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Do you ask How Much?  There are times when we have to ask ourselves if we do some of the same things when we’re customers, that our customers do to us. For instance, if you hate it when people ask you how much you charge, before finding out the results you can provide, or the value that you bring… have you done that when you were the customer? I know I have. Whether it’s because we don’t know what to ask, we’ve never bought this product or service before, or maybe we’re just trying to shop on price. Whatever the reason, if we really take a step back, we’re probably doing some of the same things that we’d rather our customers didn’t do to us. Listen to this new 6-minute episode for a little introspection and perspective on how we can better handle the How Much question, especially when it’s asked too soon. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

Kendra Ramirez – AI for Wedding Pros I met Kendra at the WedProCon conference where she was speaking about AI – Artificial Intelligence, and how wedding pros can use it… and I just had to have her on the podcast to talk to you. Of course, we discuss ChatGPT, but also some other cool tools that you can use to help you with content creation, images, video editing and much more. Listen to our conversation and get some ideas on how you might use AI in your wedding/event business. I know I got some ideas that I’m already using! About Kendra Ramirez Kendra Ramirez, CEO of KR Digital, is globally recognized on the home page of LinkedIn.com, Women of Influence Award Winner, John Barrett Entrepreneur Vision Award recipient, Cincy Chic Woman of the Year, AMA Marketing Legend, best selling author of Marketing Fusion and Micro Shift books and a finalist for the Social Media Innovator of the Year. Since 2005, she has helped hundreds of organizations successfully leverage digital technologies. As an early adopter of innovative tools, Kendra’s expertise makes her an invaluable resource for businesses seeking to thrive in today’s competitive digital and AI landscape. Kendra has spent more than 15 years in technology companies as a change agent in sales, marketing, and recruiting leadership for B2B clients. https://kendraramirez.com/ If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

Have you resolved to stop making resolutions?  Now that it’s February (when this first aired), have you made and broken your New Year’s resolutions already? Did you make any? I don’t, because I don’t wait for the beginning of the year to commit to what I want/need to do. Do you need a milestone date to get started? Or, do you just need accountability to what you want to achieve? Listen to this new 7-minute episode for a little perspective on resolutions and how they relate to your getting to the things that you want to do. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

This episode was prompted by paying attention to some of the many email signatures I see every day. Sometimes we don’t pay any attention to them (especially if it’s someone we already know). There were a few times, just this week, where I wanted to know more about the person sending the email (either to do research, or add them to my CRM, etc.) and I found it to be a lot harder than it should have been. Adding unnecessary friction is a good way to alienate your customers. Listen to this new 7-minute episode to get some ideas on what to add, delete and look for in yours and other people’s email signatures, to make them more useful and professional. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

How many words is your current contract, including the Terms & Conditions? Did you account for every eventuality, not matter how rare? Can your contract be cut down to only 500 words? I had a great conversation with Sarah Fox, a “Recovering Lawyer”, and fellow speaker I met in the UK. In her former life as a corporate attorney she saw the ridiculousness of the length of so many contracts. Then, her sister challenged her to write a contract with only 500 words… and viola, thus began her new, post-attorney life! Listen to this conversation between Sarah and I for some inspiration on how you can be more transparent in your contract, shorten them, and inject your personality at the same time. NOTE: This conversation is not intended to be legal advice. We recommend that you consult with your attorney before making changes to your legal documents. About Sarah Fox Sarah Fox is a recovering lawyer who helps businesses to do deals fast. She draws on 25 years expertise in the UK construction sector (where contracts regularly exceed 50,000 words) to focus on simplifying your content and processes. She pioneered contracts in just 500 words and believes every sector can benefit from clear language, simplicity, trust, and branding to make it easy for the happy couple to just say yes. website: 500words.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjvfox/ If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

What's the Zero Moment of Truth? I just finished reading “Youtility” by Jay Baer, and among other great nuggets he talks about the Zero Moment of Truth, which Google defines as “The ZMOT refers to the moment in the buying process when the consumer researches a product prior to purchase.” Are you there for their ZMOT? How many potential customers are you losing, before you even knew they were in the market for what you do? Listen to this new 9-minute episode for more information and clarity on the Zero Moment of Truth… and on Youtility. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

Should we care what the color of the year is? I just saw the big announcement… the Pantone color of the year is Peach Fuzz! Does that matter to your business and should you care? If you’re in the color business – flowers, linens, fashion, invitations, lighting, décor… then yes. Should the rest of us care? Maybe. Listen to this new 6-minute episode for more some thoughts on the color of the year and what you might want to focus on next year and beyond. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

Alan Katz – Scaling from 1 wedding to thousands! I’ve known Alan Katz for years and I love the story of how he got started doing a friend’s wedding, and has parlayed that to a company that does almost 2,000 ceremonies each year! You’ll also hear how he’s deepened his niche with other related services and how he’s been able to get thousands of reviews. Oh, and Alan Katz is the one who told me to end every email with a question… something that I credit him in my book “Why don’t they call me?” Listen to our conversation for some inspiration on how you can expand your niche, become more useful and invaluable in your market, and the go-to when someone needs what you do. About Alan Katz Alan Katz is the owner of Great Officiants. In business 20 years his company is the largest supplier of Wedding Officiants in SoCal and probably the US. With 37 Professional Officiants including Ministers, Priests, Rabbis, Non-denominational, Bilingual, Cosplay and more on the team they do almost 2000 weddings a year. In addition to the Ceremonies on locations. He has a 30 seat Indoor and Outdoor Wedding Chapel, a Beach Wedding Design company that sets-up weddings on the beach, he issues marriage licenses for the county clerks office, he has an elopement division for quicky weddings, a memorial business for funerals, and a singing telegram company just for fun. His company has over 3000 online reviews. More than any officiant in the nation. Alan has won many top awards in the industry. ABC Trendsetter Award, WIPA Top Officiant in the Nation, Best Officiant in LA and Orange County from California Wedding Day and Best of Wedding Wire and The Knot and more.  He is a nationally request public speaker on wedding success and marketing. Alan is also featured on TV. He is a regular on local news stations on wedding-related issues and a reality show star on such shows as 90-day fiancé and Spouse House. He was a special guest on the Kelly Clarkson show and most recently he and his wife are on the hit show Prank Panel on HULU (episode 1). He lives weddings every day. All social media is @greatofficiants If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

What’s a Fake Lead? I’ve been having quite a few one-on-one conversations with clients and folks in the industry about fake leads. I also see many social posts about this and I’m often tagged and pulled into the conversation. And since you can’t hear my one-on-one conversations, I thought I’d address it here, as most of those conversations are very similar. Listen to this new 10-minute episode for a different perspective on what is and isn’t a fake lead, and what you can do to improve your conversion, and outlook. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

Don't punish the masses for the ills of a few I’ve used this phrase before on the podcast “Don't punish the masses for the ills of a few”. Just recently I saw another wedding/event pro coming up with what felt like punitive rules, so I decided it was time to devote an episode to this. How many things are you telling your couples and customers they can’t do? Is your “no” list bigger than your “yes” list? Listen to this new 7-minute episode for more a little introspection and ideas on how you can be more “yes” focused, while still having the rules and policies you really need. If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

Do you love doing weddings and events but hate all of the business minutiae? There’s so much more to running a successful business than just doing the events. There’s the administration, project management, following up on leads, and following up with couples and customers after the sale and before the event. With staffing being so difficult these days, many businesses, including mine, have looked to using Virtual Assistants to fill the void. For me, it meant not sitting with my laptop while watching TV with my wife. It meant having someone to post on social media for me, edit my videos and podcasts, schedule email blasts and more. For this new episode I invited my friend Ryan Angott, from Strategic Assistant Staffing (SAS) to talk about how wedding and event businesses, large and small (I’m a solopreneur and I use a VA) can benefit from using virtual assistants. About Ryan Angott Ryan Angott is a seasoned professional with a decade-long journey in the wedding and event industry. With a wealth of experience and a track record of generating over $50 million in revenue, Ryan brings unparalleled insights into the intricacies of the industry as he transitioned and co-founded a virtual assistant staffing agency based in the Philippines. Connect with Ryan directly at Ryan@strategic-assistant.com  or explore the world of virtual assistant services for weddings at https://strategic-assistant.com/wedding-services/  If you have any questions about anything in this, or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com 

I just finished reading another book by Adam Grant, a professor at Wharton in Philadelphia, this one is called “Hidden Potential.” It really hit home with me when he shared examples of people who intentionally seek out being uncomfortable, and then they push through that discomfort and use it as a catalyst for their success. Specifically, he gave examples of people who are polyglots, people who are fluent in many more languages than me, and who were not good at learning languages when they were young. When we’re young, it’s supposed to be easier to learn a new language. These people learned many new languages as adults, despite being poor at it as kids. Are you only doing things that are within your comfort zone? Are you only trying new things you know you can be good at? Listen to this new 7-minute episode for inspiration on finding success in your discomfort. If you have any questions about anything in this or any of my podcasts, or have a suggestion for a topic or guest, please reach out directly to me at Alan@WeddingBusinessSolutions.com or visit my website Podcast.AlanBerg.com Please be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review (thanks, it really does make a difference). If you want to get notifications of new episodes and upcoming workshops and webinars, you can sign up at www.ConnectWithAlanBerg.com