How to Attract the RIGHT Clients For You.

stop, pause, let’s have a heart-to-heart moment here.

QUESTION: what does your portfolio say about you as a wedding planner and the types of clients your firm works with?

Brides hire you because of the photos in your portfolio.

So in essence, the couples you are working with today, dictate the couples you’ll work with in about a year from now.  Therefore, in order to produce the very best weddings possible, you need to make sure you’re attracting the right clients, right from the get-go.

I know. It’s not always easy to say NO to a prospective client, especially when you’re just starting out in your business and/or wanting to build your portfolio.

But how do you find your ideal client?  And who are they, anyway?  Check out our expert tips below to help make sure you AND your clients are as perfect a match as they are for each other…

Here’s two simple ways to attract your perfect couple:

1. Get your clients to filter themselves – sounds easy, doesn’t it? You want ONLY couples who are a perfect match for your firm’s wedding style, specifically wanting you as their wedding planner.
2. Advertise in the right places for you – this means that the only couples who see your ads are the ones you want as clients!

So, make sure your portfolio and your brand messaging are both tailored to attract your ideal clients.

The simplest way to do this is to filter out those clients you don’t want.

You can do this by making sure that your portfolio and content display your ideal style of wedding. Is your firm known for fun, quirky weddings?  Or classic, romantic ballroom weddings?  Or something else?

All images on your website should be from your ideal client weddings.

By specializing in this way, you’ll attract other couples who want __________ weddings and at the same time, you’ll alienate the couples who don’t.

Don’t be afraid to say NO.

As you’ll be attracting the right kind of client, there’s no more awkward situations trying to gently say NO to a couple that you don’t think will fit well with your firm.

Build a User Profile of your dream couple.

Making sure that you’re advertising in the right places takes a bit more work, but is definitely worth it! A great idea to start is to build a user profile of your ideal couple. Grab a piece of paper and write down some details about your favorite couples you’ve worked with:

Where do they like to shop? What brands do they buy? What restaurants are they always at? What blogs do they read?

Make sure you bare their answers in mind when structuring your marketing efforts – maybe try and get published on their favorite wedding blog, or get your firm’s name and brand messaging integrated with that restaurant they love.

Once you’ve done this, attracting your perfect clients will be a piece of cake.

Give our tips a try and see how they can help your firm book more of your ideal clients…

The Apprentice Program is currently accepting applications from wedding planners all across the US, gearing up for the Fall 2015 semester.  If you are working with interns this next semester and are looking for a training solution for them, look no further.  Our 6-week onboarding course helps facilitate better training conversations between you (as their mentor) and your interns, teaching them how your firm handles budgets, mood boards, planning timelines, sales/marketing, being an on-site wedding assistant and more.

The Apprentice Program gets your interns onboard faster, so you can build a world-class team that helps you become a world-class planner.  Training is $75/intern and we’re accepting applications now.

Sign up today.

QUESTION: What techniques does you use to try and attract couples perfect for you and your firm?  have you ever said NO to a prospective client?  How did that go?  Let us know in the comments below!