{"id":284863,"date":"2023-02-09T13:01:43","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T02:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/?post_type=au-pro-education&p=284863"},"modified":"2023-04-14T16:28:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T06:28:25","slug":"sales-strategies-how-to-close-leads","status":"publish","type":"au-pro-education","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/pro-education\/sales-strategies-how-to-close-leads\/","title":{"rendered":"How to close your wedding leads: Webinar recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

We started off our wedding business webinars with a big one this year! Easy Weddings Senior Account Manager and Marriage Celebrant, Belinda Letts, shared some epic sales strategies to attract your target couple, convert the enquiry, and manage your pipeline. Here\u2019s a summary of what we learned.<\/p>\n

\"Belinda
Belinda Letts, Easy Weddings Account Manager and celebrant. Credit: Single Soul Wedding Photography & Videography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Turning your target audience into potential customers<\/h2>\n

Before we can talk about sales, we need to understand a few things about our potential clients:<\/p>\n

Determine who is your ideal client<\/h3>\n

Not every client is going to be the right client for you. If you\u2019re not targeting the couples you really want to work with, or whose vision you best align with, your conversion rate will probably take a hit and you\u2019ll have a lot of time wasted. So invest less time in appealing to a broad market, and more time in appealing to your niche market.<\/p>\n

Are you appealing to your ideal client?<\/h3>\n

In your branding and marketing, be really clear about who you are and who your community is, rather than trying to appeal to every couple. Couples can usually tell when suppliers try to be someone they\u2019re not or offer a product that is beyond their wheelhouse. Instead, double down on your personal brand and demonstrate who you are through your photos, your language, and your social media presence. Use the language of your community in your marketing to help attract like-for-like.<\/p>\n

Another really important tool to connect with your community on a personal level is video on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. It can be daunting if you are not used to putting yourself out there, but people buy from people. They want to know who they will be working with to make their wedding vision come to life, so video allows you to build that personal relationship in the planning phase.<\/p>\n

One key factor that is often overlooked is ensuring your service location or city is listed on your website, Easy Weddings storefront, and socials. \u201cI can’t even tell what state the business is, let alone what areas they’re servicing,\u201d Belle said.<\/p>\n

\"Belle
Belle often shares Instagram Reels to connect with her audience on a personal level. Source: @wedding.belle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Consider the top 3 buying influences<\/h3>\n

Next, consider the top three factors influencing couples to book their wedding supplier and cover those bases: upfront pricing, relevant photos, and positive reviews.<\/p>\n

Upfront pricing<\/h4>\n

Be transparent with your pricing or price range. It will weed out the bargain hunters and time-wasters.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some categories, upfront pricing can be a little bit difficult, so list your price range<\/em> or a starting price,<\/em>\u201d Belle recommended.<\/p>\n

Relevant photos<\/h4>\n

Weddings are a visual and emotional purchase, so ensure you use quality images that align with the style trends today\u2019s couples want for their weddings, and roll these images across platforms. Our data shows us that 73% of couples will leave a supplier\u2019s Easy Weddings storefront to research them further \u2013 either on their website, social media or online reviews \u2013 so consistency is key.<\/p>\n

Network with the photographers and videographers you have worked with on the same wedding, and ask them to share their professional-quality photos that you can use on your platforms. Just be sure to credit or tag them when using the images. If you don\u2019t have many great images to showcase your product or service, partner with a local photographer to set up styled wedding shoots.<\/p>\n

Reviews<\/h4>\n

Make sure you have reviews where couples are looking, on multiple platforms. That could be Google Reviews, on your Easy Weddings storefront, maybe even on your Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouples do scroll through a list of suppliers on Easy Weddings. Seeing one review next to one supplier and 80 reviews next to another supplier, they\u2019re going to be more drawn towards the supplier with the 80 reviews,\u201d Belle said.<\/p>\n

You can read more in our article:\u00a0How to ask for reviews and why they add value to your business<\/strong><\/a>, which also includes a template to help you ask for reviews.<\/p>\n

Make it easy for couples to contact you<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re on Easy Weddings, the couple will already be signed in and their email, phone number, wedding date and location will be pre-formulated. So all they have to do is write a message, click \u201cenquire now\u201d and that information will be sent directly to the supplier. But when 37% of couples jump from Easy Weddings to your website, ensure you have a clear Call To Action on every page.<\/p>\n

A contact form makes things much simpler than asking the couple to send you an email, Belle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a couple, I would then have to copy the email address, open another browser, log into my emails, paste the email address, and think of an email I want to send. It’s just all too hard. If you want to stop the bounce rate of your website, make it easier and make it clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each page should end with a contact form so the couple doesn’t have to keep searching around for it when they are ready. Keep it between five to eight boxes maximum \u2014 get the basic information that will help you provide more information.<\/p>\n

\"Your
Your website should make it easy for couples to contact you.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHow the end of your contact form finishes will actually make a difference in terms of how many people are going to inquire with you,\u201d Belle said. \u201cI’ve tested this myself. I’ve seen contact forms end with things like \u2018marry me\u2019 or \u2018book me\u2019, and I feel like that’s quite presumptuous. By changing it from \u2018inquire now\u2019 to \u2018check my date\u2019, my bounce-through rate reduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn’t just have to be \u2018submit\u2019 or \u2018enquire now, there’s so many different ways you can write it. For example, if you are a planner, you might have \u2018plan my dream\u2019. \u201c<\/p>\n

To learn more about your target audience into potential customers, watch the video below:<\/p>\n