Clients want – and NEED – to trust their vendors. Nothing can turn a relationship sour like one party feeling like they’ve been taken advantage of.

This is why my personal sales strategy is honesty. When I meet with prospective clients, I aim to be totally transparent and treat them like PEOPLE, not dollar signs – because if you value dollar signs more than you adore your couples, then the wedding industry is probably not the best fit for you.

Listen to your clients’ needs, and craft your services around them.

Couple A’s timeline is teetering between cutting 30 min off dancing and upgrading their package to the tune of $500, I will always suggest trimming the time a bit. If I stay an extra few minutes, that’s fine! But if I know in my heart my clients really don’t NEED to purchase extra time, I’m not going to suggest it.

Couple B is paying for the wedding themselves, and really liked that I include a print release and album company recommendations in all my packages, because they didn’t budget for a professional album. Am I missing out on an album sale? Sure, but I’d much rather my clients be secure with their decision then stressing out because they blew their budget on something I pushed.

Couple C is having a small wedding and getting ready in the same hotel – they definitely do NOT need a second shooter, and I’ll be the first one to tell them that!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m over the moon when someone orders an a la carte album or an additional hour. Still, you never want a client to doubt your integrity or advice for any reason. Just go back to the golden rule – treat others as you want to be treated!

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