Latest / Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney / The power of word of mouth marketing - with Kevin Dennis
Transcript
- 0:00Kevin: When you're there on the day of, like, I can't tell you how many
- 0:03times I've helped move chairs for the caterer or I've, you know, noticed that
- 0:07the photographer was struggling and, you know, like helping them move, you
- 0:11know, their, their camera bags or just, you know, helping when you can see.
- 0:17It's needed.
- 0:17Does that make sense?
- 0:18And not look at it as, Oh, not my problem.
- 0:21You know, cause if I'm standing around and I don't have anything to
- 0:23do, why not help someone else that looks like they might need help?
- 0:26I think that goes a long way.
- 0:30Becca: I'm Becca Pountney, wedding business, marketing
- 0:32expert, speaker, and blogger.
- 0:33And you're listening to the wedding pros who are ready to grow podcast.
- 0:37I'm here to share with you actionable tips, strategies and real life
- 0:41examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.
- 0:44If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion
- 0:48and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you
- 0:51love, then you're in the right place.
- 0:53Let's get going with today's episode.
- 0:56Today, I'm chatting with Kevin Dennis, owner of Fantasy Sound Event
- 1:00Services and editor of Wedding IQ.
- 1:02With over 35 years in the wedding industry, he has built a huge
- 1:06amount of experience and lots of connections along the way.
- 1:09In 2010, Kevin even founded the Tri Valley Wedding Pros to bring
- 1:12the industry together in his local area, and he's been involved in
- 1:15many industry associations too.
- 1:18If you haven't guessed it yet, Kevin is big on building relationships,
- 1:21and as you will know, this is one of my favorite topics too.
- 1:24So I'm excited to dive into this conversation.
- 1:27Kevin, welcome to the podcast.
- 1:29Kevin: Thank you.
- 1:30I'm happy to be here.
- 1:31Becca: I am very happy to have you here.
- 1:34And for the sake of the listener, we have been having all sorts of tech problems,
- 1:38but we are here and we are rolling through it, and I find it so funny that
- 1:42we're having tech problems when your business has the word sound in the title.
- 1:46Kevin: I know, I know.
- 1:48It happens.
- 1:49It happens to the best of us.
- 1:51Becca: Absolutely.
- 1:52We like to keep it real around here.
- 1:54Nothing is ever perfect, so we keep it, we keep it real.
- 1:57Now, Kevin, it's great to have you.
- 1:59As I said in the introduction, you've been in the industry a mere 35 years, which is
- 2:03impossible when you're only 36 years old.
- 2:06But I want you . Oh, I appreciate that.
- 2:08, I want you to take me back to, you're my new favorite person.
- 2:11Excellent.
- 2:11I like that.
- 2:12I want you to take me back to the start.
- 2:14Take me back to where this foray into this wonderful world of weddings started from.
- 2:20Kevin: So it all started for me in high school, believe it or not, I was
- 2:23a nerd in high school and my neighbor started a DJ company like DJing the
- 2:28local like high school events and just.
- 2:30different things.
- 2:31And so he needed a roadie.
- 2:33So I offered to help him, you know, cause, and I would drive, set up all his stuff.
- 2:38And then I was like, Hey, I go, I want to start like DJing on my own.
- 2:43And he's like, Oh no, you're not good enough.
- 2:44And I was like, really?
- 2:46Cause I'm good enough to load the truck and good enough to do all the dirty work.
- 2:49So I said, you know what?
- 2:51I said, I'm going to do this on my own.
- 2:54So I sold my, my prize 73 Chevy Camaro.
- 2:58And bought speakers and turntables.
- 3:00That's how long ago it was and started buying records and all that kind of
- 3:04stuff and started my own DJ service.
- 3:07And then before, you know, we, you know, grew, grew and grew, you know,
- 3:12so it was kind of, I started in 89.
- 3:14So it was, this was like a few years after helping him.
- 3:17So in 1989, when most people in the wedding industry were born, that's
- 3:21what I find now I started my company.
- 3:24And so we started out just TJ and like, you know, just school
- 3:26dances and all that kind of stuff.
- 3:28And while I was going through college, I, you know, what's doing just.
- 3:31Kind of more fun stuff.
- 3:33And then in 1995, I was like, you know what?
- 3:35I can actually make a living out of this.
- 3:37And I decided not to, you know, follow my, my college dreams and
- 3:42follow my, my business dreams.
- 3:43And here I am today.
- 3:45I'm still doing it, supporting my family.
- 3:47You know, we, we grew over the years.
- 3:49The kind of nice thing is I'm 45 minutes east of San
- 3:52Francisco in the United States.
- 3:54And so we are, even though we're like really close to San Francisco, I don't
- 3:59want to work in San Francisco cause it's kind of a pain working in that city.
- 4:03And it's kind of, I'll be honest with you, all you UK people find
- 4:06a different U S city to visit.
- 4:08Cause San Francisco is a dump right now.
- 4:10I'll be brutally honest with you.
- 4:11You go to New York or Chicago or LA.
- 4:14I would recommend all those.
- 4:17And but anyway, so we, you know, just working in the city is rough, you know,
- 4:21even from, you know, like without traffic, I'm about, you know, like 45 minutes
- 4:25away, but You know, usually it takes about anywhere from two hours to get there.
- 4:29And then once you're in the city, it takes another like 20 to, you know, 30, 45
- 4:35minutes to get to where your location, you know, it's just, it's, it's, it's a truck.
- 4:39It's a, it's a lot of work to get there.
- 4:40So, you know, so we out in our little neck of the woods, we have a
- 4:44little wine country and we're kind of like you know, just below about
- 4:47an hour and 15 minutes below Napa.
- 4:48And so right now in my, in Livermore, California we have
- 4:52a little over 60 wineries.
- 4:53And so, you know, and where do couples like to get married?
- 4:56Wineries and golf courses and, you know, hotels and all that kind of stuff.
- 4:59So we're really benefiting right now in our little, little market out here.
- 5:03And it's, it's, it's a lot of fun out here.
- 5:05Becca: That's awesome.
- 5:05And I can't believe that right back at the start of your journey, the person
- 5:09said to you that you weren't good enough.
- 5:10Imagine if you listened to that and not gone ahead and did it.
- 5:14I know.
- 5:14How different your life would have been.
- 5:16Kevin: I know, right?
- 5:16Well, 100%.
- 5:17It would have been night and day because I, you know, shortly after I
- 5:21stopped working you kind of gave up.
- 5:23I was like, you know what?
- 5:24I went and worked for a couple other little DJ companies doing
- 5:28school events and I, in a short amount of time became their most
- 5:32requested DJ at the school events.
- 5:34And I was like, you know what?
- 5:35I know what I'm doing.
- 5:36I paid attention enough.
- 5:39Becca: Exactly.
- 5:39And that's why we shouldn't always listen to everyone's advice around us because
- 5:42they're not always right in what they say.
- 5:45So do you remember?
- 5:46Or truthful.
- 5:47Well, or truthful.
- 5:48Yeah, absolutely.
- 5:49Do you remember your first wedding booking?
- 5:51Because I love taking people back to the beginning because when I get
- 5:54new clients, quite often they say to me, I think getting my first booking
- 5:57is going to be the hardest one.
- 5:58Do you remember taking your first wedding booking way back in the day?
- 6:02Kevin: I, yeah, I've been doing this too long.
- 6:04Unfortunately, I don't remember.
- 6:05I'm lucky.
- 6:05I remember the couple's name from last weekend.
- 6:07But I do, I remember the time like back in the day, you know, like it
- 6:11was a whole different time because we, you know, like I said, I was
- 6:14doing the weddings on vinyl, you know?
- 6:17So like, I, I think in, in my profession, you know, like, That
- 6:23is night and day difference.
- 6:24Cause now it's like I can get any song off of, you know, iTunes
- 6:29or wherever and download it.
- 6:31And I have it on my DJ software and I'm ready to go.
- 6:33And I can usually do that in a matter of about 30 to 45 seconds.
- 6:37You know, like compared to when You would have to go to multiple, multiple,
- 6:41multiple, multiple record stores.
- 6:43Like I would, I, every Thursday, what is my, my, my record buying day.
- 6:48And I would head out to San Jose, which is another part of the Bay area.
- 6:52And then I would start at a couple of record stores there.
- 6:54And then I would drive to San Francisco and hit about three
- 6:56or four record stores there.
- 6:58And then that was kind of like my day.
- 7:00And if I really needed it, I would hit Berkeley on the way home.
- 7:03And that was kind of, You tried it.
- 7:05Berkeley's kind of weird.
- 7:06So you know, we always try to stay out of Berkeley, but they had a couple of
- 7:10good, decent record stores, but you know, and that's what you would go find all
- 7:13your music for the weekend and any like new hot song got released on Thursday.
- 7:17And that was kind of the, you know, and this one, there was a really good
- 7:21record store and I would hit it up every Thursday at noon because they
- 7:25would get their shipment at 10 o'clock every morning, every Thursday morning.
- 7:29So I wanted to be kind of the first to get some of the hot
- 7:31new songs, but now it's like.
- 7:33You know, download, you got it.
- 7:35You know, there's no more of that journey involved.
- 7:37I was like, that's why I call it DJ for dummies nowadays.
- 7:40Becca: Yeah.
- 7:40Well now it's so, so different, but over those 35 years, you've seen a huge amount
- 7:44of evolution in the industry, I'm sure.
- 7:47And at the same time, I'm sure there's a lot of things that have stayed the same.
- 7:50What do you think have been some of your biggest keys to success in your business?
- 7:54Kevin: For me, it's been relationships.
- 7:56I'm going to be honest with you.
- 7:57I was fortunate to meet a caterer.
- 8:00Through like like a business networking type of a group, we would get together
- 8:05every Wednesday morning at 7 a.
- 8:07m.
- 8:08And so I was 22 years old back then and I, 7 a.
- 8:12m.
- 8:12was not part of my wheelhouse.
- 8:14So I would show up literally with like jeans and a sweatshirt and, you know, and
- 8:18you had to like, I referred the tire guy and I, you know, it was about like what,
- 8:22you know, writing or business referrals, but, you know, and there was a small
- 8:26amount of us that were in there that were in the, Wedding and event industry, but
- 8:30there, you know, there was an attorney and an insurance agent and you name it.
- 8:34There was a bunch of business people in there.
- 8:36And after being part of that group for about maybe six months, the caterer that
- 8:41I was kept, kept trying to get business with and wasn't, she's like, all right.
- 8:44And she called me record spinner.
- 8:46She goes, okay, record spinner.
- 8:48You need to like, show up.
- 8:49Like you want to run a business.
- 8:51show up like you look like you want to have a business and not
- 8:54like you just got out of bed.
- 8:55And she wasn't lying.
- 8:56Like literally I figured out this thing, it was seven o'clock in the
- 8:59morning, I'd wake up at six 40 and I would literally roll out of bed, brush
- 9:04my teeth, you know, throw a hat on and, and, and rolled to this thing.
- 9:07And I thought I was fine, but obviously it was not.
- 9:09So the very next day.
- 9:10meeting after she said that I showed up in a shirt and tie, took a shower,
- 9:14got up earlier, and I continued to go.
- 9:17And it took me, she goes, you know, it took me almost at about
- 9:19another three to four months until she gave me a piece of business,
- 9:22but I kept persevering through it.
- 9:24And I was like, you know, cause I really felt like she was going to do something.
- 9:27And meanwhile, it's kind of creepy, but her, her two venues probably are
- 9:32about 65 percent of my revenue today.
- 9:35You know, and stuff.
- 9:36So way back in the 1992, you know, like if I, you know, like how different,
- 9:41you know, we were talking about how different my life would have been if I
- 9:43didn't listen to that guy, you know, I keep, I wonder if I would still be doing
- 9:48this today if I didn't continue to, you know, fight to get her piece of business.
- 9:52Becca: Wow.
- 9:52Yeah, that's an incredible story.
- 9:53And I love that you're still doing so much work with her today.
- 9:56Quite often when I talk about networking, because as I said in the
- 9:59intro, I absolutely love it myself.
- 10:01And I think it's really important and foundational.
- 10:03I always say you never know where that next relationship's
- 10:05going to lead to, right?
- 10:06And you couldn't have envisaged 35 years ago that that would still be
- 10:10bringing you so much business today.
- 10:12And just that small change in that perseverance.
- 10:16So going on from that, going on from that first kind of networking meeting,
- 10:19where else have you sought to build relationships in your wedding business?
- 10:23Kevin: So I'm a big believer in belonging to some type of association
- 10:28or a group that you can belong to.
- 10:31You know, like I was involved with WIPA, which is huge in the United States.
- 10:35You know, I was the their international president when we were trying to
- 10:38get, you know, chapters across the country or across the world.
- 10:42I mean, you know, but it was, you know, so that gave me notoriety,
- 10:45you know, got me on podcasts like yours here today that kind of stuff.
- 10:49But I really think it's, it's belonging on the local level because I think at one
- 10:53point, like I learned, like I was very involved in my local chamber of commerce.
- 10:57I was very involved locally and then I started grow, grow, grow, and I
- 11:02started going like more across the country and I realized, you know
- 11:06what, I'm missing the local stuff.
- 11:07And so when I, when my time was done on the board, I was like, I got back
- 11:12to the, you know, got back to my roots.
- 11:14Got, You know, back involved in the local chapters of the event associations
- 11:19out here got back involved in like the local chamber of commerce, you know, even
- 11:24though like you don't know there, you know, it's harder to get, I think, event
- 11:28business out of those type of groups, but I think it's more about being visible.
- 11:32And, you know, and, and, and, you know, it takes a long time to get that,
- 11:36you know, connection, so to speak.
- 11:38But then once you do, it's like, oh, hey, I have a friend that I know
- 11:41that I can refer to and vice versa.
- 11:44And it just takes time.
- 11:45So it's kind of, I started out locally, went and I got, you know,
- 11:49kind of big for my britches there.
- 11:51And then I was like, you know, after it's done, I was like, you know what,
- 11:53it's time, you know, because people are like, they would make my staff would
- 11:56go to the local events and they're like, Oh, is Kevin too good for us?
- 11:59Is Kevin does, you know, and those kind of comments would come back.
- 12:02And I was like, I'm not too good for you guys, you know, like, and so I was
- 12:05like, all right, I'll get back involved locally because I realized that's,
- 12:08you know, you need to be visible.
- 12:10And I think that's half of it.
- 12:11It's like you can't.
- 12:12Just go to an event once, you know, it takes multiple times.
- 12:17I'm a big believer.
- 12:18It takes two to three years to build, to build relations, you know, like, so if
- 12:21you join an association, you gotta know, you gotta be in it for the long haul.
- 12:25You can't, you know, you can't join a group or an association and expect to
- 12:29get business on your first meeting.
- 12:32You know, or it might take you, you know, some people it'll happen in a year,
- 12:38but I really feel it's the two to three year you're in it for the long haul.
- 12:41And I think too, it's like, get involved in a committee, get involved
- 12:45in, you know, the board of directors.
- 12:46And then, you know, you start building that notoriety, your
- 12:49name has been said multiple times.
- 12:52You know, you're mentioned at the meetings as, you know, as one of the
- 12:55leaders of the group, you know, it, it, it, but it, it's time, it takes time.
- 13:00It doesn't happen overnight.
- 13:01Becca: Yeah.
- 13:01And I think that is a misconception that people think they can just
- 13:03turn up to one event and that's it.
- 13:05They've done their networking for the year and then everyone knows them,
- 13:08but actually, you know, the more you put in, the more you get out.
- 13:12Kevin: Yeah, my wife gets mad at me when I use this comment, but I call it
- 13:15spray and pray they walk around with their business cards and spray them
- 13:18across the room and pray that someone's going to hire him and no one, you know,
- 13:22because I can't tell you how many times people walked up to me at like one of
- 13:25the networking events and they just hand me a business card and, and like, say
- 13:30like maybe two words, you know, a couple sentences to me and then walk away.
- 13:34And I'm like, yeah, I don't know anything about them, you know, and, and, and you
- 13:38got to realize it's relationships, you know, like I always go, you got to take
- 13:42yourself back to dating, you know, it's almost like you're dating again, you know,
- 13:46you don't walk, you know, you don't kiss on the first date sometime, you know,
- 13:49you know, saying that, you know, it takes time, you know, it, it, it takes time.
- 13:54Becca: I totally resonate with you.
- 13:55And one of my first podcast episodes, Kevin, I did about wedding
- 13:58prose that you don't want to be.
- 14:00And one of those characters that I created for that episode was the
- 14:04business card thrower, which is exactly the kind of person you're
- 14:07describing that just walks in, throws their business cards on the table.
- 14:10I was like, anyone want one?
- 14:12And everyone's like, no, not really.
- 14:13Like, thanks very much.
- 14:15Kevin: No.
- 14:16No, have a, like a, you know, have a cocktail with me or how, you know, like
- 14:20sit next to me at the dinner or, you know, and let, let's talk and get deeper.
- 14:24And the other thing too, as I learned is you got to listen to
- 14:28people, that's a big thing, you know?
- 14:30So, you know, get to know people deeper.
- 14:33You got to listen to them and don't dominate, you know, it's
- 14:36not, you know, I know how to do that, or I know that person.
- 14:39And I, you know, it's just like try to connect with them,
- 14:41you know, on a personal level.
- 14:43And I think that's where the relationships really.
- 14:45You know, because people want to do business with what they like, you know,
- 14:48like the, one of the florists I recommend I've literally been, you know, I, he's
- 14:53done all my major events in my life, but also, you know, I probably have known him
- 14:58since the late nineties, you know, and we've just, you know, and so it's like,
- 15:02Oh, you need to, you know, call Carl and the team over there at Delford West and
- 15:05they're going to take care of you, you know, and they're, you know, and that's
- 15:08the kind of relationships you have.
- 15:10Becca: Okay, so let's get practical for a moment because I know there'll be people
- 15:13listening that are thinking about going to a local event or a local networking
- 15:17thing, but they're nervous and they don't really know how to go about it.
- 15:21They're scared.
- 15:21They don't want to be the business card thrower and the spray and prayer, but
- 15:25they do want to build good relationships.
- 15:26So do you have any practical tips for those people if they're going to an
- 15:30event about what, how they even get started when they walk in that room?
- 15:34Kevin: So I think a little bit, this is going to sound silly.
- 15:37So wear an outfit you feel comfortable and you feel good in.
- 15:39I think that really goes a long way.
- 15:41You know, cause sometimes if you not, you're feeling a little frumpy that day
- 15:45or whatever, that's, you're going to feel down, you know, so you got to put
- 15:48yourself in the right frame of mind.
- 15:50And so I think it's, Different for every person, I'm the type of person when I go
- 15:56to networking events, I need a wing man or a woman, I need someone to go with,
- 16:00I feel more comfortable walking into the room with someone else, and then like, I
- 16:04have a really good friend of mine that she is better by, she loves going by herself,
- 16:09and she loves working the room by herself.
- 16:11You know, and so I, you know, so everyone is a little different.
- 16:14So, and I think a little bit too is sometimes nowadays depending on the
- 16:19type of event software registration software they use, you can kind of
- 16:22do a little research on who's coming.
- 16:25If you can see the guest list, that's another good idea.
- 16:27Like study the guest list.
- 16:29Okay.
- 16:29I really want to meet.
- 16:31Susie at the rental company.
- 16:32And I want to meet, you know, Betsy over at the wedding planning company.
- 16:37I've been trying to make those connections.
- 16:38So then, you know, get to know a little bit about the people you want
- 16:42to connect with before you even go.
- 16:43So look at their Instagram or looking on any of that kind of stuff.
- 16:46So if you can make a comment to them and say, Hey, I saw on your Instagram,
- 16:50blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
- 16:52You know, about that last wedding you did, I really liked how you did this.
- 16:55I, you know, then, then, It kind of hooks them a little, you know, they'll be like,
- 16:59Oh, they know a little bit about me there.
- 17:01You know, it kind of opens the door.
- 17:04I think it's that.
- 17:06And that's all it is.
- 17:06It doesn't mean you can come in the house.
- 17:08It just opens the door at that point, you know?
- 17:10So, so that's a good one.
- 17:12You know, we talked about spray and pray or what did you call him?
- 17:16Business card thrower.
- 17:18Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 17:19So, so I can't tell you how many times I've been to a networking event and
- 17:23someone doesn't have a business card.
- 17:25So, and even though we're in this very techie age that we're in, I still think
- 17:31that little piece of paper goes a long way and that's still, that's you, I'll be
- 17:35honest with you is probably the only, that and envelopes are the only thing because
- 17:39very rarely do we mail anything nowadays, but when we do, I wanted it branded and
- 17:43I, and I only have business cards now.
- 17:46You're like, we don't print.
- 17:47I feel sorry for all my print friends, but we don't print.
- 17:50You know, we're not in that world anymore, but I think a business card
- 17:54goes a long way, you know, I really do.
- 17:57And then I, this is a weird pet peeve.
- 17:59And I'm going to tell you if, if it's, you know, Betsy, the
- 18:02wedding coordinator at gmail.
- 18:04com, I don't take you seriously.
- 18:06So, so before you go to a networking event, you need to be, you know, Betsy at.
- 18:12The wedding coordinator.
- 18:13com, you know, you know, kind of like have a, you know, I don't know why,
- 18:16because it's just something that's stuck with me over the years is that
- 18:20I feel like the people that have at Gmail at Yahoo at whatever, and it's
- 18:25not their business name are not in here.
- 18:27They're not real, you know, they're not taking their business real, they're
- 18:31not setting themselves up for success.
- 18:33So I don't know why that is, but that's one thing.
- 18:35When someone hands me a business card, that's the first thing I look at.
- 18:38Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
- 18:39I totally agree with you.
- 18:40And I think it's important for us to realize that people are making instant
- 18:43judgments about us and our business based on how they perceive us at the meeting.
- 18:48Exactly how you said from your first meeting, they didn't take you
- 18:51seriously because of the fact that you were late and how you address, you
- 18:54know, people are going to make those judgments whether we like it or not.
- 18:57And therefore we need to make sure we're putting our best foot forward.
- 19:00Okay.
- 19:00While we're on the subject, then I'd love to know any, Bad experiences.
- 19:04I'm, I mean, I've got stories as long as my arm.
- 19:07I'm sure you do too, about where I've been at these events and
- 19:10people have had an interaction with me that is not good networking.
- 19:13Do you have any examples, any stories, obviously don't use any names, but
- 19:16anything that comes to mind or any examples of where it goes wrong?
- 19:20Kevin: So, you know, alcohol is usually served at these events, but I can't
- 19:23tell you how many times I've had to, as a leader of the group, put someone
- 19:29in a taxi or an Uber and give them, you know, send them home because
- 19:33They've drank a little too much, you know, and I'll be honest with you.
- 19:37There are people that you just know automatically are
- 19:40going to be that every time.
- 19:42And that's not a good look for your business, you know, cause I
- 19:45always feel we, there's different times to have those type of
- 19:48engagements with us in the industry.
- 19:51When you're at a conference and you're all go out together, you know, that's.
- 19:55Yeah, yeah, Taiwan on, let's have fun and let's party, but at a networking
- 19:59type of an event, that's not the time to Taiwan on and let's party.
- 20:02It's not a party time, you know, just, you know, it's just, I
- 20:08think that's, that's a big one.
- 20:10And the other one is, is don't be.
- 20:14Like a lurker, you know, and what I mean is if you see someone there, there's
- 20:19someone that used to come to our local NACE group long time ago and they would
- 20:24stand, you could just feel them over your shoulder and it was like burning and I'm
- 20:28like, and you would go and I, without using that person's name, I'm like, is
- 20:31such and such behind me right now, I would say to that per, I don't know why
- 20:36I would just, you could just feel them, you know, and I'm like, yes, but it, you
- 20:40know, cause I, I really think you need to be open when, when you go to these
- 20:45events, like don't close yourself off.
- 20:47But I do think there are like, Hey, this happened at the wedding last weekend.
- 20:52Let's talk about, you know, like you might be the first time you've seen
- 20:55someone since something happened and you need that little moment, you know?
- 20:59So if you see that people are closed off.
- 21:01Don't go insert in like try to wedge yourself into the group because I
- 21:06don't think that goes really well, too There was another networking group.
- 21:09I belong to and The gentleman had a nickname of the shrimper and it just
- 21:16he would literally peruse the buffet table to the point where everyone
- 21:20noticed that, you know, he ate all the shrimp on the buffet or whatever.
- 21:24Yeah, I don't even know.
- 21:25And so it just, you know, and so it was, it became a joke when you were planning
- 21:29an event, Oh, make sure there's enough shrimp for the shrimper, you know?
- 21:32And so you don't want to have like someone giving you a nickname or
- 21:37any of that, you know, you need to be on your best behavior, you know?
- 21:40And again, it's like, I think where people go wrong, even, even when you're
- 21:46working in an event, like all of us.
- 21:48That don't own venues.
- 21:50Got to remember when we're on, you know, someone's property for a wedding that,
- 21:56you know, someone's hired us for, we are literally, you got to treat it like we're
- 22:00a guest in someone's home, you know?
- 22:02So you're not going to go stand on the chairs.
- 22:05You're not going to go walk in the back room and just start grabbing
- 22:08things you need, you know, so you need to be the, the vendor.
- 22:12That is prepared.
- 22:13You know, you have your, you know, you know, scissors and tape and whatever you
- 22:19need to, need to have to do your job.
- 22:21You have it with you.
- 22:22You know, I can't, it, it one that I told you I worked for
- 22:26that lady you know, for since 92.
- 22:28You know, I've been working at her properties and one of the things that
- 22:31is like a pet peeve for me at her, at her properties is we'll be there
- 22:34cleaning up at the end of the night.
- 22:36And, like, they'll go, and you know, another vendor will be loading
- 22:41out, and they use all the carts.
- 22:44That they have there, but what's happened is, is now the staff can't clean up
- 22:48the tables and, and all the stuff at the end of the night that the carts
- 22:52they use because the vendors using it.
- 22:54And so then the, the staff is getting upset at that vendor because they're, you
- 22:58know, monopolizing all their carts and it's now they don't realize it because
- 23:03it's costing the venue money because now the staff can't clean up, you know,
- 23:08and get out of there and clock out.
- 23:11Yeah, at a decent amount of time because they're, you know, they're using all
- 23:14their stuff and that stuff goes noticed, you know, I think along the way.
- 23:18So you need, I mean, invest in a card or a hand truck or all the items you
- 23:23need, but that even goes back to, you know, when, when we're networking
- 23:27at, at the, at these events is that we're a guest in someone's home.
- 23:31So you're not going to go open the door, go look behind, you know, if, if there's
- 23:36a rope blocked off of a room, stay out of it, you know, don't, you know, or don't
- 23:41I've seen how many times have I seen a, a, a caterer walk into the kitchen of
- 23:46someone else's venue, just cause they want to see the kitchen, you know, go find
- 23:50the venue and say, Hey, I would love, you know, I'm a caterer, blah, blah, blah.
- 23:53I can, I would love to see your kitchen, you know, is it possible to get a tour?
- 23:58You know, and, and go that way, you know, there, there's so many ways to
- 24:01get the end result that you're trying to look for, but in a, in a polite way.
- 24:06So I think, you know, remembering whether you're at a networking event or whether
- 24:10you're working, you know, a wedding on someone's property, you're a guest in
- 24:13someone's home, you know, and I say home is, you know, your guests at the venue.
- 24:18You know, like another, a lot of the, a lot of these venues have like
- 24:22lists now of, you know, rules and regulations and all that kind of stuff.
- 24:27And what's happening here in the United States is with the, in the photographer
- 24:31category is people are wanting to bring a photographer from another city.
- 24:35So some of these photographers are coming into our market and they
- 24:40basically go, I don't give an F anymore about the rules because I'm never
- 24:44going to be back to this venue again.
- 24:45And they do, you know, they're going into like spots of the vineyard and
- 24:49they're not supposed to, they're standing on chairs or, you know,
- 24:52they're not abiding by the timeline.
- 24:54They're doing all kinds of crazy stuff because they don't care.
- 24:58Becca: So yeah, but that, that attitude won't get you very far
- 25:00because it will catch up with them eventually, because you know, we
- 25:03know what it's like in this industry.
- 25:05People,
- 25:06Kevin: I agree.
- 25:07Becca: We, we don't want to burn the bridges that are being made there for us.
- 25:11Otherwise we won't have the 10 years time.
- 25:15Kevin: Well, exactly.
- 25:16Well, and flip that.
- 25:17What if I go and I, you know, I, I'm from another city.
- 25:20I come into that city and I work and I'm amazing.
- 25:24You right.
- 25:25Who's to say they're not going to, you know, and then I shared my photos with
- 25:28them and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
- 25:30Who's to say they're not, they might not refer.
- 25:32I mean, they may refer me down the road.
- 25:33I mean, there's an opportunity for more business instead of just
- 25:36looking at it with blinders on.
- 25:38I got a piece of business.
- 25:40You need to look at it.
- 25:41Hey, I want to get more business in this area.
- 25:43Who knows, you know, you, you just never know where the next
- 25:46piece is going to come from.
- 25:48Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
- 25:48And respecting the venue, respecting the staff of the
- 25:51venue also go a very long way.
- 25:52Do you want to know one of my other ones, the one of my other pet peeves
- 25:55about networking is people that turn up.
- 25:58and act like their whole life and everything's always perfect.
- 26:01You know, like we see that on Instagram, like the perfect thing, but even at
- 26:04networking, you know, with the people who are like, yeah, I'm fully booked.
- 26:06I'm always fully booked.
- 26:07Everything's great.
- 26:08I'm like, that's not true.
- 26:09Like, let's just, like, there's gotta be something like, let's just be ourselves.
- 26:13Because I think when someone comes in and, and kind of emits that
- 26:17everything's great vibe, it just makes everyone else feel really rubbish.
- 26:20And no one really wants to talk.
- 26:22To everyone about how great their lives are.
- 26:24Actually, these things, the great thing about networking is having the
- 26:27opportunity to share our struggles, to share what's going well, to learn
- 26:30from each other and not to just pretend everything's rosy all the time.
- 26:34Kevin: Well, it's, it's funny to me cause there was a wedding coordinator.
- 26:37They have since decided not to be in the business anymore, but there was a wedding
- 26:40coordinator in my market that would do anywhere from eight to 12 weddings a year.
- 26:45Right?
- 26:46So on a good weekend, my company does, you know, eight to 12,
- 26:50even more weddings a weekend.
- 26:52And so they would act like they were the one, they knew, you know,
- 26:56you needed to bow down to her, you know, and give her the curtsy, the
- 27:01whatever, how you guys do it a whole lot more formal over there in the UK.
- 27:05But you know what I'm saying?
- 27:06You, you had, but I'm like, girl, you, why?
- 27:10You know, it just, but she had this like arrogance about herself, That she's
- 27:14a planner and I needed to kiss her.
- 27:16You know what?
- 27:17And I, and I never did because you know what?
- 27:19It's like, I, I, I was always friendly with the people that I'm, you know,
- 27:25that are friendly with me and not, you know, I, I didn't, I didn't want
- 27:28to play the game if that makes sense.
- 27:30You know, it just, there's something about it.
- 27:32I'm like, and in my head I'm like, Girl, you do 12 weddings a year and,
- 27:36and usually she hires our company for at least half of those weddings.
- 27:40So it's like, why am I going to, you know, I never went out of my
- 27:43way to go bow down to the, to the queen of, of the 12 weddings a year.
- 27:50Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
- 27:51And I think, again, being respectful to everyone in the room, right?
- 27:53There's no, so and so's better than so and so.
- 27:56We all just need to be there to help each other and a rising tide raises all ships
- 28:01is one of my favorite quotes and I think that's very, very true in our industry.
- 28:04How do you think, then, we stop?
- 28:06When you're very established in the industry and you know people,
- 28:09it's really easy to be in these rooms and you know everyone.
- 28:12When new people walk into the room it can be really daunting and they
- 28:15find it harder to maybe break into some of those conversations or be
- 28:19amongst people who they feel already have these established relationships.
- 28:23How do you think we all, as an industry, can welcome newer people in better?
- 28:28Kevin: You know, there's what Gigi in, in, in my old NACE chapter.
- 28:33She was the queen of this.
- 28:35So if she would look at the guest list, you know, because we were all on the
- 28:38leadership side of putting on these events and she would go, we have four new people
- 28:42today and we need to welcome all these four new people because we want these four
- 28:46people to come back to our next month's meeting and the meeting after that.
- 28:50We don't want them to show up and feel not welcome.
- 28:52So she made a point.
- 28:54To have all of us go and just like as a board you know, introduce ourselves
- 28:59to them, make them feel welcome, but then become a connector, you know, it's
- 29:04like get to know a little bit about them and then, okay, hey, I think you
- 29:08would want to meet, you know, this one.
- 29:11I think you're going to want to meet this person.
- 29:13Let me introduce you.
- 29:14Let me introduce you.
- 29:15And I think there's a lot of power into being a connector as well.
- 29:19When you go to these events.
- 29:21Becca: Yeah, there definitely, definitely is.
- 29:23Now we've talked a lot about kind of formal events, formal networking
- 29:26events, but also I think there's a lot of benefit from building relationships
- 29:30with other suppliers and the venues on the wedding day itself, especially
- 29:34for those vendors like yourself that are actually there on the day.
- 29:37How do you go about building relationships on the day itself
- 29:41and what's working for you in that?
- 29:43Kevin: So I think it's good ahead of time is like if you get the timeline from
- 29:47the wedding coordinator is like, Hey, You know, making sure that lines up with
- 29:51everything the couple has told you, as well as everything that, you know, if, if
- 29:56you notice that, Hey, they only marked, you know, five minutes for something, but
- 30:00you know, that it's going to take longer, like, Hey, ahead of time, you know, reach
- 30:05out to that coordinator and do that.
- 30:06I always, you know, try to, you know, reach out to everyone and say,
- 30:10here's our Instagram handles, here's our, this, and we're looking forward
- 30:13to working with you ahead of time.
- 30:15So you get there, you've already made those kinds of connections.
- 30:19But then even I think when you're there on the day of, like, I
- 30:22can't tell you how many times I've helped move chairs for the caterer.
- 30:26Or I've, you know, noticed that the, a photographer was struggling and, you
- 30:30know, like things were just kind of, you know, the wedding started off late.
- 30:34So now he or she's late, just helping them move you know, their,
- 30:38their camera bags or just, you know, helping when you can see, It's needed.
- 30:43Does that make sense?
- 30:44And not look at it.
- 30:45It's not my problem because I can't tell you how many times people have come up to
- 30:49me and say, Hey, I can't thank you enough.
- 30:51I really appreciate, you know, because if I'm standing around and I don't have
- 30:54anything to do, why not help someone else that looks like they might need help?
- 30:57I think that goes a long way.
- 30:59And then the other thing too, on the day of, I think it's, let's
- 31:01all, we're all in this together and we're all on team couple.
- 31:05And I think that's where people, you know, get wrong.
- 31:08It's like, I'm the photographer and I'm the most important person at this wedding.
- 31:13Then it's the wedding.
- 31:15I'm the wedding coordinator.
- 31:16I'm the most important, you know, everyone's trying to figure out a pecking
- 31:20order instead of, hey, We're on team couple, you know, like we're all there
- 31:25for the couple and let's work hard for that couple, you know, together and
- 31:29and whatever that takes, you know, for all of us to have a successful wedding.
- 31:35I think that goes a long way.
- 31:36You know, and that's where I think a lot of people forget, and unfortunately, I
- 31:40pick on photographers a lot when I, when I do speaking, but they're the ones that
- 31:44will close themselves off and not include themselves like, you know, when, when
- 31:48we're doing our dinner, you know, like we get fed and we're usually in a different
- 31:52room here in the United States, like they put us in a different room or wherever,
- 31:56and they're feeding us is like, you'll be there and You can't see me on the video,
- 32:00but they turn their backs to everyone else at the table, and we're all like, okay,
- 32:05and they're having their own conversation, which I think is fine, but like, be
- 32:09welcoming and like, talk to people and get to know, I mean, it's literally like
- 32:14a 20 minute plus time of the wedding.
- 32:19Like that's a time where you really can get to know someone
- 32:21and you might make a connection.
- 32:23The grossest thing I will say with that is a photographer, literally
- 32:27took her shoes off, socks off and put her feet up on the table.
- 32:31And I was like, I did not want to eat my dinner.
- 32:33It was the grossest thing.
- 32:33thing I have ever seen.
- 32:35So anyway, don't be that person either.
- 32:38Becca: I was gonna say, maybe don't be that person if you want to make
- 32:41friends and build a relationship, because I can't imagine you want to work
- 32:44another wedding with them anytime soon.
- 32:46Kevin: And it's, and we all started, we were all, we were like, what the?
- 32:49You know, we were like,
- 32:50Becca: what's going on?
- 32:52Each to their own, each to their own.
- 32:54Okay, the final venue, or sorry, the final supplier relationship I want to
- 32:58talk about is probably the one that some people find the most controversial, but
- 33:02I think can also be the most powerful.
- 33:04And that's building relationships with people that do the same thing as us.
- 33:07Have you done that over your career?
- 33:10Have you found that?
- 33:11Or have you found people to be adverse to them?
- 33:13Kevin: No, I actually, so it's kind of interesting.
- 33:15So that venue that I told you that I work at with, you know, for the lady
- 33:18that I've been at for a long time.
- 33:20So we're, our company has evolved over the years and we do a lot
- 33:23of lighting, drapery, decor, chandeliers and kind of stuff.
- 33:26And so we're one of two exclusive lighting vendors at her, had her venues.
- 33:32I have a phenomenal relationship with the other supplier and that's on there.
- 33:38And it's.
- 33:39They're from South San Francisco, which is, you know, it's kind
- 33:42of by the San Francisco airport.
- 33:44And I'm out here.
- 33:45I'm literally about eight minutes from the venue.
- 33:48So if it's a smaller wedding and they don't want to make the
- 33:50trip out here, they refer me.
- 33:52I will say I started now where I refer them for any, anytime I hear
- 33:57San Francisco people want us to do lighting, drapery, chandeliers.
- 34:01I refer them, you know, immediately because I don't want to work in the city.
- 34:04They love working in the city.
- 34:06You know, and we just and anytime we see each other at a networking event,
- 34:09we always make a point to say hello.
- 34:11My son is now 20 years old and has been working in our business and the wife of
- 34:17that other business has really made a little friendship with my son and always
- 34:21ask, you know, seeks him out and sees him and talks to him and, you know,
- 34:25You know, so it's, it's, you know, I think there's a lot of power in that.
- 34:29There's another business in my market that literally started a year after me and
- 34:34we have become the two, like it's either people are referring his company or my
- 34:40company or both, you know, kind of thing.
- 34:42And we, I have a great relationship with him to the point where I, you
- 34:46know, I'll send him referrals like we stopped doing school events about almost
- 34:509, 10 years ago and you know, anytime a school calls us like, hey, we got
- 34:55a great DJ for you and we send them over there, you know, kind of thing.
- 34:58And so, you know, I think there's a lot, you know, and even for
- 35:01them, they we've gone really big and drapery lighting and decor.
- 35:06So if it's something.
- 35:07Way outside their scope, they refer, they refer us, you know, and I think
- 35:11there's a lot of power, like even with that like when I say, Hey, use, you
- 35:15know, that other company in South San Francisco, they're phenomenal and they're
- 35:20going to do a great job for you, I think when that, that client's going to go to
- 35:24them and that they're going to have a higher success I'm booking that piece
- 35:29of a business because, you know, it's, it's being referred from a peer to peer.
- 35:34I think that goes a long way.
- 35:35So I think, I think you got to know all of them, you know, and you get to know
- 35:38the good and bad and ugly, you know, and I, and I think, you know, who I think
- 35:41really does this well is the wedding coordinator category and the and even
- 35:46the photographer category because you'll see a lot of times is, you know, You
- 35:49know, a wedding photographer that has her own business, but she's assisting
- 35:53a different photographer that day.
- 35:55I mean, assisting another wedding coordinator that day and then vice versa,
- 35:59they'll, they'll help each other out.
- 36:01It's, you know, because on a day they don't have weddings, they'll
- 36:03go and just be an extra set of hands behind the scenes kind of thing.
- 36:07I see that with photographers sometimes you know, one is a second shooter for
- 36:13another one and vice versa, you know, so I think those categories do it really well.
- 36:19Becca: Absolutely.
- 36:19And I think it, it's a really healthy thing to do.
- 36:21I think if you're listening to this and you're thinking, I can't be friends
- 36:25with anyone that does the same thing as me, you're misguided and it absolutely
- 36:29can be some of the best relationships.
- 36:30Some of the best business relationships can be with people that on paper are
- 36:34your direct competitors, but actually can be your friends, your confidants
- 36:37and refer work to you all the time.
- 36:39Kevin: What?
- 36:40And they understand your pain points, you know, like, because their
- 36:43pain points are your pain points.
- 36:45I'm going to be honest with you, you know, and the other thing you got
- 36:48to remember is you can't do every wedding, you know, it's impossible.
- 36:52So you need to have people when you're booked that you can refer, you know,
- 36:57and vice versa, you want people to then send a referral when they're booked,
- 37:01you know, so I think it goes a long way.
- 37:04You know, especially when you see a piece of business come in at a, at a venue
- 37:07that, you know, you know, unfortunately you're not available that day, but you
- 37:11know that, you know, X, Y, Z, you know, whoever vendor will do a great job.
- 37:17You can say, Hey, we're not available, unfortunately for your wedding date,
- 37:20but here, here's a good recommendation.
- 37:22And I think that goes a long way.
- 37:23Becca: Yeah, it definitely does.
- 37:25And I think it builds trust with that couple as well, because they know that
- 37:28you've got their best interests at heart and actually they then may come back
- 37:31to you for another event in the future.
- 37:33Kevin, I've loved this conversation.
- 37:35I love talking about all things relationship building and networking
- 37:38and you've, Drop some really great tips made me laugh as well.
- 37:42I'm never going to forget about the photographer with their feet on the table.
- 37:44That's going to haunt me for the rest of the evening.
- 37:49So if that is you listening, maybe don't do that again in the future.
- 37:53Kevin, if people want to find out more about you, if they want to connect with
- 37:56you, maybe even network with you, where's the best place for them to find you?
- 37:59Kevin: Sure.
- 37:59So we're at fantasy sound.com or wedding iq.com is the
- 38:03wedding education blog I run.
- 38:05And then it's wedding IQ or at Wedding IQ for Instagram and then
- 38:10at fs ES events for Fantasy sound.
- 38:14Becca: Amazing.
- 38:15I'll make sure I put all of your links in the show notes before I let you know go.
- 38:18I always end the podcast with the same question, which I'm gonna pose you now,
- 38:22now, which is, what's one thing you wish you'd known sooner in your own business?
- 38:27Kevin: To not be afraid of change, I think is, is I for the longest time would fight,
- 38:33change, fight, change, fight, change.
- 38:35And I think now I have been, you know, more open to it, you know, like
- 38:41because you can't do the same thing over and over again the same way.
- 38:45So you gotta evolve.
- 38:46And I'm just like that.
- 38:47I'm a very loyal person.
- 38:49So like, you know, I, if you know me, you know, like there's a few
- 38:52things that people know about me.
- 38:54Cause I posted out on social media Southwest airlines, which is a huge
- 38:57airlines here in the United States.
- 39:00I am Mr.
- 39:00Southwest airlines.
- 39:02I, I am Mr.
- 39:03Apple.
- 39:03I own everything Apple ever made.
- 39:05You know, and so you know, so I'm pretty brand loyal when
- 39:09it comes to stuff like that.
- 39:10So it's, it's kind of funny that way, you know, and so you know, so
- 39:15I think just being open to change is, is something that I think.
- 39:19And be open to like a new idea so that when I started hiring staff at first,
- 39:25I was like, no, this is how we do it.
- 39:27And I think being open to another person's idea might get you to a bigger
- 39:34profit, a bigger, you know, might bring in some more pieces of business.
- 39:38So I think that, that, that when you ask that question and you sent it
- 39:43earlier, I was trying to think of like, Something profound, but I was like,
- 39:46no, it's just like, I'm a stubborn old grump and I gotta be open to change.
- 39:52So that's, that's the biggest thing.
- 39:53So, and the other thing I learned too, one more thing is like, I'm a weirdo.
- 39:58I love a nice straight line of, of tape.
- 40:02When you tape cords, and I'm very strange with this, and if it's not per,
- 40:06so it's like I, if people don't do it the way I do it, I would lose my mind,
- 40:09and I've learned as long as it's taped down, as long as no one can trip, it's
- 40:14okay, but I'm, but if you ever see my tape job, it's perfectly straight.
- 40:19I, I don't, I don't, it, it's just one of my weird things, but
- 40:22that, that, that, that doesn't help everyone in the industry.
- 40:26Becca: I love that though.
- 40:27You've, you've learned to let that go.
- 40:29And Kevin, quite honestly, if you hadn't adapted to change, you'd still be in the
- 40:32record stores every single Thursday while everyone else is downloading from iTunes.
- 40:37Kevin: So true.
- 40:38I do miss those days.
- 40:39Those were good days.
- 40:40Becca: Kevin, it's been such a pleasure.
- 40:42Thank you so much for your time.
- 40:44Kevin: No, my pleasure.
- 40:45Anytime.
- 40:47Becca: I love that conversation with Kevin.
- 40:49Wasn't he fabulous?
- 40:50And he really did make me laugh.
- 40:52I hope you've learned something from today's episode about how
- 40:54to build better relationships.
- 40:56Be brave, get out there, go meet some people.
- 40:59But remember, if you ever see me or Kevin at an event, do not
- 41:02throw your business cards at us.
- 41:03I'll see you next time.