Navigating the juggling act of inquiries, leads and booked events

[00:00:00] Thank you for tuning in to WedPro Business Solutions. I'm your host, Kristina Stubblefield. I've been having many discussions with wedding professionals about the juggling act and what do I mean by that? Well, the juggling act of trying to sift through inquiries. Remember to follow up or reach back out to leads, getting proposals sent out to leads, as well as moving them from a lead status and onboarding them as a new client. Let's not forget your existing clients that you already have booked with your business. And that to me is a juggling act and multiple conversations recently about trying to do that and not having a software in place.

[00:00:59] I refer to that as an all in one business software to utilize that really gives you a pulse on your business. These conversations I've had, people are overwhelmed with keeping up with the inquiries that are coming in because just because an inquiry, leaves you a message or you talk to on the phone, or they fill out a form on your website.

[00:01:23] Are they a true lead? Well, depends. Are you available on that date? So many times people just move that right into a bucket of a lead. A lead in my opinion, is one that you have a potential to close and those should be treated differently than just an inquiry. And I'm not making light of anyone that reaches out to you to do business because so many times people think of just that moment right there of booking that person for that particular event.

[00:01:56] However, if you utilize that person, say you're not available on their date, but you ask them, Hey, I would love to keep you on my email or text list to reach out about future endeavors or potential events that are coming up, you can nurture that person as part of your database and you're staying top of mind that they may refer you someone else.

[00:02:24] I digress. So let's get back to this juggling act. It can be overwhelming. You have inquiries coming in, you have active leads that you're working, you're sending out proposals, you have newly booked events or clients, and then you have your existing book of business Now, that is where an all in one system can really help you keep track of who's who, what are the next steps, how are they going through your workflow or your funnel.

[00:02:57] And some people still do that with a pen and piece of paper. Some people use a notes section in their phone or tablet. I'm not here to tell you what's right or wrong. My whole goal and mission with everything I do is to save people time and money. Ultimately, I want you to do what you enjoy. And for most wedding professionals, that has to do with the event planning process or execution.

[00:03:24] It's not necessarily the office work or this juggling act that's going on. And let's just be honest, wow, thankful to have inquiries coming in, leads that you're working, getting signed contracts and booking events. That's really exciting and that should be celebrated, but it can also be very time consuming.

[00:03:47] And just in the past few weeks, the number of conversations that I've had with people that have even heard me talk about, hey, systems and processes can. They're like, I don't understand what you mean. And I've always said, there's no dumb questions. I am here to help. So I'd like to phrase it like this.

[00:04:11] There is a way to use software or a tool to simplify your business. And what that comes down to is, a lot of people are scared about the setup and about technology. But when it allows you to focus in on getting back to those inquiries, working those leads, nurturing those people into getting a proposal or scheduling a consultation, and then a signed contract, when it allows you to focus on the core part of your business, which I hope is not working leads, sending contracts and getting signatures, but I'm finding it is for a lot of people that you can really work on that client journey, that experience they're going to have with your business. Before even the last six months for me. I never would fully embrace an all in one system.

[00:05:19] I would still half ass it here or there ... you don't have time to focus on all of it. And once I was really pushed into nailing down a system and this is the process, or starting to map out those processes that were in my head and getting it into a software, what in the hell was I thinking.

[00:05:42] Why did I wait so long? And having conversations in person with wedding professionals, they're excited to have business and opportunities, but they are super overwhelmed, they can't keep up and sometimes, a lot of times that can work negatively because you forget about this person or you forget you're supposed to send this person that or, there's so many different scenarios.

[00:06:12] What happens is you dropped the ball somewhere. You didn't mean to, but you did, and it can cost you from booking an event that you really wanted to. Being busy and getting inquiries and requests, that's awesome. But having that system to be like an assistant to you, because that's what it comes down to. It is there to kind of be a second brain for your business.

[00:06:41] To help keep you in order, like these are the inquiries that have come in. Something needs to be done with them. Okay? These are the leads that you're waiting to hear back from. Maybe you need to follow up. Okay, these are the follow ups that you haven't sent a proposal out on. Then these are the proposals that have been sent, but we haven't received them back.

[00:07:01] My goodness, seeing the other side of that, I've been so fortunate to work in the past 12 months with many wedding professionals and mapping out their client journeys. Even mapping out their funnel of working an inquiry to close and seeing it and being part of it being built, implemented, and in operation.

[00:07:33] I'm here to tell you, I'm very fortunate to have those opportunities to help people, me and my team. It's not just me. To see how things used to be for them and to see getting started and implementing, I call it a phase one of utilizing an all in one system to help manage their business. Then take the next step to utilizing more of the features that come with those different softwares. Being part of those changes in someone's business. What it comes down to is all the feedback I've gotten, it's not only just affected their business, it's affected them personally. More time with their family, more time with their partner. It's what my mission has been about is to save people time and money.

[00:08:22] I have some people that come to me... I hear you talk about an all in one system. How much? They've been quoted thousands and thousands of dollars. There's different softwares out there. I've worked with quite a few over the years I've been doing this IT online space industry for a long, about 20 years. I've been very fortunate to work with very complex softwares. And I've also had time to work with smaller ones that offer specific needs. There are great softwares out there, it really just depends on your needs And goals in your business.

[00:09:00] I try to keep people from hopping from software to software to software because you're moving data, you're implementing things. So I really try to take in what a person's goals are. Are they at a part where they're really focused on growth and they're wanting to double the number of events ?

[00:09:16] If you are juggling this and you're doing it through email, a piece of paper, an excel spreadsheet, I'm here to tell you there is a better way from the standpoint of saving you time and money, and truthfully, helping with the overwhelm. It's not taking over your business. It is there to be an assistant, a guide, and it allows you to focus more on what you love in your business. If that's where you find yourself at this juggling stage, there are ways out there to make it easier on you, and to enhance your client's experience, You may not realize, but when you sit down and start to plan things out, strategize and map out workflows, funnels... a lot of times people have said, I didn't realize I could have had more time to focus on my clients.

[00:10:16] The clients weren't missing out on things, but what the wedding professional loved to do, they could have had more time doing that. Don't wait, consider it. And if you want my input or you want me to share with you different softwares that I'm familiar with, that I've used over the years, I'm happy to do so.

[00:10:37] One of the best things that you can do is join my free Facebook group, Wed Pro Business Community. It is a private group, but you can find it on Facebook. And that is a place for wedding professionals to ask questions, get feedback, tips, information. And you can also direct message me if you are needing assistance with this. This is something that I work with clients on a regular basis. They don't know where to start. They know they need something. They don't for sure know what that is. I can help you with that. I'm here to be a guide in that journey to being able to operate your business, not in a state of overwhelm, in a state of joy that you truly get to do what you love to do. Not have to have so much office work as some people refer to it where it is in a system that's organized and can help you with booking more business and the client journey of those that are already booked with you, so you can always reach out.

[00:11:51] You can go to my website and schedule a time to set up a consultation to just talk about what your needs are and see what those next steps look like for you. It's different for each and every person, and as I mentioned, you can always get in the free Facebook group.

[00:12:10] And wedding professionals I've worked with for many, many, many years. Love the events, you love the weddings, the corporate events, all of the events , the execution and the planning. Most just don't like the booking process, the onboarding, the offboarding, and there are softwares out there to help you with that.

[00:12:29] So I hope you found this information helpful. I hope to see you in the Facebook group and until next time, everyone take care and make sure you keep working on your business.