324. How to Triple Your Wedding Bookings Without Being Pushy

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 tired of being ghosted by couples who 'need to think about it,' it’s time to stop the money leak in your sales process and start leading with the confidence your expertise deserves. 

In this episode, I’m breaking down how to create genuine urgency and handle objections in real-time so you can stop undervaluing your services and start tripling your bookings without ever feeling pushy. 

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

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EPISODE SHOW NOTES BLOG & MORE:

https://weddingproceo.com/increase-wedding-bookings-without-pressure/

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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! 

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Transcript

1:01

When a couple says, I need to think about it, that's not an objection. It's feedback. That's them telling you that you failed to create urgency on the call because if they felt like they needed to decide today. They would instead, they're kicking the can down the road and thinking about it turns into ghosting almost every single time. If you're hearing this on most of your sales calls, I don't care how good your pricing guide is or how pretty your proposal looks, your sales process is broken. And today I'm gonna show you exactly why and how to fix it. If we haven't met yet, I'm Brandee Gaar and I help wedding pros stop operating like exhausted freelancers and start running real businesses inside of Wedding Pro CEO we work with planners, photographers, DJs, venues, the whole industry. One of the biggest money leaks that I see: you're doing the consult. You're giving great info. You're being nice and friendly and warm, and then you let them walk away undecided, which is the same thing as saying no. So let's fix that because here's what usually happens. A couple gets on the call. You walk them through your process, you answer their questions, and then you send a proposal, they say, thank you. We just need to think about it. And you say, of course. Take your time. This is a big decision. I wanna make sure that you interview as many people as you can, or that you've weighed all of your options. That's the moment, CEO, that you lost the sale because now they compare you to three other vendors and then they overthink, or they ask their cousin who planned a wedding in 2014, they get busy and they disappear. Not because they're bad people, but because you gave them zero reason to decide. Urgency is what moves people from maybe to a yes. Without it, nothing happens because why does it need to. Let me be so clear? If someone can comfortably walk away from your consult without making a decision, your process has no urgency built into it. And when there's no urgency, there's no action. You're not losing deals because couples are flaky or they don't know what they're doing. You're losing deals because you are being too accommodating. And let me tell you that that's not customer service. That's weeks sales. Here's where most wedding pros get stuck in their head. You think urgency equals pressure, but it doesn't. Pressure is manipulation. Urgency is clarity. Pressure might sound like you need to book right now today. Urgency sounds more like, Hey, I just wanna make sure that you're aware that October is one of the busiest months of the year for weddings. With it being engagement season, we're literally doing consults every single day. I don't want that to feel like pressure at all. I just wanna make sure you understand that we don't hold dates until we have a signed contract, and I just wouldn't want you to be upset if you came back and that date wasn't available any longer. That is urgency, So that's clear. It's truthful, it's real, and it's you leading them and making them understand that, hey, not a big deal if you're not ready to move forward. It's not high pressure. It's not like sign right here. Or if you don't sign right here, you're gonna miss out on this huge discount. Like it's none of that. It's none of those gross tactics. It's literally leading them to truth. Do you see the difference? You're not forcing them, but you are informing them. You're helping them to make a real decision with real information. When we started doing this inside of my own planning company, our couples actually thanked us for that information. Our close rates started going up because people appreciated knowing the reality. It's literally leadership and it's showing your expertise and your confidence in your service. You know your going to get booked up. You know that you are, and so you want them to understand. I really love you guys. I really wanna work with you. I would love to make sure that you get this date, but I also wanna just let you know what happens. If you decide that you need more time to think about it, totally fine. I want you to not feel pressured, but I also just want you to know what the possibilities are. So let's talk about what to actually do in this moment that matters most. You're in the consult and they say, we just need to think about it. Do not say, of course, take your time. Of course you wanna think about it. Make sure that you feel really certain about this decision, and even interview other people if you need to. Y'all. The number of times I have heard that when reviewing student sales calls, I'm like, no, please tell me you did not say that. Instead, what I want you to say is, I totally understand this is a really big decision. Can I ask specifically what you need to think about? Is it the investment, the timeline, or is it something else completely. Now they have to tell you the truth because I need to think isn't the real objection? The real objection is typically price. They're comparison shopping, they're uncertain about the value that you've given them, or it's a logistical concern. And most of the time it's something you can actually resolve in like two minutes if you actually talk about the problem. But if you let them leave the call, you're never gonna get the chance because their objection now is just in their head and you didn't get a chance to actually say, oh, well let's talk about that then, because I need to think about it. Just simply means they don't have all the information that they need to make a decision. So ensure that you've given them absolutely everything before they leave. in our consults. I love to say, is there anything that I haven't told you today that would help you to know that we are absolutely 100% the planner for you? I love asking that question because it makes them have to either say, well, it is a little bit more than we were hoping to spend, or, well, we were really hoping that you would deliver X, Y, Z in your service, but I see that you don't, Or even better when they say, honestly, no, you guys are perfect. It's exactly what we're looking for. It's within our budget. So no, this is absolutely perfect. And then they almost feel a little bit silly because they're like, why am I not deciding then if honestly, everything here was perfect, like it doesn't make any sense, but they're the ones that have to come to that conclusion. You are just leading them there. But if you let them leave the call, you're never gonna get the chance. One of our students just started implementing this, and as awkward as it was at first, the more she practiced, the better that she got at it, and her close rate went from 18% to over 35%. It was the same leads in the same pricing. It was just a different way of managing the conversation. Now, sometimes, "I need to think about it" is a real objection, they genuinely need to talk to their fiance or they wanna loop in their parents, or there's another decision maker that's not on the call. Cool. That happens, but I want to know that that is the actual objection. But here's where most wedding pros still mess this up. They say, oh, totally, no problem. Talk to your fiance, talk to your parents, and just let me know. No, you guys, listen to me. Never let it float in the universe because floating turns into ghosting. If there's another decision maker involved, you don't end the call without the next step on the calendar. Here's exactly what you need to say instead: of course. I totally understand. We wanna make sure that you have time to talk with everyone involved. Then you're gonna layer in the urgency without the pressure. I do wanna let you know that we're only taking one more wedding for October, and with it being an engagement season, we're doing consults literally every single day. That's not pressure at all. I just don't want you to be disappointed if we book out. Then you take control. Why don't we set up follow up for next Friday so we can reconnect after you've had a chance to chat with your fiance. Does that work? Or if it's a parent thing, like my parents live outta state and I wanna make sure that we have time to loop them into this conversation. No problem. When do you think that you'll be talking to your parents? Is a week enough time for you to have that conversation? I'd love to make sure that we get a follow up on the calendar so we don't lose your date. Does that work? That's it. That's it. That's how easy it is. You didn't push and you didn't beg. You led them to the next step in the decision, right? You gave them clarity on your availability, You protected them. You're caring from missing out. Every call needs to end in one of two ways. Either the contract goes out because they said, yes, you're the pro for us, or a follow-up is booked on the calendar. There is no third option. Okay? No. Just keep me posted. No. Email me when you're ready. That's how deals die. People don't ignore meetings on their calendar. They may reschedule it if they're still not ready, but they're not gonna just ignore it. They ignore vague intentions or confusing next steps. So CEO, let me give you permission to see this differently. You are not being pushy when you lead to the sale. You are being helpful and you're showing that you care. Couples who wait almost always lose their first choice, so you're protecting them from that outcome. Think about how disappointing that would be if a couple came back to you in two or three months because you didn't tell them that you weren't holding their date, and now you have to say to them, sorry, we're not available. You are guiding them to make a confident decision instead of a delayed one. And that's simply not pressure, it's service, and it's you caring. Once you understand that selling gets so much easier. Okay, let's recap what we talked about in this episode. When someone says, I need to think about it, it means that you didn't show value and you didn't create urgency. Creating urgency isn't pushy, it's helpful. Ask what specifically they need to think about so that you can handle that objection in real time. And if there's another decision maker, always end the call with either a contract or a follow-up date on the calendar. And if you're hearing this objection constantly, you really likely don't have a lead problem. You have a sales problem and it's costing you thousands of dollars every single month. If you're tired of hearing, oh, I just need to think about it, and you're ready to start actually closing on your sales calls, here's what I want you to do. I want you to head over to wedding pro ceo.com/ application and book a gap assessment with my team. We'll audit your sales process, review your calls, and show you exactly where deals are falling apart Because the difference between a 10% close rate and a 30% close rate, it's literally triple your revenue, and that's just a skill gap. That's it, and we can help you fix it. Head over to wedding pro ceo.com/application or click the link in the description below. Let's fix your sales process so you stop losing deals when you should already be winning. CEO. Thank you so much for being here, and I'll see you next time.