There are three tiers of success in the wedding business, and you must master all three to be successful. Just as with a wedding cake, the tiers build on each other.
Tier #1: Marketing
The first tier is marketing, and by marketing I mean whatever you do to create awareness and generate sales calls. This includes print advertising, bridal shows, your website, networking, social media, etc. This is just step one, getting the bride to raise her hand and indicate that she wants to hear more. Only then can you move to the second tier.
Tier #2: Sales
Once a prospect has found you, and has shown at least a little interest in your company, you now have to try and turn her into a customer. Many people are uncomfortable with this stage. No one likes a pushy salesman, right?Remember, you don’t get to do what you do until you sell it to someone.
Tier #3: Fulfillment
This is the fun part, where you get to give the bride what she bought from you.
Where is your focus?
If you’re like most wedding professionals, you probably focus most of your time and energy on fulfillment. That’s not surprising, because that’s what you do best. You spend a lot of effort buying equipment, taking classes, attending conventions and making yourself really great at what you do. But, if you spend the majority of your time on fulfillment, and you won’t have much time left for selling or bringing in new prospects. You can’t even get to the fulfillment tier without a strong base of marketing and sales.
Everyone knows of businesses that aren’t all that great, but they still do a lot of weddings. They have mastered the marketing and sales tiers. I’m not suggesting that you slack on the fulfillment, but if you allocate more of your time and efforts on generating leads and improving your sales skills, you will sell more weddings and make more money.