wedding mba 2016!
TRANSCRIPT
WEDDING MBA 2016!…A BREATH OF FRESH AIR…
CURB APPEALBB WEBB – AUTHOR OF BUILD YOUR BUSINESS
WWW.ARRIVINGWITHBBWEBB.COMWWW.FARMHOUSE.COM
The way you do anything is the way you do EVERYTHING.
- BB WEBBHow to improve
storefrontCurbside Taboos – poor maintenance,
full ashtrays, dead grass, dead plants, burnt out light bulbs. Educate
your team, put SOPs in place.
Start a “lunch bunch” with other venues. Meet & discuss business,
exchange referrals.
Discuss challenges & fears to win business.
Get involved with City Council!
Tending to in-house details
How should things look? Train your team to have a mindful eye. Create a “Company Playbook” – complete with
checklist and SOPs.
How does it smell? Create a first impression with a smell, room
temperature and a smiling staff member. Make sure your team is polished. The team should know
about each appointment. (Offer coffee & cookies for appointments?)
It’s all in the detailsWhat makes us unique? Who Checks the details? Charging dishes cleaned? Floors swept, windows not smudgy, linens
placed right side out, paintings not tilted, bathrooms cleaned,
trash cans emptied, soap dispenser filled, enough toilet
paper…etc.
Reward team members for awesome behavior!
Showcasing the best YOU!What sets us apart? What is the experience you want
people to have when they meet you? What’s your brand? Brand is how you do what you do. Curbside
appeal has to do with culture. Make clear our values. Emotional intelligence is a must! Be admirable.
Listen to your couple. Actively listen. Learn what’s important to THEM. Be consistent and caring with your
follow up.KEEP IT HUMAN.
CHAMBER OF SECRETSMarc McIntosh – Owner, The Wedding Experience
www.MarcMcIntosh.com
Insider Wedding Show TipsAttendees rank venues as top 5 reasons they attend a wedding show.
Keys To SuccessGet some help!
Use Pinterest
Pictures (Of people having fun!)
Wedding specific marketing material
Send your best to the show
Serve food! (more cost & prep)
Bring servers for food
Show DayDress for Success
Make connections
Don’t waste time! Have a list of booked dates! (Ipad for this)
Ask them questions about their wedding (qualify)
Booth should have a few BIG items, not lots of little. Not cluttered.
Action pics of weddings
Paper Flower Wall!? (Cool!)
Post Show Follow Up
Host an open house! Get people in.
Preferred vendor night?
Overnight stay for potential couple?
Answer objections up front
Never use industry terms with the client (I.e. BEO)
Bundle a la carte items
Upsell without nickel & diming
WE CAN STEP OUR GAME UP FOR SURE!
Who are they?? – Yard sale. Great signage, elegant & simple.
VENUE VENDETTAFred Jacob – Owner, The Pink Bride
SOCIAL MEDIA
Ask yourself:How do we want to be perceived?
What is our social media strategy?
Do we have brand consistency?
What is our LOGO for events?
Who is our target audience?
Where are they?
ContentUse the 80/20 rule
8 of 10 posts are non-selling
VIDEOS! – Show empty and complete set up of ballroom.
REAL testimonials!
Show diversity
Use high quality photos
SEOADD A BLOG!!
Every venue should have more than 1 intern blogging for them!
Blogging creates organic SEO
Use key words! (wisely)
Hootsuite is a great way to link
THE VERDICTRob Schenk – Wedding Lawyer
www.WeddingIndustryLaw.com
FIRING A CLIENT• Have 1 point of contact from beginning of booking. This allows us to be out of the loop regarding
disagreements• Material breach of contract – i.e. No show. (Being late is also a breach!)• Immaterial breach – completing the task, providing the service, but contacting a lawyer at a later
date.• Firing a client opens you up for lawsuits. Even if you give them their money back, you are in
breach of contract.• We can include a behavior clause in our contracts. Careful with wording, though. Include
explicitly what behavior is appropriate, and what is inappropriate. Do not attempt a clause like this without an attorney.
SHOW ME THE MONEYCarley Roney, Co-Founder, The Knot
www.theknot.comCarley Roney is at the helm of the world’s favorite
wedding brand as editor in chief of TheKnot.com and its sister site, TheNest.com. She is the author of seven wedding books from the knot, and appears regularly
on Oprah, Today and The View.
THE KNOT ENTREPRENEURIAL 9
• Passion ~ Define your mission, express it with enthusiasm. Dance to your own beat! Create your manifesto.
• Optimism ~ Push boundaries! Ask your self, “why can’t I?” – “why not?” – “what if?”
• Decisive ~ Trust your gut! Take the plunge, execution is EVERYTHING. Action is EVERYTHING. Too much research will cause doubt! (wow)
• Relentless ~ Everything can be improved, expect the impossible.
• Transparent ~ Ask for feedback. Listen carefully. Millennials expect an intimate relationship with vendors. The want to know them, not just buy services.
• Tech – obsessed ~ EMBRACE CHANGE! Understand what’s next. (set aside 1 day each month to investigate NEW technology for 2 hours.) Assign someone to be a technology evangelist!
• Team – obsessed ~ Bring the right people on. Hire for attitude, over experience. Treat your team well. Culture comes from you!
• Connected ~ Invest in your network, build community. Be open to serendipitous encounters!
• Gratitude ~ Appreciation and AWE are INSPIRING!!
Passionate
Optimistic
Decisive
Relentless
Transparent
Tech-obsessed
Team-obsessed
Connected
Gratitude
Fun!
RATES * REVIEWS * REAL WEDDINGS
• Engage with reviewers. Be authentic but never angry. Admit mistakes.
• Real pictures tell your story best and are what couples search for.
• Ask for feedback post wedding, and mean it! Use the power of testimonials
“Life is enormously better when we’re real with each other, and it makes us wonder why we cant’ always
assume this posture.”
“Transparency merely invites us to do the hard work of building meaningful relationships the right way.”
- Carley Roney
DEATH OF A SALESMANTammy Elliot – President, Perfect Wedding Guide
www.PerfectWeddingGuide.com
Tammy Elliot is the President of Perfect Wedding Guide. She is responsible for the strategic development of existing and new products lines (print, internet, bridal shows), and the development of business
and sales strategies for all company products. Ms. Elliot has been President of Perfect Wedding Guide since 2004. She has extensive experience in medial sales and management. Her career spans a multitude of mediums, where she has managed, owned, and/or
consulted at numerous media outlets including radio, TV, cable, and print. She has guided numerous start-ups and turn around situations for
organizations.
Cut through the clutter.
“We are feeling machines”• All buying decisions are emotional.
• To be persuasive, emotional connection is an absolute necessity.
• We feel first, and then we think.
• Get personal. Test and retest. – Am I connecting with them? Am I getting personal? Test different types of messages.
Marketing Tool Kit• Cross Platforms – be sure info transforms
to all devices. People use more than 1 media. SEO for mobile is a must.
• Measure and adjust – tend to marketing on a regular basis. Give test campaigns enough time to work!
• It takes a good solid media mix to impress a brand awareness
• Solid Plan & Budget for Social Media
• An elevator pitch – be able to describe your business in a couple minutes time.
8 Strategies for Businesses• Funnel Approach (slide available)
• The partnership approach – team up with another business
• Market segmentation – we already do this
• What brides are we marketing to?
• Become an industry leader
• The chief revenue officer
• Create a positive work environment
THE WIZARDS OF OZFollow the yellow tech road:
Timothy Chi, CEO Wedding Wire
Sonny Ganguly, CMO Wedding Wire
Don’t focus on today’s success! The future is NOW.
Social, Mobile & Local is a MUST!
• The key to social in 2015 – pinstabook
• The key to social in 2016 – facesnap
• Anything Facebook owns!
• Must stay relevant – 100% visual!
• Visual is processed at a fast rate!
• Stories and LIVE videos ONLY!
Everything should be mobilized!
• There are more mobile phones than toilets & tooth brushes COMBINED
• Tablet usage is declining. Phones are the shit!
• Mobile Revolution – think END to END.
• Everything should be mobilized!!
• 4 out of 5 consumers rely on local search
• Improve local/mobile SEO – be in the top 3
• Own the latest mobile technology!
Social Media 2016 Facesnap
• Facebook LIVE is the shit! Test it – use it!
• Create VIDEO content! – Facebook’s own content is 100% VIDEO!
• Start testing Snapchat! SEE SLIDE to find out WHY. Don’t get left in the dark!
• Dominate Facebook +1 platform (snap )
• Use your consumers preferred platform for communication.
We don’t need help. We’ve always had the power! WE MUST SNAPCHAT.
NUMBERS DON’T LIE
DON’T GET LEFT IN THE DARK!EMBRACE CHANGESTAY RELEVANT!
JAWSTracy Brown, Body Language Expert
Shark Tank
Author of Persuasion Point
www.TracyBrown.com
Do what successful people do, and you will get the results they do! ~ Tracy Brown
ASK YOURSELF:• Who are my sharks?• Where does the pressure come
from?• What would life be like if I
heard YES from them?
THE KEY:• Pay attention to the small
things so you can make big things happen.
• Profile & Personalize• Persuasion is about KNOWING
what will happen next.
PROFILING:• Using this tool will make
yourself magnetic. People will like you, and they won’t know why.
• People make a decision about you in under 9 seconds.
• Lower your voice on the phone. Be assertive! Ask for the sale.
…This is Jake.
Don’t ask me what he was talking about…
Your welcome.
Just Kidding.SEO FOR MOBILE
Jake Reed, Product Manager, The Knot
• Make sure your site is mobile friendly.• Properly sized images – photo gallery button.• Reviews – Prominent CTA• Do a key word AUDIT!• Determine which keywords you need and add them to
your page.• Determine keywords by searching as if you are a
couple! (GENIUS)
• Use keywords strategically• Make sure your site is structured for Google crawl.
• Most important content at the top of the page.• Use keywords in URL.• Write content that INSPIRES.• Link to that content from Social Media!• Create links back to your site. (WOW)
• Optimize photos by naming them! Google acknowledges keywords in Google image search! (Who knew?!)
• Google map yourself. Name address and phone number (NAP) should be published everywhere!
BOILER ROOMSales for Wedding Pros
Chris Evans, Bridal Business Bootcamp
www.BridalBusinessBootcamp.com
www.evanssalessolutions.com
“People lose interest within 4 minutes if you don’t say anything interesting.”
- Chris Evans
Evan’s Truisms• Every day is a bright new day
with unlimited possibilities.• The amount of money I make is
directly proportionate to the amount of business I book.
• Most businesses do not have a lack of prospects, they have a lack of follow up.
Rules of Selling• 99% of people answer a text. Why
aren’t we texting Brides???• You must have someone to sell to.
The lifeblood my business is talking to Brides.
• The average bride buys after 7 contacts. The average wedding pro stops after 2. (WOW)
• Follow up should happen within 1 week of the show.
ABC Nonsense• ABC ‘always be closing’ is
nonsense.• People buy what they want, not
what they need.• Desire determines the degree of
want.• Create desire instead of selling
your product. • Create vision, then execute the
dream!
“Sell the visit, not the product.”- Chris Evans
6 Reasons brides attend shows:
• Gather information• Compare prices• Win Prizes• Receive discounts• Sample products• Have fun
#1 Reason merchants attend shows:
• BOOK FACE TO FACE VISITS!!!
FAB• Feature, advantage, benefits• Advantage = Description• FAB creates DESIRE!• Feature is something you are
proud of• Formula for FAB – “Feature plus
description so that benefit
COURAGE“Call your morning show & ask for a segment. Have content! Pick up the phone and call. Call the segment
producer and flood emails with info about you! SELL THE VISIT!!!”
He did this! He called someone from the audience and called their local morning show!! It was great!
READY TO WEAR!
Style DrivenLisa Stoner, Owner/Designer, Lisa Stoner Events
www.LisaStonerEvents.com
Poshmark.com
Stitchfix.com
Truckclub.com
Gwynniebee.com
Renttherunway.com
“75% of your wardrobe should be solid colors”- Lisa Stoner
Grooming Counts!• Dress for the job you want, not
for the job you have• Dress like the expert• Classic cuts versus trendy cuts
ALWAYS wins• Blouses should be current• Keep accessories modest – 5 at
most. Earrings, time piece and 2 others
8 tips to look polished• Dress for the job you want• Dress for the clients comfort, not
your own• Prevent wrinkles & missing buttons• Pay attention to your hands & nails• Don’t neglect your shoes• Don’t overlook your accessories• Keep a jacket handy• Keep your garments looking fresh
Must haves• RED – generates excitement!• Black/grey suit• Black pumps• Black pants• Black knee length skirt• White blouse• Flannels, flip-flops, chipped polish,
low rise, shorts, all NO WAY.
THE SCIENCE OF STYLE AND FASHION
• The rule of thirds. Create a visual impression of your body into 3 parts.
• Wear flats with knee skirts ONLY.
• An impression is made within 3 to 5 seconds of meeting someone.
• Our brains are attracted to bold colors, florals and silhouettes.
• Entrepreneurs need to conform to the event, like everyone else.
• All of these things add to our STRENGTH.
SLIDING DOORSThe science behind better decision
making.
Clint Hufft – Celebrity Officiant
www.reverendclint.weebly.com
“The more decisions you make, the easier it becomes. It’s EMPOWERING.”
- Clint Hufft
FEAR• Kanotophobia – fear of change• Fear of losing money• Fear of what others may think• Shame is “I am a mistake”• Guilt is “I made a mistake”
GOOD DECISION TOOLS• Stoicism – stoic philosophy• 4 hour work week• Tim Farriss – Google him!
IDENTIFY WHO YOU ARE• The path of least resistance• Find your rhythm• Structure daily processes
around your rhythms• Pick a priority! (Mark
Zuckerburg was “Growth”)• Be the me I want to be!• Remain humble & teachable
QUORA.COMAsk any question and get answers!
Get a MENTOR!
Never assume MALICE.
80% of results come from 20% of your efforts
Begin with the END in mind
Be autonomous!
Dream BIG and build momentum.
I could go on and on…I have about 30 more slides.Thank you so much for this opportunity! It really was an amazing
experience.
If you would like more in depth information on any topic covered here, please reach out.
WEDDING MBA 2017#POWERHOUSE #COOPERHOTELS
#DIVIDEANDCONQUOR