I love meeting potential new brides for the very first time. If I'm lucky, they'll bring at least one family member and/or their fiance with them, which gives me the opportunity to learn a lot about the family dynamic and the nature of the relationship between bride and groom. Our first meeting often goes as long as two hours and is always relaxed and fun. We try to make it a happy, stress-free experience, complete with refreshments, comfortable chairs and pleasant atmosphere.
I'm a terrible salesperson, I suppose, because the last thing I ever think about is "making the sale". I think people are just so darned interesting! Who has the strong personality? Do they have a sense of humor or are they more serious? What is the relationship of the bride with her family or the groom with his? What do they do for a living? (Having grown up with a bunch of mechanical engineers in my family, I can pick those people out without even trying!) What's their style like? What are their concerns?
While we do spend time talking about their vision for their weddings, mostly we talk about other likes and dislikes; what's your favorite color, favorite food, etc. However, by spending that time talking about seemingly innocuous things, I learn a great deal about them. In fact, helping them plan their wedding is more about what makes them comfortable and how to prepare to help them than anything else. It would not be a good thing to recommend (hypothetically) ball fringe to someone with chrome and glass tastes. That's why our initial meeting is so important and goes so long. I want to learn about who YOU are; not just what your wedding colors are. If you want me to help you, I need to know as much about you as I reasonably can, in a short period of time, without invading your privacy.
And, speaking of privacy, that's something that is absolutely critical about my relationship with my clients. They share a lot of confidential information with me, from financial to interpersonal. They confide a great deal in me, which is truly an honor. I respect that trust and they must have absolute confidence that I won't betray it by disclosing what they tell me to anyone else. Even in a first meeting, there are inklings of those issues, which help me help them if I get to work with them.
People often call for just a price quote over the phone. While I know that would be the most expedient thing for them, it isn't realistic from my standpoint. I know there are a lot of planners out there with lots of package deals with pretty names. The problem is that those packages don't fit everyone. They may offer more than what the client wants or they don't include things that they DO want. Since we customize what we do to fit each prospective client's needs and wants, our first meeting is extremely important. It is from that meeting that we offer the client suggestions of what we can do to help them and what it would cost. At that point, once we've answered any questions they may have, we let them go home.
We don't push for a sale. We don't shove a contract in front of them. We let them go home where they can discuss if we're a good fit for them or not in private. I figure that couples have enough pressure on them as it is; they don't need me compounding the pressure by breathing down their necks to get them to make a decision while they're sitting in my office. Obviously, if they know they definitely want our services, I'm happy to set them up while they're sitting there. However, primarily, the objective of the first meeting is to get acquainted and give the prospective client a sense of what it would be like to work with us; relaxed, fun, interesting and all about them and their needs.
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