Welcome my friend! Welcome to the Empowered Weddings group! If we have not met before, my name is Rachel, I’m a wedding photographer and business coach. I help wedding professionals elevate the quality of clients they attract, position themselves as the only clear choice for their ideal client, and confidently close high end sales so that they can have a profitable business working with clients they love.

Today we are talking about the icky feeling you get when you’re trying to CONVINCE a client to buy from you and what to do instead that allows you to book high end clients with ease and feel abundant and aligned doing it.

No one wants to feel like a slimy salesman, and yet we know that sales is the lifeblood of our business as it brings in the cash. Otherwise this business would be a charity. Getting confident with your sales is 100% necessary for having a successful six-figure plus business.

I’m going to share with you today my top 5 strategies for having an easy, fun, sales process that actually works to bring in the sales that you need for your business.

>>>Number one: Attract the RIGHT people with your messaging in the first place

Trying to convince people to book you for their wedding is the WORST way to attract high end clients and it’s a huge symptom of something being off in your marketing.

The reason is simple: If you were *actually* speaking to your ideal clients, they wouldn’t need convincing.

So if you’re getting a lot of people who just simply aren’t going to a good fit from the beginning who are inquiring with you, getting on calls and taking up your time, that is a clear sign that your messaging on your website and/or socials is directly calling in the wrong people and also not calling in the right people. 

What you want to hear when you’re in conversation with a potential client is: “I felt you were talking to ME on your website”, or you want to hear them repeating your copy back to you- expressing in every way that they are an ideal client.

I’ve done lots of previous trainings on messaging that you can watch, so we won’t go into that as much today, but this is the VERY important first step to having easier, more natural sales calls- Talking with the right people in the first place. 

>>>Number Two: Position yourself as THE only clear choice for them with your website and intake process

With your website and how you structure your intake process, you want to help show your value by showcasing how you accomplish and align with your ideal client’s very specific needs and desires.

 For instance, my ideal clients tend to be more type A, and care deeply about an orderly, stress free experience- so on my website I talk about how that is important to me and the things I do to accomplish that for them, and then lead them through a very clear, orderly, step-by-step process as they get closer and closer to becoming a client. 

Positioning yourself as the luxurious clear choice for them is ALL about matching YOUR ideal client’s soulfelt needs, desires, and aspirations, and mirroring back to them that vision, while sharing how you accomplish that. 

When you do this correctly, they will feel an immediate and powerful connection with you, and your sales calls will get WAY easier because you don’t need to be doing the heaving lifting of “selling your value”. 

If you are showing your value only on the sales call, it’s already too late and it will be way harder to close.

>>>Number 3: Qualify, Qualify, Qualify - and tell the truth about the people who were not meant to work with you

I’m a busy mom, I have a lot on my plate. I don’t want to be spending quality time with people who were never going to buy from me in the first place. I like to spend my priority time with people who value me, respect me, and who understand that my time is precious and worth paying for.

To this end, my clients go through a fairly rigorous qualification process. They need to show me that they are action takers, they are willing to be in a relationship with me, and they are an ideal client. I have them schedule a call and fill out a questionnaire that gives me all the information I need to know to see if they are truly a qualified client. If they don’t pass the qualifications, then I tell the truth about the situation and graciously send them on their way to someone who is a better fit.

This part is very important. Tell the truth about who is not meant to work with you. It could be for budgetary reasons, it could be for personality reasons, it could be because you have a gut feeling that you can’t explain. 

If you do not tell the truth and be in integrity about who is not meant to work with you, you will encounter your own internal barometer feeling out of line, and this is when things start to feel pushy, salesy and like you are trying to convince someone of something that is not in their best interest. 

Qualify your clients before you get emotionally invested, so that you can guard your heart and time from the disappointment that comes from a certain percentage saying no to your services. Remember, if something is not in your best interest, it’s probably not in your client’s best interest either, and vice versa. Come into the situation with the attitude of: I’m going to find out and align with this person’s best interest, whether that’s me or not.

>>>Number 4: Listen, so you can know what to say

Feeling the pressure on a call with a client, it’s very easy to slip into “I need to show my value” and do all the talking, or ask questions, without really listening to what the client is saying.

I always remind myself that someone is not ready to receive information if they have not already felt heard, felt seen, and emptied a bit of room for that information. 

This is another reason why you can feel like you’re trying to “convince” someone to book you- because you genuinely are, and you haven’t stopped to listen for the cues and clues that the client is giving you about what they need and want you to say that would showcase your value in a very natural way.

Remember, you’re listening for what the client really values, what’s really important to them at the heart level, and then mirroring it back. If they are an ideal client, and they should be, by the time they are on a call with you, then they should already value what you value and what you provide.

You’re coming into alignment with their vision and their joyful imaginings, agreeing with them about stresses they’d like to avoid, and then continuing to help them feel heard and seen. 

This takes very little talking on your part. 

Listen, so you can know what to say.

And...finally...

>>>Number 5: Confidently assume the best case scenario

So many wedding professionals get sweaty and uncomfortable talking about price with their clients. It’s where the rubber meets the road, and you truly find out if you’ve shown enough value to overcome any price objections. 

Here’s the thing- when you’ve gotten this far with a client- they are qualified, perfect-fit, truly invested clients, then your job from here is to confidently assume the best case scenario and present your pricing like it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

You can’t drop and dash, you can’t excuse or present your pricing as if you’re ashamed in any way that you charge what you charge. Your energy affects their energy.

Again, if you’ve gotten to this stage and you feel an inkling of that feeling of  trying to convince someone to book with you, then you’ve missed some steps prior. Now is not the time to be doing anything other than calmly talking through the options available to this already dream client for accomplishing their vision.

Confidently assume the best case scenario and watch as the best case scenario starts happening a lot more often.

This is of course the framework that I teach you in the Empowered Weddings program along with lots of personal and customized support to walk you step-by step through the process that will propel your business forward. We start with learning how to attract your soulmate clients, positioning yourself as a luxury service professional, and finally closing those high end sales that bring profitable cashflow to your business so you can have the six figure business of your dreams, while having time to spend with your family and live a wonderful life.

If you want some personalized help with applying this framework to your specific business, I offer free 15 minute strategy sessions. This is not a sales call, they are literally there to help you get clarity on all this, and to help you take that first step forward. If you want to have a free 15 minute strategy session with me, go ahead and visit this link to book yours today.