Pricing your services as a Wedding Planner is not a ‘nice to know’ it’s a ‘must know’.
Its hands down one of the biggest problem areas for both new and established wedding CEOS, so don’t think you’re alone in the struggle to price for profit.
When you’re first starting out in your wedding business it’s unlikely you’ll know the correct pricing structure and what to charge
As a newbie wedding planner it’s often a figure that’s plucked out of the air with no actual strategy behind it.
At the Wedding Academy we have an entire module dedicated to pricing with templates, worksheets, calculation indicators and example planning packages to make your own.
We also help you to get into the mindset of pricing and understanding how to qualify what you charge so you have confidence to put your prices out there and aren’t tempted to go in too low.
There’s no right or wrong way when it comes to pricing your services as a wedding planner.
It all comes down to the individual, what their goals are, their experience level, the market they are pitching at etc.
However, there are some fundamentals that apply to everyone and that’s what we’re going to look at today to get your started.
Pricing Tip 1 – Do Your Research
Research is a big key to this. You need to know and understand your marketplace, which includes the geographical area you’re in as well.
The prices a London based wedding planner can charge will be very different to the prices a planner based in Leeds, for example, can charge.
This has nothing to do with the quality of their services but everything to do with their geographical location.
Pricing Tip 2 – Know Your Niche
You need to have a very real understanding of your target market. Who are you selling to?
Is your service aimed at vintage brides? Are you a luxury wedding planner? Are you specialising in destination weddings?
The list goes on, but until you really understand who your bride is you can’t realistically set your services.
You can’t market to all couples.
Not every couple getting married is a potential client for you. You have to narrow down and find your niche. The further the better.
Knowing your specific niche is part of the secret sauce to being successful in the wedding industry. This is what attracts clients to you naturally because they can relate to you.
They have an emotional connection to what you’re doing because of how it makes them feel about their wedding.
Don’t just tel them you plan weddings for a living. Where’e the emotional connection for them there?
Instead, try telling getting specific. You specialise in creating country weddings in teepees.
That will allow any couple looking to host their wedding in a teepee to be immediately drawn to you above other planners.
Pricing Tip 3 – Do Some Friendly Stalking
Another part of your research should include looking at your local and national competitors to gauge where you need to pitch your prices for the services you’re offering in your location.
Do not, and I repeat NOT, get tempted to undercut everyone who is local to you.
Whilst this might seem a great idea to start off with what you’re doing is devaluing your own services and those of others.
You’re helping to lower the expectations of future clients and in turn bringing the overall level of the industry down.
You’ll also find yourself labelled by both brides and other wedding professionals as a budget wedding planner.
Now if that is your target market then that’s fine, but if its not, and usually it isn’t, then this will be harmful to your reputation.
Pricing Tip 4 – Own Your Fee
Never apologise for your fees. When you visit your accountant and they bill you there’s never an apology that comes along with the invoice, far from it.
There’s absolutely no discussion about the fee, no negotiation, just an expectation that it should be paid within thirty days.
Pricing is about confidence as much as anything else. If you sound unsure about your fees when you tell your client they will be too.
Say your fee with pride, practice saying it a hundred times in front of the mirror, and above all else remember you’re a professional who’s offering a professional service.
You may find that your fee is out of reach of some potential clients, it doesn’t matter. As I said in Tip 2 you shouldn’t be selling to all brides anyway.
Know who your client is, know what you need to earn and divide that by the amount of clients you need in order to meet that figure and stick to it.
I know this sounds simple, and I’m not trying to oversimplify it, but really pricing your services as a wedding planner, as I said above, is all about confidence.
At the Academy we have a blueprint that shows you exactly what to do to set your prices, make a profit, calculate expenses and everything in between.
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