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Ep. 135 - Getting on a preferred vendor list from the venue's perspective - Ian Ramirez
123 Plays8 months ago
Happy Woo Wednesdays!
Today we are going to talk about Getting on a preferred vendor list from the venue's perspective - Do's and dont's, as well as three actionable tips.
I'm thrilled to introduce you to...
Ian Ramirez, CSEP, is the Co-Owner
of Madera Estates, an award-winning Spanish- and European-inspired wedding and
event venue located in Conroe, TX. He is also the Co-Founder of the Venue Help Desk, a comprehensive directory of vetted experts and trusted systems, connecting venue
owners and managers with the right tools and professionals to help solve any problem,
one step at a time.
Hot topic
Getting on a preferred vendor list from the venue's perspective? Do's and dont's, as well as three actionable tips.
1. Create an incentive for the venue's clients
2. Collaborate with the venue to host an in-person event for their booked clients
3. Offer to write a blog or other wedding planning resource.
The key is to always add value!
Favorite sales technique : How do you get a HECK YES from your dream clients?
We show the venue on wedding days, which allows the couples to envision their own wedding. This has led to increased engagement. Sangria Saturday is our favorite time to show the venue!
Is there a freebie, free gift, or promo you would like to offer my audience? Please describe the offer and provide link.
We want to offer a $100 promo code to our upcoming workshop in Orlando, FL. Venueversity Workshop. The promo code is $100 off the ticket using the promo code heckyes.
Connect with Ian
www.venuehelpdesk.com and www.maderaestates.com
Connect with Carissa Woo
https://instagram.com/carissawoo
Sponsors
https://strategic-assistant.com/ promocode woo
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction & Venue Vendor List Importance
00:00:00
Speaker
Happy Woo Wednesdays! If you know me, you know that I always talk about how to get on the preferred venue vendor list. Once I got on one, I got on eight in one year.
00:00:10
Speaker
It's always going to be a hot, hot topic. And if you want to know my method of getting on the list, go to my IG at Carissa Woo and DM me the word demo. I'll send you a free 20 minute training. So today you are in for a treat. I have Ian Ramirez in the heck yes house. I love his story of running his family's Spanish style venue called Madera States in Texas.
00:00:35
Speaker
He is also the co-founder of Venue Help Desk. Pretty much he helps Venues stay in business. I met him at a speaking event for a wedding MBA and he is so much fun. And I have to say he has like the hands down best tips on this podcast and I was pretty much mind blown and I'm sure you will be too. They are so creative. And stay to the end to hear him sing opera.
Podcast Mission & Carissa's Background
00:01:00
Speaker
Enjoy.
00:01:06
Speaker
Welcome to Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. I'm your host, Carissa, and I've been a Los Angeles wedding photographer for over a decade. I've traveled the world, built my team, and seen it all. I now coach wedding photographers hit 10K a month and build a thriving business. In this podcast, we are going to deep dive into how top wedding creatives get that heck yes from their dream clients. We are not holding back on the struggles of the business and how to push through the noise. Some healthy hustle, mindset shifts, up-leveling your money story,
00:01:34
Speaker
time-packed because I'm a mom of two, a little bit of woo-woo, and most importantly, self-love and confidence are just a few of the many things we will talk about. I want to give you a genuine thank you for following along my journey. I hope to inspire you every Woo Wednesday so that you say heck yes to listening to this podcast. See you guys soon!
Ian's Journey: Opera Singer to Venue Owner
00:01:57
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome back to Gay Heck Yes with me, your girl Carissa Wu. I have Ian Ramirez in the house and he is the co-owner of Madera Estates, an award-winning Spanish and European-inspired wedding and event venue in Conroe, Texas. He is also the co-founder of the venue
00:02:17
Speaker
helped us a comprehensive directory of vetted experts and trusted systems connecting venue owners and managers with the right tools and professionals to help solve any problem one step at a time. And just letting you guys know, the hot topic is really cool. We talk about this a lot, but it's from a different perspective. It's how to get on the preferred venue vendor list, but this is coming from a venue manager. So it's going to be awesome.
00:02:47
Speaker
Thank you so much for having me, Carissa. Okay, just to start things off. You look so great. Yeah, you present so well. Tell us a little bit about you even starting off with like young Ian and a little bit about your journey.
00:03:08
Speaker
I would love to. So some fun, cool things about me as a little boy, I have been singing most of my life. And so music has been a big part of just my whole life. I started singing in a boys' choir in about the third or fourth grade.
00:03:25
Speaker
And then I love all things dramatic and being dramatic and being on a stage. And so throughout high school, I did musical theater and choir. And then I actually studied voice performance in college and
Creation of Venue Help Desk
00:03:38
Speaker
opera performance, where I got my master's in opera performance from the University of Cincinnati, Go Bearcats.
00:03:47
Speaker
and then became a fully fledged professional opera singer. So background in opera career in opera, I lived overseas in Germany for a little bit singing professionally in a town called Stuttgart, Germany. And that's where they make Mercedes and Porsche. But yeah, definitely just have that
00:04:08
Speaker
love of the arts and music and have always kind of done that my whole life. So my parents used to joke when I was younger that I needed to have my ears checked because I spoke so loudly. My husband still thinks I need to get my ears checked because I do speak rather loudly sometimes.
00:04:27
Speaker
Right, I needed to be an opera singer. So yeah, that's a little bit about me. I grew up here in the Houston area. So I've been in Texas most of my life and then went to the Midwest for school, Portland, Oregon for a little bit, and then Germany. And what's another cool little fun fact about me? Ooh, I love Sour Patch Kids. Oh, me too.
Founding of Madera Estates
00:04:52
Speaker
That's like my go-to at the AMC Theaters. That's the best.
00:04:57
Speaker
Wow, that's a really cool story. I've always said like for the last ever since Instagram became the thing I was like, yeah, the people that were on like stage or actors or singers like they're the ones thriving on Instagram because they're like, look at me. I'll make a fool of myself here.
00:05:17
Speaker
Yeah, I was on your Instagram all morning and just seeing the way like you present and talk to the crowd and grab their attention without even sweating a little bit. It's all making sense that you are just born to be on stage, born to, born to captivate the audience. So it's all making a lot of sense.
00:05:36
Speaker
Oh, well, thank you. I certainly love what
Getting on Preferred Vendor Lists
00:05:39
Speaker
I do now and that background in music and theater certainly I think has been a great asset for me as I dive into speaking and educating and helping other industry pros across the nation. Cool. Yeah. One more question before we fast forward a little bit, but what was it like to be in Germany? Oh, I loved being in Germany.
00:06:06
Speaker
I actually owe a lot of my life motto to my time in Germany. So my life motto is carpe diem, seize the day. In German, they use the saying machen, which is literally the verb to do. So kind of like Nike's slogan, just do it. That's what machen is. And so I have a lot of fond memories of living in Germany. But I think some of the big highlights for me, number one,
00:06:35
Speaker
I have an 85-year-old German pen pal named Heidi. I still connected until this day. Actually, I met her on a train to Paris. It was like the first weekend I moved to Germany and I was going to visit a friend and she just happened to be sitting next to me and we started talking and she was like, I want to come see you perform.
00:06:58
Speaker
And so she came to see me perform in Stuttgart. I went to go visit her town and she was just a big lover and patron of the arts. And so I still talk to Heidi on WhatsApp today. We message each other like once or twice a month. But that's where my life slogan was. And, you know, I'm a firm believer that friendship knows no age. And then language. I think my love of language is something that I loved about my time in Germany.
00:07:25
Speaker
I became more of like what I would consider like an intermediate speaker. And then the food, of course, schnitzel and glue vine, which is like that spice mold wine that you drink around the holidays I love.
00:07:40
Speaker
And then Käsewurst, which is like the cheese sausage, which is really delicious. And then, of course, being able to easily navigate and travel in Europe, being so close to all those different countries, I would think those are kind of like my big highlights from living in Germany. Aw, I love that story. I love your friendship with Heidi. That's so special. It's very special.
00:08:04
Speaker
Oh, okay. Yeah. Carpe diem. Let's seize the seize the podcast today. We'll get a heck yes a couple times. Yes. Yes. So let's fast forward a little bit into like after college and getting your feet wet in the wedding industry. How did you get started? And where has it like taking you to today?
00:08:25
Speaker
Yes, so the transition really started. After I moved back from Germany, I was still auditioning, still taking gigs here in the US. But in between my opera engagements, I would help out at my family's business. So as you mentioned, we own Madera Estates. And every now and then in between gigs, I'd come here and I'd help organize. I'm very OCD, I'm very methodical. So my family would always bring me in to like organize things and
00:08:54
Speaker
organize inventory, take inventory. And the more I hung around, I was like, okay, this is cool. Like weddings, we're kind of like the backstage crew, right? The wedding coordination, the banquet management team, we're like the backstage crew, even like a wedding for an opera or a musical, right? And so
00:09:18
Speaker
I just fell in love with it more and more being in the industry. We had our leading couple that we needed to make sure hit their cues throughout the evening. And it really is a production. And so I started gravitating more and more towards this business. And then I realized that this is what I wanted to do. So I kind of got sucked into it via my parents.
00:09:40
Speaker
And so now I've been here in this role for eight years. So I've been states since 2016. And then about three and a half years ago, my parents as they got have gotten older, they were like, you know, we are, you know, thinking about retirement. And is this something that you foresee, you know, that you may want to take over? Do you want this to continue to be our legacy? And I said, you know what, I do.
00:10:06
Speaker
And so about two and a half years ago, I had the opportunity to become a partner in the business. And then that's really around the time that I really started taking it seriously. And I love what we do. We do about 85 to 90 weddings and events a year.
00:10:24
Speaker
And actually, it's full circle. My husband works for us now, too. I've employed him, Paul. He's our director of business development. And so it really is a full family affair. And I feel like that's its own podcast topic of like how. Yeah, totally. I think. Yeah.
00:10:43
Speaker
I think I should issue as like manager, but you're like the owner. Hello. So I wear multiple hats. We all wear multiple hats in this business. So I, I just got pulled into it. And then in 2019, I think it was like my second wedding MBA. I was like, you know what, like I really want to help other people. I've always kind of had that mentor mentality in my life.
00:11:12
Speaker
I had a private voice studio here in the Woodlands, which is an area of Houston, for many years. And I said, how can I transition that passion for mentoring and being on the stage? And so I was like, you know what? This is what I want to do. I want to speak at these conferences. I want to help other wedding pros. And so that was really my goal in 2019, right around the time that I was talking to my parents about
00:11:35
Speaker
you know, becoming part owner in the business. And so that is what kind of lit the fire under under me and has driven me to where I am today. And so now we have started our other business venue help desk with my husband
Innovative Vendor-Venue Collaboration Ideas
00:11:51
Speaker
Paul and my business partner Shannon Tarrant out in Orlando.
00:11:55
Speaker
And then I also have the opportunity to travel and speak and meet with other wedding pros and understand their problems and listen to what they need. And I've just really grown to love it. It's something that I'm super passionate about. And I think it's really married my background, as you mentioned, of being on stage and communicating with people, having that empathetic ear and listening.
00:12:22
Speaker
So I wouldn't have any other way. It's a beautiful life. Certainly weddings and the event industry have their stresses, but I think there's more benefits and I think there's a lot to be gained from it. So that's kind of where I've gotten today.
00:12:38
Speaker
I love it. Okay. I have two big questions to kind of bridge the gap. Let's talk a little bit about like how your parents kind of, I don't know, started this venue and a little bit of the backstory of it because I think it's kind of important in your story.
00:12:54
Speaker
Yeah. So interesting enough, my parents had no background in hospitality or weddings. Really their background was in land development and real estate. So my stepfather had developed several communities here in Texas and was in real estate his whole life. And we owned the 17 acres that we are on here in the North Houston area. Wow.
00:13:18
Speaker
We toyed around with a couple different ideas of what to do. And at first, it was actually another business. And then they realized that it wasn't as profitable as they hoped it would be. And they went to a wedding that my brother was in in Houston where he was in the wedding party. And they both turned to each other and like, this is what we need to do with the property.
00:13:41
Speaker
And thankfully, my stepfather had an architect and overall design guru that had helped him with a lot of his real estate and development projects. And so he is the one that helped do the renderings and do the design for the venue.
00:13:58
Speaker
But as they were thinking about the inspiration for the venue, they immediately knew that they wanted it to be based off of our home in San Miguel, Mexico. And so my parents owned a home in central Mexico in a beautiful town called San Miguel de Allende, a very rich with culture and music, a vibrant city. There's actually a lot of expats there, American expats.
00:14:25
Speaker
And it's a place that as a young boy, I would go and take language classes and art classes and wander the streets and go to the markets and study Spanish. And so that has just been a big part of our life, that Spanish culture, that Mexican culture. And so that from the beginning they knew was going to be the inspiration for the venue. And so it's really cool to see
00:14:47
Speaker
People, when they walk in the building through the doors, they immediately are whisked away from Conro, Texas to Mexico, Spain, the Mediterranean. And it's a it's a really nice homage to our time there and has really been a unique differentiator for us being in Texas. Certainly the what I would call upscale rustic vibe, right? The barn chic vibe is very prevalent in our market and
00:15:17
Speaker
For us, it's really helped us stand out. We are one of the only Hacienda venues in our market. And it's really fun for us to really just share that love of culture and language. And it's a mix of different cultures, Mediterranean, Spanish, Mexican. Some people think it looks like Napa Valley, like California. But that gives you a little bit of the background of how they got into the industry and where the inspiration came from.
00:15:46
Speaker
Wow. This is such a cool story. This is like a reality show in the making. Working with your hubby, with your parents. He's on the other side of that wall. Oh, so cute. Oh my God. I wish that we were closer so I could be like, can I photograph you guys?
00:16:06
Speaker
Okay, so I guess my next question is going to be like this conversation, this conversation at WNBA, WNBA in Las Vegas, I went to last year, you're talking to Shannon to rent and, and was it your
00:16:26
Speaker
your husband at the time or someone else. Okay, Paul. And then you're talking about like, tell me about the conversation, what was going on, the pain points, the struggle and like that aha moment where you're like, we gotta make venue helped us. Like, tell me the conversation.
00:16:44
Speaker
Pardon this short interruption, but guess what? I have a new program. It's for all wedding professionals. It's called The Triple Threat. We redo your brand messaging, the homepage of your website. Part two is we do all your marketing.
00:17:01
Speaker
create a beautiful brochure so you could start getting on Prefer venue vendor list and we do all your sales so we actually make you a sales presentation leading your client to the heck yes so you get paid. I have a free 20 minute demo training. It's only 20 minutes. Go to my Instagram at Carissa Woo.
00:17:24
Speaker
and DM me the word DEMO. I will send it right over. It's how to get 10 to 15 quality leads in your inbox per month. Enjoy, guys. Krista Wu is a LA-based wedding photographer who's actually turning business coach. She helped me grow and change, and I'm so proud to call you coach.
00:17:47
Speaker
tell us how you're feeling. Like, I want to just know a little bit more about your thoughts. Yeah, it's beautiful. And you're, you're awesome. It's beautiful. I'm speechless. I just like the fact that it feels like myself. I can I feel myself when I see this. Oh, man. Well, you got me pumped and excited for this. Carissa, thank you.
00:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, so Shannon and I met several years ago around the time that I really dove into educating in the wedding and event space. And about a little over a year ago, we had this idea, you know, we're at different conferences, and we realized that there really was a gap
00:18:29
Speaker
in venue-specific education and venue-specific organizations. Of course, you know, you go to a conference like Wedding & B.A. or you go to a cater source or any of these larger conferences, they're all amazing, but it is very high level. You don't always get that super tailored, specific education for a wedding venue owner.
00:18:51
Speaker
You know, much like a photographer, right? There's different organizations for photography. There's different organizations for the wedding planners, right? But for venues, there really wasn't like a centralized hub for us to be able to not only have community and gather and collaborate with each other, but really to educate ourselves.
00:19:13
Speaker
And so last March is when we officially decided, you know, this is what we want to do. This is our calling. Shannon and I at that point had been educating in the industry. My husband had that passion for serving other people. And we said, this is what we're going to do. And so that's really where Venue Help Desk was born, actually at one of the conferences that we attended. And we just at the end of one of the days, we were brainstorming like just everything, like what are the payments?
00:19:39
Speaker
venues, how can we give back to them because it's so needed right now. And so then fast forward to November Wedding in VA last year. That was our official launch. We had the venue help desk in person at Wedding in VA and we had a booth where venue owners could come up to us and share their different pain points, share with us what they need at their venue. And it really gave us a lot of insight
00:20:07
Speaker
into the specific needs of venues, which can vary greatly, of course, across the country. But it was really fascinating to hear from them what they needed. And so we knew, based on that response at Wedding MBA, that this is where we needed to be. And so now our big focus really is on education. We're doing regional workshops. Our first workshop is venue-versity, where people can even
00:20:32
Speaker
and they'll get a little certificate at the end of the program. So, venue-versity workshops have started regionally, and the first one will be in June in Orlando, June 10th and 11th, and then in Houston, September 16th and 17th. Wow, that's so cool. Yeah, and your booth is popping.
00:20:54
Speaker
I saw it from, yeah, it was popping because I saw it from a far away and I was like, venue helped us. Like, what is that? So definitely like, I think it's a great name. I kind of fun, funny story, but I almost was thinking about opening, opening up a venue in San Pedro. Get out. Yeah. It was already kind of doing weddings, but they were selling it.
00:21:22
Speaker
you know, thank God I didn't because it was pandemic like right after. But I think they're still going. But I always joke like anytime people become a wedding vendor, like photographer or DJ, it's like, the whole career is like, how do I get out of it, you know? It's like coaching your venue. Yeah, it's still a lot of work on our body too. So totally, totally, totally.
Mentorship & Overcoming Struggles
00:21:50
Speaker
Cool, cool, cool. Okay, so let's get into it. So, you know, I've been preaching about how to get on the preferred venue vendor list because my sob story is very shy, I didn't know how to network for like seven years and wow, wow, wow. I saw my friends getting on them, finally got on one and I got on like a lot in one year kind of became a shark. So I like to talk about this a lot. But when I saw your
00:22:14
Speaker
questionnaire. I was like, Oh, wow, like I didn't even think of these things. So I'm excited to learn more about how to get on the preferred venue vendor list, the holy grail of lists. So Ian, take it away.
00:22:26
Speaker
Yes, it's so important. Well, you know, and I think for vendors, the biggest thing that I want you to hear is that, you know, as a venue owner, we get asked a lot to be on the preferred vendor list. And I think there's certainly a there's a right way to do it and there's a wrong way to do it. And so what I see a lot of vendors doing is just that
00:22:49
Speaker
I hate to say basic approach, right, where they reach out to us
Rapid-fire Questions & Personal Insights
00:22:52
Speaker
via email and they just say, hey, how do I get onto the list? It's a very almost like cold calling approach, like old school door to door sales. And it's really not based on a relationship. And so the biggest point that I can say from a venue perspective is to ask yourself,
00:23:13
Speaker
how can I add value to this venue and how can I add value to their clients, number one? And so I think instead of reaching out via email to say like, hey, my name is so and so, I'm Joe Schmo, I'd love to be on your preferred vendor list. How can I get on your preferred vendor list? I think there's better ways to go about that.
00:23:37
Speaker
And so for me, the first recommendation that I have is, again, going back to how can I add value to them? And one of those things that I like to see is maybe creating some sort of incentive for your clients.
Conclusion & Listener Gratitude
00:23:52
Speaker
And one example could be every client that gets married at Madura Estates, say it's photography, is gonna get this package included with all of their packages, right? And so it's not that one-sided approach, it really creates that mutually beneficial relationship, first and foremost.
00:24:13
Speaker
And so I think that alleviates a little bit of that cold shoulderness, right? That little door-to-door salesy-ness of like, hey, this is me, but instead I want to do this to benefit your clients. The other thing that I recommend- Hold on, let's get into that one a little bit more. So just for example, for photographers, they would actually maybe tell their
00:24:42
Speaker
potential clients like, hey, if you book Madera Estates, you get a free album. Or if you're a DJ, you'll get a free hour because we love Madera Estates for A, B, and C. Is that correct? Exactly. And so I think the hard part is always that initial contact, right? If you don't know the person at the venue, if you don't have that relationship, I think that's where that cold email comes into play where it's just like, oh,
00:25:10
Speaker
You know, you just sent this email, and I definitely don't show up, don't just show up at the venue and be like hey can I meet with you today. I'm more of the mindset at least on that initial connection of like hey you can reach out to me if you want to send me an email or phone, and offered to set up a time to meet with me.
00:25:29
Speaker
I may be different than other venue owners. I do try to give everybody a fair opportunity, especially if they're new in the market, just to build that relationship. Because in my mind, again, that Carpe Diem mindset that I have, I always like to leave doors open. I never like to close doors because you never know at what point then they may come back into my life that I may be able to help them or they may be able to help me.
00:25:53
Speaker
But in terms of adding value to my clients, I think offering that special promotion, like you said, if it's a photographer, maybe it's a photo album. If it's a DJ, it's the extra hour, maybe upgraded dance floor lighting package. If it's a caterer, maybe it's, oh, we're going to offer it. We want to offer a free tasting for all of your clients, whereas we may charge our other clients for tastings.
00:26:15
Speaker
So how do we elevate their clients' experience? Because we know if you as the vendor make the venue look good, then that means our clients are going to be happy and they're going to be benefiting from that. So it's always thinking of, okay, what incentive can I offer their clients at the end of the day? And even the venue.
00:26:38
Speaker
One thing that I just spoke about in Palm Beach for venues when you work with preferred vendors and you think about the benefits, I guess you will say, of preferred vendor status is offering the venue's employees the opportunity to have headshots or family pictures every year as a photographer.
00:26:58
Speaker
And so even for me as a venue, I think those are great benefits for my team members with the preferred vendors that I have. So even in reaching out and saying, I'd love to offer your team members one photo session a year. Maybe there's a special occasion. Maybe your child just turns one years old or two years old. I think all of those are great ways that you can build, again, that mutually beneficial relationship.
00:27:25
Speaker
And so including those in that ask, that initial ask, I think really softens that blow in building a relationship. I even have a crazy story or fun story with a caterer that was wanting to get on our preferred vendor list for probably like five years and just kept in contact.
00:27:49
Speaker
um she would see me out at networking events and then uh would always be top of mind for me and then one year we had a scenario uh where we had to let go one of our preferred caterers and she was there she was always top of mind and i was like you know what i'm gonna give her a shot and that was like five years of like continually like connecting
00:28:13
Speaker
In a professional manner, it wasn't like every week being like, hey, how can I help you? We'd be out on our communities. We'd be doing things. And she'd send me a letter. She'd send me an email thinking of you. Or I saw that you all just did this. Congratulations. And I would tell preferred vendors or preferred vendors, I would tell vendors that are listening today, don't get disheartened if the answer is initially no, because it may later turn into a yes.
00:28:42
Speaker
So maintaining that relationship is really important. Have you ever had any situations like that or know anybody that was persistent over a while? Yeah, I was just going to say it. Shout out to Sheena from the Portofino, Redondo Beach. We went to high school together. She was like homecoming queen, but she put me on the list like two weeks ago and she's referring me and it took over 10 years of trying
00:29:09
Speaker
Yeah, so I was like, I was like, wow, like, that was such a blessing to me. And I'm gonna bring her some baby, cute little baby outfits tomorrow or Friday. So yeah, I'm so happy. And it's just so I feel so thankful. So yeah, never give up.
00:29:33
Speaker
No, and you really shouldn't because you never know when an opportunity is going to present itself. And like I said, there's been vendors that we've added to our preferred vendor list that had been in communication with our team, whether it was me or our former general manager. And they just were persistent about it. And again, in a very professional way, not an annoying way to where it's like all the time. There's certainly those people that reach out very regularly and
00:30:02
Speaker
but it was a very professional way that I appreciated. It was more relationship building based versus, oh, here's a blanket email that I spammed a bunch of venues just asking to be on their preferred vendor list. Yeah, it feels so kind of icky when you feel like people just want something from you. It's almost better, like when I went to a new venue, like I brought them,
00:30:28
Speaker
like my book and a little gratitude journal like a little card and you know I don't ask for anything but at least they could maybe remember my face so then when I do pitch an email like
00:30:42
Speaker
Hey, do you want some branding photos? Then they'll remember me. So it's like little, little nuggets, you know? It is. And I think even if the answer is no, and you're offering them something that will best serve the venue and add value to the relationship, I think of even for like,
00:31:00
Speaker
Let's say a DJ, right? One thing that I haven't seen many people do yet, but I want to steal this idea is DJs go to your venues that you're wanting to work with and offer to create for them a custom getting ready playlist on Spotify. And have them put it on a QR code in one of the suites or both the suites.
00:31:22
Speaker
Right. Oh, clutch dude. And so every time they scan that QR code, branding marketing, right for bridesmaids or groomsmen. Oh my God. I'm going to text my friend, Hilo productions right now. He's going to go crazy.
00:31:38
Speaker
But that takes you, what, maybe an hour at that to put together a Spotify playlist that we know people are going to jam out to in the morning. Dude, that's so freaking good. Honestly, Ian, it doesn't even have to be a DJ. It could be a photographer. It could be anybody. Yeah, it could be you. Yeah.
00:31:57
Speaker
and say, hey, do you need this is one of my favorite playlists. I'd love to create it for you. We know we want your couples to have a great time in the morning. And then they'll be jamming out to that. And, you know, a couple months later, they're going to say, oh, my God, Carissa, you made us this like playlist. All of our couples love it. We hear them laughing and jamming out in the suites. And so something as simple as that, I think, again, is adding value to their clients experience and then adding value again, if it was that exchange of like the headshots or something like that.
00:32:26
Speaker
Yeah, let me ask you a question about that. Would you have to maybe just give it to them on their phone, email, or would you have to print something out, like a little stand with a QR code? How do you think you could get a venue to actually give that to their couples?
00:32:45
Speaker
I would honestly, I would create something that's branded to the venue, like know the style of the venue, number one, and then it's a QR code on it. I wouldn't put any of your personal branding on whatever is printed, but I would have it listed on the playlist.
00:33:01
Speaker
like created by this person. And then I think you have the ability to go in to customize like if you wanted to put links and stuff to like your website or somewhere else. But that way, you know, as a venue, it's I don't know if I want to be actively promoting like someone's brand right in the middle of the getting ready area. But if it's on the market, it's just in a playlist, like our couples are putting the playlist together anyway.
00:33:30
Speaker
you know, it could be a playlist, it could be a perfect wedding timeline, it could be the tips and tricks. So yeah, it's getting my wheels spinning. And I hope it's getting the audience's wheels to spinning. So okay, my mind is kind of blown. I'm kind of gonna hop on that one. That's pretty good. Two, we have to kind of go a little bit faster. But collaboration, let's talk about that.
00:33:53
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:35:29
Speaker
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00:35:55
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00:36:25
Speaker
Yes, so one of my favorite ideas right now that I've seen work in our area, again, going back to how do I add value to this venue and to their clients. So this next one is more so experiential and partnering with other vendors to host a small event
00:36:42
Speaker
for that venue's booked clients, that is gonna add value to their experience. And I'll give you maybe two examples. The first is a DJ partnering with a dance instructor, going to the venue and saying, hey, I wanna host this event for your clients. I'm not gonna charge you anything. This other vendor is not gonna charge you anything, but we'd love to show them the top three ways that you can make your first dance memorable. And so all we're asking is that you allow us the space and your clients to host this class.
00:37:12
Speaker
You could even open it up to other people beyond that client base. But again, adding value to that client's experience. And as a venue, if I had a DJ and a dance instructor come to me and they say, hey, we want to host something exclusive, VIP just for your clients, I'd be like, oh my god, that's cool. And then they're getting more out of just booking the venue, right? It's not just, oh, this was my experience. Madera Estates also offered us a free dance class with a DJ.
00:37:39
Speaker
Another idea that I had was doing the same thing with like a hair and makeup artist. It's like how to look good, to pose for your engagement picture. So partnering with a photographer, going to that venue and saying, hey, you know, and maybe it's low cost for the hair and makeup artist, maybe it's just lashes.
00:37:56
Speaker
You know, hey, come with us. We're going to teach you three poses to look good for your engagement shoot. But it's just for your clients. We want to create this exclusive experience. Would you allow us to come onto your property and host this free event for your clients? That's giving you as the
00:38:12
Speaker
that opportunity to get face to face with them, right? And I think the struggle for a lot of vendors specifically is, and you tell me how your experience is, but I imagine that a lot of the struggle is you're not meeting with a lot of your clients initially face to face. It's all phone, email, you know, zoom calls. And so this gives you another opportunity to get in front of people. So even if you're not like actively promoting, like trying to be salesy at these events,
00:38:40
Speaker
this example of the posing for your engagement pictures. It could be something as simple as like, oh, great, we're going to send you our photos afterwards. And then that's your marketing funnel. You have a lead base. Oh, give me your email address. You want me to send you your pictures. You'll get one picture from this class. And then from there, you get a lead base that you can fill your funnel. Let me stop you right there, Ian. This is the best tip on Get a Heck Yes podcast in history of time. Is it really?
00:39:10
Speaker
Yeah. Yes. 132 episodes. Hands down. This is probably the best tip. Almost. I don't even want to hear this and just keep it for myself. I'm just kidding. Like, Hello, you guys. Like, no one is doing this. Like, I'm thinking of like the venues I'm going to reach out today. But it's like,
00:39:35
Speaker
some of these people don't have their vendors yet. And you could offer them like five pictures like at their venue on a certain date and use it for their say the dates or even if they don't book you or they hired a photographer, like your name is being out there on their feed, like, you know, like hyping you up branding you your email newsletter. You could do this like
00:40:00
Speaker
couple times a year. It doesn't really cost that much because it's not like you have to provide food or anything. Yeah. Yeah. Even do like this, this posing workshop that I'm saying, or I mean, any content, but the draw for the client is, Oh, I want to learn the three best poses that I need to know for my engagement pictures. So I'm going to show up to this free event that my venue is putting on.
00:40:23
Speaker
And here are the vendors that are here to help you make it happen. Lashes, if you're a hair and makeup artist, aren't going to cost you much. Put the lashes on. And then the photographer, you're committing what? Maybe an hour or two hours to this event. And you may be getting 20 clients of that venue that's coming. You may get more. Some of our events that we hosted in Narrow, we do a flower making class with one of our preferred florists. So florists out there hosting flower arrangement classes. That's a good one.
00:40:53
Speaker
We get probably anywhere from 30 or 40 of our clients that show up to each of those events. Okay, so I'm just gonna like.
00:41:01
Speaker
I'm just going to marinate in this like dopest idea on my podcast. Wow. I am so mind blown. I could like, we could make a course from this, like right after we talk, like just on this one subject. No, that's the, if I were a vendor, this is exactly what I would be doing is building the relationships with the venues, of course, and the planners too. But venues, instead of just going to the venue, emailing them, Hey, I'm blah, blah, blah.
00:41:28
Speaker
say, hey, I have this package, this course, this whatever that I want to offer your clients. It's free. We'd love to come out and teach them the three best photo poses for their engagement pictures. And as a venue, of course, if I don't know them, I'm going to do my research. But if somebody says, we want to put an event on for your clients to make sure they have an amazing experience at your venue, I'm going to listen. That's totally different than the angle that most vendors have.
00:41:59
Speaker
So yeah, that would be my. Okay. Okay. That is, that is so next level. Okay. And then the third one about, you could take it away.
00:42:08
Speaker
Third tip. The third tip. OK, so my third tip. Oh, yes, this one's huge. So again, content is always difficult for a lot of venues, every vendor, right? We are busy and we are told, right, we need to have social media content. We need to have blogging. So offer to write them a blog, offer to do some content in exchange
00:42:30
Speaker
add value to your relationship and so we've had a couple photographers that have come to us saying hey we'd love to write you a monthly blog post right or a quarterly blog post or even once a year
00:42:47
Speaker
You are blowing my mind. I was like, nothing could be like that last one. But this is okay. Keep going. Sorry. No, no, no. And that one is specifically with the blog posts. If I were a photographer, let's say photographer, it's like the top 10 spaces at this venue that you need to get your pictures at.
00:43:05
Speaker
Right? And so that as a venue owner, right? We're busy. We don't always have the means to write content and write blogs. And we know we should be for SEO purposes. So if I were a vendor, I would offer to write a blog post or go ahead and write the blog post and send it to them when I reach out to them and just say, Hey, like I know you're in Houston, so I made sure to use Houston wedding venue as SEO in this blog post for you. It's a great resource for you.
00:43:32
Speaker
And again, it's like adding value. How can I have add value to this relationship? And so content can not just be limited to the blogs. It could be social media content too. It could be like, if you just say, for example, you shot a wedding, you're not on the preferred vendor to say that you shot a wedding at the venue, you shot video at the venue.
00:43:52
Speaker
put together a little real for them right put a little a little content together for them that they can post and i can tell you right now if somebody came up to me and did that absolutely i'm going to share it right absolutely it stands out from everybody else um because right as collaborator holler don't forget that yes um yeah i think
00:44:14
Speaker
A lot of the things even that I'm mentioning today, whether it's the benefit for their employees for pictures, the QR code for the DJs, the class for photographers at the venue, the blog post, these are all relatively easy things to do.
00:44:33
Speaker
like complicated. None of them will take a lot of your time or financial resources to do. But again, it comes from that angle of I want to create value. I want to be that mutually beneficial for you. And it's not just a cold ask like can I be on your preferred vendor list or even worse.
00:44:51
Speaker
don't show up to a venue and just ask to take their time to meet with them. It's very, I don't know, I think that the newer generation, right, is I think you want to find other ways. Meet them at networking events. Go to events where you know venues are going to be if you want to meet them in person, instead of just showing up at the venue unannounced.
00:45:13
Speaker
Wow, okay, you would totally blew my mind, Ian. But last question before rapid fire questions. You gave so much great advice, like ones that we could do today, but I always ask this, but speak to the hearts of any wedding professionals right now struggling or feeling down on themselves. Like why is it happening for everyone else and not me? And just maybe something that could do like literally like this hour, like jump out of bed and go do it.
00:45:43
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:46:54
Speaker
www dot strategic slash assistance dot com. It's in the show notes. Make sure you use my promo code back to the show as I head to the beat. See ya. I think the biggest piece of advice that I have, like if I'm digging deep down and thinking about where I have gotten today is reach out to people that number one are where you want to be and are doing what you want to do, because the chances are
00:47:24
Speaker
When you ask for help and when you use the word help, if somebody reaches out to me and says, Ian, you know, I love what you do. Can you help me with XYZ? Absolutely. It's human nature to want to help people. And so I don't think.
00:47:40
Speaker
especially for solopreneurs if you don't have a team that works with you. I think it's so important to make those connections and reach out to people because I can tell you first and foremost, I haven't gotten to where I am, not that I'm anywhere amazing, but I haven't had the opportunities that have come my way without having other people help me get there.
00:48:02
Speaker
you know, that my former GM that used to work at Madera, Heather Benj now has styled shoes across America. She's the one that got me my first opportunity. She told wedding MBA that they should have me as a speaker, right? It's because she helps for her help. Um, I'm a wedding provost here. Uh, I had a very dear, dear, dear friend of mine, uh, Kaylee Wiese with Mel Dean that was like,
00:48:26
Speaker
put a great word in for me, and that's how I got where I am today. In the wedding industry, I had a DJ that worked at our venue, Darrell Ripley, I'll call him out, DJU Entertainment in Houston. He's the one that got me involved in networking in Houston, and he's helped me get to know so many people. And so I think when you're stuck, when you are looking for ways to get to that next step, don't be shy to reach out to the people that you know can help you, because you would be surprised at what doors will open for you.
00:48:58
Speaker
Wow. Well said. I'm glad I asked you that. Okay. Fun rapid fire questions. Let's see. Do you want to sing us opera song? Okay.
00:49:21
Speaker
There you go, a little snippet. Wow. That hit my gut. That was so good. I think you were doing that. I didn't know what you were going to do.
00:49:45
Speaker
Favorite past time to do with your hubby when you're not working? Ooh, favorite past time. We love yoga. We're hot yogis. Nice, nice. Favorite advice from Heidi, your 85-year-old pen pal from Germany? Oh, Heidi! My biggest piece of advice is to take time and surround yourself with the people that you love because our time is precious. Oh, I love that. Favorite social media Instagram hack?
00:50:15
Speaker
Ooh, favorite social media and Instagram hack. I would have to say saved replies. And then biggest one is reviews, asking for reviews to close friend groups on social media.
00:50:31
Speaker
I can do a podcast about that too. But long story short, one year we were looking for reviews and we did a closed group of all the brides and grooms that followed us. And we did a post that basically said that we were gonna send them a handwritten card in the mail with glitter inside. And shockingly, we had a lot of people respond to that and leave us a five-star review. What the? I am so- Christmas present. We basically themed it around Christmas. We said the greatest gift you can give us is a five-star review.
00:50:59
Speaker
We only have one review in this closed friend group. So that actually that would be my biggest hack that we've used so far.
00:51:07
Speaker
dude, okay, I am so gonna like, listen to this podcast for like three times. But I think the coolest thing about this conversation too, is a lot of these tips that you're giving don't require that much money. So you know, for me, I used to make people like albums and albums are so expensive, $300 plus the whole like, 85 degrees and you know, it adds up and you don't really know if you're going to get on. So
00:51:32
Speaker
These things are like free, a lot of them. So thank you for that. I'm sure everyone's going to go crazy. And Ian, tell everyone where to find you and a little discount for our Heck Yes listeners.
00:51:46
Speaker
Yes. So you can find us on socials for Madera estates. You can follow along on Instagram and Facebook at Madera estates. If you want to check out our website for the venue, it's www.maderaastates.com. Uh, but for our venue listeners out there, if you want to find our venue help desk channels, you can look us up at venue help desk on Facebook and Instagram. That's www.venuhelpdesk.com.
00:52:11
Speaker
And then for those of you that are venues that are listening today, we are offering a promo code for $100 off with Heck Yes as the discount code for our first venue-versity workshop coming up in Orlando. So that will be June 10th and 11th. If you head on over to venuehelpdesk.com, you'll be able to see that link for the June workshop. And then when you check out, you'll be able to get that discount of $100 off with the promo code Heck Yes.
00:52:40
Speaker
Yay! Thank you Ian! This is great! Thanks for joining me this week on Get a Heck Yes with Carissa Wu. Make sure to follow, subscribe, leave a review, or tell a friend about the show. Take a screenshot and post to IG. Tag me! Also don't forget to download my free guide on how to become a lead generating machine. See you next time Wedding Pros!