Hello friends, I hope that you are doing well today.

I want to chat specifically with wedding vendors in the marketplace, specifically those that act like sharks circling a rowboat in the ocean.

You know the type…. you’re scrolling online and you see a post about getting engaged and you see a lot of likes with that post, oh and tons of vendors wanting to work with them too.

Let me share with you an example of what I found this morning on a Facebook group.

Now, I hid their names and faces because I’m not trying to single anyone out, but rather, I want to educate you from the couple’s point of view on what vendors do.

With 34 posts on that feed, nearly 88% were about booking them as a vendor for their special day.

88%!

The couple has NOT done the following:

• Sat down and come up with a number they are going to spend for their entire wedding

• Created a wedding budget

• Started wedding planning

• Booked a venue which in turn set’s a wedding date

• Asked for any specific vendor type to provide information

And yet, they get vendors like these:

From a couple’s point of view, this is a HUGE turn-off, yet, wedding vendors do it.

Sure, it would be different if the couple gave specifics about what they are seeking, a date, and budgets for the vendor types they’re seeking, but they didn’t.

There IS a time and place to put your name into the ring, but this wasn’t it.

Honestly, they just wanted to show off their recent engagement, the ring, and kick-off their planning.

Besides, how do these vendors know WHEN the wedding is?

They don’t, yet 88% of the vendors spit out their brand with a website or Facebook page.

You’re a Shark Circling a Rowboat in the Ocean

That visual is how couples see themselves many times when you’re pushing your brand to them when they don’t ask you.

It also shows a couple of things:

• You're desperate for work

• You’re NOT listening to the couple

• It cheapens your brand/persona

Desperate for Work

Listen, I get it, I’ve been in this industry a long time compared to many of you. In the wedding industry, it’s feast or famine.

If you are constantly in famine mode with your business, then you need to rethink your business model, it’s not working for you.

Nearly 85% of wedding businesses don’t make it to the 5th year, that’s because they finally realize they’re not making money.

It could be due to the lack of smart wedding marketing or perhaps you just don’t know how to run a business correctly.

Couples are smart, they see when a business is in trouble, and if they sense that, they will not book you.

What Did they Say?

What did the couple say in the posting from above, do you remember?

Without scrolling and looking again.

Well, if you have to go back and re-read it, then chances are you didn’t listen.

Listening to a couple and their needs is far more important than what you have to offer.

Now, I know that sounds bad, but here is the truth, not every wedding couple fits your mold, and that’s perfectly okay.

As you know, each wedding is different, no two are alike. That means the couple’s needs are different and sometimes, they don’t fit your mold.

That could be based on the following issues:

• Pricing

• Persona

• Availability

That doesn’t mean what you do is bad or wrong, it just means you were not a good fit for them, you’ve heard the term before in our industry.

It Makes You Look Cheap

Not only does it make you look like a shark circling the waters of an engaged couple, but it also makes your brand look cheap.

You’ll do anything to book a couple, even if they don’t have a date yet, in the case of this post.

So, when should you post?

There are a few times that you will want to post your brand or simply, just answer their questions.

• When they are seeking your wedding category (only with a date, location, and price range)

• If you have an answer to the specific query the couple is asking

• If you have a vendor recommendation that is not your own

Be Smart With Your Business

So, will vendors change their mindsets with me bringing this to light, no, not at all sadly.

Newbies will continue to saturate the wedding industry as they always have, vendors will come and go and desperate people will do desperate things.

I can tell you that couples want vendors that offer good products and services, they want value in what you can do for them, but they also need to be educated about our industry and the in’s and out’s of how weddings work.

Provide them answers they seek and be helpful, even if they don’t book with you.

If your business is failing, make adjustments through learning how to operate it better.

Whatever you do, don’t be a shark circling the couple when they’re just wanting to show other couples they too are engaged and beginning their journey.