How to Handle Leads From Friends and Family - Episode 144

"In terms of the quality of the lead, whether it’s from friends, family, or a stranger, it’s the same, in my opinion. As long as you conduct yourself professionally, you should treat your friends and family just as you would a total stranger who is interested in your business or service," says May Yeo Silvers.   In this episode, May addresses a key issue for new event planners: valuing leads from friends and family equally to those from strangers. A common error is undercharging for services. To avoid this, maintain professionalism and consistent pricing across all clients, regardless of the lead source. May also highlights the importance of clear discount policies and boundaries, ensuring that friends and family respect the value of your work.   May discusses leveraging connections with friends and family to build a digital portfolio and gather testimonials, which are crucial for marketing efforts. She advises charging at least the break-even rate to cover costs and avoid financial losses. By treating all clients professionally and managing expectations, you can turn close connections into a strategic advantage for your business.   To support event entrepreneurs, May offers her $24 Kickstart Bundle, which covers the essentials and provides actionable steps to grow your business. Click here to learn more!   Quotes • “You need to be a professional and deliver the service like a professional regardless whether it’s a friend or family. You need to remove the mindset that a lead from a friend or family is not as good.” (08:14 | May Silvers)  • “You need to start thinking of your friends and family as your supporters. A lot of business comes from friends and family referrals, and then you just extend, extend, extend.” (08:49 | May Silvers) • “Do not think lowly of the leads from friends and family. You treat them as a professional. You charge them the same as a stranger. Do not assume that a friend or family is going to haggle the price with you and a stranger will not because they will. So do not think that a lead from friends and family is going to be worse off than a stranger. Sometimes a stranger is worse off.” (21:15 | May Silvers)    Links If you are hesitating to show up on social media because you don't have any "grammable worthy" pictures to showcase your work, you are in luck because I have just the solution for you!   In our 24 Courses Business Kickstart Bundle, there is an entire module on how to create a style shoot so you have a professional looking digital portfolio PLUS another module on social media strategies where you learn how to create content to grow followers and turn them into buyers, all for ONLY $24 for 24 Courses!    These 24 courses revolve around the business fundamentals of Pricing, Marketing, Converting Leads, Business Legalities, Items you need to start your business, Mindset & Productivity hacks.   Ready to launch and scale your events business for ONLY $24? Click the link below to see what comes with the 24 course bundle! https://learnwith.mayyeosilvers.com/kickstart-24ob47oto67-podcast     Connect with May at: [email protected] Website: www.mayyeosilvers.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayyeosilvers/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/mayyeosilvers IG: www.instagram.com/mayyeosilvers TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mayyeosilversofficial FB private group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/events4anyone   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm