There had been a recent debate in a group of wedding entertainers I belong to on Facebook stating “You can’t turn a $500 bride into a $2000 bride”  I began thinking back to my Creative Consultations seminar and the words ringing in my head were “Don’t shortcut the process” This is all shaping up to be very interesting….   We had a recent meeting at Taylored Weddings offices in Escanaba.  I welcomed... [read more]

Questions like “How important is entertainment to the success of your reception?” and “What do you want your guests to say about your reception?” are asked because I want to know where they are at in their planning, what they deem as important or not about their event and how best I can serve them in future communication.  Miranda also set up a meeting with me through my website while I was sleeping which I confirm... [read more]

Think about the last time someone gave you a free, unexpected gift, but you had nothing to give back in return. How did it make you feel? Thankful? A little bit awkward that you could not reciprocate? Did you think “I must repay that person somehow, sometime in the future? These emotions and thoughts are all tied to reciprocity. I recently experienced reciprocity when I visited my local dry cleaners to have a button sewn back onto a jacket I needed the same day for a wedding. The owner said, “Come back in two hours it will be ready.” Sure enough upon my return he reached behind him and lifted my jacket off the bottom rail, pl... [read more]

If you're like me and involved in the wedding market you're likely to get leads from many different sources.  Some of them come and go and in fact one not that long ago sent me an email suggesting  “A New Way To Plan Your Wedding” and promising free custom quotes from local vendors in 24 hours.  I’m sure that there’s many of you who have received similar emails that says, “Your Name, these brides need your servi... [read more]

Weddings are the main source of income for most mobile DJs. I get that. But more and more entertainers are reaching out to me, trying to enhance their business or in some cases completely overhaul it. I don’t know if it is today’s brides or the thousands of “competitors” that have invaded the industry over the years. Believe it or not: You CAN make a great income outside of the actual wedding industry. PLAN WHAT YOU WANT TO DO Start with a plan on what types of things you want to do to supplement your income. You might want to increase your bottom line and you might want to completely revamp what you have been doing. I have had d... [read more]

Here's the final outcome of the Communication is Key article and email series. Bride’s Reply Mitch,  I work in Marquette at Lowe's.  My next days off are Monday and Tuesday.  I have a cake appointment in Marquette on Monday at 12pm.  Where are you located and what is a good time for you? My reply: Hi Amber, What about Monday at 1:30pm?  Would that work? Bride’s Reply Yes I think that would work.  What is the best phone number to get a hold of you in case I need too?  I have a cake appointment a 12:00 so I will be in town. Amber   My next response was sending her an email confirming tha... [read more]

This is the continuation of the email conversation with a bride from last week.  :) Bride’s Reply I am sorry I have gotten your calls but been busy working.  At this time we are going to go with a live band from 8-12. I am looking to rent uplighting (for the whole night of the reception) and also entertainment from 4:00pm-8pm.  Not many have been willing to do that time slot since it is Labor Day weekend. Please let me know Amber Now she has gone from needing entertainment and lighting to just lighting and given me more information.  This can be seen by some to be a negative, but don't let that discourage you.  The door is still open to a sale.  I dare say she is also warming up vs. just being factual in the previous email.  To me this is attributed to the verbiage and tone I used in the ... [read more]

Most of you reading this probably think that you are one of the top wedding DJs, if not the best, in your market. In most markets there is plenty of room for growth—but there’s only one you and only so many weekend dates a year. So, the question is, how do you duplicate yourself? How do you build a multi-op with an arsenal of DJs who bring the same level of professionalism and experience that you do? How do you maintain your brand consistency and quality-of-product as you scale? As a multi-op that does well over 400 weddings a year, I could spend hours explaining how, for example, we do all those weddings with little to no advertising, how ... [read more]

How have your sales been lately?  In a slump? You're probably not alone. Communication can ALWAYS be improved upon and that is what must be examined in these down times of sales. There are steps you can take however.  First, speak to her just as she is speaking to you.  If she's using short sentences with basic language...do the same.  If she mentions descriptive words about her event use those same words in your reply back.  My assistant (24 year old female by the way so she’s the same age as most brides that I’m marketing after) and I discussed this the other day at dinner after a bridal show and was amazed that some bus... [read more]

Search Without Stalking   I talk in my book SALES for Event Pros quite a bit about the Search process and this is a common question that I get. “Mitch, how do I research a client without appearing like a stalker?”   The first thing I do is I look for clues, not necessarily always in social media, but in the information they have already given me. I’m sure you have some required fields in your request for information forms but let’s say they contact you via email. What does their email address say about them? Is it a college email? A professional email? An older email provider like Hotmail or yahoo? Maybe it�... [read more]