Make Your Sales & Marketing Happen Automatically

Here’s a video message from Chris Evans about the Bridal Business Boot Camp

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF BOOT CAMP LOCATIONS

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed....

and Something Blue. 
In the wedding business this saying comes from the Victorian Era....but I've adapted it for 2013 AND for the professional in the Wedding Business!

Something Old....what's working for you right now that has been around for a long time?  Face to face visits!  I realize that it's extremely easy to stop having those visits with our customers, however, one of the top wants of a bride and groom planning their wedding is.....a relationship.   Let's look back: remember when the phone call was easier than setting up a time to meet face to face?  How about when the FAX machine was easier to contact the brides than a phone call.....then it moved to 'the internet and emailing,' and now it's social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn).  However, the BEST OLD something....to close an actual sale, is to meet with your clients again!

Something New....let me hook you into some ideas that are WORKING!  Have you checked out: WedVu.com to create easy videos that help you in your rankings on line, plus are great advertisements for your company?  How about using PRWeb.com to get your press releases out in the community or PRnewswire.com?  At Evans Sales Solutions, we just started working with a company that helps you create an entire email follow up and follow through system--that will blow your mind!  We'd be happy to share it with you when you contact us for more information!  Email me: Chrisevansint@me.com (and ask for the f/u & f/through system)

Something Borrowed....OK, this make sense to 'borrow' from the huge amount of 'business background' that our team brings to you.  Have you read the book, 'How to Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months?'  or have you attended a 'Bridal Business Boot Camp,' that gives you education to grow your wedding business?  Have you signed up for the FREE newsletter, video or ebook to grow your company through our website?  Do it now....www.EvansSalesSolutions.com  (Register today!)

and Something BLUE.....how about the Ocean?  It's incredible in Atlantic City!   You are invited to participate in the Bridal Business Academy in May 2013--where you'll hear from experts in the field of business and the wedding industry!  Sign up early for the discount!  Click here for more information and registration: Bridal Business Academy

The Bridal Industry Today

Here’s a useful snapshot of the bridal world in the U.S.

With the popularity of wedding reality shows on networks like TLC and Style, weddings are in the spotlight more than ever. Here’s a brief overview of bridal stats gathered from theknot.com, Brides Magazine 2012 American Wedding Study, and weddingstats.com:

• September is the most popular month for weddings; June is second. 20% of couples get engaged in December.
• The average age of a bride is 27 and the groom is 29.
• An average guest count is 140 and the length of engagement is fourteen months.
• Blue, purple, and green are the biggest wedding colors.
• 69% of couples had there own personal wedding website. 59% of brides used Pinterest to generate and organize wedding ideas.
• The average cost of an American wedding is $27,000. New York City boasted the largest average cost of more than $65k, and Chicago was second at $53k per wedding.
• Venue accounts for approximately 50% of a wedding’s budget.
• The average cost of a bridal gown is $1355, and bridesmaids’ dresses average $145.
• In this economy--exporting may be the way to expand your products.

To sum it all up, get yourself into Pinterest, focus on September and June themes, look into exporting into China and move to New York! Okay, maybe you should stay put --where you are--and use these stats to make the most of your business. For more great resources on the wedding biz, check out my site: EvansSalesSolutions.com or BridalMarketingConcierge.com
Have a great week, and do a little of your own research on wedding trends. It can only help propel you forward. As I always say, “Knowledge plus implementation equals power.”
Sincerely,
Chris Evans
P.S. Join us at the BRIDAL BUSINESS ACADEMY in Santa Monica on December 4 or get more information on the EASTERN SEABOARD Academy next May!

Bridal Business Academy Comes To Southern California

www.EvansSalesSolutions.com

Bridal Business Academy Comes To Southern California

The Bridal Business Academy is an intensive course in bridal business management, where wedding industry entrepreneurs gain hands-on familiarity with the fundamental skills needed in a successful business from the novice to the experienced.

 

The Bridal Business Academy features an intensive education program designed to strengthen the business acumen of wedding industry leaders. The workshop is designed for owners, managers, staff leaders and those looking to advance their wedding business.  Attendees range from the novice to the experienced as the Academy provides a strong foundation for wedding professionals who enjoy perfecting their trade.

Featured Trainer & Business Motivator, Chris Evans -Top Wedding Industry Specialist will be on hand to help you learn how to improve your business and grow your sales.

Additional top bridal business trainers will  teach information which focuses on practical concepts and tools to strengthen leadership capabilities in your wedding business.
Trainers include: Wedding Planner Alice Goetschel of Memorable Occasions, Susan Tellem, Owner of Tellem Worldwide Communications, Nick DiLello, Owner & Operator of the Phoenix Bridal Show and Daryl Bryant, Business Motivator & Owner of Total Entertainment.
 
As a bonus,  Wedding Coordinators/Planners can get a complimentary registration courtesy of the Sheraton Delfina Hotel.  Discount registrations are available for those in the Wedding Industry wanting to attend!

Call 805-322-4446 to reserve your seat (limited) or email to: Academy@EvansSalesSolutions.com

Go to: www.BridalMarketingConcierge.com

Products for the wedding professional

NEW DVD's & AUDIO CD's to grow your wedding business. CLICK HERE:
Products for the wedding professional to grow business

Are you leading or just managing your bridal company?

Leadership is about taking risks and overcoming obstacles. When Chris Evans, top speaker in the wedding circuit, left the wedding industry as a major bridal show producer, he decided to use his skills and teach wedding merchants ‘how to sell’ through workshops, seminars and more. However, there were a lot of obstacles in his way. This included a massive brick-and-mortar system of getting the word out to those in the wedding industry via direct mail and advertising costs. But he left his safe job and founded ‘Evans Sales Solutions, LLC,’ and stepped into the training and speaking circuit, changing the way many in this industry look at ‘sales and marketing.’

What is the key to assessing big decisions and overcoming obstacles that he used? He didn’t want to waste his ‘God-given talent’ of teaching and then regret not doing it. He would have regretted not joining the ‘speaking circuit,’ where he has met and trained thousands in the wedding industry to grow their businesses.

He had a clear vision of what he wanted to do, he knew the obstacles involved, set out to overcome them, knowing the whole time that there was a high failure risk. He didn’t want to be 80 years old and regret what he could have done for this industry. His theme every morning? ‘It’s a Bright New Day Filled with Possibilities!’

Will you look back with regret at what could have been in your wedding organization? Maybe you’ve owned your bridal business for a long time or been in an executive position for a few years, but are you leading or managing?

Leadership is about making the hard choices and living with the outcomes, good or bad. Managing is more about ‘not doing the hard things-keeping all running smoothly’ thus making sure employees, vendors and customers are all happy.

Sometimes though, the path to a greater success requires you to ‘rock the boat,’ to the point of tipping it over.

The first step is to: Know where you are going in this industry. Too many bridal companies start with a ‘passionate idea,’ and then ‘just survive the ride.’ They are not plotting their growth plan; they are doing what they’ve always done, hoping that it’s enough to get by for another day. If you are a leader, you won’t go for that.

Second step: Make a list of how you are going to make it happen! List the easy steps, and list the obstacles. By listing the obstacles, you can then go around them, through them, over them or simply get rid of them. Most obstacles are going to fall into the category of people, products or the structure you have in place. Ask yourself: Is this the right management team to get you where you want your company to be? Is your product on the ‘edge’ of what 18-36 year old brides are looking for? Is your company structured to handle the challenges that lie ahead (yes, they are there) on your path to growth?
This is where leadership comes in. Do you have the DISCIPLINE (consistency plus perseverance) or SELF CONTROL (the ability in the heat of the moment to take a specific action in the right direction) and COURAGE (Strength of purpose, to do your best and not swerve from your path) to grow your business?

None of these changes are easy. But that’s the difference between a leader and a manager. A leader says, ‘we are going a different direction and that means things are going to have to change.’ Your other option is to leave things alone and play it safe. But get ready, Chris won’t be standing next to you at 80, when you declare, ‘I could have done so much more!!’

Evans Sales Solutions/ Bridal Marketing Concierge, leaders in the wedding industry with support products, business training, sales & marketing techniques to grow your business. As a solutions-based and results-driven concierge we create opportunities to grow your bridal business sales and increase your profitability. Reach us by calling: 805-322-4446 or go to: www.BridalMarketingConcierge.com

SMART Rules In Marketing Your Wedding Business

Do you know the steps to marketing your wedding business?  What do you need to put in the box? It's actually simple:  S.M.A.R.T.

What's in your Marketing Box?

S:  Be Specific. Don't be vague in what you are trying to get across to the brides.

M:  Create something that is Measurable.  Determine what the success factor is for that goal.

A:  Are you able to Attain the goal you set up.  Is it something you can accomplish?

R:  When setting up your bridal marketing goals, are they Realistic?

T:  Do you have a Time Frame in which to create and make this goal work?

To guide your wedding business marketing efforts, you need to understand how to take 'your passion' in this industry and make it a business that plays to the needs of a bride.   There are several ways to build your company through an 'Internet Marketing Strategy' such as:

• Your website.  Is your website creating desire?
• SEO:  Search Engine Optimization.  Is your company always striving to be at the top of the search engine?
• E-newsletters, Blogs:  Does your company create items that make you a star in this industry?
• Social media: Do you stay on top of your social media, putting your company as the connection providing help to the brides creating a dream wedding?
• Your Database.  Are you able to collect and add to your database of couples looking to use your company?  Increase your brand circle, by reaching out to those reached out for you!

Tips to help you: 

1) In the book 'How to Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months,' Author Chris Evans, shows you how to break down your goals and set up realistic steps using sales techniques that will support you as you go forward.   

2) ESSText is a marketing technique used to capture your next client by using a 'text program,'  through your SMART phone.

3) WedVu.com is a site that creates marketing videos to help take your marketing up a notch!  Each customized video can be placed on your website or used in your social marketing.

Marketing support with these items you can purchase through Amazon or at: http://www.EvansSalesSolutions.com 

OK, overwhelmed and need someone to do this for you?   Evans Sales Solutions can help you!  The Bridal Marketing Concierge team works to best suit our wedding business clients by providing them a range of full service marketing techniques and the 'training' needed to put your staff at the top for sales and service.  As a solutions-based and results-driven bridal marketing concierge in this fast paced environment, we help to grow your sales and increase your profitability.  Call 805-322-4446 or email: info@EvansSalesSolutions.com

Wedding Watch News -supporting the wedding industry

Wedding Social Marketing Blue Print Surprisingly Simple?

Creating a social marketing blue print for your company can be incredibly hard for the #wedding business owner who is working constantly 'keeping the doors open,' and doesn't have the time to be on the computer and grow their business.  It's important to stay on top of the daily changes and updates in social marketing, so that your company is found easier.   Here are a few quick things to note when you are working on your blue print: 

1) Write click-worthy titles and descriptions for the bride to be

When it comes to writing titles for search engines, the first thing you have to know is this…you only have 65 characters to write your headline.  You could write the greatest headline, but if it’s over 65 characters, it will get cut off.   Try to create something that you know will interest the clients you want to come knocking at your door.

• Front-load your titles with keywords – Since most people only scan the first 2 words in a title, try to a keyword in the front as much as possible.
• Meet the expectations of the reader – Your title should click to a page that meets the expectations of the user.
• Emotionally writing – Try to make your title an emotional call to the brides.   Use adverbs that will pull them in: Emotional words are; killer, FREE, amazingly, surprising, uncommonly, tempting, astoundingly  (make up your own?)

2) Keywords 

When you want to attract attention when it comes to ranking above the fold is with Google+

• Google looks for the word you typed in, but sometimes also looks for synonyms or related terms. Any words appearing in boldface type in your search results are terms Google associates with your search terms. For example, if you search for [kittens] you might see the word cats in boldface in your results.
• Adding pictures, creating a blog with keywords, add friends-- all support your going higher on the search engine.

3) Meta Tags 

These ideas are from Google.  The quality of your snippet (a small piece of brief extract: 'snippets of information') is important.  Using identical or similar descriptions on every page of a site isn't very helpful when individual pages appear in the web results— the short text preview Google displays for each web result — can have a direct impact on the chances of your site being clicked (i.e. the amount of traffic Google sends your way).  Google wants snippets to accurately represent the web result. They (Google) will frequently prefer to display meta descriptions of pages (when available) because it gives users a clear idea of the URL's content.

• The meta description doesn't just have to be in sentence format; it's also a great place to include structured data about the page. Google limits meta descriptions to 160 characters or less.
• For some sites, like news media sources, generating an accurate and unique description for each page is easy: since each article is hand-written, it takes minimal effort to also add a one-sentence description.
• Finally, make sure your descriptions are... descriptive.  Front load keywords that are relevant to the article. If you like formulas, ask “Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?” That’s a formula journalists use to report. It works equally well writing descriptions.

Remember, that you are in business!  While it may have started from your 'passion' and that should still be part of the business, you must continually take the steps to bring your company up to speed on social marketing.   Bridal Business Marketing Concierge is one who can help with that day-to-day social marketing.  Learn more about our internet marketing solutions 

Recent blog posts about bridal business marketing strategy:   (From Evans Sales Solutions)

• Where Do Your Leads Come From?
• Day by Day-Steps to Growing Your Business
• The Formalwear Business works hard to grow their business
• Is it really SPAM or does it cost you wedding business?
• What makes a good salesperson?
• Five Ways to Grow Your Business

Contact us: 

805-322-4446

Evans Sales Solutions, LLC

www.EvansSalesSolutions.com

Five Ways to Grow Your Business

Are you feeling stalled out in your business? Get to work this week, formulating your plan for growth. Take a look at these five suggestions to get started.

Customer Service Get a leg up on the competition by making excellent customer service your number one priority. If your client feels like you are doing everything you can and more to take care of them, they will want to tell everyone how great you are!

Expand Take inventory of your most popular services and add on accessories that make them even more attractive. Then add more services that are becoming popular in the marketplace. If you are not constantly growing and improving your product, you will eventually go backward as your competitors move ahead.

Quality Every product or service you put out there reflects on you, so make sure it is your best work every time. Attention to detail can seem like a dying art. Perfecting the little things goes a long way with clients, and word of mouth will spread quickly.

Team Put your goals in writing, then communicate them with your team, updating everyone weekly on the progress. You won’t believe how motivating this will be. Also, ask your team for ideas on ways to grow. Often, the best ideas come from those who are in the trenches.

Referrals Always ask your client if they know of anyone who needs your services, and ask them to contact them for you. This can be the quickest way to get new business. A warm contact is always more open than a cold one.

Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Business growth is possible; sometimes it just takes some rethinking, imagination, and hard work.

To learn more about growing your business, check out my book How to Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months.  Find me on the web at EvansSalesSolutions.com for more tools to improve your business. While you’re there, sign up for a Bridal Business Boot Camp in your area!

This week, put on your thinking cap and strive for more!

Sincerely,

Chris Evans

Evans Sales Solutions provides support for those in the wedding industry with training, seminars, products and wedding marketing concierge team.  For more information call: 805-322-4446 or go to EvansSalesSolutions.com

The ESS Team

• Chris Evans - CEO, Motivation, Sales & Techniques Training

• Rebekah Evans - Marketing & Sales, PR & Social Media Manager

• James Mitchell - Internet Expert, Web & Design; Database Design

• Vanessa Carroll - Copywriter & Marketing Content Manager

Resources To Grow Your Wedding Business

At the ‘Bridal Business Boot Camp,’ which takes place all over the country, or as the speaker at a wedding business conference, Chris Evans, wedding business guru, shares top secret techniques to support the growth of your company.  The resource page on the website:  www.EvansSalesSolutions.com is set up to give you ideas (mostly free) to be the best in the wedding industry that your company can be.

www.EvansSalesSolutions.com

The first selection by Chris to support your company is:

Aweber Autoresponder:  This autoresponder puts an online OR offline business on Auto-Pilot, by sending emails to your mailing lists.  It is used to automate my response to my mailing list, saving your company valuable time.

An auto responder is a very cool software program that allows you to enter a series of newsletters, e-mails or informational snippets, and then it delivers that information in whatever order and schedule you choose.  Autoresponders have helped many businesses is that it simplifies the follow-up of its mailing list members, even just to remind its members of their products or services. 

Evans Sales Solutions uses the Aweber Autoresponder, to send out messages every few days. When someone subscribes to our website, they will get an immediate response, after they have subscribed. Then it is set up to reach out to those interested at an interval of 2 to 7 days.

Within months of having our Facebook up, we have over 1000+ members.  Our blog is starting to ‘multiple’ by reaching out with the autoresponder to help branch out with our services.

It is used to remind our clients of our latest posts as well as to remind them of my offers of products and services, such as the new ‘BizEBride Mobile app, or the Wedding Watch Newsletter.’  Our team at Evans Sales Solutions, uses it to guide my 1000+ clients to the right resources that they want.

Aweber Autoresponder has been advertising for me, tirelessly, 24 hours a day / 7 days a week/ 365 days a year. It is always on Auto-Pilot.

The first step is to contract with an auto-responder service and set up an account. You can do that by clicking the link below.

Example: Once your account is set up (a five-minute process), you can begin creating a series of e-mails to send to the bride after the show. It’s best to keep each e-mail short and to provide some information about your company. Always close the e-mail by providing a way for the bride to link to you, call you, or register on your page. You will want to create 10 separate e-mails that will be sent to the bride after the show.

My experience shows it’s best to schedule your e-mails as follows:

• One each day for five days
• One every other day for the next six days
• One e-mail 15 days after the show
• One final e-mail 20 days after the show

When you meet a bride at the show, part of the registration process will be to record her e-mail address. On your registration form you should have an opt-in box where the bride can give you permission to send her e-mails. Be sure to keep these registration forms on file in the event that there is a question later. There are specific laws that govern sending e-mails to lists. The auto-responder service you choose will provide all the information you need, and by following its guidelines you will be in compliance with the laws.

After the show, simply enter the brides’ e-mail addresses into the system and they will receive the e-mails you set on the schedule you created. The final e-mail in the schedule should tell the bride-to-be that it is the final message she will receive. It’s amazing, but many times that’s enough to stimulate the bride-to-be to respond.

There are many different Autoresponder companies, however, we like Aweber best.  Aweber’s user-friendly user interface works well for newbies and even the experienced marketer. It is easy to maneuver between the options.

If you get your Aweber now, you will be able to:

• set up unlimited campaigns
• unlimited messages
• spam checker
• text or html-based messages
• manage your subscribers

As an added bonus, Aweber has a referral compensation program as well, so you can benefit by promoting your Aweber, so when you sign up use Evans Sales Solutions, or CLICK LINK BELOW: 

 

1. Identify a target group you want to market to

 

2. Come up with at least 10 follow-ups emails

 

3. The first email is always to welcome your subscriber and with the download of freebies e.g. free report or e-Book

 

4. Write down the time intervals you want to send these emails

 

5. Once you got your Aweber account, copy and paste the emails into the message boxes

 

6. Remember to on the “click-tracking” so that you can know how many of your members have clicked on the links

 

7. Let it run and you go to sleep

Be sure to use the Chris Evans Link below and check it out for yourself or go to http://www.evanssalessolutions.com/Resources.html

Planning Your Wedding? Use the New Mobile App Biz-E-Bride to Find What You Need

Go mobile with your wedding planning today! Busy brides-to-be only need to use their smartphones to connect to the Wedding Community today! Biz-E-Bride App available nationwide, find it and download today!

Mobile App for the Bride Released Nationwide! Wedding industry experts are ready to serve you! Biz-E-Bride app available for smartphones!


Wedding planning has gone mobile. Nearly three out of five brides use their smartphones for wedding planning. Brides who have smartphones are doing a lot on the go, from taking and sharing wedding-related pictures (58%) and looking up wedding vendor contact information (47%) to accessing wedding planning websites (33%) and managing their wedding gift registry (32%).

Top Features include:
1) GPS-Enabled Mapping which allows the bride to find your Wedding Business location pinpointed on an easy to navigate map. BizEBride allows one touch dialing to call each business.

2) A 'text-back' feature is also available for more information on the business, so that you have all the information you'll need to plan your wedding!

3) Brides will be able to Search by Category, sub-category, type of business, business name or location and so much more....

For a bride planning her wedding, BizEBride will fulfill many levels of need. Are you looking for a local flower shop? Touch the screen...
Are you looking for a wedding dress location in a town the bride is not familiar with? Touch the screen....
Looking for the reception location of your dreams? Touch the screen...........

Planning the perfect wedding, just got easier! Find Biz-E-Bride in your apps area on your smart phone today! The BizEBride Mobile App connects the bride and groom to those in the Wedding Industry with only a touch of a button. www.BizEBride.com

Could two (2) words help you get more business?

by Shane McMurray

When asked “what words best describe your wedding” the majority of couple say Romantic, Simple and Traditional. While these are the top 3 choices of couples we surveyed in 2011, over 70% of the market focuses on two words, Romantic and Simple. We were able to determine that by focusing on these 2 words you can connect with over 70% of the market. Simplify put, start using the words Romantic and Simple in your marketing message and you’ll make a better connection with potential customers.

Here are the words that describe the type of weddings couples are having.

Beach	7%
Casual	25%
Destination	6%
DIY	19%
Elegant	27%
Extravagant	6%
Formal	21%
Fun	29%
Garden	15%
Green or eco friendly	6%
Romantic	45%
Rustic	9%
Simple	42%
Theme	11%
Traditional	35%
Unique	27%
Vintage	11%
Other	8%

 For more info, go to Evans Sales Solutions

The Top 3 Social Media Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t catch yourself falling into these three traps when it comes to Facebook!

Social media can create a boost to your business and brand—if you do it right. If you do it wrong, it could backfire. Here are three social marketing pitfalls you should avoid at all costs.

1. All about me, not about you. The biggest question on a customer’s mind is “What’s in it for me?” Are you answering this question when you throw out facebook posts? Social marketing should be exactly how it sounds—social. It’s about connecting with people. If you’re posting all about your business and what you do on a daily basis without answering your customer’s biggest question, you are failing at the most critical point of social marketing.

2. Leaving comments unanswered. You don’t want to be that guy – the one who is constantly talking about themselves without listening to what anyone else has to say. If you have a social marketing presence, you are most-likely getting comments and questions. If you are going to keep the interest of those you are marketing to, you must address every comment, especially if it is a negative one. A negative comment can wreak havoc for your business, so be sure to address it right away and always come up with a positive spin.

3. Not mapping out your strategy. Social marketing can bring a return on your time investment, but only if you have a plan. A social marketing plan can keep your business in front of the people you need the most. It can help each post build on one another instead of being scattered and unrelated. It can help you truly address your constituency’s needs and wants.

Have you set goals for your social marketing? Do you have the next month of promotions planned out? Need help with translating how a social marketing plan can bring more brides to your business?

Click here to check out Success with Facebook CD and start making social media work for your business.

And you can always find us online at www.evanssalessolutions.com.

Happy Facebooking from the Evans Sales Solutions team!

• Chris Evans - CEO, Motivation, Sales & Techniques Training - The face of the company, (Grand  PooPah when Becky lets me be)
• Rebekah Evans - Marketing and Sales, PR and Social Media Manager and (The real boss)
• James Mitchell - Internet Expert, Web & database Design, Internet Manager (Jbmwebdesigners.com)
• Vanessa Carroll - Copywriter and marketing Content Manager
• Marc Alex - Graphic designer and Literature Manager

Day by Day-Steps to Growing Your Bridal Business

by Chris Evans, National Bridal Sales & Marketing Expert 

What would your business look like if you made even minor changes to how you think and do business so that you can grow your business? It’s not how much you do in your day, it’s what you do in that day that can make or break your business.

Growing your business can be broken down into easy, doable, bite-sized activities. It’s simply about focusing on what matters.   Do you rely on your ‘self-control,’ so that you choose the correct activity or can you ‘discipline’ yourself to make the correct choices? 

Self-control is the ability in the heat of the moment to resist temptation or embrace that which will move to in the right direction.  Discipline is consistency in addition to perseverance.  It is about setting a goal and sticking with it repeatedly through obstacles, setbacks, disappointments and frustrations.  It is the ability to take SPECIFIC ACTION day in and day out-and it ultimately leads to the results you are hoping for.  What would your business look like if you did the following steps:

Created a plan for each day? Instead of waking up wondering what you had to do that day, how would it feel to wake up energized and empowered because you had clarity and confidence in knowing what the most important tasks for that day were and how they fit into your overall business strategy? By having a plan, uncertainty, procrastination and overwhelm are eliminated, enabling you to reach goals faster. 

If I planned for the 3 hours where I work consistently in the day? Nothing helps you prioritize better than knowing you have a limited time in which to accomplish tasks. Will organizing your desk again or sweeping the office floor--generate revenue or visibility for your business?   Or if you spent your time on the development of a new product or connecting with a media campaign help you to reach your goals? As the saying goes, “Time is a related thing. The more you have, the more your tasks expand.” The key is not to fill up the time you have, but to maximize it. Chunk out the hours (by tasks) and use a timer to keep you mindful of time spent on those tasks.

Make only 3 things your TOP PRIORITY for the day? “Not possible!” you say? Look through your To Do list now and cross off everything on that list that will not generate revenue, visibility or credibility for your business.  

Did you break the China Egg? From the new book: ‘The Secret of Sales Success,’ Author Chris Evans, teaches you how to ‘sell more-by doing that which is hard.’  These include doing follow-up calls to recent or existing clients or up-sell a new product, sending text messages to brides to touch base, asking friends or clients for referrals, reaching out to people you’ve recently met at networking activities, etc. If you figure most of us work 5 days a week for a total of 50 weeks a year (taking out a few weeks for holidays), that means you’ve made 500 sales presentation in a year. Trying to make 500 sales presentations is daunting, making two per day is doable.

Attend a Networking Event a Week? Networking is a necessary tool for business growth.  Focus on events where “your people” (colleagues, potential clients and referral partners) congregate. If you attend just 1 networking event a week, 4 a month, that totals 50 a year!  Even doing just two a month means 25 events a year. Be targeted and attend frequently so you become known among those groups. Familiarity makes referring you to new brides an easier connection.

Grab 20 seconds of no fear? Are you nervous about calling that editor, that new bride-to-be, that successful bridal shop that you’d like to get referrals from?  Great! That means you’re pushing the envelope, getting out of your comfort zone and growing your business.  My kids & I adopted the new motto, ‘It only takes 20 seconds of bravery or no fear,’ from the new movie, ‘We bought a zoo.’  The more you challenge yourself, the more confident you become in selling yourself and your product or services. Bigger risks = bigger rewards.

I used Discipline today? What if you acted with discipline, daily, on the above recommendations? What if you honored your time, your priorities and your goals and focused only on what mattered–really mattered–so that your business became successful?  It is a series of ‘self-controlled’ moments that lead you to repetitively engage in behavior that will lead you to your ultimate goal for your business. 

You can learn more on how to grow your business by going to a Bridal Business Boot Camp, signing up for the new ‘Bridal Business Coaching Series,’ at Evans Sales Solutions or by reading the book ‘How to Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months,’ by Chris Evans.  Available on Amazon.