Yesterday, we talked about how frustrated I was when I started my wedding planning business because I couldn’t get clients. A friend of mine told me to make a list of all the people I knew and to indicate on this list, whether or not they knew about my wedding planning business. After that exercise I realized that these were the people that knew me and that would be my biggest cheerleaders when referring my business.

Here are two great ways to get that first paying client using the people you already know:

Send letters of introduction to everyone you know. Send 5-10 letters each week. Hand write a note at the top of each one to make the letter more personal. (Hi Rachel! It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. Would love to catch up over a cup of coffee. I’ll call you this week. Best, Wendy.”)

Follow up with each person by phone and ask them to have coffee with you so you can catch up on their lives and what they are doing, talk to them about your new wedding planning business and ask them if they know anyone that may need your services. This is called educating your personal advocates. These are people who know you, like you and trust you so who better to get the word out about you and your business?

Take on a few planning projects for free. Once your circle of friends recommend brides to you, take on 1 or 2 “scholarship” brides and do some planning for them. My first two weddings in Phoenix were friends of mine from my church. I planned and designed both of their weddings at no charge so that I could sharpen my skills and start creating my portfolio.

Find someone you know personally or through a friend or relative, that is engaged and offer to help them plan their wedding for free. Be sure to take pictures of any design work that you do and go above and beyond in your service to them. Don’t forget to have the couples give you testimonials in return for your planning work. Be specific about what kind of referral you want from them. Ask them how you made the planning process easier for them and tell them to include that in the testimonial.

Be sure to follow up with them every few months or so to see how things are going and to find out if they know of anyone else that is getting married. I’m sure they will be more than thrilled to send new business your way!

And the referral cycle will grow!

If you want more information about how to get clients this way or other areas of building your business, I now offer one to one coaching calls once a week to aspiring wedding planners. Email me at info {at} aspiretoplan {dot} com for more information. I’ll be happy to help!

Until next time…

Aspire to Plan!

Many of the emails I get from aspiring planners ask me how I got my first client. I’d done weddings for family and friends on the east coast before moving to Phoenix but I never really charged anyone for it.

I didn’t have my first paying client until six months after I launched my business in 2005. I don’t remember exactly how the bride found me because at that time I didn’t realize that I should be tracking that kind of information. (I do now!)

But after that, there was no miraculous flood of clients knocking on my door and I was still frustrated because I had no clients.

I advertised, I networked (not successfully but I was “out there”) and I read lots of books on marketing and building a client base…but none of them worked really well for me. I must have changed my pricing a dozen times because I thought my rates were too low…too high. I wasn’t getting vendor referrals because no one really “knew” me or my services well enough to recommend me. I had quite a few initial consultations in those six months but none of them ever turned into paying clients.

And then one day I had a phone conversation with the editor of a popular services guide here in town and he asked me how business was. I told him how discouraged I was that I hadn’t been able to land any clients despite doing all the things I thought I should do. He told me that in the beginning stages of building a business, its not what you know but WHO you know. You’ve heard that before, right? Well that old adage is very true. Until your industry colleagues get to know your service style and you gain credibility, its going to be difficult to get clients.

My editor friend then asked me to make a list of everyone I know from work, church, my gym, my hair and nail salons…everyone. He said that these are the people that you have a relationship with and can vouch for your character.

Then he told me to indicate next to each person’s name whether they know about my new wedding planning business or not.

When I was done, I had a HUGE list! A light bulb went off…

People will refer business to you when they…

Know you…
Like you…and
Trust you.

Period.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about a few ways to use the people you know to get client referrals.

Until next time…

Aspire to Plan!

Some of you may be wondering what a marketing plan is…really. It’s not a business plan…that is a much more complicated document that takes several weeks and sometimes months to prepare. I worked on my business plan for more than a year and it covers my company structure, operations and financial projections for the next 5 years. A marketing plan is generally prepared in 12 month blocks and includes action steps that will hopefully turn your efforts into paying clients. It is also an evolving document because as marketing activities succeed or fail, you will need to change your plan activities accordingly.

There are several sections to include in your marketing plan. One of them is describing your current company situation and what resources you have in order to implement your plan. Another important section is to list the goals and objectives you have. Make them measurable like the amount of money you want to earn or the number of clients you would like to work with.

There are several other important sections to include in your marketing plan however I’d like to concentrate on the actual activities that are included in the plan.

Choosing which activities to include in a marketing plan will depend on two important factors:

Cost
Availability to execute

There are some activities that are low cost or no cost…like blogging…but it requires a commitment of time. Some activities will require a large investment of time…like networking…but may not be right for you because you’re starting your business as part time. You may not have the time to get out each week to networking events. Whichever ones you choose, setting aside the money and the time you’ll need for each activity in your marketing plan will give you a road map for your marketing success.

Here’s a short list of marketing activities you may choose:

Advertising
Blogging
Social Networking
Direct Marketing
Email Marketing
Networking
Partnerships and Joint Ventures
Public Relations
Newsletter
Referral Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Speaking Engagements

Choose at least three to four activities for your plan. Map them out on a calendar weekly and monthly so you are always performing some sort of marketing activity.

(Download an example of a marketing calendar for a fictitious wedding planning company. You’ll need Adobe Acrobat to view. Download Adobe Acrobat here.)

Having a calendar helps to keep you focused on what activities need to be done and when. It will also help when tracking results. This will come in handy when trying to determined whether or not to continue a specific activity. You’ll be able to attribute the increase or decrease in business based on when you implement specific activities in your plan.

Consistency is also very important to the success of any marketing activity and it also creates legitimacy for your brand. Potential clients and vendors will see that you are serious about your business and care about its success. If you’re going to blog, blog consistently…if you’re going to publish a newsletter, send it out when you say you’re going to send it out..consistently.

Developing a marketing plan is one of the many modules that will be covered in our workshop coming later this year. In the meantime, if you have specific marketing plan questions or would like more info on our workshop, email us at info{at} aspiretoplan {dot} com, and we would be happy to help.

Until then…

Aspire to Plan!