Wedding Pro CEO | Building Profitable Wedding Businesses
Dive deep into the wedding industry and learn actionable tips from host Brandee Gaar and guest wedding pro CEOs that will enable you take your wedding business to new heights!
Uncover the proven strategies, insights, and stories of successful wedding professionals who have built thriving businesses in this dynamic and competitive market.
Each week, Brandee Gaar, a seasoned wedding industry expert and CEO of Blush by Brandee Gaar, brings you exclusive interviews with top wedding industry pros!
This weekly podcast is for wedding pros. Here from planners, venue owners, photographers, florists, caterers, djs, and more!!
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Wedding Pro CEO | Building Profitable Wedding Businesses
306. Most Wedding Pros Skip the Budget Talk (and It's Costing You Money)
You didn’t start your business to stay stuck. If you're ready to finally hit 6 or 7 figures WITHOUT burning out — book a call with our team → https://weddingproceo.com/application
If you're avoiding the budget conversation with your couples, you're leaving money—and bookings—on the table.
In this episode, I walk you through exactly how to ask about budget without sounding salesy, so you can pitch confidently, close more sales, and finally stop working for less than you're worth.
The (FREE!)ASSUME Sales Training: 2x your wedding bookings in 30 days—step by step. Thousands of wedding pros have already used it to land more clients immediately! http://weddingproceo.com/freetrainingorg
A favorite book of mine: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Another favorite book of mine: Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
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EPISODE SHOW NOTES BLOG & MORE:
https://weddingproceo.com/wedding-pros-skip-budget-talk/
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Most wedding pros are losing sales before they ever pitch a thing, because they're skipping one question that determines everything in your sales process. What's your budget? I know because I skipped it too. I built one of the largest planning firms in Orlando, Florida, and for years I danced around the money talk it cost me so many booked clients. Now I've coached over 1100 wedding business owners to fix their sales process, and this is one of the. First mistakes that we correct. I'm gonna show you why skipping the budget conversation literally kills trust, clarity, and conversions. And I'll walk you through exactly how to ask the question without sounding weird or pushy. Okay. Let's just call it right out. You are skipping the budget conversation because it feels awkward. You don't wanna sound greedy. You're afraid. They'll say it's too expensive and you'd rather wow them with your services and just hope the money part works out. But here's the truth. That's not strategy, that's fear. And fear has no place on the road to success. Here's what happens when you don't ask about budget. You pitch blind, you send a proposal and cross your fingers, but you get ghosted because they were expecting a$2,000 quote, and instead, yours came in at 7,800 worst of all, you lose the chance to handle that objection to educate them on why your price is what it is. Most couples. Don't know what things cost. They've never planned a wedding before. You have. So if you avoid the budget conversation, you can't lead them. And when you can't lead, you can't sell. So how do you do this without sounding salesy, without being pushy? So many business owners, this is like your biggest fear, and I totally get it, because you don't wanna seem desperate, right? Instead, what I want you to think about is you have the solution that they need, but in order to give them that solution, you have to understand. All of it, the whole picture. You've asked a lot during your consult, hopefully about what they love, what they're looking for, what they don't wanna see at their wedding. But when we don't ask about the price, which is a major factor in their buying decision, it leaves a gaping hole that we can't pitch correctly because we genuinely have no idea if we're even playing in the same ball field. So here's exactly how I teach it to our students inside of Wedding Pro CEO. It's a three part script that works every single time will help you to really be seen as the expert that's guiding them to a solution versus a pushy used car salesman. Step one is to just normalize it. Let's talk about budget for a second. I know it's not the fun part, but it helps me to make sure I'm pointing you in the right direction. nine times out of 10, they're either gonna tell you, we're not sure yet, right? Because they don't want to be the first ones to throw out a number. It's like step one of negotiating tactics. or they're gonna just make up a number and throw it out to see what you'll say. that's where a lot of wedding pros get frustrated, right? When you say, have you thought about your budget yet? So you've taken that bold step to ask the question, and then they're like, oh, we're not really sure. so you're like, okay, well now we're, where do I go from here? They don't even have a budget, or they're not gonna tell me. So now I just have to go into the blind pitch again with a proposal. But that's absolutely false. This is where step two comes in. Step two is to ask for the whole picture. Okay, so you're the photographer and they've said, we're not really sure what our budget is for photography, so you can instead say, I totally get it. It can be really difficult to figure out how much you should spend on each vendor, right? There's so much information out there, but I really would love to help you to figure out what would be the right budget for you. So Have you thought about what your overall budget for the wedding is? Do you know how much you're spending overall? if they still say, Hmm, we're not sure, I would say, okay, well, let's talk it out a little bit. I want to lead them. I want to educate them. So this is where I'm gonna start digging in again. Let's go with this photographer example. I'm gonna say, so based on everything you've told me. I really feel like it's gonna be best for you to have at least eight hours of coverage. because there's a gap between your ceremony and your reception, I actually think we could possibly add a ninth, but that could be optional. So with the eight hours of coverage, you're at two different venues. We would definitely have a second photographer with us as well. I think that we talked about an engagement session. You definitely want an engagement session, right? So we'll add that in as well. So typically for a service like this, our pricing is gonna be about $7,800. So typically for a package like this, based on your timeline for your day and what I'm suggesting, I'm gonna tell you that I think our eight hour service would be perfect. And if we get down the line and we see that you need that ninth hour, we can always look at that then. But our eight hour service includes the engagement session. It also includes a small highlight album for you, package is $7,800. How does that feel for you? Now, instead of you asking them to give you just some random number, you are leading them there. this is the piece that so many wedding pros miss. I literally watch and audit so many sales calls from our members, and this is probably the number one feedback that I give, is that when you ask the budget question, I'm so proud of you for finally asking it. When they said, I don't know, you let it go. And that did two terrible things for you. One, it made you not be able to pitch, and two, it made it. So when you go to send that proposal, you have no idea whether it's coming back or not, that's a really stinky place to be. Instead, if you would've turned the table and. Totally, no problem. why don't we work backwards from what you've told me and I will tell you what I think you need for your wedding day, and then I'm gonna pitch a price to you based on that, because now you are seeing me as an expert because I've been able to tell you, this is what you're gonna need based on everything you've told me. Here's why it's important. And then if I pitch the price out, let's say I say $7,800, and they're like, oh my gosh, Now they're gonna tell you the truth. They're either going to say, yeah, oh my gosh, that's perfect. Yes, I love it. Like, let's sign on the dotted line because their budget was 8,000 and you came in right under, you didn't know that 'cause they didn't tell you, but you led them there. Or they're gonna tell you, Ugh, this all sounds perfect. Like, yes, all of that. We want all of that. But honestly, our budget was only 6,000. We love your work, so we'd probably be able to get like 7,000, but there's no way we can get to 7,800, especially without the ninth hour. Now you have the opportunity to talk through what that could look like and handle that objection. You have the ability to either one, take something out of the package and explain how that could work to get them to the 7,000. Or you could say, I totally get it. Like I know it can be tough, right? So what I could do is I can't come down on the price, but if you're willing to go ahead and sign your contract today, and I love you guys. You love me, like I think this is gonna be amazing, what I'll do is I'll just go ahead and throw in the ninth hour for you as a bonus, that way Yes, I know it's. Slightly over your budget, but you're getting every single thing that you're gonna need on that day. So we can tell your full story. How does that feel? They're likely going to find the money if that's the case. Right. honestly, even if they don't, if they say, you know, it's just out of our budget, at least you know now, and you could say. I totally get it. If anything changes in your budget, let me know. The other option, especially for a photographer is being able to walk them through what it could look like for you not to stay until the end. Right? A lot of couples think that you have to stay until the end. We have to get the photographer until the end, but the reality is. A lot of times people are not doing a grand exit, or even if they are, they may not care that much about it. Right. I get it. If you're doing this big sparkler exit, most of the time you want that covered. But the reality is, if you could shave two hours off of your photography time by having your photographer leave only about 30 minutes into dancing, it's such a smart way to save money because there's only so many pictures that a photographer wants to take of your drunken guests, right? Like, can I get an amen for this? Right? So although photographers are like, yes, please do not keep me all the way through dancing, so. Again, though, those are all conversations you can have once you can get to the price, and the only way to get to that price is by you leading the conversation. So don't stop at, we're not sure what our budget is, don't stop there. Lead them to a number, push get to the end and handle the objections. Step three of course, is once you handle those objections to say, you guys, I cannot wait to work with you. Here's what the next steps look like to book our service. No pressure, no salesy pitch, just data. And with that data, now you know how to position your service, how to guide their expectations and how to close. This is how five figure clients are booked, not with fancy brochures or with a hundred dms, but with clarity, with leadership and with confidence. Talking about money doesn't make you salesy. It makes you a pro, it makes you a CEO, who is. Scaling their business. If you're done losing sales because you are scared to ask the hard questions, let's fix your sales process together. Did you know that my team offers free gap assessments for wedding business owners? Our business consultants have audited hundreds of wedding businesses to help them understand where they're leaking money and exactly what they need to do next to double their revenue. If you're interested in having my team's eyes on your business, head over to wedding pro ceo.com/application or click the link in the description grab a time that works for you so that we can get started on scaling your business. One last thing. If you got anything from this episode, take a second to like, comment, and subscribe. And if you're feeling extra generous, I would love it so much. If you would take two minutes to leave a five star review for us On whatever platform you're listening on. Thanks so much for being here, and I'll see you next time.
