When I first started my business in weddings I priced my packages based on what everyone else in my local area was charging. I didn’t put my actual prices on my website because I was scared it would feel like “too much money” and scare potential brides off.

I wanted the chance to talk with couples first before I told them my pricing because I thought I had a better chance of selling them on it. But, even when I told them my pricing, the truth was I was feeling insecure about it. I felt like my services were this huge amount of money and thought that they might totally freak out about it once I said the price.

I wasn’t confident in myself and it showed. 😬

Eventually, I got better at marketing and selling to brides and started booking weddings pretty consistently. I got exceptionally good at the closing the sale and found tricks to hook people in. This worked okay for a while but it felt salesy and I didn’t love that. At this point, even though I was still not showing pricing on my website, I was at a 70-75% closing rate after the initial phone consult.

This sounds like awesome sauce right? Booking new weddings consistently, closing 75% of consults. Everything was working, right? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Here’s the thing though, I f@*%ing hated doing in person consults, and didn’t much like phone consults either. #truthbomb No disrespect to you if you love these, I just didn’t.

In person consults would take up my entire day, and I had to get dressed up, arrive early to set up and get prepped. I had a whole presentation with printed personalized booklets on all that I provided, flyers with pie charts, the whole shabang. I felt like I was a salesman trying to make the close. And sometimes couples wouldn’t even show or they’d bring their entire family and then it was a real show.

All of this felt incongruent with who I was. I wasn’t pushy, or salesy and I didn’t really like putting on these presentations weekly (even if I was good at it). When I took a step back and thought about what I really wanted to do in my dream business (this was still my business after all), it wasn’t any of those things.

So, I thought, I’m just not doing them anymore.

I decided to put my pricing all out there on my website. If it was going to scare some couples off, so be it. I knew my worth, and wasn’t afraid anymore about being forthright with my prices. 💙

I stopped trying to prove my value with over-selling. I cleaned up my website so that it showed the RESULT and EXPERIENCE brides wanted, and a very simplified version of what was included in my packages.

I cleaned up my initial response emails and created a clear explanation of what it was like to work with me and clarified why they needed me. I also made sure to address the couples questions in the first email right off the bat. This took more time but added the validation I knew they needed.

Here’s what happened …

🙌🏼 I got more couples inquiring about my services, and more bookings on the spot, with no in-person or phone consults, all directly over email.

🙌🏼 By being extremely conscious in reassuring couples in the first few emails I was able to exceed my old in-person and phone closing rate and now have 80% closing rate (to those who email me more than once).

🙌🏼 I booked more weddings, increased my pricing and still consistently get 2-8 new inquires daily.

🙌🏼 I mostly just address simple concerns now, these brides already know my pricing (because it’s on my website), so I don’t have to sell them or be weird about putting that number out there and them possibly being sticker-shocked.

And, perhaps most importantly ….

I LOVE my business so much more now! 🎉

It feels much more authentic with who I am. I’m not salesy or showy and that’s ok. I know I’m damn good at my job and know if they book with me, we’ll exceed their expectation. I know that my services are well worth the cost and I know I always overdeliver.

I also know without a doubt that not every couple is the right fit for me, and I want to use this process of booking to find MY PEOPLE. If they aren’t sure about spending the money, or are questioning my value, it’s OK. I can let them go knowing that there are plenty more couples out there who are the PERFECT fit.

Remember, it’s not just about YOU being the right fit for the couple. It’s also about your couple being a good fit for you. 👊🏼

Curious, how many of you guys put your pricing out there and if not, what’s holding you back?

Drop me a comment and let me know!

Hugs 🤗
Nicole