[Meredith Williams]

the real tami, on December 2 2008, 02:41 PM, said:

how do you avoid answering them if they ask how much?


mike, i think if you showed up in a wedding dress you would get tons of bookings...

was wondering the same thing

And, I totally agree with Tami's point about the dress. haha.

[MattMcGraw]

the real tami, on December 2 2008, 02:41 PM, said:

how do you avoid answering them if they ask how much?


mike, i think if you showed up in a wedding dress you would get tons of bookings...

I tell them my prices vary and tell the best thing to do is go to my website and send me an email ... I'll can email them my packages.

Goal here is to get them to go to my website... I want them to look at my website first. I want them to get excited about our style. so when they do email question number 10 is what are our prices.

giving prices at a show or up front before they study you is making yourself a price quoter.

compare it to buying a car... when you're looking for a car you want to drive the car study the car... you gotta get excited about the car... I hate to compare myself to a car here but you get the point.

[Davina]

Reading about bridal shows makes me excited to do one. I love meeting all of those brides. It's so fun.

I agree on not giving out your pricing at a show. It makes a huge difference in the quality of an inquiry from a show...plus it makes you talk about more fun things than price at the show.

[JasonF]

Davina, on December 2 2008, 01:27 PM, said:

I agree on not giving out your pricing at a show. It makes a huge difference in the quality of an inquiry from a show...plus it makes you talk about more fun things than price at the show.

Be *very* careful. We don't give our prices out either, but we messed up last time. We were too closed-mouthed about what we charged. The result? We had 50 consultations with brides, at least half of whom couldn't afford us. At about an hour per consultation, that time adds up.

This time, while we're not giving out price sheets, we are going to pre-qualify brides by letting them know what our starting price is, and what's included. Hopefully, that'll help cut down the time wasted on unqualified consults after the show.

As one of the speakers at he last convention we attended said, while they're in front of you at the show is the best possible time to figure out if they're worth spending any more time on, or not. Do they have a wedding date? If no, hand them a brochure and move on. Does your price put them off? Thank you, next! The whole point of the show is to match you up with potantial clients, not to stand around for 6-8 hours talking to people who can't afford/don't need you.

[Mike Tucker]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the great information. I'm excited about the shows!! I have a lot of work to do before January!!

Mike

[Christine Tripp]

I used a 15" digital frame to put on a slideshow with some background music. Seemed to get a lot of attention.

Also one other trick that I did, which ended up drumming up more business for me then anything else... I made gift baskets for 30 of the other vendors there. (Would have made more, but cost was an issue). On day one, I took a walk through to see who I would most like to work with, and to see which businesses brides usually go to prior to hiring a photographer. I introduced myself, exchanged cards, pointed my booth out to them. On day two, I handed out the gift basket to my top 30 vendors there and they were shocked. Received many thanks and praise. They will remember my business name. A few weeks later, vendors were rolling in the referrals.

[Hugh Anderson]

Hi Mike,

I gave 6 hours away. Difficult for a bride to walk away from free photography, right? It worked out for us in the end, especially as a brand new business.

We required them to fill out name, email wedding date. Then emailed the winners and asked when they would like to come meet us.

Hugh

[Mike Tucker]

Thanks Hugh..... I really appreciate all your help.

Mike

Hugh Anderson, on December 3 2008, 07:42 PM, said:

Hi Mike,

I gave 6 hours away. Difficult for a bride to walk away from free photography, right? It worked out for us in the end, especially as a brand new business.

We required them to fill out name, email wedding date. Then emailed the winners and asked when they would like to come meet us.

Hugh

[CanvasRox]

Christine - that's an awesome idea!!!

Just because I don't have enough to do with running P2C and taking care of my 6 year old twins, I sell Lia Sophia jewelry on the side -and have been putting together my plan to target brides next year - which includes going to a few shows. Out here in Southern California, there are some pretty huge shows.

But my hubby, in his infinite wisdom, suggested that I target the wedding planners - give them a % of my profits and/or free jewelry should they steer customers my way. So your idea of a gift basket for the vendors is perfect!!!

All the best,
Roxanne