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How To Use Emotions To Sell Your Photography

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Whenever you hear of a forest fire ripping through a community, the news sources knows where the story is. It’s within the people affected by the fires.

So they start interviewing people with their homes in the background burned to the ground.

“I’ve lived there 30 years. I can’t believe it’s all gone. I have what’s important – my family and my pets. But I can’t believe I lost all of my photographs.”

We all have faced fire damage at some point in our lives. Maybe our home hasn’t burned to the ground, but chances are there is a story around you. And every time it happens, we begin to think – “What would I take in a fire situation?”

How To Use Emotions To Sell Your Photography

There is even a fascinating site and book entitled “The Burning House” in which the author asked that very question as he drove around to different states in the US. He asked people of all social classes, ages and occupations. They answered and provided a photograph of what they would take. And of course the results are pretty much as expected – things you simply can’t replace.

Photography isn’t a product. It’s a service. And because it’s a service, people buy because of their emotions – their feelings – and nothing more. If they fall in love and deeply want what you do, they will find a way.

But because of that, you have to give them something they can’t get anywhere else.

You have to give them great photography that’s above and beyond what they can do on their own.

And you have to market it to them so they understand its importance.

Once you have everything in place and you have identified your target audience for your marketing messages, using emotional triggers can help you connect on an entirely different level. Try out these triggers when creating your next marketing piece.

Fear – Fear is an emotion easy to use because we all can buy into the concept. It can be used with the fire concept – “My house burned to the ground, but luckily I saved my photographs.”

Trust – No one wants to leave the “used car salesperson” impression on anyone. Turn it around and you can teach your audience you are there for them through it all – “no hidden fees, no hard sales”.

Value – People will pay anything if they feel they are getting value for their money. Concentrate on your customer service and talk about it again and again.

Competition – People live where they do and own what they own in order to keep up appearances within their community. By showcasing others you’ve photographed in your community – especially recognizable people – will give others the desire to have “the best” as well.

Instant Gratification – Words like “now’, “today”, “by Friday” or “limited edition” gives people a sense of limited access. They know if they don’t act soon, they may lose the opportunity all together.

Belonging – When people love what you do, they want to be a part of something bigger. That’s why memberships, clubs and referral programs work so well. If you reward them well, they will be back.

Time – The biggest thing we’re all missing in today’s world is time. If anyone offers us a way to get more out of the day, we’ll happily take them up on that offer. Marketing messages that appeal to that desire for more free time or a time to enjoy an experience are extremely effective – “don’t come to a studio, we come to you and photograph you anywhere you desire, giving you any experience you choose to have”.

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8 Reasons Some Prospects Will Never Buy Your Photography

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8 Reasons Some Prospects Will Never Buy Your Photography

What’s the number one thing you hate about selling?It’s probably rejection.

As humans, no is the hardest word to hear. We want people to say yes. We want them to like us. We want them to fall in love with what we have to offer – we love it, why shouldn’t they?

When they say no, it fills us with doubt. Then we start questioning everything around us.

Is our business set up wrong?

Are our prices to high?

Are we not offering the right stuff?

Do they not like me?

Did I come across as too [rough, mean, uncaring, etc]?

It’s hard not to take things personally. But as a business owner, there is one thing you need to learn:

Prospects aren’t rejecting you; they are rejecting the offer you are making them.

It isn’t about you; it’s about them.

They could be rejecting you because:

1. The offer isn’t right for them.

2. The price is wrong for their budget.

3. They don’t believe in your message.

4. They already have someone else in mind – they’re going through the steps of looking at other photographers simply to confirm they are making the right choice for them.

5. They don’t like your photography – that’s okay, your unique style should never please everyone.

6. They are bad at making decisions.

7. They have no idea what they really want.

8. They are having a bad day and aren’t ready to make a decision.

And in every one of these cases, it’s okay that you don’t close the sale. This person isn’t right for you. You are better off spending your time on someone who loves what you do and what you have to offer.

Remember, a no isn’t rejecting you. It’s simply a way of telling you that they aren’t ready to close the sale. Leaving room for someone else who is.

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10 Ways Your Sales Presentations May Be Hurting Your Sales

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I recently wrote a post 13 Ways To Make Sure 2013 Doesn’t Suck For Your Photography Business. I’ve been doing a lot internal planning with my own business for 2013, and I used that post as a trigger for all of you to start thinking about what you want the New Year to bring into your own lives. In order to stick with that theme, I’ve decided to run a “13 Days Of Photography” feature throughout December to help provide you with a ton of ideas and tips on things you can do for your own business starting on January 1st. Here is 10…

One of the hardest aspects of running a photography studio is the sales process. Most of us aren’t born with sales skills. And though we can learn it over time, it may be the one thing holding you back from success. If you can’t sell, your business can’t thrive. Take a look at these ideas to see how you can improve your sales process.

1. Your selling process isn’t defined

What do you hope to accomplish during your sales process? How long is your sales process? Do you have clearly defined goals along the way? The only thing that builds and grows your business is sales. Yet that’s probably the one area you leave to chance and just “go with the flow”. You take classes to become a better photographer, and to learn how to market your business. Why not take a sales class too?

2. Your selling process isn’t planned

Instead of leaving it to chance, create a program that puts your sales strategies down for each stage of the process. How will you introduce your services? How will you get them to say yes? What will you do to keep them happy with their yes decisions? How will you get them to say yes to more throughout the process? The more you define in your strategy, the more successful you will be with it.

3. Cold selling has evolved

Remember the days of getting a list, picking up the phone, and making a “cold” call to someone? Nope, me neither. That’s because traditional cold calling hasn’t been around in a long time. Yet that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist – we just approach it different. Thanks to the Internet, the customer is now more educated than ever before. They do their research, they understand your business, and they educate themselves on exactly what they want. Your job is to be the expert and help them bridge the gap between what they know and what they need to know in order for you to close the sale. [Read more...]

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12 Words That Will Change The Value Of Your Photography

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How Many Photos Is Too Many To Post

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You just finished a great portrait and are excited to share your images with the world.

You created around 100 images during the portrait session. When you look through and edit them all, you have around 25 that are extraordinary – they really are your best work to date.

Two days after the portrait, you place 25 images on Facebook to showcase your newest work. Your client is super excited – she LOVES them. She starts tagging them, sharing them and talking about them with all of her friends.

Then comes ordering day – the day she is supposed to come in to order her prints. She calls in the night before and cancels – something has come up.

You finally get her on the phone three weeks later and set up a new date. That too comes and goes with no client orders.

And so on. And so on.

What happened?

They were your best work yet? You really thought this client would be different and want the images you created. They were your best work to date. And you’ve booked several other new clients just by showing off these images. They were great! So why no orders?

Let’s step back and analyze the situation.

When is a client most excited for their images?

At the time you take the images.

She’s worked hard to get the portrait sitting on the books. She’s shopped for the perfect clothes. She’s motivated her family (if it’s a family portrait) to be looking and feeling great. Everyone is at the top of his or her game that day.

If they walk away from the sitting without seeing their images, life settles in. Things happen and they move onto new thoughts and ideas. The water heater breaks. The car needs new tires. Registration opens up for the kids for school – books and uniforms and signups for sports. The money flows to different areas.

And when they log onto Facebook two days later and see 25 of the best images. Wow! They get to see the best of the best … for free! What could be better than that? And what they really wanted was wallpaper for their computer, a few images for their iPhone and iPad, and a way to blast the latest portrait around to family members around the world. You accomplished that for them – they simply shoot a message to their family and friends to check out Facebook.

Now you’ve eliminated the two things that motivated them to buy – excitement for seeing the images, and timing to spend their allotted budget on images.

How do you get around this? Put the two motivation items back into your selling routine.

First, learn to sell ten minutes after you shoot. If you’re out on location, sell through your laptop in a coffee shop or back at the clients home. If you’re in your studio, have them wait in your sales room while you do a quick edit and put a presentation together. Either way, this is when they are most excited about their images. This is when they will buy the most. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

Second, never, never put images on Facebook before the order takes place. Use Facebook to entice them to buy – never to release the excitement ahead of time. If you really want to entice them, one image with a “wait till you see the rest…” is more than enough. Make your Facebook (or blog, or SmugMug, or whatever you use) a part of your package – you get the online images after your order has been placed. To do it before hand is sales-suicide.

Social media hasn’t killed the photographer; not knowing how to sell has killed today’s photographer.

Take back the way you sell and you’ll quickly find your business thriving.

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How To Build A Photography Business You Intend To Sell

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1. You love photography.

2. You hate your job.

3. You decide to make photography your career.

4. You open a studio and bring in clients.

5. You quit your job and begin building a successful photography business.

The above may sound like your plan. But do you have the 6th step in place?

6. Sell your business for a healthy profit.

Photography is an art form. Because its so personal, so much a part of who you are, very few photographers go into business dreaming of the day they will sell their business.

Yet in many ways, every business should be started with the intent that you will one day sell it. When you approach your business through that mindset, you begin to notice things you would never notice on your own. And you make changes to improve it so its more efficient and more valuable over all.

Lets look at this from another angle. Look at your business as you would your home.

When you buy a home, you go into it with the intent of living in it for a long time. Yet everything you do along the way you probably say something like “this will add to the value of my home”. So you happily improve the landscape in the summer. And add granite counter tops to your kitchen. Why not spend the money; you can enjoy it now and benefit from it in a few years when you decide to sell.

So why is your business any different?

If you make improvements along the way, you’ll increase your odds of attracting future buyers. You won’t look at your business through the eyes of “I just want to make money”, but instead you’ll say “how will this make my business more healthy, more profitable and highly attractive to others”? [Read more...]

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How To Book Clients Without The Face To Face Consultation

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I recently had a question come through on a post – What Are You Selling On Your Website?

“Thank you for the info here. How would you go about creating a call to action for a product not yet created? For example, how would one get a client to book or purchase a package through a website without a consultation? I’ve struggled with this concept and would really appreciate your perspective.”

Really there are two answers to this question. You need both in order to complete a sales process online.

1. Content

2. Action

Lets start with content.

The one thing I write on probably more than any other topic is content. And in many ways, I’m showing you how to do it by actually doing it.

If you’ve spent time on this site, you know there is a huge amount of content – hundreds and hundreds of posts for you to search through and learn from. If you come in and read a post and like it, I’ll lead you to more content in a variety of ways. I love using Dig Deeper’s:

Dig Deeper: Why Every Small Business Owner Must Now Be A Content Provider

At the end of each post you’ll find additional posts related to the content you’ve just read:

And of course you can always head back up to the navigation and find specific information on just about anything related to building a photography business.

By reading content, we’re developing a relationship. You read and learn. And hopefully trust me to continue providing quality content that can given to you in a variety of ways. Including some things for sale.

The same applies to your prospects and customers. [Read more...]

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The Dumbest Questions You Can Ask Your Photography Prospects

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As a new business owner, your mind is filled with every last detail of your business. And with so much to learn, you probably don’t spend a lot of time mastering each piece. In many aspects, that comes along the way.

So you jump right in and do things as they happen. When a prospect comes in, you have an honest conversation. You tell them your opinions, your attitudes, and how you really feel. You ask questions and provide the answers you think you would like to hear? What’s wrong with that?

Yet in sales, if you ask the wrong questions, you may not only turn a prospect away, you may alienate future customers as well. Here’s why.

Smart questions build up the relationship you are forming with a prospect. Dumb questions fill a customer with doubt and self-questioning.

Smart questions make a prospect think about the answer and how you fit into it. Dumb questions leave everything open, guaranteeing they will turn to someone else for solid answers.

Here are the dumbest questions you can use to bring in photography clients and why they are dumb. [Read more...]

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Is This What You Are Doing Wrong With Your Sales?

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Are you wondering why sales aren’t where you think they should be? Are you wondering how you can get more people to your site who won’t just look, but will actually buy?

Its hard not to fall into the trap of entitlement. If you look around you, everyone talks about the overnight success stories, and the businesses that have grown from $0 to $1 million in a matter of days. Just yesterday I was emailed a story about a company that is now making $600k a month, though they were almost bankrupt a mere six weeks ago.

Entitlement is a part of our culture. We watch a show or movie and we movie from concept to solution in under two hours. Entire serial killer mysteries can be played out in less than one. So why shouldn’t we be able to build a business in a matter of weeks? We’re entitled to it, right?

The problem with entitlement within our business model is we lose site of what is truly important. Our thoughts drift to:

  • I have the most amazing product/service ever
  • My services deserve attention
  • Nobody is doing anything like me
  • I’m charging less so I should fill up twice as fast
  • Its [insert whatever you choose] fault, not my own [i.e. the economy, my parents, my spouse, my lack of education, etc]

Yet none of that is the real problem. The real problem is we bring all of our focus internally instead of placing it where it belongs … on the consumer.

A few months ago I chatted with a woman who lost her job and was trying to build up her photography business to replace her income. Her goal was to build up a portrait business that consisted of boudoir, maternity and baby portraiture. She had some great work and had a huge potential to make it grow. Where she was lacking was in marketing and sales.

So we began talking about the best way get her work out there into her community. After a little work we decided her best bet would be to get her work on the walls of a local doctor’s office. She sent off a letter and after a week … nothing. To say she was put off by the whole experience was an understatement. She was ready to throw in the towel on the whole project. Until I asked her a few questions. [Read more...]

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10 Ways To Love Your Photography Clients

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“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.
He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.
He is not an interruption in our work – he is the purpose of it.
We are not doing him a favour by serving him.
He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to serve him.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi spoke those words back in 1890. And in every way they still apply today.

The most important thing within your business is your list – your customers – the people that can give you the opportunity to run a successful business for as long as you choose to stay in business. If you want them to choose to spend their money in your studio, here are 10 ways to stand out from your competition.

1. Don’t set up your packages and promotions based on what you want to sell. Set them up based on what your customers want to buy. Listen to what they say. When you truly listen to your customers and modify things to make your products and services that much better, they will love what you do.

2. Go beyond order taking and showcase your expertise within the industry. Anyone can take orders. But a real professional will prove their artistic talent by building relationships and directing people on what to do next. Collages, albums, montages – you are the artist and show your clients how your vision is put together through your photographs.

3. Make reliability a key ingredient to your mission. When you do as you say and often times go the extra mile without having to be asked, your clients notice. [Read more...]

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