Own Your Business Sam Jacobson with Ideaction

Friction in the buyer’s journey grinds away on deal momentum slowly and silently. I’ve looked at hundreds of sales processes over the years, and I can tell you it’s usually not one big, dramatic reason why people ghost you. 

When a deal dies, it’s more like death by a thousand paper cuts. One nick and it’s not that bad. Two, you can keep things going. But after a while the little things start to mount up and create real problems.

The challenge is most people are creating friction in the buyer’s journey, but have no idea when and where and how.

Today, I bring in Katy Taylor Jacobson to help break down where wedding pros are creating friction unknowingly on their websites and in the sales process. We’ll give you a list of approaches to avoid, so you can stop slowing down deal momentum and get more bookings on your calendar.

People buy from people, not businesses. Especially in the wedding industry where couples can work closely together with vendors for over a year.

So why are you making it hard for couples to connect with you on your website? And to be clear, I’m not talking about putting up a photo of you with a blurb that reads like a dating profile or resume.

Today, I bring on Katy Taylor Jacobson to share what mistakes she sees on About pages - and what to do instead, so you can attract more ideal clients to your inbox.

Because, well, don’t we all want that right now?

Zoom is one of those artifacts from the pandemic that’s not going away. People got used to talking with each other remotely with this app, and the behavior stuck.

Here’s the thing: I’m okay with it. In fact, I kinda like it.

When done well, Zoom allows us to connect in a richer, more helpful way than phone calls do. It can also add to your swag by boosting the brand of your business in the same way a nice office does - or did.

But it can also hurt your chances of booking new clients if your Zoom skills are subpar. 

The bad news is most people I chat with on Zoom offer a below average Zoom experience. That’s the #1 reason I’m doing this episode. I feel obligated to help, because it’s gotten worse over the years.

The good news is all the terrible Zoomers out there mean it’s easier to stand out, to be effective, and to build trust with potential buyers.

So listen up for my Top 14 Zoom no-nos - and what to do instead.

Today I chat with top photographer, Joseph Rogero Mills, a client I first met back in 2023. I remember getting the inquiry and looking him up online. By all accounts, he was very successful:

- Lots of IG followers

- Published plenty of times

- Brides Top Photographer

- Stunning portfolio

- Gorgeous website

I was curious why he reached out.

When I did the discovery call to find out, I was even more confused. He was knowledgeable, articulate, friendly, and believed in his company, abilities and product. 

So what was up? Why did he need my help?

As we’ll talk about in the conversation, it was a minor tweak or two at critical points in the sales process. That was all. A little acupuncture needle at the right pressure point to change the entire buying experience.

You see, Joseph knows what he does well. How he helps his clients. Why those that book him absolutely adore their images. He has more conviction about what he calls his “ethos” than most wedding pros I know.

And that’s led to his success. I simply helped him translate it differently to different couples when they inquired.

Listen in on our conversation to hear more about Joseph’s journey as a business owner, which has proven to be an intense experience of self-reflection and personal discovery. 

Couples are overwhelmed by all the noise in today’s wedding marketplace. It’s crowded. It’s loud. It all sounds and looks the same to the untrained buyer simply hoping to book vendors for a pretty, fun celebration with family and friends.

So how do you compete in this situation? How do you fill your calendar? With the right kinds of couples? Who pay higher prices you deserve for your amazing work?

That’s exactly what I’m talking about today with Katy Taylor Jacobson, my wife and our Head Copywriter, who’s spent more than 50,000 hours - yes, that’s correct - thinking about and practicing how to get wedding couples to buy services from her, her team, or clients she’s guiding the way for.

When you live and breathe wedding sales and marketing over a quarter century you learn a thing or two about how to stand out, and that’s what we’ll explore in today’s conversation.

Get your notepad out, and enjoy the discussion!

The pandemic might be over, but we’re still feeling the ripple effects. 

Anyone with kids who were supposed to be in school for the second half of 2020 and most of 2021 know what I’m talking about. I’m reading a book called “The Stolen Year” because it’s so terrible for our educational system as a whole.

The economy is…confused. Some signs point good, others not so good. Even the decision-makers aren’t sure what the hell is going on, which means their uncertainty creates unpredictability in the markets. Never a good thing for businesses.

In the wedding industry, specifically, one of the ripple effects is couples taking longer to make decisions. Some of this is related to the horror stories their friends shared or family members went through with their own weddings between 2020 and 2022. 

I have a family member who just got back from Mexico celebrating her friend’s 40th birthday. Why Mexico? Because the friend had put a deposit down on a venue at a resort, but they didn’t end up doing the wedding there and the resort wouldn’t refund (only credit) the couple. So the friends grouped together to do the vacation there, used her credit, and then venmoed her their share with actual money so she could get the cash back.

So if you think couples are “over” the pandemic, you’re not seeing things from their perspective. It lives on, like a recurring nightmare we’re all trudging through. 

But how else are post-pandemic ripple effects impacting our industry and your business? Listen in today for some explanations and insights - as well as what to do about certain buyer behavior that makes it hard (and now hardER) to make decisions.