Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Fix Your Sales System
If you’re here, you know I’m all about fixing your wedding sales. So today I want to talk about why now is the perfect time to fix your sales system, and what might be holding you back. (And it’s probably not what you think!) There are so many things that we put off in our businesses until we're not "busy!" But I want to challenge you to get serious about tackling things in your sales process that will make your life easier. I'm also going to share with you how you can get some more time back in your business, so you can find time to work on this. I can't wait to share these tips with you!
In case we haven't met, I’m Carolyn Kulb, and I help wedding pros stop getting ghosted by designing a Gentle Sales System that treats every potential client with warmth and compassion from the very beginning, and builds the trust that is necessary before they can book you for their wedding. I’m also the CEO of Bloom Poet, a boutique floral and event design studio here in Seattle. My wedding business is pretty much on autopilot now, and I’m really excited to help other business owners do the same.
Technology is Amazing
First, we are living in an incredible time for technology. The technology available to fix your wedding sales system is better than it has ever been before. The tools available are amazing! Even 5 years ago, we could not do the things we can do now with tools like HoneyBook. Back then, there was no way to automate emails, send a beautiful brochure without a gigantic PDF, or automatically book calls. Of course, even 5 years ago people weren’t used to Zoom meetings. In that time, it was Skype (maybe), but mostly in person meetings with clients.
Post-COVID, people are used to using tech tools like Zoom, Calendly, and other things that make our lives easier. Naturally, the technology to help you as the business owner has never been better, either. You can do so many amazing things with HoneyBook that you couldn’t do even 5 years ago.(If you want to learn more about what HoneyBook can do, you can read my review here.) If you are not using a CRM to fix your wedding sales system, you are missing out. There has been no better time to get on board!
Competitive Advantage
Most wedding business owners allow their wedding sales system to simmer on the back burner, and get super focused on just delivering well for client work. But guess what? Your portfolio isn’t enough anymore. Pretty pictures just won’t cut it. Clients want a great experience - which means leveraging the best tools and systems so that you can provide that, from the moment they inquire. If you’re ignoring your sales system, you’re in good company. But if you decide to fix it now, you’re going to have such a huge advantage over your competitors and peers in the wedding business. There is no time like the present to fix your sales system, once and for all!
The "Engagement Gap"
I don't know about you, but wedding business has been a bit slower this year for a lot of people. News articles all year have been talking about the "engagement gap" in 2023 that was brought on by COVID. Fortunately, this gives you a window of time to transition without losing any sales. You probably also have more time this year to tackle bigger projects, like overhauling your sales system, without your client work suffering for it. This year, no one is really going to notice that you are having growing pains.
In the Wedding Sales Fix, we transform your wedding sales system in 12 weeks. However, even if it takes you longer than 12 weeks, that’s okay. Bookings are probably coming in slower, and you can troubleshoot as you go. You might think it’s counterintuitive to focus on your sales system now, when you’re not getting as many leads. But the truth is that you could get a thousand leads a month, and still not book them if they can’t trust you. So investing your time and energy into a Gentle Sales System that builds trust with potential clients will save you a lot of heartache when you do have a ton of leads coming in. (Which you will!)
You're Losing Bookings Now
When you don’t take action to fix your sales system, you’re losing out on bookings and inquiries every day. Every day that your sales system is slow, outdated, or difficult? You’re losing a booking. Every time your client is confused by your communications, pricing, or approach, you’re losing a booking. Whenever an email gets lost in spam, you’re losing a booking. In all honesty, if you don’t take action on this now, you’ll continue to get leads without making those bookings. And you’ll continue to feel the frustration of “what am I doing wrong?” in your business.
If you’re reading this, it’s because you know that your wedding sales system could be better. You know that what I’m saying rings true. So you’re going to continue down this path - maybe for 6 months, maybe a year or more - struggling to book enough weddings. You won’t be making the income you want, doing the work you want, or running your business in a way that feels sustainable and abundant. Naturally, you’ll continue to be unhappy in your business, spending way too much time on stuff like emails, and frantically trying to keep up with new leads and existing client work. And unfortunately, you’ll be doing it for less than minimum wage, because you’re not bringing in the bookings you need to pay yourself enough. It’s a mess, and it will continue to be a mess if you don’t fix it now. Do you really want to be stuck in the same place a year from now?
You're Wasting Time Now
If you continue to not fix your sales system, you’re going to keep wasting time on your sales process. So much time. This includes spending a ton of time on free podcasts, blog posts, and resources to reverse engineer a solution. (Yes, hi, I see you there!) Right now, you’re probably spending hundreds of hours per year on emails back and forth, long sales calls, and chasing clients who will never book. It only takes 5 hours a week of that stuff to add up to 260 hours a year. If you could automate 95% of your sales process, you just saved yourself HUNDREDS of hours per year in long sales calls and emails.
What would you do with 260 extra hours? That’s over a month of 8-hour-days. Where would you go on vacation for a month? Or what would you do with your family, friends, or kiddos if you had an extra month off every year? Or what else could you achieve in your business if you got a whole month back to work on something else? I hope this shows you what's possible when you get serious about fixing your sales system for wedding clients.
Here's The Fix
I'm so excited about my signature program, The Wedding Sales Fix, because it addresses all of these issues in a short 12 weeks. I have been in your shoes, and I promise you there is an alternative! If you’re not on the waitlist, you need to be - because there has never been a better time to fix this stuff in your business. We’ve talked about why now is the perfect time to work on your sales system in your business, and also what will happen if you continue to wait. The choice is yours, but I’m always going to encourage you to take action on the things that will move the needle in your business.
As I said in the beginning, the doors will open soon to my new program, the Wedding Sales Fix. The Wedding Sales Fix is my comprehensive, customizable program where I teach you everything you need to design your own Gentle Sales System that will turn new leads into trusted friends - and bookings. And when I say everything, I really mean it. Y’all know I do not do things halfway. We tackle every single setting and email template you need in HoneyBook to make sure everything is as smooth and automated as possible in your sales system. You can get on the waitlist now to be on the VIP list when we open the program back up. So if you’re at all interested in improving your sales process, and you're tired of waiting, the waitlist is the place to be.
You can also join my email list, The Wedding Besties, to get lots of great tips, trends, and info on wedding sales every week. Just put in your email below!
