Are you ready to level up your selling game and boost your confidence in your business? If you're looking to book more couples as a wedding planner, it's imperative that you get comfortable with sales but if you are reading this, I have a feeling you’ve figured that out already. In this article, I'm going to walk you through an overview of the seven stages of the sales cycle and how to sell your wedding planning services!

But before we dive in, I want to have a heart-to-heart with you about the role you play in your business. As an entrepreneur, you wear multiple hats – from the chief IT officer to the financial officer, and even the customer-freaking-delight officer. Amidst all these responsibilities though, sales might just be the most critical. Trust me, I learned this firsthand when I started my own business as a wedding planner. Without sales, there's no business, sister! So in this article, I want to give you an overview of each stage of the sales cycle, and I hope it will help boost your sales skills and confidence. Ready to get started?

Getting Ghosted?

Before we dive into the 7 stages of the sales process and get you to start selling more as a wedding planner, let's take a moment to address a common occurrence that we've all encountered: getting ghosted. It doesn't matter how skilled you are in the art of selling, it happens to the best of us. But here's the thing: there are steps you can take to help it happen less. Sales is like a muscle that you can continuously strengthen. With persistent effort and practice, you can become exceptional at it! So, don't lose heart if you face a few rejections along the way. And always remember, getting ghosted is not always a reflection of your abilities or worth. It's just a part of the journey. Keep pushing forward!

Stage One: Prospecting 

When the sales cycle begins, it starts with marketing and attracting your ideal customers. While marketing and attracting people, you also pre-qualify and vet those customers to ensure they're the right fit for your business. Not everyone who walks through your door will be a good prospect. 

In the prospecting stage, you toss out lots of lines with hooks, trying to catch fish. Some of the fish you catch will be great fits for your business, while others will have to be thrown back. In this stage of the selling process, you vet and filter out leads acquired through your marketing, keeping the ones that are the best fit for your business. 

Stage Two: Preparation

Next, we need to start preparing for the rest of the sales cycle. In the preparation phase, you're likely exchanging a few emails back and forth with a lead, asking questions and trying to get more information. You're also continuing to ensure you aren’t moving forward with any customers that don't align with what it is you do and why you do it. Trust me – you don’t want to book more couples who don’t value what you value. This stage of the sales cycle is primarily about getting the information you need to move forward or release any potential clients that aren’t a good fit.

Stage Three: Approach 

The approach stage is when we have our first meaningful interaction with a lead. It's the consultation, whether by phone, zoom call, or in person. During this stage, you get to sit down and talk to the lead, continuing to pre-qualify. Having already prepared for the call in the last stage, during the approach phase you transition into showcasing your services while assisting potential customers in finding the solution to their specific needs. Now, can you start to see how these stages all work together if your goal is to start selling more as a wedding planner?

Stage Four: Presentation

As a wedding professional, you understand the importance of visuals in our industry. Your customers make purchasing decisions based on what they see. As I like to say, “the eye buys”. After the initial conversation (or “approach”), it's time to present your offer. This typically takes place towards the end of the call and continues through email. Whether it's a proposal, a quote, or a detailed presentation of your pricing and services, the way you present your offerings can make or break the sale. Remember, a poor presentation can result in lost sales. This is easily one of the most important stages in the sales process.

Stage Five: Handling Objections

Objections are barriers that customers present during the sales process. These can be expressed as questions or remain internalized. The reality is that every lead likely has an objection, preventing them from making a purchase today. 

Common objections include needing more research, seeking more opinions, or uncertainty about affordability and time constraints. 

Handling objections effectively is crucial to ensuring leads feel supported and confident in their decision to hire you. However, at this stage of the sales process, it's not just about managing objections, but also about inviting objections into the sales process. This stage is vital but often uncomfortable for many. By answering tough questions and addressing customer concerns, you can guide them from uncertainty to signing your contract and paying your invoice with confidence.

Stage Six: Closing the Sale

Yes – closing the sale is not the last stage as you start selling more as a wedding planner. In this stage, we are asking our potential customers to make a decision. It’s okay to apply some pressure to get them to decide whether they'll move forward with us. If they do, we close the sale by accepting payment and obtaining their signature on our contract. 

And listen – despite what you want to hear, it often requires several follow-ups to successfully close the sale. Unfortunately, many sales fall through prematurely at this stage due to insufficient follow-up. After all, if you are like most of the women I coach, you know you don’t follow up enough! 

Stage Seven: Wrapping Up the Sale

Here's where many people go wrong: we have “love bombed” this person at every stage of the sales cycle. Whether it took us three days or three months to get here, we've been prompt in answering every email and phone call. We've been enthusiastic, and we need to maintain that energy once they sign and send us their money. This is crucial in the wrap-up stage: onboarding the customer and confirming their purchase. We want them to be happy that they said yes and to feel supported and nurtured. By doing this, we can prevent buyer's remorse and service cancellations and ensure they feel great about signing on with us! Don’t take your foot off the gas pedal once you make the sale!

If You Want to Start Selling More as a Wedding Planner, You Need To Master These 7 Stages of Selling

Here’s a quick recap of the 7 stages:

1. Prospecting
2. Preparation
3. Approach
4. Presentation
5. Handling Objections
6. Closing the Sale
7. Wrapping up

As a wedding planner, sales might not be your favorite part of running a business. However, it's essential if you want to book more couples and increase revenue. Mastering the 7 stages of selling outlined above helps ensure that you can close each sale with confidence and make sure that your customer feels great about signing up for your services. After all, if you don't maintain enthusiasm and keep nurturing them after the sale is made, they might end up feeling buyer's remorse or canceling their service altogether! 

On the other hand, if done well, you may find yourself continuing to sell to them throughout the planning process, making more money per wedding booked (and offering a better service to your customer overall!). For more ways to make more money without filling your calendar to the point where you never have a Saturday off again, click here.

Not sure what to do once you make the sale?

I don’t gatekeep the next steps over here! After you make the sale, do you know exactly what to do next? If not, you need my onboarding guide for wedding planners my friend! 

Inside, there are 8 critical stages to the onboarding process that you must move each client through. Don’t worry, I will walk you through each phase, and by the end you will:

• Understand how to guide your clients through the onboarding process
• Have a complete onboarding strategy that nurtures and affirms the customer's purchase
• Copy and paste my signature onboarding framework into your business
• Launch your new onboarding process in just a few hours without second-guessing what the experience should be like
• Feel confident in how you welcome new customers to your business

Happy onboarding all those new couples my friend! DM me on Instagram and let me know how it goes!

Ready to Elevate Your Wedding Planning Business?

We would love to welcome you inside The Planners' Playbook, the membership for wedding planners who want to elevate the wedding industry and feel confident AF in their wedding planning business (especially when selling!). From masterclasses and workshops to a deep-dive playbook being released every month, The Planner’s Playbook has everything you need to streamline your processes and save time. Plus – you’ll even get a discount on the CC shop!

Explore More Wedding Industry Resources

• Wedding Planners – Should You List Your Wedding Planner Pricing Packages On Your Website?
• The 5 Stages of Scaling Your Wedding Business You Need to Know About 
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• 5 Secrets To Consistent Sales – Sales Techniques That Work For Creatives
• Top 2 Mistakes Wedding Pros Make That Sabotage The Sale
• How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market: Creating a Website for Wedding Planners That Get Results
• Want to Book Better Clients? Stop Marketing and Improve Your Client Experience Instead
• Wedding Industry Branding: How to Create A Recognizable Brand in the Wedding Industry with Brand Strategist Nicole Yang
• Should You Increase Your Price? How to Know When It’s Time to Raise Your Rates
• How to Book Your FIRST Client as a Wedding Planner
• How To Build Your Portfolio As A Wedding Planner When You’re Just Starting Out
• Elizabeth McCravy On How To Create A Knock-Out Business Brand And Website
• Top 5 Blogging Tips For Wedding Pros in 2023

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