NEWS AND ANALYSIS:
I am posting this item after business hours on March 31st, rather than let it carryover to April 1st… lest anyone reading it, mistakenly think it is a joke.
Amazing as it may be, Alan Berg has parted ways with The Knot. His official title, in recent times, has been: Vice President of Local Strategies. That hardly tells the story.
To wedding businesses, across the country, Alan Berg has been the face of The Knot. Not Carley Rony; Alan Berg. Over time, he has become an active public speaker, present at local, regional and national conferences. He is one of those rare individuals who is both incredibly knowledgable and a solid presenter. He did not achieve this just from repetition. He works at it.
Local Knot sales reps loved it when Alan would come to speak in their market. It always generate new sales. That did not happen because Alan is a swami. It happened because he is a student of the sales process: from the lead to the closed sale, and every stage in between. He would point out weak links in the marketing-sales chain and wedding industry businesses would begin to understand their responsibilities as part of the process.
Discount Code: AE20
Alan is at his best in problem solving. When asked by a rep, to talk directly with an advertiser, he was incredibly successful in retaining the customer by working through the problem. This was not just a function of calming a distressed advertiser. It was walking them through the gap between their marketing efforts and sales results, and supplying the appropriate coaching.
Saving a customer who is about to drop your company, in favor of another, doesn’t show up on a sales score card. But it should. Just like in baseball, where the closing pitcher earns a save.
In a sign of serendipity, Alan has just self-published a book, titled: “If your website were an employee, would you fire it?” (Discount Code: AE20)
Don’t expect Alan to disappear. He is a valued public speaker. He will be blogging, writing and consulting.
I just have one question:
“How is it that a large company, such as The Knot, could let such an important representative get away?”
I guessing than in a year or two someone in higher management. at The Knot, will figure out his contribution, and regret it. Not necessarily admit it or be able to fix it. Just regret it.
I welcome Alan from the jungle of big business to the rocky road of micro-business. It’s a paradigm shift… but he’s gonna rock.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority
In the wake of the departure of 
seasons were hosted by high-profile event planners, 
nita and I had reviewed each other’s bios and background. My blog, our LinkedIn sites, and more. She is from New Jersey. Me, from New York City. The other geographic we have in common is
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