In many industries, businesses have to do a lot of cold calling and prospecting. You’d spend a lot of your time trying to identify people, and businesses, who might be interested in your services. While that’s true for corporate events, non-profit events and some others, the wedding industry is mostly a reactive industry. Sure, you have to advertise and market yourself so that you can be found, and that involves putting yourself out there where your target customers are looking.
But, for most sales people in the wedding industry, the sales process starts when the email comes in, the social media message arrives, the contact form gets filled out or the phone rings (I know… if only!). Stop Selling By Alan Berg With more than 20 years of experience in wedding-related sales and marketing, Alan Berg has been called ‘The Leading International Speaker and Expert on the Business of Weddings & Events’ . He is also the author of five books which are all available on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and audio formats.Find out more about Alan and his consulting and website review services at and help them buy! !
Get off the bench … you’re in the game! You can’t see if they’re looking at your social posts, unless they comment on them, like them or leave you an emoticon. You can’t see if they’re looking at your online advertising, unless they click through or submit an enquiry. You can’t see who is looking at your website, unless they contact you.
However, once they do contact you, they’ve raised their hand and shouted: “I need what you’re selling!” At that point, they don’t need to be sold. They need you to help them get the outcome that they desire. They don’t want music, they want their friends and family to dance the night away. They don’t want a starlit dancefloor, ‘LOVE’ letters or up-lighting, they want to create a sensory experience that enhances their party’s atmosphere.
The don’t want an MC, they want to have fun with their guests and have everything run smoothly. Stop selling WHAT you do By the time you get to have a conversation with them, don’t sell the bullet-point list of what you do. Every DJ has a very similar list. As a matter of fact, when I’m reviewing websites I see many generic-looking lists of services.
I could take the logo off the list of one DJ, and put it on any of their competitors' sites and their competitor could fulfill it. Don’t go through a sales pitch of that list. Find out the outcomes the prospective clients desire, and talk to them about how you’re going to help them get those outcomes. When you have someone paint your house, do you ask what kind of brushes they’re going to use?
When your car needs servicing, do you ask what kind of tools the mechanic is going to use? When you eat at a restaurant, do you ask what kind of oven they’re using? Of course not. What you care about is that your house looks beautiful, your car runs smoothly and that your food looks and tastes great.
Those are the outcomes. Find their WHY A sales conversation is not a sales pitch. A sales pitch is a script. Actors read the same script every time.
You shouldn’t be doing that with your customers. A real sales conversation is more like an improvisation, where you react to what the other person, or people, are saying. I know a few DJs who have taken improv classes to get better at reacting in the moment, whether in the sales appointment, or at the wedding or event. The most important thing to do is listen very carefully.
If you’re the one doing most of the talking in a sales conversation, you’re not learning much about what the prospective customers want or need. That only happens when you ask good questions, and then really listen to their answers. Given the chance, they’ll tell you the outcomes they desire. You just have to give them the chance.
When you assume … Human nature often gets in the way. You do this all the time, it’s your business. But it’s likely the first time a couple have planned a wedding. So, your memory of what your other couples and customers have wanted, and what you’ve done for them, gets in the way of your listening.
It's called the ‘Curse of Knowledge’ . Sure, many of the outcomes that this couple desires will be similar to what others have wanted. But if you’re not really listening, you’ll make assumptions and miss their buying signals. Think of it from their perspective.
When you’re the customer, you don’t want the salesperson just going through the motions do you? Of course not. You want them to be genuinely interested in finding out the outcome you desire. Have you ever had a salesperson who you felt wasn’t listening to your needs and wants?
I’m sure we all have at one time or another. How did that make you feel? Valued? Cared for?
Important? Not in the least. Have you ever had a high-pressure salesperson who you felt was all about the sale, and not really interested in the outcomes you desired? I know, I have.
I’ve walked out of more than one shop, car dealer, or mattress store, to escape the high-pressure tactics. And let’s not put everyone in the same bucket. I’ve also had great experiences in shops, car dealerships and mattress stores. Ask for the sale These four, short words will propel an average salesperson to another level.
I hear about it all the "If you’re the one doing most of the talking in a sales conversation, you’re not learning much about what the prospective customers want or need" time in my sales training. You go through your sales pitch, maybe even ask really good questions and listen to the answers, but you don’t ask for the sale. Maybe you feel it’s being pushy. Maybe you're intimidated.
Maybe you’re afraid of rejection. Whatever the reason, learning how to ask for the sale is the key to selling and profiting more. If you change your mindset from ‘selling’ to ‘helping them buy’ , you’ll learn how to get over that hump. Asking for the sale isn ’t high-pressure If you’ve asked them good questions, and really listened to the answers, then it’s incumbent upon you to ask for the sale.
That’s still helping them buy. As long as you’re not pushing products or services on them that they don’t need to get the outcomes they desire, you’re helping them buy. Suggesting products or services they haven’t asked about is still helping them buy, as long as they want the outcomes those products and services provide. Since most wedding and event customers are novices, they may not know what’s available.
So, tell them about possible alternative or enhanced outcomes, and then help them get those outcomes. What’s your expectation? Another issue I often see is salespeople that don’t expect the customer to buy on the first appointment, or through email, or at a wedding fair. One of the fundamental truths of life is that you usually get what you expect.
If you expect that a potential customer won’t buy, you’re going to be right most of the time. If you expect that they might buy, you’ll be right much of the time as well. If you’re confident that they’ll buy, you’ll be right even more of the time. That confidence comes from experience, and also from learning how to listen better and notice the buying signals.
Most things are less scary once you’ve tried them. One of my venue clients had only closed one couple on the first appointment the year before they had me in for sales training. The following year they closed 17 couples on the first appointment, and last year they closed 37 couples on the first appointment. What was once scary, has become the expectation.
What’s your expectation when you get an enquiry? You didn’t cold-call them, they reached out to you. They’ve eliminated most of your competitors, who are sitting on the sidelines and will probably never know this couple even exists. They must like what they’ve seen, read and heard about you, or they wouldn’t have reached out to you.
So, don’t sell them anything… just help them buy the outcomes that they already think you can provide. That's helping both of you! "If you’ve asked them good questions, and really listened to the answers, then it’s incumbent upon you to ask for the sale." Alan Berg will be one of the two Lead Keynote Speakers at this year’s Pro Mobile Conference, taking place in Solihull, near Birmingham, on Sunday the 29th and Monday the 30th of March 2020. He will also be hosting an exclusive DJ-only Mastermind Day in the same venue on Tuesday the 31st of March.
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