What's in a good booth design for a Bridal Show?

Great booth design

OK, in my past....my wife (Rebekah) & I owned the Bridal Expo (when there was only one) in Southern California.  Our largest show was at the incredible Disneyland Hotel -- where we usually brought in over 3000+ brides on a weekend event.   Even back then, we hosted 'Merchant Maximizer Seminars,' which were educational series all to support the wedding professional.   One of the most anticipated seminars, was the one about 'How to set up and design the best booth,' for the show.   (We even gave trophies for the best one!)

Clean, simple booth design

Our advice is 'successful bridal-show booths entice brides-to-be to view your offers, connect on an emotional level with potential clients and stand out from other booths, so you'll need to make sure that you don't fill it so full (with all your great items) or leave it empty (so that the bride doesn't understand what you offer).   It's  important to note that whether you offer photography services, wedding cakes or customized invitations or wedding registry, you need to use the '5 senses,' and add promotional concepts which can help extend the effect of your bridal show booth for a long time.   We've always believed that the best bridal-show booth ideas encourage brides to make on-the-spot decisions to use your services, encourage follow-up after the bridal show and ultimately increase sales and profit. 

Audio CD for Booth Design

In our book 'How To Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months,' I spend a bit of time going over ideas, suggestions on how to set and display your business.  Most of all, you'll find tips and techniques on how to SELL to a bride!   As I always say,  "It's A Bright New Day With Unlimited Possibilities!"  -Chris Evans www.EvansSalesSolutions.com

Click here for Products:  'Booth Design Tips &  Tricks' by Chris Evans

Click here for more ideas on booth designs via Pinterest! 

Wedding Business Expert given mission ‘Bridal Business IMPOSSIBLE’ in Orlando on July 9

Wedding Business Expert-Author, Speaker, Trainer--Chris Evans in Orlando!  Chris will teach you how to 'Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months' at the Bridal Business Boot Camp! Join us on Monday, July 9 @ the Fairfield Inn by Marriott -Orlando Airport Hotel.

www.EvansSalesSolutions.com


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Chris Evans
Bridal Business
IMPOSSIBLE?

July 9, 2012-Orlando:  Chris Evans, America’s foremost Wedding Business Expert, is given the "mission" of making the impossible-possible by teaching, training and motivating local wedding industry businesses to take their businesses to the next level on July 9, 2012 at the Fairfield Inn-Orlando Airport.

Chris Evans, speaker, author, business coach and master presenter uses the 30 years in the bridal industry to help thousands of wedding businesses, grow their companies—even in these uncertain times. On June 18-Chicago will hear speaker, author, business coach and master presenter, Chris Evans, who uses the 30 years in the bridal industry to help thousands of wedding businesses, grow their companies—even in these uncertain times.

The full day Bridal Business Boot Camp was created to help those in the bridal industry to learn skills to increase their bottom line.  Wedding Professionals will learn:

• How to stop chasing the bride and have them chase you with Attraction Marketing!

• Why Social Networking doesn’t work-and what to do about it!

• ‘There’s an App for that!’ Websites and techniques that save you time and money!

• Mission Impossible?  How to remake your bridal business for the new economy!

Chris Evans is a fearless entrepreneur and top sales trainer. He's never met a challenge he wouldn't take. Chris’ new mission: fix America's most desperate bridal businesses.... ready to change & grow…..Is it a Bridal Business: Impossible?  Never!

His background in the wedding industry includes top wedding entrepreneur, author, sales trainer and key note speaker and Chris entertains and trains companies with a hint of comedy from writing for the 'Jay Leno' show.  

Chris created the wildly successful Bridal Business Boot Camp in 2008, training thousands of wedding professionals to exceed their expectations in sales, grow their companies and learn valuable business techniques.' This intense business workout, will take them to the next level in sales and more!  Chris is also the Author of, 'How to Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months!' and, 'The Secret of Sales Success.'

The Bridal Business Boot Camp is a full day event at:

Where: Fairfield Inn by Marriott Orlando Airport

7100 Augusta National Drive, 7100 Augusta National Drive, Orlando, FL

Date:  July 9, 2012, Monday

Time: 9:00 am -3:45 pm

Registration is available by going to: www.EvansSalesSolutions.com  or call 805-428-3851. Tickets increase in price after: June 15, 2012, Seating is limited!

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

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.

6 Ways Your Business Can Benefit From Exhibiting A Bridal Trade Show

Bridal trade shows and exhibitions are a great way of getting your service out there to the new ‘brides-to-be and grooms,’ planning their weddings. You need to know what you want before you go in order to get the most out of exhibiting.

It is one form of advertising that is far and above your best source of face-to-face visits from brides. This type of advertising allows you to meet every bride-to-be in person, build rapport and ask for an opportunity to schedule a more appropriate time to learn more about the vision for her wedding. (The wedding industry exceeds $ even in this down economy.)

If wedding magazines, newspapers, radio or television could offer what this single form of advertising offers for your business, they would charge you 20 times more that they already do. In fact, it’s the only form of advertising that allows you to do more than simply wait around for the phone to ring. Excerpt from the book,’ How To Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months,‘ by Author & Sales Trainer, Chris Evans. You will need to make sure you attend the right events to match your objectives.

To find a list of ‘professional & highly beneficial Bridal Trade Shows, ‘ go to: www.EvansSalesSolutions.com

Here are 7 ways your business could benefit from exhibiting at a trade show, and how you can make sure you achieve them.

1. Prepare Ahead of Time The main benefit of bridal trade shows and events should be that you’ve got a ready-made audience. The people (bride-to-be, grooms, family members) attending are likely to be those most interested in your product or service. Prepare what you are going to say to these attendees, hand to them to showcase your business, and how you are going to ‘book a presentation’ with them. A pre-show mailing is very useful and is a feature most promoters can help you with. Post on your blog, Twitter, Facebook pages. Send out an email to your contacts list letting them know you’re going to be there, with a map of the venue and your location in the hall.

2. Meet Other Vendors Exhibitions can be really good places to generate new leads and/or referrals from other ‘like-minded’ service companies. Prior to the show opening (once everyone is set up) Talk to as many people as you can. Ask your staff to wander round the venue and introduce your company to the other exhibitors. Make sure you take business cards, good literature and a calendar. Remember, this doesn’t end with the event: follow up. Send a thank you letter, fliers and more to those you have met.

3. Build Your Sales Plan & Goal Before every show, write down a specific number of visits, contacts and new networking partners your expect to generate from the show. Keep it realistic. Setting a goal is useless if you know it’s impossible to reach when you set it. Share your plan with everyone working in your booth, so that they are on the same page as you. Your literature, booth design and outreach from staff should let attendees know what you do in a glance. Remember to design a ‘qualified message” for your staff to say to every attendee,(sum up your business in 30 seconds or less and asking for a visit). More information on how to do this is in the book, “How To Double Your Wedding Business in 12 Months,’ by Author Chris Evans, available on Amazon.