The Time Is Now to Get a Pulse on Your Business

Kristina Stubblefield  0:01  

Welcome to WedPro Business Solutions. I'm your host, Kristina Stubblefield. I'm getting ready to get very vulnerable with everyone that's listening, as I share with you one of my biggest takeaways of this past year, not only something that I've dealt with in our own business, but also how many wedding professionals I've worked with, that this is something that they had not thought about realized how they could do all of those things. 

What am I talking about having a pulse on your business? What do I mean by that? Well, I mean, do you have a system, a software, a process, where you can see exactly what's going on in your business, from leads that come in booked events that are going on, all the way from onboarding to offboarding. And really what I'm talking about to as before the onboarding process, just when someone reaches out to you to inquire about your services. Now, let me share with you all this, I thought that I had a pulse on our business, we have multiple things, multiple divisions, I guess you could call it in our business. So one side of our business, we deal with all different types of small businesses, the other side of our business, we deal with wedding professionals. And then, as you probably already know, I am involved in a podcast and a platform for engaged couples, the ring, the bling, and all the things. With that being said, we have more than just one component to our business. And I thought that I had a pulse on what was going on, from conversations that I had with potential clients, actual leads that came in from the web site, proposals, quotes to contracts, projects that were going on. items we were waiting on with those projects, all the way to invoicing and then offboarding. With follow ups on those projects, to requesting a testimonial, I'm giving you a big picture glance here, as well as potential follow ups after we were done with a project. And if any of my team was on this, they would share with you we have tried over the years, multiple different software's tools, technologies. And you all probably know that I have a background in technology, as well as marketing in business. So if this is something, that's not the easiest for me, it's not the easiest for others as well. And that is okay, that it's not. But what I want you to take away from this episode, you have to have this piece in place. It makes an incredible and undescribable difference in your business. And I speak from personal experience. But I also speak from now working with several wedding professionals to put a software or system in place for them, where they can see at any moment, what's going on. From leads, pending bookings, meaning there's a contract outstanding or a person hasn't paid their deposit to booked events, what stage is it in? What needs to be done with it to the off boarding when an event is done? And the feedback that I've gotten from working side by side with people to address this figure out what is the best system? What is the best software, depending on your business and how it's set up? And maybe how many people are involved for it with team members. And the feedback I've gotten is been overwhelming to be honest with you. They didn't know something like this existed, how much time it is saving them every single day. How things are not slipping, slipping through the cracks. They didn't realize what was slipping through their fingertips. Why? Because they hadn't updated a spreadsheet. They hadn't checked their email. And over the past I've done podcast episodes about these different topics and how it's beneficial not to work out of your email inbox. Not to go without a an all In Line scheduling tool, and I really haven't shined a light on that there is software and technology out there to make running a business easier. 

Most of us wear many different hats in our business. And when you can have something that helps automate some of the processes that helps simplify onboarding, or off boarding, that really helps you have a pulse on what is going on in any part of your business. And that's why I really wanted to talk about this episode. But that also meant being transparent, and pulling back the curtain. On our own business, we are far from perfect. If you've heard me talk about other episodes, I have learned a lot along the way. And it can be very difficult working on your own business. Because you're so involved in it, it's very hard to think clearly, it's very hard not to have your shoulders so heavy. Because you're got all these events coming up, you've got engagement season, you've got this, you've got that and oh, we're just talking about business, we're not even talking about what's going on personally. It can feel like a hurdle that's not even worth tackling. For me, it was something that I probably avoided longer than I should have. I felt like the way our business was set up, it was really hard to streamline or simplify down into one software, who has time to set that up, who has time to get it in place the right way, who has time to use it 100%, not just 40 or 50%. And that's what I'm going to share with you, you know, we would use different software's in our own business. But we would only use a percentage of them. I mean, we didn't pay a percentage, you know, we had to pay full price for them. But we were only using it 50% of its capability. And the more I worked with wedding professionals over this past year or so, I started to realize how much this resembled this felt like, we're going through some of these same struggles, I started to open up and have more conversations with people about that. And then I decided, with a significant push for my husband, that it was time to be honest with myself. I did not have a pulse on our own business. Like most people, we work day to day on projects that are in front of us, not really focusing on the future, not really focusing on planning things out. And when I say this, I'm very fortunate to have a great team. And I'm also fortunate that this hasn't happened because we had some big blow up in our business or we missed a deadline or we didn't get a project done. We're very fortunate that's not been the case. But I think on the other side of that a lot of times there's not enough discussions about this, or a business doesn't take this seriously until something does happen. So I felt like now was the best time to talk about this. You know, I've mentioned on episodes before that I feel like people are a little leery of technology. I hate to use the word scared, a little leery, because who do you admit to that you don't get it that you don't completely understand. And honestly, I wish more people embraced it or ask questions about technology. Because the people that I've helped set up software's that I've helped set up processes, the amount of time and money that they save. And you may be thinking in your mind, yes, but a software or a system cost money. But you don't realize how much wasted time there is for yourself, for your team members. That all adds up. And like a lot of people including myself, you have probably purchased software subscriptions along the way. And you're not using that technology. I I have I'm happy to admit it.

I definitely have. So we're what do you do? Well, let me have you ask yourself this question. At any given moment, can you log into something? Can you pull up a spreadsheet? Can you look at a notebook? What, however it is you do right now and get a full picture on your business. And what I mean by that is inquiries, booked events, past events, maybe contacts you've met at different wedding shows or networking events? Do you know what money's coming in? Do you know what money is going to come in next month that's already booked. And this is the money that's going to come in next month? Do you know what expenses are going out? Now, I've not always been the best about knowing my numbers. But I do know that that is really important. And at what point in time, do you admit or come to the realization saying you don't have time. You can't do it. Because all of this affects your business. All of this affects your future. So many people work so hard and are so dedicated to their events to their clients. That you put yourself on the back burner. And if being 100% honest, that also means you put your business on the back burner. Having a pulse on your business, it also means that you have this, its weight lifted off my shoulder of other people I've worked with off their shoulders. And we found I found and in my conversation with others, we've found how it was affecting our day to day you avoid it, you don't have time for it, you really don't want to know that information. But in all honesty, when you're transparent, it allows you to focus on the areas of your business, you need to focus on whether that's more leads, more booked events. And by saying all this a lot of times working with the wedding professionals that I have. There has been leads that have come into their business, that there hasn't been a follow up, there wasn't an automation in place to reach back out. If that person didn't schedule a tour didn't schedule a consultation, or a discovery call. There was nothing in place, and you get busy. And the next thing, you know, a month or two years gone by, there's no follow up. And the reason I share that is those are missed opportunities. What if one follow up email that could happen automatically? You didn't do anything with became a booked event? Yes. Do you have to pay money for a system or a software? Absolutely. But what did it cost you? By missing out on that booked event? How much time are you spending looking back through your email box on leads. Or you need to send a contract or a proposal to someone. And you've got to dig through your email inbox to find out who that information was who that person was. 

Now, I'm sharing all this with you, because I've experienced it. And when you can speak from that point of view. It changes the game. I know the impact that just a few months of having this straightened out has made not only on me, on our business on my husband, on my team, on my clients on my future clients. Do you see that ripple effect? Does it cost me money to have a software system? Yes. Did it take me time to set it up? Yes. Was it the easiest process? Me not really pray a little easier for me because of my background. That's why I like being able to be a guide. Be able to be someone to come alongside you. Figure out what system works best for your business to keep a complete pulse on what's going on. Because I know wholeheartedly. It will save you time. It will save you money. It will probably help Have you booked more events? And in the end? Does that mean you don't have to spend as much money money marketing? Could? And I'll leave you with this. I do know quite a few people do wedding shows, I think they're fabulous. Depends on your business. But I do think there are great engaged couples like getting out and celebrating their engagement and meeting people in person. Absolutely. But let me let's put this in perspective, you pay however many hundreds of dollars to do a wedding show? Do you follow up with that list? Let's say you do you send an email blast out, you know, a week or so after the show? Just to stay top of mind that you met them? Then what? Do you follow back up? If someone inquires fills out a contact form on your website calls you emails you? Do you know that information? Or do you only know that by going through your email to find out how many leads you got from that, then let's take it a step further. Maybe you're somebody that's like, Oh, I've got a spreadsheet, I put it on my spreadsheet, if you have time to update it if you keep it updated. So my point in sharing this information, you've spent X number of hundreds of dollars to participate in a show. If you don't have a system in place, the likelihood of you missing a lead from that show a follow up or an opportunity to book that event. It's a higher percent than you probably realize. I love helping people. My team loves helping people save time and money. Most people market, they need to market their business, they need to have a strong online presence. Normally, that cost some kind of amount of money. The biggest thing is I want you to get the most out of every penny you spend. I know wedding professionals and event professionals love the events that they do. Most do not like the back end of their business, the office work the whatever you want to call it the contracts. And I'm here to tell you, there is a way to simplify that and allow yourself to focus on what you truly love, which is the events. I myself have witnessed that by taking the steps we needed to in our own business, that I can now focus with a clear vision in speaking engagements, teaching events or workshops, marketing campaigns, strategy sessions, without all the clutter of everything else going on in my business and our business with our team. Because I know at anytime I can log in, and I can see exactly what's going on what needs to be done, what needs attention. And I'm going to tell you, I cannot put in words, exactly how big of a game changer it has been for us. I've also been able to witness the difference. It's made for event professionals that we've worked with to help them map out a plan for their business that includes system processes, onboarding, off boarding. And the feedback has been incredible. Because not only are we making an impact for that business, we are also impacting their clients, their leads their potential clients. Again, I'm back to the ripple effect. 

I hope that this shine some light on the importance of having a pulse on your business. I know that you work really hard. And if you do not already have a system in place that allows you to have a pulse on your business. I encourage you to do your research and start to investigate what is best for your business. If you need help with that, or you want someone to talk to about it to strategize and give you educated, firsthand experience knowledge on the software, the tools that are out there. Please feel free to reach out. You can always visit the website, lead pro solutions.com and book a discovery call.

And let's figure out how I can help you my team can help you with simplifying Doing your business so that you have a pulse on it 24/7 365 days of the year. If you've not already joined the free Facebook group, I encourage you to do so you can connect with other wedding professionals and you can get feedback and information from others. Until next time, take care and keep working on your business.