Saundra Hadley: Sales Guru

Written by Amanda B. Young, Associate for MasterPiece Weddings:

One of the most important aspects of wedding planning is learning how to sell yourself. This is an essential element [essential enough that we will most definitely cover it more thoroughly in another post] but today, we wanted to introduce you to our favorite expert on this.

Saundra Hadley (@planningforever) is a well-known, established wedding planner who is also an amazing speaker and sales coach. Recently, she launched http://www.saundrahadley.com/ to showcase these talents.

Her new blog, in our opinion, has some of the best industry business advice out there. Recently, she has covered topics like where to meet for sales consults, selling in a recession, and not taking sales personally. And, since you will not make any money without selling yourself in some capacity, we strongly suggest that you check her out because, well, we love her.

The Site Visit

Written by Amanda B. Young, Associate for MasterPiece Weddings:

If you have been in or introduced to the event industry for any length of time you should be somewhat familiar with "the site visit." Obviously, site visits are critical when you will be working some place you have never been before. They allow you to get a gauge for space, layout, flow, and also potentially meet with the people you will be working with on-site.

But also, something you may not have considered - site visits can be valuable networking tools. Try visiting a site where you have not worked a wedding before but would like to. Remember to be reasonable, and pick places that would be feasible or likely for your typical clients to be interested in. For example, if you typically service low budget brides, touring a mansion would not be in your best interest. Exploring a venue that has potential for your clients will not only give you one more place to recommend (or steer clear from, if your experience there is not positive), but also give you one more place that might refer your services.

So, when you go, put yourself in the shoes of the bride - ask questions that your brides would want to know about the venue:

• How many people can it accommodate?
• What is the pricing for the venue? For the food, if applicable?
• What other rules and regulations do they have? (For example, can they bring in outside catering? What about an outside cake?)
• If applicable, what kind of room set up options are there?
• If applicable, where would the dance floor go?

And so on. Also, if you can, take photos. Photos from your experience will be a lot more real and convincing to your clients because they aren't the contrived ones from their website or marketing materials. Additionally, it will help you jog your own memory - what color were the walls? What was the flooring like?

Recently, the MasterPiece Weddings team made a site visit of our own to the lovely Black Diamond Ranch. Find out more about our visit here.

Giveaway: Signed Southern Weddings

Are you ready for this? Be a Planner is thrilled to announce that we are giving away one copy of the gorgeous Southern Weddings magazine. But not just that...

...the copy is signed by Ms. Lara Casey herself. 

To enter, comment on this post by Wednesday, August 5th at 11:59PM explaining why you deserve it or what you would do with it. The winner will be randomly selected on August 7th.

We Recommend: Aspire to Plan

As often as possible we like to add new and helpful links of the best resources on wedding planning and the event industry. Recently, we stumbled across Aspire to Plan and could not love it more.

Aspire to Plan is a blog very similar to our own, featuring important ideas, facts, and tips about being an event consultant and owning a small business in the event industry. We are totally loving the recent posts "Do You Speak Accounting?" and "Getting Your First Client." 

As you will see, we promptly added it to our "Fantastic Resources" section, and, well, we think you should bookmark it too. 

So, do you have any fabulous sites or blogs about becoming a planner, being in the event industry, or owning a small business that you think we should check out? We would love to know.

Wedding Grammar

Written by Amanda B. Young, Associate for MasterPiece Weddings:

Just at the outset of this post you are probably laughing. Grammar? What does grammar have to do with weddings? But, let me assure you, having good grammar is nothing to laugh about. 

You see, the way you speak and write (both formally, as in contracts, and informally, as in e-mails) reflects not just yourself but also your business. Someone with bad grammar, excessive typos, and blatant misspellings throughout their communications looks careless and, ultimately, ignorant. And, as an event consultant where you need to be confident, look composed, and possess excellent communication skills, the last thing you want people to think is that you are ignorant.

So, while I am not going to recap all the things you should have learned in your youth (it's/its, you're/your, their/they're/there, etc.) I will cover a few wedding essentials that, as someone in the industry, you simply must get down. 

..........

officiant: Notice this people. It is O-ffic-I-ant. Not efficient. Not officant. In fact, when you type it in Microsoft Word it will still tell you that it is spelled wrong unless you add it to your dictionary, but don't let this throw you off - it starts with an "o" and has two "i's" in there. 

boutonniere: This one kills me. As Americans, I'm pretty sure we're grossly incapable of spelling things from the French language. I'm not sure why this is or how to help it. It just is. Regardless, "boutonniere" is one of these unfortunately hard-to-remember words. 

hors d'oeuvres: We have an ongoing joke in the office about how to spell this. But as far as breaking it down for you? I can do nothing but refer you to the incomparable Bespoke blog post Ordervz anyone? which is absolutely legendary in my geeky grammar-loving mind.

stationary vs. stationery: The first spelling [with an "a"] means it isn't moving - the item is "stationary." The second refers to the paper goods and products we all know and love. 

aisle/isle/I'll: You might think this one is obvious but the number of times I have seen these interchanged is too scary to discuss. "Aisle" refers to the wedding aisle. Aisle of a grocery store. But then, if you are going on an exotic vacation you might visit an "isle." And, of course, when you say "I'll tell you about grammar" you are using a contraction of the words "I" and "will." 

..........

Capeesh? Did I miss anything? Do you have any blatant spelling or speaking faux-pas that just drive you nuts?

Tour Our Studio

Written by Amanda B. Young, Associate for MasterPiece Weddings:

In light of our recent studio talk, we thought you might want to see ours. So, here are our very non-professional photos.

The warm but neutral palette of reds, greens, and browns give the office a sophisticated but comfortable feel. 

Also, we are huge fans of The White Box studio (seen below). Aside from the obvious reasons, we also love it because it is so different from our own and yet so beautiful as well. Check out this fabulous space.

The clean gray and white tones of the studio are so very elegant and bridal. And all that white furniture? Gorgeous! 

So, what would your studio look like? Would you incorporate your personality into it or would you try to use the decor to convey a certain feeling to your clients? 

Have you been dreaming about decorating your studio since you decided to get into the industry or is it something you won't think about until you have one?

Blind Cake Tasting

Written by Amanda B. Young, Associate for MasterPiece Weddings:

At MasterPiece Weddings, one of the fun things we get to do for our clients is set up blind cake tasting. Doing this is helpful for them because it allows them to go into it completely unbiased. Regardless of any preconceived notions about the bakers or bakeries, they will be able to pick the cake that they feel truly tastes the best. 

As consultants, we take into consideration their budget and overall style and call around as to what bakers would be willing and able to participate on the decided day that the tasting is to take place. Unless the client has something really specific in mind, we try to cover the realm of options from Publix to Baker Extraordinaire and everywhere in-between. 

On the day of, we gather the cakes, label them with numbers, and keep a legend of which cakes came from where.

 

Then, we provide our clients with a cake tasting sheet giving them plenty of things to think about the cake itself. We instruct that they taste each piece bit by bit:

• First, they should taste the filling on it's own:  How is the flavor? How do you like it? How does it make your mouth feel? 
• Then they should taste the icing on it's own: How does it taste? Is it sweet enough? Too sweet? Does it leave an aftertaste? Do you like the flavor?
• Then they should taste the cake on it's own: Is it baked to perfection? How does it make your mouth feel? 
• Then, finally, they should taste all of the components together. Are they the perfect combination? Is there anything you would change? Does it taste like heaven in your mouth?

And, as a consultant, the fun isn't over until you get the phone call with the final results and get to tell them where each was from. 

Oftentimes, people do not realize how much weight they give to their assumptions about different bakers and are pleasantly surprised when they find out the cake they chose may have even been the least expensive.

Seriously, how much fun does this sound? 

Studio vs. No Studio

Written by Amanda B. Young, Associate for MasterPiece Weddings:

One of the first issues that many wedding planners face when they are new to the biz is whether they should have a studio. You know, brick-and-mortar. A place to call home. Or something like that. The fact of the matter is that this is not something to take lightly; whether you have a studio or not can drastically affect the nature (not to mention the finances) of your business. 

Source.

What many people do not think about is that having a wedding planning studio is kind of like having a "home base." It is where your clients can meet with you and where clients may drop by unannounced. It has a fair share of perks: 

1. Provides a professional and comfortable environment to meet with your clients with everything at your fingertips
2. Allows you to demonstrate your creativity and convey your taste and general sense of style to your clients
3. Keeps all of your work things together potentially eliminating the need for a home office
   
4. Gives you a good professional mailing address - as a side note, you should never ever give clients your home address
5. Gives you a place to focus on work - minimizing the distractions of pets, children, and home needs that you might find when working from home

But, with great perks comes great responsibility. Having a studio is anything but cheap. Not only do you have to pay the cost of rent and upkeep, you also face the cost of decorating and furnishing as well as monthly phone, electric, and internet bills. Opening a studio is anything but to be taken lightly.

The good news? Many planners operate efficiently (and successfully, I might add) without them. In today's day and age it is anything but unusual to meet with a wedding planner at a coffee shop or some place similar. Plus, it gives you a neutral ground where you can also indulge in your favorite beverage. 

Welcome to Our Official Re-Lauch!

We are thrilled and excited to announce the official re-launch of Be a Planner. As you may have noticed, the logo and site itself recently received a huge overhaul, and we have all kinds of goodies in store for the future of the blog.

We will be your one-stop-shop for advice on being in the wedding planning business, planning tips and tricks, and the best planner finds to make Be a Planner a top resource for event professionals.

Think of Be a Planner as the place to go for everything planning-related if you are new to the business, starting out in business, branching out into event planning, or a seasoned Professional. We promise to deliver educational information in a format that is easy to understand and we will offer real life advice.

So, if you are a planner, are thinking of becoming a planner, or have ever wanted to be a planner make sure you bookmark us!