323. It Sucks, But It Will Double Your Wedding Business Revenue

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 

Stop letting your hard-earned leads go to waste just because the follow-up feels a little awkward! 

I’m showing you exactly how to stop hiding behind busy work and start using leadership-driven sales strategies to double your revenue without spending another dime on marketing.

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 

https://amzn.to/4lbqZFw

Another favorite book of mine: Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell 

https://amzn.to/3ITKLb4

=========================  

EPISODE SHOW NOTES BLOG & MORE:

https://weddingproceo.com/double-wedding-business-revenue-follow-up/

========================= 

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Wedding Pro CEO Podcast. If you find these strategies helpful, make sure to share this episode with your fellow wedding pros. And remember, in the world of weddings, it's all about building genuine relationships and showcasing your best work. Until next time, keep shining, CEOs!

PLEASE SUPPORT THE PODCAST! LEAVE A REVIEW HERE: https://ratethispodcast.com/swd 

Have a question you’d like Brandee to answer? Ask here: http://bit.ly/3ZoqPmz

Heads up, CEO! Some of the links I share may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase—at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools and resources I actually use and love, and that I believe will help you grow a profitable, sustainable business you’re obsessed with.

=========================

Grab Your 2026 WPCEO Summit Ticket Here!!!

Take the Wedding Pro CEO's free GAP assessment

Transcript

1:01

Let's talk about something that's gonna make some of you super uncomfortable. There's one thing in your business right now that could easily double your revenue. Not long term, not someday, but this year, and dare I say, even next week, and almost all of you avoid it. Not because it doesn't work, but because it feels awkward, it feels uncomfortable. And it forces you to act like a business owner instead of hiding behind busy work. If your bookings feel inconsistent, if leads keep ghosting you, if you feel like you're always chasing the next inquiry, stay with me because once you see this, you won't be able to unsee it. If you're new here, I'm Brandee Gaar, founder of Wedding Pro CEO. I've scaled my own planning company into a multi six figure business, and now I help wedding pros, planners, photographers, DJs, venues, caterers, build profitable, sustainable businesses without burning out. And I can tell you, after working with thousands of wedding professionals, most of you don't have a lead problem. You have something else entirely. Here's what I see every single week. You get inquiries, you book consults, you show up, you send proposals, and then nothing. The couples disappear and you assume that they picked someone else. You emotionally move on after one email, one email. But here's what's actually happening that you don't get to see. One, they got busy or they had to talk to their fiance, or they looped their parents in, they went back to work, and the most common one, they honestly just forgot because they are busy. Meanwhile, you just let warm leads die, not because they weren't interested, but because you didn't stay in the conversation. You didn't stay top of mind. So what's the one thing that you can do to two x your business next month? It's follow up. Yes, that's it. It's not sexy, it's not flashy, but it is where your money is hiding. Most couples don't book on the first touch. Most couples don't book in the first contact, and most clients don't decide instantly. Most sales happen after the follow up, but most wedding pros stop way too early. Here's the thing, you do all of this work to get all of these inquiries. You market. You're on social media, you're going to the networking events, you're creating your funnel. You do the consults, you build the proposals, and then. You just hope people book Hope is not a sales strategy. If you stop after one email, you are quitting right before the finish line. Why would you put that much work into getting them to the consult and then not follow up. Some of you think following up is pushy, but it's not. It's leadership. Your client already raised their hand. They said, Hey, I'm looking for a dj. I'm looking for a photographer, and I like your work. They already booked the consult. They already told you that they were interested, and your job as the pro is to guide them to that decision, not to disappear. Following up isn't pressure following up is saying, Hey, I don't want you to lose your date. Or, Hey, I don't want you to book someone else of lower quality, or, Hey, I want to make sure that you are taken care of. Follow up shows that leadership and that you care about their event. If you truly believe that you are the best solution for their wedding, why would you not continue to follow up until they tell you no or they've signed your contract? Let me give you something super tactical that you can implement right now. Here's what we teach inside of Wedding Pro, CEO. Every consult ends one of two ways. Either one, the contract goes out immediately or two, you schedule a follow-up date on the call, not, Hey, think about it, reach out anytime. Or, Hey, just let me know. No, you're gonna say, "Of course, I totally understand that you wanna talk to your fiance or talk to your parents. I do wanna let you know that we're only taking one more wedding for October, and with it being engagement season, we're doing consults literally every single day. That's not pressure. I don't want you to feel pressure, I just don't want you to be disappointed if we book out. So why don't we go ahead and set up a follow-up call for next Friday. Does that work for you? Always end with either one. You send to the contract because they're ready to book, or two, you schedule a follow up. Always! You never, ever, ever end a consult with not having the next steps in place. Then here's what your flow is gonna look like. You're gonna do a consult and they're either going to be ready for a contract, so you're gonna send it as soon as they leave. Or they're gonna say, Hey, can you send me a little bit more information? I just wanna be able to Review this with my fiance or my parents, right? So you send an email just recapping what you talked about during your consultation, something like, Hey Sarah, I loved chatting with you today. Here's a quick recap of what we talked about. I'm excited to chat with you next Friday, right? Because you've set that follow up date. On your scheduled follow-up date, you're gonna reach out again, either via phone call or text, however you guys agreed to. And if they ghost, you're not going to stop. You're gonna follow up again because the vendor who wins is the one who stays in the conversation. My own company we have a 60 day automated follow up and our sales team is still sending personal follow ups in between there. Why? Because we have noticed by tracking the data that couples are either gonna book within 24 to 48 hours or they're gonna take much longer, and a lot of times it will take them up to three to five weeks to book because they just simply weren't ready to purchase when they did the consult with us, they still needed time to evaluate and put all of their details together because they were so new in the process. But for us, we wanna make sure that when they are ready to make that decision, that we are the ones who stay top of mind. We are the ones who continue to follow up and not in a gross way. Like, Hey, Susie, just wanted to make sure you're gonna be booking with us. Or, Hey Susie, just checking in. That's so gross. Instead, you're gonna follow up with something that is very personal to them. So something like, Hey Susie, I was at a wedding the other day and I absolutely loved how they set up their favors. I know you were talking about doing something similar, so I took a quick picture for you. Wanted to send it over. Something to make them know, Hey, this isn't just a canned follow up. It's not just a robot it's actually someone who cares about my day and that matters to me. And so you're gonna be top of mind when it is time for them to book. Now listen, I know how frustrating it can be when you're like, I did a consult with the person. They seemed so great. Now they have completely ghosted and it's rude, and I don't disagree with you. Okay? I do think it's rude to not just shoot back a text or a quick email and say, Hey, we've decided to wait a few more months before booking our vendors. Or, Hey, we've gone in a different direction. But that just doesn't happen all the time. Our couples not only have full-time jobs and lives, but now all of a sudden they have to plan this huge event and they're overwhelmed. So step into their shoes for a second and just say, you know what? While I would love a text back, I'm gonna understand that that's just not always the case, and I'm gonna stay top of mind until they tell me no. CEO. I wanna say this as clearly as possible. If you are uncomfortable following up, you're choosing comfort over the success of your business. That's it. Hard stop. This isn't about being annoying. It's about running your business in a sustainable way that builds profit for you and your family. You don't need more leads. You need to close the leads that you already have that are already warm. Most of you could double your revenue this year just by properly working your existing inquiries. The same traffic, the same marketing, the same effort, but better follow up. Okay, so here's your challenge from this episode. I want you right now to go look at the last 30 days of inquiries that you got. How many did you actually follow up with? More than once. That number tells me everything about why your revenue looks the way that it does. And if you want help building a real sales system, not just automated emails and hope. This is what my team does with gap assessments, where we walk through your funnel, your sales process, your pricing, and we show you exactly where the money is leaking out of your funnel. If you want my team's eyes on your business and on your funnel so we can see where you're leaking cash, you can head over to wedding pro ceo.com/application and book a time to chat with my team. We do these calls free. We do dozens of them every single week, we absolutely love making an impact on the wedding industry where we're teaching business owners how to build a business that actually makes you money. Because here's the truth, follow up stinks. I know that I totally get it. I get frustrated by it too in both of my businesses. But you know what else stinks? Being broke. Feeling like you have no idea how you're gonna make payroll that month. Not understanding why you feel like everyone else around you is successful and you're not. I'll take uncomfortable text over burnout and broke every single day. If you love this episode and you're like, yes, Brandee, this is the kind of fire that I need in my belly to make me accountable to hitting my biggest goals. I would love it if you would take two minutes and leave us a five star review on whatever platform that you're listening on, and if you're feeling super generous, make sure to share this episode with another Wedding Pro who needs to hear this message as well. CEO. Thank you so much for being here, and I'll see you next time.