USING NEGOTIATION CONVERSATIONS TO ELEVATE YOUR SALES & COMMUNICATION

Negotiating your rates and services is one of those controversial conversations a lot of us try to avoid. We all have a different viewpoint on this practice and my summation is while the arguments for and against are varying, there is validity to both sides of this discussion. That said, I typically see negotiations as an opportunity for me to educate our clients on what we do and how we do it. I dive so much more into this in my session called Negotiation 101, but in the meantime, keep these things in mind as you talk to you clients about your rates, services and discounts:

THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ACTUALLY DO
I personally have found when someone asks me to lower my rates it’s because I haven’t done a good enough job explaining what it is I actually do. They are typically underestimating the amount of time spent, the amount of overhead that goes into a successful celebration and more than anything, how I am going to make their wedding that much more memorable. With that in mind, if a conversation about negotiation comes up, consider this an opportunity to find out what’s missing in your sales process that didn’t properly communicate all of the above. Some people asking for a discount are doing so because they have been trained to just check to see if there’s room for negotiation, but most of the time, the couple has underestimated the amount of work you’re going to do and value you’re going to bring into their lives.

THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUSTING THEIR INVESTMENT WITH A TRUE EXPERT
Building on the first point, many couples who negotiate underestimate the complexity of event production. Perhaps they’ve attended a lot of DIY weddings that they’ve deemed “nice enough” or more than likely DIY weddings they didn’t think were very nice at all. Either way they have confirmation that a wedding technically can be planned on one’s own. So when they come to a planner they may think since they technically can do it on their own, it should be a minimal investment to get support in this area. It may not connect for them that you are actually a project manager of a very high stakes financial and emotional investment for them. While they know they can do it themselves, they likely don’t understand the amount of risk they take when doing so. They may not realize that many DIY couples waste money on elements that are poorly executed, throw cash away on trial and error projects and ultimately end up with a less than experience because they are not experts and don’t understand all of the smaller nuances a true expert does. Again, this goes back to your sales process. If you are talking to a couple who downplays the significance of your role, you may not have communicated your expertise well enough and how your experience will ensure you create a day that better executed and is more successful overall.

THEY MAY THINK ALL PLANNERS ARE CREATED EQUAL
I’m the first to admit that there are many, many talented planners out there. And all of us seem to have different reasons for doing this work, different financial situations and different visions for our business. Because of this, many of us charge differently. When clients see this, it can be confusing, especially if they can’t see an obvious difference in the end product. If you are constantly being asked why your price is higher than another planner or why you structure your rates the way you do, use this as an opportunity to truly set yourself apart. Talk about how you have a bigger support team, which translates to them as they will get better and quicker attention. Talk about how you only work with a limited number of couples each year, which may translate to having a more luxurious and exclusive experience. Or, talk about how you’ve worked at their venue over 100 times and have mastered the complexities of the space along the way. Whatever it is, when you are being compared to the rates or model of another planning company, consider this an opportunity to really drive home the point of why you are different and ultimately worth the price discrepancy.

Again, I dive deeper into this topic in my session called Negotiation 101 which talks how to determine if and when it makes sense to negotiate as well as what to expect about your client relationship should you choose to do so. In the meantime, I’d love to invite you to join our mailing list. In doing so, you’ll receive access to “Get Treated Like an Expert Instead of an Assistant” where I share my implementable tips and tricks to using your expertise to create the best client experience.