Rustic Ambiance in Your Restaurant, Office or Boutique

For all ye new party planners out there, here’s a tip that could potentially double your sales and your customer base: make your store, your office, your restaurant, or that place where you generally greet clients and prospects seem more ARTSY … by cultivating a rustic ambiance.

Sure, you’ve seen how business gets done on television shows. In particular, I just watched another stunning episode of Entourage and saw Ari Gold work his magic in his ultra-corporate office, but you’re not really dealing with agents or actors in this business. You’re dealing with regular people who harbor dreams of having their destination weddings in far-off locations, or having their fairytale ending in a quaint little church with the stained glass windows. These are people who want the ‘other’ kind of experience, and really, that’s the one thing that will make them sign a contract.

The point to turning your place of business into your prospect’s own abode is making them feel that you have a good grasp of art and culture. Adding a cute ethnic lamp somewhere, covering your sofa with soft Asian silk, or replacing your boring, white sinks with copper sinks will convey a certain message to the other person’s subconscious. These will tell them that you are well-traveled, cultured and care about aesthetics. These will tell them that you’re someone they would love to handle their wedding or their parties.

Of course, it all depends on what type of party they want… BUT basically, you want to sell your ingenuity, creativity and personality. No one wants to work with a party planner who looks as corporate and stressed as THEY look when they’re at their worst (i.e. having a bad hair day at work). They want someone who reeks of the arts, sun-baked and refined.