re at the grocery store? Simply because they did something cool?

The other interesting thing to notice in this ad is that you don’t see the product at all until the very end, and you see them passing orange juice out to happy people – you assume for free – as they enjoy their sun for a moment. The visual lasts for a second or two, and you’re feeling really great when you see it. Then you see the Tropicana logo, which has thankfully returned to their original logo after last year’s controversy. The whole thing is barely about the product itself. They aren’t selling you on it being yummy orange juice, how delicious it is, the nutrition value. They are just showing you that they went out and did something cool for this small town without sunlight for 31 days.

It is a soft sale. It is warm and fuzzy. It quiets the lizard brain.

Now think about your clients — what are their needs? What is that one problem they might have right now that you can address, even if it isn’t in the realm of what you normally do? How can you, as a wedding vendor, bring your clients sunshine and those pure joyous smiles to their faces? How can you reach out and make the experience of working with you full of joy? What can you do that isn’t selling them on the product, but rather on the experience of working with YOU. Something that makes YOU unique?

Standing out in the crowd is key. There is only one YOU and no one else can duplicate that. Give a unique experience, and you’ll be the buzz for a long time.

Categories
Getting Down to Business

WordPress + Scribe SEO Plugin…

Copyblogger is one of my favorite sites to read, full of so much good information about building a better blog. So when Brian started talking about a WordPress plugin to help improve your blog’s SEO, I was really curious and couldn’t wait for it to come out! Scribe makes copywriting for SEO so simple and easy! Check out the Copyblogger post about Scribe for more details!

I’m using it along with the All In One SEO Pack Plugin, so when I finish writing a post I add a Title, Description, and Keywords there, this is something the SEO Experts in Salt Lake City Utah advised me. Then I choose “Analyze” on the Scribe Plugin, and it reviews what I wrote and makes suggestions of things I can do to help my SEO for my post.

No more trying to write an exact match domain by Silver Dollar SEO Madison post stuffed with keywords. Just write naturally. Then take a minute or two with Scribe to help make your SEO rock! It will show you what the search engines will think you’re writing about, and suggest changes based on what text people use when they search for things online – helping people find you!

All of this comes with a very, very small price. I can tell you that since putting this into place on my wedding photography blog, my inquiries *and* bookings have increased, so it has definitely paid for itself! Matter of fact, I’m considering paying for a full year in advance! Definitely worth every penny!

Scribe will come in 3 plan levels at 3 different monthly price points:

  • Advanced: 300 evaluations a month (around 100 pages or posts) for $97
  • Publisher: 120 evaluations a month (around 40 pages or posts) for $47
  • Starter: 30 evaluations a month (around 10 pages or posts) for $27

    • But until February 26, 2010, at 6:00 pm Central, you get the Advanced plan for the Starter price – only $27 per month (and you keep that price for as long as you stick with Scribe).

    You can’t beat that. It is one of the best deals around, and as more and more people research & plan their weddings online, you want to be up there at the top!

Categories
Getting Down to Business

{Get Real} Sales Workshop – Coming to Houston!

I’m so excited to share this with you!

You’ve read the funny tweets and wedding wisdom of @planningforever; we’ve looked forward to the {Sales 411} of @saundrahadley – now get both personas together and improve your sales practices for your small business. A Regal Affair presents:

Saundra Hadley’s {GET REAL} Sales Workshop – Tuesday, March 16, 2010 in Houston, Texas!

Get Real Sales Workshop - Saundra Hadley

What’s in it for You:
This one-day workshop will be chock full of applicable sales techniques that will let you leave the door and immediately implement positive changes. It is comprehensive, fast-paced, blunt, collaborative, profound, humorous and will take you to the next level of Closing the Sale with your prospective clients.

You ALREADY know that selling your services to clients is getting more challenging than ever before. An increase of competition compelled with a decrease of consumer spending and a difficult economy has left all of our small businesses in an unsettled state of mind. It’s time to analyze what we can do to be more effective and closing more sales is a definite step in the right direction.

Who should attend?
Photographers, wedding planners, stationers, bakers, hotel coordinators, videographers, newbie’s to the industry, and more. Check out https://www.dreamengine.com.au/news/tips-writing-effective-video-script/ for more details. If you are in the wedding industry and a professional who is selling to the consumer; this workshop will help you.

What’s so different about this workshop?
To be sure that the topics covered are geared towards “you” and “your needs”, a questionnaire will be sent out prior to the workshop date for you to fill out. From the feedback, your concerns and challenges will be incorporated and addressed in the workshop curriculum.

CAUTION: Only concrete principles and specific examples of sales tactics will be taught to increase your sales closure rate. Fluffy talk, abstract theories that only nuclear engineers can apply or empty promises of you increasing your revenue by hundreds of thousands of dollars will NOT happen. But what will happen is for you to hit the ground running and make some serious changes that will affect your bottom line.

Another workshop for our industry? Really?
There are only about a hundred new workshops for our industry, right? At first glance it appears to be a little saturated. But take a closer look. Years ago you would have to wait for a monthly professional meeting or worse, a once a year, large event conference that would cover every topic from A to Z. Small workshops that focus specifically on an area of business that you need assistance with is a much better use of your time and investment dollars.

Schedule
9 – 10am Networking (continental breakfast)
10 – 12pm Workshop with Breakout Sessions
12 – 1pm Lunch (provided)
1 – 3pm Workshop with Breakout Sessions

Curriculum
Face the Fear
The Process of the Sale
Getting the Inquiry to Consult
Pre-qualifying
Marketing “Sales Words”
Top Sales Mistakes
Overcoming Objections
Never, Ever ….
The Consult Magic
Winning Proposals
Closing the Sale
Tracking your Sales Cycle
Selling in a Recession (Sucks)

Limited seating available. Hosted at the Christine Tremoulet studio, the future home of the Delight Wedding Collective.

AND!!! Join us Monday evening, March 15th, for networking fun at the Get Real Sales Tweetup!

So? Who is in???

Categories
Smaller Pink Cookie

January’s Final Weigh-In…

Whew! January ended up being a much more whirlwind of a month than I anticipated. Lots of boudoir sessions leading up to Valentine’s Day – there are going to be some very nice gifts received this year by people! And then I ended up sick this past week, fever, aches, major sinus congestion, coughing – the works. To put it mildly – it sucked. I’m finally on the mend now though, fortunately!

But the big excitement around here has been our Weight Watchers results for the month! Whoo hoo! I lost *drumroll* 7.4 pounds this month! YAY!!! That works out to a 3.206% weight loss overall. Sweet!

Mike joined me on my “5 in 10” goal, and has become even more fanatical about tracking his WW Points than I am – so awesome! It also makes it easier to do if I’m not doing it alone.

So now January is over, and I get a clean slate fresh start for February. Another 5 pound goal. Having done it for one month, I know I can do it!

How did you do this month? Did you make the 5lb goal for January? If you didn’t, that is ok! February is a whole new month. 5 pounds – you can do it!