Hello from sunny California!!

I’m in San Diego this week for a large conference (3000 people!) full of thought leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world. It’s been equal parts inspiring and fun as it has been educational. I’m really excited to see Daymond John from Shark Tank speak tomorrow about his business philosophy, “No amount of money can buy a company success.”

It’s a great point because so many people, so many entrepreneurs believe that if they spend a lot of money on marketing that the clients, the business, and the dollars will follow.

It’s just not true.

On almost a daily basis I am asked ‘how do I get event clients, paying clients, for my events business?”

If you’re like most event planners, you’ve probably asked yourself this question and may be struggling with ways to get new event clients or to meet your ideal event clients.

When I started my event planning business in 2004, the same question kept me up at night and I would often struggle with the idea of how to get people to pay me for planning their events.

I often wondered if I should buy expensive ad space or have expensive brochures designed to promote my business. The problem was I didn’t have any money to spend on this kind of marketing and advertising.

So how was I going to get the clients I needed to support my business?

Most event planners strive to be in a position where they’re turning away business, but have you ever stopped to think about what it takes to choose which clients you want to work with vs. taking ANY event client that picks up the phone to call you?

The #1 Way To Get New Event Clients

Instead of looking at what works we search for some secret ninja-marketing move that must be held tight by a select few. But the reality is there’s one proven strategy that works every time and it’s not complicated or difficult to understand.

It’s asking for referrals!

That’s it.

It doesn’t cost a penny nor does it require expensive marketing strategies, and it’s how I built my event planning business and had regular clients who hired me to plan all their company events – from team meetings to executive dinners and getaways to private parties with live bands and cigar rollers and dancers, and later large International festivals.

In today’s episode of EventPlanning BlueprintTV, I share some killer tips to help you network and build relationships with the people in your life and complete strangers.

Note: these tips are used by one of the world’s leading marketers – and they’re pretty darn easy to use.

Warning: these tips work! 🙂  

Bonus! For five years I worked in sales at one of the best entrepreneurial coaching companies in the world, Strategic Coach, and I’d like to share their ‘Referability Habits’ with you. Use these 4 habits everyday and see what happens in your life – not just your event planning business:

1. Show up on time.
2. Do what you say.
3. Finish what you start.
4. Say please and thank you.

Sounds like common sense, right? But how often do you use ALL of them? Always?

Now, I’d love to hear from you…

Do you have some secret ammo when it comes to building strong professional relationships? Do you have a marketing strategy that works? Let me know by leaving a comment below. As always, thanks so much for joining me each week, for your contribution and for sharing these posts with your friends.

P.S. Do you have the event planning career you want? Get a step closer with The Event Toolkit.