163. Crowd-sourced policies and fees

Although I know that talking about policies and fees kind of sounds like a drag, I think it's so helpful to discuss them because they are important parts of our businesses that often get neglected and can sometimes even set us up to lose money if we don't put them in place. So in this episode, I'm sharing what you've all shared with me about your delivery, weather, booking and cancellation policies so that you can either find some to put in place or take comfort knowing that your policies and fees are in good order. Policies are so top of mind for me right now as I'm incorporating a virtual assistant to help me with my bookings. I don't want to make her second-guess her work due to any wishy-washy language. I also don't want to cause any sticker-shock for my customers when they move from my website to an invoice. So first, I cover delivery policies and fees (and my transformation from being afraid of charging them to total comfort and confidence in charging them). The feedback I got from the Instagram polls essentially showed three different structures for our industry's delivery fees: flat rate, per mile or built into the price. I have a favorite that I share, plus I touch on a cool mileage resource you may want to consider! Next is what seemed to be the juiciest one - the installation fee. I share how I decipher between installation vs. delivery, and what the average installation fee is for those who charge it. I've also got a cool 17hats trick that helps me perfectly and easily charge my installation fee when necessary.  Then I cover outdoor fees and why I think they require a lot of confidence in your outdoor installation skills. This type of fee then spills into weather-related policies... which spills into cancellation policies. Hopefully these aren't needed often, but they're sure nice to have when you need them! Some more policies to consider: booking policies, change policies, special installation fees and of course, strike policies and fees! I share how I handle each of them and some more input I received from you all.  What an interesting project this was! Thanks to all who participated and I'd love to hear your takeaways! Plus in the UGlu Hotline, we've got a question about getting into big box stores and I share why you might be better off focusing on finding the headquarters instead. I also have an insight as to what corporate clients seem to love most when ordering balloons.     RESOURCES MENTIONED: 17hats (get 50% off your 1st year)  Balloon Suite  Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)  UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin’ A Party with code BRIGHT)  Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514 ‬Balloon Boss Mastermind & Summit   PremiumConwin  Ep. 159 - Precision Pricing | Emily of Utah Balloon Creations | Balloon Calculators  ____________________________   Join the book club  50 Ideas for Email Marketing | Join the Bright Balloon email list  courses | templates | planner  @thebrightballoon  The Bright Balloon on YouTube