Rockstar Wedding Planner | Tag Archive | rockstar wedding planner

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Renovate Your Wedding Planning

By Rockstar Wedding Planner on August 4, 2009 in Articles, Blog, Coaching

I’ve been really focused on growing my business and getting more and more high end brides. And it’s working! Great news…. BUT…..

There’s always a BUT….

There are brides that love my style, love how we plan events but because my prices have gone up they can’t afford to hire me as their wedding planner. These are brides that are ready to buy and it makes me really sad to turn them away. So after listening to photographer Laura Novak at a recent conference I thought she was on to something. Laura was in the same position as me as a photographer. As she grew so did her prices but it didn’t mean she wasn’t still attracting clients that would be great to work with but who just couldn’t reach her fee. She was busy enough so she created a second division to her company where she could refer these couples. They’d receive the Laura Novak photography style and treatment because she’d trained these associates and she wouldn’t lose out on the business. Brilliant!

So I applied this to my business and quickly came up with Simon and I running the Haute Couture division and an associate planner running the Pret a Porter division. They still become a client of Firefly and get access to our private collection of décor, our cool templates and spreadsheets, design ideas and our associates are trained in the Firefly Occasions style but at a fraction of the cost. It’s a total win win!

Could you do this in your business?

This is a great tactic to try while everyone is moaning over the economy. Could you create a second tier in your business so that you personally don’t have to lower your prices but brides and grooms could still gain access to your company’s style by working with an associate planner?

Another thought is- if people aren’t buying right now it means you’ve got to do a bit of renovations to your programs or packages. Maybe you promote coaching brides through their wedding planning rather than full service. It’s less of a cost for them but it also takes up less of your time and after talking to you on the phone for a year don’t you think you could upsell them to day of coordination?

What about tossing out some budget bride packages? Get some local vendors together and figure out how you could combine your services and give the bride a sweeter deal. That helps everyone out!

You need to think… How can I renovate my wedding planning?

And this idea is good to use all the time. I think it’s important that you give your business a little reno from time to time. Think about that boutique in your town that’s been there for 25 years without a paint job and the same mannequins in the window. It’s not very exciting and it probably wouldn’t attract today’s fashionista… It needs a little facelift to bring it up with the times and get people interested again.

Ciara’s Rockstar Wedding Planner Advice

How can you renovate your business? Are there some new programs or packages that you could create to spark some new interest? Are you loosing money by not having services for different levels of brides? Is there an area of your market that you’ve thought about tapping into but hesitated? Now is the time. Why not spiffy up your business right now and jump up to the next level?

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SHINE

By Rockstar Wedding Planner on August 3, 2009 in Blog, Ciara Recommends

If you haven’t signed up for Ali Brown’s groundbreaking SHINE Event yet, NOW is the time. Why? Early bird pricing lasts for just two days. That’s $500 off the full price registration rates! This Wednesday, August 5, is the last day to enjoy these discounts.

Click here to peek at Ali’s new SHINE website, learn more about the event, and register!

This dynamic woman is paving a new road for entrepreneurs – especially women. The important thing to know is that Ali’s methods work – she’s helped everyone from home-based moms to millionaires double or triple their revenues by ramping up their businesses.

SHINE is not just any seminar where you leave with a notebook and your head full of ideas, but nothing concrete to implement.

You’ll complete the weekend with your business and income strategies mapped out and ready to go! Yes, REALLY.

Ali’s SHINE website has all the details.

REMEMBER, early bird pricing ENDS in just 2 days, so NOW is the time to learn more and reserve your seat.

Won’t you join me in November?

Remember, you won’t see early bird discounts like this again, so register now for this spectacular event!

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4 Years!

By Rockstar Wedding Planner on August 3, 2009 in Blog, Ciara's Updates, Rockstar Wedding Planner News

By the time you are reading this I’ll be well on my way to my uncle’s fishing lodge in British Columbia. Simon and I are off with our dogs Kohl and Chayse to celebrate our 4 year wedding anniversary and relax without cell phones or the internet for a whole week! I’m super lucky that I have a great team to support me while I’m gone. And I’m just in a good mood all around, 4 years of marriage will do that to a girl! *blush* That’s why I’m throwing the good vibes your way by having a sale. I’ve bundled up the past “Become A Rockstar Wedding Planner” calls because a lot of the calls are just better when you combine the knowledge contained in them. So in honor of my 4 year wedding anniversary just click here and put in the coupon code 4YEARS and you’ll receive 40% off of these great bundles. Oooo AND you can get 40% off the Rise to Fame System using that same code which is SUPER exciting! But, I’m back Thursday August 7th and the sale ends at 11:59am MST that day so don’t miss out.

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Entrepreneurs can change the world

By Rockstar Wedding Planner on August 1, 2009 in Blog, Ciara Recommends, Uncategorized

I really like this video because in a time of so much talk about the bad economy it’s nice to see something positive for a change. And I really like Grasshopper, in fact, I use them for my phone service needs and I’ve been really pleased. If you need a pick me up today, watch this video.

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Do You Think Outside the Box With Your Wedding Planning Business?

By Rockstar Wedding Planner on July 27, 2009 in Articles, Blog

Firefly with Randy Fenoli I made a new friend in Randy Fenoli, Fashion Director of Kleinfelds and star of TLC’s “ Say Yes to the Dress” at the Engage 09 summit.

Randy is a such a fantastic person and a huge advocate for thinking out of the box when it comes to your wedding planning business. At Kleinfelds they have a special closet where brides are shown via webcam modeling a wedding dress for friends and family that cannot attend the dress shopping experience in person. Total out of the box ides… and I’ll bet it helps dress sales.

But what are you doing in your business that’s out of the box?

Even the smallest touch can WOW a brides and send a referral your way. When Simon and I plan weddings he brings along his pro camera and takes tons of detail shots of the décor, shots of the couple with his telephoto lens (as their pro photog is always in the prime position of course) and shots of the party after the photographer leaves. The couple doesn’t really notice on the day of but they are thrilled when a DVD arrives in the mail after the wedding from us. They discover 300+ candid photos and detail shots of their wedding décor. Not something they were expecting but it heightens their experience of working with us.

Ciara’s Rockstar Wedding Planner Advice

Sit down right now and brainstorm ideas about what you could do to create an out of the box experience for your bridal clients. And then act on at least 3 of them and see what a difference it makes in your bride’s happiness and in your business.

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Reach out to brides through PR and teleseminars

By Rockstar Wedding Planner on July 24, 2009 in Blog, Ciara Recommends, Coaching

Coming Up for Become A Rockstar Wedding Planner

The topic of this month’s call is “How to be a Rockstar Wedding Planner with the Media and Get on TV, Radio and Featured in Magazines.” To help me share this topic with you I have two very special guests, great friends of mine, Stacey Johnes and Regina Novickis who are PR experts and owners of Media Tonic. They’ve worked with Disney, Fox, xbox, Columbia-TriStar Pictures and their publicity campaigns have been huge. Their clients have been featured in In Style magazine, on CNN and the Today show just to name a few. They are going to be on next month’s call with us and I don’t want you guys to miss it because it’s going to be a really great call. So if you aren’t a member of Become a Rockstar Wedding Planner, click here now to sign up!

Teleseminars Can Help You Sell Many Brides All At Once Instead of Only 1 Bride at a Time

I’ve told you before how having a teleseminar after a bridal fair can help you close the deal with many brides instead of having to meet with each one on one. I’ve also talked about the success I’ve had with hosting teleseminars for brides and creating my DIY Wedding Planning System from the recordings. But a lot of you have told me that teleseminars (and how to successfully do them) have remained a mystery to you.

I want to introduce you to a friend of mine.

In the last 8 months, she’s enjoyed not 1, not 2, not 3 but FIVE 6-figure-plus launches!

I’ve told you about her before – her name is Lisa Sasevich of The Invisible Close.

Well, Lisa is at it again, except this time she wants to teach YOU exactly how she’s created FIVE 6-figure-plus launches plus built a 7-figure business in less than 3 years.

And she’s doing it for free in her BRAND-NEW teleclass “5 Simple Secrets to 6-Figure Teleseminars: How to make BIG FAST MONEY doing what you LOVE!” on Thursday, July 23, at 4 pm EDT/1 pm PDT.

(In a hurry? Grab your seat by clicking here.)

On this ground-breaking call you’ll learn:

1) The #1 thing you need to focus on to get BIG sales results on your Preview Call (Most speakers don’t know this!)

2) 4 simple steps to craft your Preview Call talk so it sells! (Psst — This is the exact formula Lisa used for her last five 6-figure launches.)

3) Lisa’s secrets to tripling your sales after your Preview Call. This simple formula works like magic. Not knowing this used to cost her thousands of dollars a month, but Lisa’s going to teach it to you so you can quickly learn from her mistakes.

4) Exactly how to structure your teleseminar Irresistible Offer. (Hint: It’s different than the offer you make in a face-to-face setting, from the stage or on a one-on-one phone call!)

5) The most critical mindset shift you need to make before attempting to sell anything. Don’t even bother with all the strategies Lisa’s about to teach you if you’re not willing to do this!

Here’s that link again to reserve your spot in this complimentary teleclass.

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We’ve lost touch

By Rockstar Wedding Planner on July 21, 2009 in Blog, Ciara's Updates, Rockstar Wedding Planner News

I know, I know… we’ve lost touch. But I want to reconnect with you and let you know what’s been going on with me. Ciara at Engage 09

I was away in Grand Cayman at Engage 09, a luxury wedding business summit. I’m so glad I made this trip because I met amazing people like Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings, Sylvia Weinstock the famous wedding cake designer, Abby Larson of StyleMePretty.com and of course the host Rebecca Grinnals of Weddex and so many more. If you want to check out pictures and commentary from the event just click here to visit my newly redesigned blog (see I told you I’ve been busy).

On a personal note before we left my littlest dog Chayse took very, very ill. The vet thought he was going to die and he’s only 4 years old and the worst of it was that they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. For those of you pet owners you know how hard an experience this can be. I spent a lot of time in the vet hospital with him. But we prayed like crazy for our little guy and thankfully Chayse miraculously recovered (to this day they still don’t know what he had), and we have our little guy home again. His brother Kohl was very glad to have him home!

We also lost my husband Simon’s Gramma just the other day so we’ll be going to the funeral in Toronto next week. She was 93 and an amazing woman. We were so lucky that both she and my Gramma (who has since passed as well) were able to attend our wedding. 4 years ago.

Chayse I think that at times of adversity and life’s ups and downs, I’m happier than ever to have my own business. Because I can make time to focus on the important elements of my life when I need to. At a regular job taking time off to care for my sick dog probably wouldn’t fly too well.

It’s also amazing to have an opportunity to be creative everyday. This weekend we’re off to do a Midsummer Night’s Dream themed wedding, and also a pro bono wedding for a couple that had been living in a shelter.

So now that you know what’s up with me, I’d love to hear what’s going on with you and the areas that you need help with in your business. Please send your burning questions to questions@rockstarweddingplanner.com and I will answer them here or in our ezine. Just give us your name, your location and your website address if you’re comfortable with sharing, if not, please sign your question “Anonymous” and we won’t share your information.