TRANSCRIPT 🔗
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Heather Hoesch Olsen
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Hi planners, on today's episode, I wanna share with you a look back at the Mastering Management Workshop and the big news I have for you if you wanna improve your wedding coordination services, processes, and profits. Historically, I've always taught a planning and design focused workshop. So to start, I wanted to answer some questions regarding why I wanted to do a wedding coordination specific workshop.
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Why I think wedding coordination is more valuable than planners think and why wedding coordination or management could and should be a key offering in your business. So let's jump right in.
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Why a coordination specific workshop? Well, coordination is where most planners start and I think they should start. It's the best way to learn and grow and gain more experience. You can do more coordination weddings than planning because they take less time. And the service window is over more quickly. So it's a perfect service to break into new markets, new venues, do why you might still have a part or full-time job. You can do it as a new mom. It's also the service where you need the least amount of outside help. So it allows for your profits to be more concise.
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So why do I think coordination is more valuable than most planners think? All too often, I hear about planners who have stopped offering coordination because they think they have to do full service planning in order to make enough money and run a profitable company. And I just don't find after all of these years for that to be entirely true. I do agree that there are planners at the luxury, ultra luxury level that are charging a percentage and are extremely successful and profitable and they can leave coordination behind. But I don't always think that that is a good plan for every company. I do recommend that even if you do not promote that you offer it, that you do offer a coordination or management level service when it's the right fit, when you're growing a team. When you need to fill in gaps of your calendar, there are so many reasons coordination and management is simply a smart business move. And to expand on that just a bit, there are plenty of planners charging high rates for coordination and management because they have a dialed process that provides high value to your clients. So I'm not saying if you are unsure about offering coordination that you should go and add a $1,500 package to your service.
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But what I am saying is that you might want to consider a package that starts at $4,500. That really allows you to be profitable through the months you don't have bigger weddings for full service planning.
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And lastly, to this point, I know plenty of planners charging $10,000 plus for full service planning, but the actual profit from the service is
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not as high as they thought it was once they calculate their time spent, the staffing and other costs. Most companies need to have a balance of both coordination and planning to again, be profitable year round.
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So now let me tell you about the workshop. The Mastering Management Workshop was two incredible days at the Venue by Three Petals here in Huntington Beach, California. We welcomed planners from Bermuda, all over California, Washington State, Connecticut, and New York. They were all levels of experience from just getting started to having been planning over 20 years, to one to three years, three to five years, and five years plus. I always love when we get a variety of planners in the room from different markets, with different experience levels, and serving different couples. The differences make our conversations so informative and filled with such insight, but also it only takes about an hour or so to realize that there are more similarities in the room than differences.
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We always start with me sharing my story and my why of planner life as someone who started as an in-house wedding coordinator at a catering company who then went and started my own company, then worked for a bigger company, grew it, became a partner, and managed a team of 20, doing over 120 weddings a year. Then to my own boutique brand focusing on luxury wedding weekends in California and wherever my clients take me. Next, I ask each of the planners to share who they are, what they do, and why they love weddings, and why they chose this workshop.
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This is so fun to get to know each other, to learn their stories and why they love weddings. This is when we really start to see how many similarities and shared feelings there are despite being from different places and being at different times in our wedding planning journey. After introductions, some reflections and a little bit of goal setting, we jump right into the workshop content. The first section is called getting started and it's where we really define coordination versus planning, something I feel very strongly about, that there are clear differences. We also talk about the differences between being a venue manager and a wedding coordinator and what each of those roles are. We dive deep into the role of a coordinator and what I think that should include and should not include. This is when we start talking about adding value to our clients and making sure that we have strong boundaries.
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The next thing we talk about is what challenges and needs are you solving? If you don't know the answer to what challenges and needs you are solving, you are probably not providing the service or selling it as best as you could. And then we deep dive into the coordination of planning. You've heard me say over and over in the last few months that every wedding has a coordination aspect. And not only is
that a specific service that you can charge, but there's a coordination aspect to planning.
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And so we talk through that and the importance of making sure that not only is your planning process sound, but that coordination piece that lasts 60 days is just as important. Next, we're going to dive into services and packages. The 90 day, 60 day and 30 day coordination services. What should we include and why? And then we talk about how many hours that should be and pricing. I could spend all day on what I think you should include in coordination, what time you should be spending on each of those, and then what you should be charging. And followed to this conversation, I make everyone raise their hand and take an oath with me. That oath is, I promise to not do planning services for coordination clients. Again, coordination and management are only good services if you can have strong boundaries.
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Next up is lunch and Q &A. And then our planner panel with Christine from CMG Events and Candice Sanders from Engaged Events. So in case you missed it, that was episode 70. It was live from the workshop from our planner panel, talking more about how and why wedding coordination is extremely helpful to businesses of all shapes and sizes. So if you didn't listen to it, be sure you go back and check out episode 70.
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All right, next up in our content was mastering the sale. Really talking about the specific process of selling management or coordination, where you have to clearly detail the services, you need to communicate the value, in the conversation you need to be establishing trust, you need to confirm your expertise, you want to summarize how you're the solution, and you wanna confirm that the client, the venue, the expectation, is actually coordination.
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Next, we talked about proposals and agreements and clearly communicating in the proposal what they get and the boundaries. Having a professional contract that's shared quickly and then we talk about what happens if you don't hear back.
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Next, we're talking about mastering communication. And this is mostly communication with the client. This is the welcome email setting expectations. This is the initial meeting. This is where you're setting up your systems and processes, whether that's Google Drive or and/or aisle planner. We're talking about preferred vendor lists, planning checklists, resources and client homework. Next, we're talking about mastering the process, the next steps in the time that you're working together with the client, how you're using that 60 day checklist, how you're making sure the catering tasting is something that you are attending and it's something that you are making it easy and high value for the client and the catering team. And then talking through that venue walk through and how to make the most of that very, very important meeting.
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Lastly, on day one, we're talking about mastering the ceremony rehearsal. And if you haven't grabbed my free rehearsal recording yet, what are you waiting for? I want to make sure that you know exactly how to enter every single ceremony rehearsal with confidence and clarity and lead it making a great first impression with all the VIPs, every wedding rehearsal that you do. Then it was cheers and it's happy hour and a buffet dinner together topped off with delicious cakes. I wish I had one of those cakes right now. And that was just day one, friends.
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For day two, we welcomed back everyone and the energy was high. We start the morning with lips and lashes of Design Visage and headshots with Kate Noel photography. When we sit back down together, we talk about our favorite moment or lesson from the day before, and a lot of times there's a light bulb moment that we're sharing. And then we're just briefly chatting about our goals for the day. Next, we're moving on to mastering the final details. That's the final details call, the final venue confirmations, and the final vendor confirmations. Then we're moving on to mastering the final client communication. The final documents for review and approval that often include the final timeline, the final layouts, final personal items and setup notes, and tipping advice.
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What was super fun next is we had a venue panel where Lynn and Vanessa from Lynn from 24 Carrots and Vanessa from Hilton Waterfront Resort in Huntington Beach joined me for a really candid conversation on what makes catering companies and venues really want to work with coordinators, what you can do to succeed. And that will be a podcast coming soon as well.
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Next, we got out of our seats and we worked on mastering those little things, the little hiccups that you might incur on a wedding day, so huge thanks to Jaclyne of Heavenly Blooms who came and showed us how to make a boutonniere on the spot. Say one gets ruined or your couple forgets to order one. It's just a good thing to know how to make one on the spot, and then, of course, how to correctly pin on boutonnieres. I have strong feelings about how these are pinned so that they last throughout the full day.
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And then huge thanks to our other friend, Chyna, who came in and showed our planners how to bustle a wedding dress, how to tie a tie and a bow tie. I don't know about you, but I still struggle with ties and bow ties. It's just not something I've learned to master. So I was so excited that we brought in someone that could teach the planners that that isn't something you have to shy away from.
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Then we moved on to mastering the wedding week. And for me, this is something that I don't think that planners think enough about. And it's in addition to the final confirmations
and getting your assistants the info they need, getting really organized, making sure emergency kits are styled, but it's really doing the best for yourself, holistically, that you can so that you're going into the wedding weekend as strong as possible.
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And then next up, we're mastering the wedding day. And this is a long conversation about the wedding day itself from pre-arrival all the way through the end of the night. And then last, but not least, we're talking about mastering the follow-up. That's the client follow-up, recap and thank you. That's the venue follow-up, thank you and feedback. And it's the vendor follow-up, thank you and feedback.
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Then we end with cheers and hugs and happy tears. We enjoyed a little happy hour and chatted more through remaining questions and topics until it was time for goodbyes. With full hearts, each planner left a little more inspired and a little more prepared to chase their dreams. Shout outs and special thank yous to the incredible team that made the workshop possible. You can find their links in the show notes, but shout out to Karen of Blissfully Styled, Clarissa of Infinite Love Events. Thank you to our venue, Venue by Three Petals, our floral designer and instructor, Jaclyne of Heavenly Blooms, our rental partner, Signature Party Rentals, and Found Rental Co. Linens from BBJ La Tavola Fine Linen, photos from Kate Noel Photography, video from Scrap Media, content from Content by Who, Stationary from It's Paper Cliche, Signage from Ultimate Design, Backdrop and Styling Mats from Chasing Stone, Dessert from Cake Boutique Bakery, Beauty from Design Visage, huge thanks to my Planner Life team, Christine of CMG Events, Valentina of Valentina Weddings and Events, Diana of Pivotal Events, our workshop partners, Sunday Muse Design, Aisle Planner, Sourced Co, Loren Grove Interactive, Friar Tux, and I just can't say enough thank you to everyone that made those two days possible.
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Now, if you are so sad you missed the workshop, but you're ready to implement this into your business. Friend, I have good news for you. The full Mastering Management Workshop template bundle is now available in the shop. I have 13 new templates to improve your services, your client communication, your coordination process, and to ensure that you are supporting your clients, the vendors, and the venues the way that you should. Because more weddings that equal more happy clients, vendors, and venues means more referrals and better business for you. I'm so excited to help you make wedding coordination more efficient, more fun, and actually profitable. So let's break down this template bundle.
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Number one, wedding coordination services and packages. Detailed advice on what to include in your services and why. Number two, initial email reply template. Examples of how to reply to your leads with warmth and confidence. Number three, sales call sheet template. It's the exact form I use and have for years during consultations to get to know the couple, learn about what they need and learn how to best sell to them. Number four, proposal email template. Example of how to send your proposals with the right information and confidence to help you sell. Number five, welcome email template. Example of how to set your client communication and process up for success. Number six, the vendor list template. A template to craft your preferred vendor list to support your clients while they're planning. Number seven, vendor considerations template. This is huge. It's a template to help you educate your clients to make better vendor choices and decisions. Number eight, your 60 day checklist. Your ultimate guide, easily the most important template in the pack to ensure that you have all the info, you ask all the questions, collect the plans you need to make them happen. Number nine, catering tasting guide. The why and the step-by-step guide of why you should be attending one of the most important meetings, the catering tasting. Number 10, venue walkthrough guide. Your cheat sheet to ensure that that one meeting gets you the info you need and more. Number 11, the venue confirmation guide, your cheat sheet to ensuring you are providing the venue with the info they need before they even ask it. Number 12, vendor confirmation guide, your cheat sheet to ensuring you have the conversations you should be before the client and the vendors are asking you. And number 13, client, venue, and vendor follow-up, your guide to improving your thank you and feedback process. Get every guide, checklist, and template you need to be mastering wedding management today.
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Yes, each of these templates are individually available in the shop too if you'd like to pick and choose what you need. However, the full bundle or the full grouping of templates if purchased separately costs $466. It's only $429 when purchased together. And my friend use code podcast, P O D C A S T, for $20 off your bundle.
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I'm really so excited about these new templates and making sure you have the support, the tools, and education you need to be successful in whatever season you're in. Thanks so much, friends. Be well and happy planning.