Warning: You Might Not Be Ready for My “List”

Professional wedding planners, especially established ones, are asked almost daily if they will put someone “on their list”. These requests come from experienced and new wedding service providers alike.

From the perspective of a planner, the decision to refer my client to a service provider is not one that is made at all lightly. There is so much more to gaining my confidence and professional referral than adding your name and website to a list. In fact, the issue is so multi-layered that one post could never cover it. Consider, for example:

• How an experienced, professional planner establishes a database
• How recommendations are tailored towards the needs of individual clients
• The product and service expectations a planner has of a vendor she has referred
• The potential liability exposure a planner has when referring a client to a service provider
• How providers and planners relate throughout the planning process and on the wedding day
• The vendor’s expectations of support and clear communication
• The planner’s expectations of support and clear communication
• How prepared a service provider is to work within the planner’s guidelines as far as communication and procedures are concerned
• What happens if the client is legitimately unhappy with the provider? What steps are taken to ensure fair remedy?

The “List” of “List Issues” goes on and on.

First, there is No “List”

The first thing I explain to someone who is asking to be “added to the list” is that there is no list. I maintain a database of contact information and details like performance results and communication history on providers in all categories. When I am working with my clients to match them with their vendors, I take into consideration their budgets, specific requirements, requests and needs.

If I send my clients a list (and certain planning levels warrant sending contact information over contacting the providers directly), it’s customized specifically for each couple’s unique situation.

What I’m Thinking

Here are the first things that I think about when approached by a service provider who asks to be added to my database of referrals:

1. Have we ever worked together before?
2. If yes, what was the process like and what were the results?
3. If no, have I ever heard of the vendor before?
4. If not, is someone really, really compelling and trusted referring the vendor to me?

I will freely admit that it is extremely rare for me to refer someone who has answered “No” to question #1.

The rare circumstance arises when I need to fill a need with someone who I do not know. In those cases I almost exclusively rely on referrals by trusted colleagues. Otherwise, to get on “my list” we have to have worked together before. You might be awesome, and that might be unfair, but it is how I protect my clients and my professional reputation.

There is always a chance that we will work together on an event by coincidence. That’s how great relationships in this business begin. Patience is a virtue.

If it seems impossible to get into a planner’s database…you may very well be looking at a good planner.

What are you getting yourself into?

Those service providers who I regularly refer have several traits in common:

• They are clear, effective and timely communicators
• They respond to my initial inquiries immediately and enthusiastically
• They go out of their way to accommodate my clients’ schedules
• They do not offer or pay commissions to wedding planners – if a commission structure is in place in their company, they offer it to my clients as a benefit of working with me
• They receive constructive criticism professionally and seek it out
• They respect my process and my methods for communicating with our mutual clients
• They resolve issues fairly and quickly
• They provide outstanding service at all times

In return, my providers know that they can expect me to:

• Regularly refer them to qualified prospective clients
• Defend their value
• Communicate professionally
• Identify sources of concern when they can still be addressed
• Act as a partner in our mutual success and mission to create outrageously happy clients

If you’re unwilling to embark on this kind of partnership with your planner at each and every wedding, no matter how hard it might be, then you’re not ready to be on “the list.”

Comments

[Shayna Walker]

You're welcome Kara. You and I always share the same standards on these things. :) Thanks for reading and commenting!

[Kara Buntin]

Thank you so much for posting this...I also get requests to post links on my website from people who I've either never worked with or never heard of. I won't do it, and I often take people off of my links page if I haven't worked with them for ages...I want to make sure they do a good job before I'll refer clients to them.