Planning a Wedding Networking Happy Hour
I am hosting a happy hour for wedding related vendors on Monday, August 26th, at my restaurant – check it out!
I have been trying to actively break into the wedding catering industry. I’ve done the Google Ads, I’ve been on calls with The Knot & Wedding Wire – surprise surprise, the two competitors merged, good luck negotiating anything with them!
While I have had success on Google Ads and received several events though it, I have become aware that the single best thing I can do is get into the funnel of wedding planning. How do we do that? I guess we will mess around and find out.
Something that gave me an idea was seeing how much these Tik Tok creators are making off of commissions! One of my good mentors in this space, Mike from Frato’s Culinary Kitchen in Illinois, told me that making sales people out of your fans was the absolute best way to grow in any space. I realize, as you’re reading this, you might be thinking about how you’ve heard the word of mouth being best marketing since you were a kid. Yea, so maybe I didn’t fully take that in. Oh well, here I am now.
So my idea is to get as many wedding related vendors, I’m talkin’ venues, hairdressers, photographers, beauticians, beauty salons, entertainment, in a room at my bar to gain their trust and introduce myself. This is a networking opportunity for them, with free food and drinks, it should also be a great time, but it really is me trying to win over these vendors to buy the trust that they can refer a client to me and I will take great care of them.
How do I make sure that happens? Let’s push referral bonuses. Let’s not be light about it either. 5% on the completed sale paid in cash for the person providing the referral along with dinner for two after receiving a deposit.
Now I think that’s pretty darn good. Who knows if it is, but I think it is.
