Fresh celebrant asks,
Hi, I am a new country celebrant with three weddings booked late this year, early next year but none performed so far. I am attending a wedding expo soon ( in the country) and am not sure what to do. I have collaborated with a supplier to use an arbor, have my logo enlarged to easel size and have business cards. But wondering what else I need. I dont have photos of me officiating yet obviously. What information type material should I have with me, what questions do you usually get asked, do I just stand there and smile, “have chockies to reel them in”? Please help!!
I’ll answer this question as if it were for any kind of outbound marketing, because it all applies.
Who is it for?
Who will see it?
How do you want them to respond?
Who is it for?
I see a lot of wedding fair stands that are “for” the celebrant, so they feel important and valued. They have NOIMs everywhere, their red book, lots of pamphlets and pieces of paper that they think couples want to read.
But I’m assuming that if you’re paying for a wedding expo then you’re hoping that people attending the expo will hire you to be their celebrant.
So what kind of stand will communicate that you are a celebrant and that you are a certain kind of celebrant. You see, when people are buying anything, especially booking their wedding, they are telling themselves a story: “people like us do things like this.”
As they see your stand will your stand, and you as a celebrant, fit into their story that people like them book celebrants like you?
Who will see it?
You don’t want everyone at the expo to hire you, that would break your back and you’d regret ever turning up. You only want some of them, and luckily for you, only some of them will stop and even fewer of them will book you. This is such a good thing. You’re not the right celebrant for everyone and not everyone is the right couple for you.
So design your stand so it showcases who you are and what makes you, you.
Design it so it’s in style for the kind of couples you want to book. If you want to book newlywed couples, maybe seek inspiration from people and brands that are of a similar age if you aren’t.
Design the stand so it’s a filter, it lets the right people in and rejects the wrong people.
How do you want them to respond?
This is the most important one.
How do you want people to respond to your stand?
Do you want to call them? You’ll need their number. But ask yourself, do people even want to receive phone calls anymore though? I know that if you cal my number I’m unlikely to answer and I’d rather you email me.
So do you want to email people? Organise a facility to collect their email addresses – I recommend the Mailchimp iPad app. If you want to get super fancy, create a Mailchimp list for that event, and create an auto-sent email that details new people on that list with info on your packages etc. So the iPad app adds them to the list and it emails them as well.
Do you want them to know your price then and there, maybe have a facility to communicate it to them.
Regardless of how you would like them to respond, control the experience, so that all of the attendees have an opportunity to begin your customer journey just like online and social media potential clients.
Disclaimer
Your website and social media already act as a great filter so the people that don’t like you never contact you. At a wedding expo, you’ll meet these people. Sorry 🙂
Josh has given you some great food for thought, but I want to be a little more practical 🙂 What you’ve organized sounds great! The only other thing you definitely need (as Josh mentions) is a way to collect the contact info for the people you meet that would like you to follow up with them: I use the MailChimp app too, but a piece of paper that you can record their names, wedding date and email address works just as well for a celebrant starting out! No need to get technical if it feels intimidating 🙂
People are going to want to know what you can do for them – at my first expos I told them all the things I did for them (meetings, legal stuff, PA system) and how much that cost. As I got more experienced with my celebrant offering I changed my pitch so I now talk about more of the touchy feely stuff I provide (organization, big smile, warmth, blah blah blah). I don’t think there’s a wrong or right answer here – try to have a conversation with people, build some rapport so they want to meet with you again!
Stuff to give away (like chocolates or lollies) is fun but don’t get caught up in that – they can be very expensive and don’t really make much of a difference in my experience!
Hopefully that’s helpful. We’ve also talked about expos several times on the podcast, so maybe have a list to those episodes too 🙂
Hey Josh and Sarah
I’m thinking of doing my first expo in a couple of months, so I found this information useful, thanks!
One more thing from me… how much can I expect to pay to exhibit at an expo?
The one in my area offers a table at the expo but also an ongoing advertising platform (which isn’t an optional part of the package).
I’m sure each expo is going to be different, but is there a ball park range you can give me as an idea?
Thanks!
Hi Julia! It’s impossible to give you a ballpark figure. I’ve paid anything from $100 to $2000 depending on the duration and venue of the expo, and depending on the size of the stand. It’s hard to give you any more of a guide without knowing where you’re based, where the expo will be held, how long it goes for, and what size your stall will be
Thanks Sarah ????