| Author | Sharon Hill |
| Title | New Wedding Planners - Don't Make These 7 Mistakes if You Want to Work For an Experienced Planner |
| Category | Starting a Wedding Planning Business |
| Article |
It's important to get experience planning weddings before you start your own business. Many professional wedding planners offer internships and apprenticeship programs to find new planners to join their teams or to help new planners start their own businesses. Here are 7 mistakes you don't want to make when requesting a position with an experienced wedding planner: Mistake #1 -You don't do any research about the company before you contact the planner. I've had letters and emails sent to "Dear Sir or Madam" and "To Whom It May Concern." My name and company name are on all of my websites. If you want to be able to get the attention of a planner, review their website and blog, Google them, find out all you can about them before you call or write. And, if you do write to them, be sure you spell their name correctly. Mistake #2 - You leave a message on voice mail or send an email implying you may be a potential client who has questions. You must be honest about why you want to talk to a professional. Don't leave vague messages saying you have questions about events and don't ever fill out a contact form on a planner's website that is meant for potential clients. Mistake #3 - You cold call and launch into questions or pitch yourself right away. When you get a wedding planner on the phone, introduce yourself, ask if they would be willing to talk to you, and schedule an appointment if they are. Don't assume they will have time to talk to you when you call. And even if you have been referred by someone who says they "know" the planner, you still need to introduce yourself. Many people have called me saying they were told by "so and so" that I would be happy to talk to them. Sometimes "so and so" has never told me and sometimes "so and so" is someone I barely know. By the way, when you ask someone to schedule time to talk to you, you must follow through and call or meet when scheduled. If you don't, you may never get to schedule an appointment with them again. And don't forget to send a "Thank You" note after your contact, preferably a handwritten note sent in the mail. Few people do this so it will make you stand out from the crowd. Mistake #4 - You schedule your call to take place while you are at work. If you are talking to a planner while you are being paid to work for someone else, he or she will be wonder if you will also be making personal calls while on the job with their company. Schedule your appointment for a time when you are not at another job. Mistake #5 - You stretch the truth about your current experience. Be honest about your experience, your skills, and your education. There is nothing worse than finding out, in the middle of planning a wedding, that you stretched the truth and can't be relied upon to be honest and do a good job. Mistake #6 - You send your resume in a broadcast email. If you are sending resumes to a number of different planners, don't send it to everyone in one email with "Undisclosed Recipients". This tells everyone that you are sending it out indiscriminately and probably know very little about their businesses. Mistake #7 - You expect to be well-paid while you are being trained. If you don't have any experience, you will need to intern and probably work without pay or for very little pay. In order to get a well paying job with a wedding planner, you need to have the skills and experience the planner needs. And now I’d like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to a Special Report, “7 Steps to Becoming a Top Wedding Planner”, when you visit http://www.HowToBecomeaTopWeddingPlanner.com. |
| About the Author | Sharon Hill is a wedding and event planner, event consultant and author. She has been planning events for over 18 years and now she also helps people realize their dreams of becoming top wedding planners. |
