Get More Bookings (With Alan Berg)

03/21/21 • 64 min

Get More Bookings (With Alan Berg)
This is a special episode of The Wedding Band Show because I have an international speaker who has helped countless wedding suppliers around the world improve their wedding businesses!
- Who is Alan Berg?
With more than 25 years in sales, marketing, and sales management, Alan Berg has been called “The Leading International Expert on the Business of Weddings & Events”. He’s the wedding and event industry’s only Certified Speaking ProfessionalTM and one of only 36 Global Speaking Fellows worldwide!
Alan has extensive sales, sales management, and marketing experience ranging from publishing two wedding magazines to Vice President of Sales at The Knot. He’s an Education Expert for WeddingPro and consults for major industry websites in Ireland, Dubai, India, Australia, the UK, as well as countless venues, hotels, bridal shops, planners, entertainers, and more.
Alan has presented in 14 countries, 5 of them in Spanish (which he taught himself), and is the author of 5 books. He speaks to thousands of entrepreneurs and business professionals every year through webinars, live presentations, and on-site sales training.
Here are Alan’s social handles and links:
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/alanberg1
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AlanBergspeaker/
Instagram: @alanberg
Twitter: @alanberg
LinkedIn: @alanberg https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanberg/
Alan’s Website: www.AlanBerg.com
Alan’s Online Shop: www.ShopAlanBerg.com
Alan’s Amazon.com Author’s Page: www.AlanBerg.guru
In this episode, Alan talks about the most common problems he finds with a wedding supplier's website. He explains the four important things you need in place on every website!
- Aspirational Image - You should have images that show the results of hiring you as a Wedding Band or Wedding Supplier
- Talk to a couple about the results - Use the words ‘you’ and ‘your’. What will your wedding band do for the couple that others won't?
- Social Proof - Show reviews from wedding couples who have already had your band perform at their wedding. It’s not always necessary to show the full review but instead use snippets throughout your website.
- Call to action - Nobody can see an entire website page on mobile so you should have a call to action on several parts of your page. Tell a wedding couple what to do after they have checked out your promotional material. Ask them to call you for a quote, email you for details, request a consultation etc.
Pricing On Your Website?
A large wedding website in the USA called WeddingWire recently did a survey and found out 88% of wedding couples are looking for a price before they reach out to a wedding professional! Alan gives advice on how to deal with the issues including the idea of a starting price or price range!
Wedding Advertising?
Every Wedding Industry Professional has suffered significant financial losses in 2020 and 2021 but Alan speaks to the importance of keeping your wedding advertising alive and possibly increasing your investment if possible on sites like WeddingsOnline.ie
How Alan Berg can help your business?
If you have found this episode helpful you really should check out Alan’s website and contact him about a consultation. He has several great offers including very affordable group consultations. His advice has helped me increase my sales and improve my website for new wedding clients!

Previous Episode

Booking A Wedding Band Online

Booking A Wedding Band Online?

On this episode of The Wedding band Show show, I talk about the best way to book a wedding band online and important things to look out for. I’m joined again by Aobh Pollard from Electric Blue Band.

Where to start your search?

Because wedding couples can't get to see bands in a live situation the next question is where should they start their search. Aobh thinks that if she was starting out her search for a wedding band the first place she would go would be Google. In general, Facebook is saturated with wedding bands and it's very hard to narrow down your search to find the best ones.

One thing that Brian has against the Facebook groups is that when somebody is looking for a band there are far too many replies. Aobh also has a social media and advertising background and she finds Facebook groups very frustrating.

Wedding Band Association
(https://weddingbandassociation.ie/)

The wedding band Association is another website that they would recommend as a starting point when looking for a band online. The Wedding Band Association also has a deposit transfer scheme in place which means other bands will take on a booking without the couple having to pay a second deposit.

Important things to look for!

All Wedding Bands look similar online so what are a few different things you should look for to find the best ones? Brian always tells couples to seek out live videos as much as possible and particularly videos that involve guests dancing on the dance floor. Aobh always prefers to get couples to an Electric Blue Showcase because she doesn't think videos do a live band any justice and can't capture the atmosphere. She understands that wedding bands need promo videos but in reality, bands can sound completely different live.

What about wedding industry awards?

Electric Blue also joined One Fab Day and Weddingsonline in 2021 and is actually up for an award with Weddingsonline. Aobh admits that they invested a lot in the media build but she is delighted with the way it has boosted the band's profile. Brian thinks that awards should be taken with a pinch of salt and they both agree that the only way to judge a band is by a live performance.

For information on the Electric Blue Wedding Band use these links,

Website - https://electricblue.ie/

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ETToWYhMWSyemgO-WmpHg

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ElectricBlueirl/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/electricblueirl/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ElectricblueIRL

To find out more information about The Brian Mc Dermott Band use these links,

Wedding Band - https://thebrianmcdermottband.ie/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thebrianmcdermottband/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brian_mc_dermott/

Video Work - https://pixelproductions.ie/

Next Episode

Flog The Dog

Top 4 reasons people book Flog The Dog (2021)
Flog The Dog are a Kerry Wedding Band but they perform for weddings all over Ireland.
In this episode of The Wedding Band Show, I caught up with Steve from the band to talk about the top 4 reasons people book Flog The Dog for their wedding.
Reasons To Book Flog The Dog?
1 - Music Style
2 - Crowd Interaction
3 - Reviews
4 - Easy Booking Process
Not Just A Kerry Wedding Band!
Even though the band originates from Co. Kerry the members are based all over Ireland and perform at weddings in every corner of the country. The current lineup of the band includes Steve on Guitar & Vocals, Ciara on Fiddle & Keyboards, Mick Ivory on Bass & Vocals, and Brian Harte on Drums.
Flog The Dog Music Style?
When asked Steve would explain the band’s wedding setlist to a couple as “we play modern music and tradify it”. Most of the heavy guitar in popular songs like ‘Sex On Fire’ by Kings Of Leon are replaced by acoustic guitar and fiddle parts. The band is probably best known for its interaction with the crowd and this has lead to numerous great wedding reviews. Steve says that wedding couples love when the band calls out guests and has fun with them during the night.
Wedding Setlist
The band is extremely flexible with their setlist and loves to have couples make requests. Steve acknowledges that the band can’t do every cover of a first song justice with a tradify approach so he will consult with couples before the big day. If he feels that the band might murder a song he will present several other options of songs that they do really well. If the couple still can’t decide on a first dance the band can always play it using Spotify through the PA system. Playing a first dance song on a CD is never a bad thing because most guests don’t even notice! You can check out more on this issue in another episode here
Steves talks about how every wedding is different and that’s the main reason Flog The Dog are so flexible. Some wedding couples might ask the band not to play a ‘Siege Of Ennis’ and then the next wedding might love when it’s included.
The band has started putting together a ‘90’s set which they will have ready for their next live gigs.
Siege Of Ennis At Weddings?
Steve explains the Siege Of Ennis is most popular for weddings in Kerry, Cork, Clare and a little bit of Limerick. The band has played it for guests from the UK and Australia and has had great fun explaining to the guests how it’s done as they haven’t a clue what’s going on!
Wedding Packages?
Flog The Dog have 4 wedding packages including,
- Ceremony Music
- Drinks Reception
- Band
- Disco
They can’t always source other musicians and if a couple would like a DJ & Sax option they can supply that too. Sometimes they might not be able to take a booking for the full day if they have another full day package far away the day before so make sure to contact them as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!
For information on the Flog The Dog Wedding Band use these links,
Website - https://www.flogthedog.com/
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQOXWHxFlC43w37NCSY0xaQ
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/flogthedog/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/flogthedog/
Email - [email protected]
Call - 0863913082
To find out more information about The Brian Mc Dermott Band use these links,
Wedding Band - https://thebrianmcdermottband.ie/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thebrianmcdermottband/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brian_mc_dermott/
Video Work - https://pixelproductions.ie/