5 Ways To Get Them To Say Yes

After you’ve spent an hour with a potential client showing them your work and talking straight from the heart, watching them walk out the door knowing they will never book can be very difficult.

Being good at photography isn’t enough. You also have to be great at selling.

1. Be confident.
The more comfortable you are with your products and services, the easier it is to sell. Set your packages up for your own goals and needs. Understand exactly why things are placed together, why timing is important, and why you’ve selected the materials you have. Then stick to your guns. Don’t allow changes and switches unless you know exactly how they impact your profit margin. Always have them go to your ala carte pricing – which should be more expensive than your packages – if they want to make changes.

how to sell your photography services

2. Don’t react.
The most common way to react to a customers questions and comments at the end of your sales presentation is to give in to their doubts, and start making counteroffers. Yet this is the worst thing you can do. Let them talk it through, especially if there are two or more in your studio. Repeat your sales points, and stick up for your pricing. Don’t make adjustments – adjustments before they book with you mean you’ll be willing to change things throughout the process.
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How Much For A Photography Franchise?

I finished reading the January edition of Entrepreneur magazine this past weekend, and frankly I was shocked.

They dedicated a large portion of the magazine to franchises, and showcased the top 500 franchises that are available for startup.How Much For A Photography Franchise?

Did you know 8 of their top 500 franchises are in the photography industry?
Does that tell you photography is still very profitable?

And now for the most shocking thing to me – people are willing to invest anywhere from $15,000 to more than $300,000 to get involved in one of these photography businesses. And on top of the franchise fee they listed many more thousands of dollars in startup costs (buying equipment, leasing office space, etc). Wow.
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Is Your Photography Business Really A Business?

It’s late Friday afternoon, and I’m sitting at my desk catching up on a few last minute tasks before the weekend.photography business really a business

Every week I start out with my list of tasks. Then one by one I check them off as I accomplish them.

This week I had quite a list. But I had a lot of extra things on my list as well. Tuesday was my birthday, so I took the afternoon off, had lunch with my Mom and went shopping, picked my daughter up and had a fun evening with my family. Today I ran a few errands, and spent time shopping for the perfect Mother’s day gifts for my Mom and Mother in law.

But now late Friday afternoon, its time to pick up the slack and finish up two tasks that are still unchecked.

Why do I make sure everything is complete? Because my business depends on it.

When you work for yourself, and more importantly when you work out of your home, its easy to let daily life get in the way. It would be very easy to just put those two tasks off until next week. But if I continually did that over time, my list would become an endless to-do list that would never be completed. And I wouldn’t be running my six figure business with all the freedom I enjoy.

I’ve been running my home business for years, so for me its second nature. But if you’re new to the home based business, or solo-preneur venture, its easy to get off task. Let me share my list of the top 3 things that make my business everything I’ve always dreamed of.

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Long-term Success Comes From Patience and Perseverance

How fast can you find success?

Is it possible to make $100,000 in one day?

Is it possible to gain 100 new clients in one week?

Is it possible to grow a million dollar company in one year?

The answer to every one of these questions is … yes. And of course, no. success

We’re conditioned in our lives to achieve things quickly. A murder mystery is solved on television in under an hour. Infomercials promise us instant results, cure your problems in a day.

But is any of this truly possible?

If you’ve ever planted a garden, you understand it takes time. You start by tilling the soil. You add new, energized soil and fertilizer to the ground. You plant seeds. You water. You fertilize. You weed. You provide sunshine. And they grow. Weeks later, the seeds turn into plants. You nurture the plants as they produce fruits and vegetables. And finally, you harvest your reward.

What about your business? Can you harvest your reward without taking the time to plant the seeds, water, fertilize … and wait for all of your love and commitment to take affect?

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Do You Give Your Clients Digital Images or Prints?

What’s your number one question when it comes to building your photography business?

Every week I get email asking various questions about the business. I do try and answer everything that comes through, though I will admit it might take me several days at times to go through everything.

Last week I received a great note from John. And since he ended by saying, “I’d love to see a blog post covering the topic”, here it is.

Hi Lori,

I read your blog all the time and truly enjoy it!  I’m just starting out in the photography business.  I followed your advice:  Networked with my co-workers here on FaceBook, showed my work, became enthusiastic and passionate about it without pandering to people.  Well, today it happened;  I was asked the question:   “So, if I were to hire you to take some pictures of me and my girlfriend….etc..”  Bad news:  I didn’t really have an answer.  Today’s younger crowd, with all the time they spend online, don’t really want prints.  They want digital images.  So, what’s the answer?  How does one set a price for what your time is worth without chasing off a potential client?  I’m sure this is in your Six Figure Course,…but I’d love to see a blog post covering the topic.  Thanks for any help you may be able to provide!!  ~John

First of all, you are correct about covering it extensively in my Six Figure Photographer. I dedicate several modules to discovering what your client wants, and giving them what they ask for. It really can help you build up your business in the shortest amount of time possible.

That said, let’s talk for a moment about expectations.

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Your Photography Business – Recession Proof It

What are you doing to your photography business to guarantee yourself an income … no matter what?growth graph

I’m out on social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn a lot. So I see a ton of conversations all related to the economy. People are worried about their jobs, wondering if they’ll still be employed six months from now, and trying their hand at building up a hobby to a reasonable income, so that it won’t hurt quite as bad if their job does disappear.

But what if you could build up your hobby to a full time income – a Six Figure income – and never had to worry about the J.O.B. every again?

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Target The Right Clients With Your Photography

jackolantern

Happy Halloween! This has always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s a great time of year with lots of color, and this year its still in the 70’s here in Denver! No snow tonight for trick or treating.

Every year our daughter gets excited to head out and gather candy. When she was little, we’d take her just to a few in our neighborhood. But as she got older, we started going over to some her friend’s houses. One year a few years back, we ended up in one of the top neighborhoods here in Denver. And it was amazing the [Read more…]

It’s All About Your Attitude

We started out our weekend by having dinner with longtime friends, Cliff and Margie. We met them well over 15 years ago at one of our first bridal shows. Though both of our businesses have changed considerably over the past 15 years, we still enjoy “talking shop” on occasional ntoastights out.

As we were sitting there having dinner, I realized how unique their business is. You see a lot of photographers I talk with tell me about their troubles. They lost the once referral source for weddings, and their business is drying up. They are competing with 30 photographers for this year’s senior market – up from 8 last year.

But not from Cliff and Margie. Business is up. Business is booming. They are on track to do one of their best years yet. And this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that from them. They pretty much say that year after year. Yep, their business is growing year after year.

So why can some still be very well into a Six Figure Photographer business, and others are struggling? What’s the difference?

Mainly it’s in the attitude. They do well because they push to succeed. They take what worked from the past years, and continue to make it work again and again.

They also listen. I guarantee they aren’t doing what every other photographer is. In fact, they take what everyone else is doing, and turn that into a bigger plus for using their studio?

Tired of no customer service? They offer nothing but customer service.

Handing over digital files on CD’s? Why?

The list goes on and on. In fact, they are doing exactly what I talk about in my Six Figure Photographer program. As we were developing our program, and becoming Six Figure Photographers ourselves, we met with Cliff and Margie on a monthly basis for our mastermind group. They were developing their business right along side us.  And neither of us have ever looked back.

One thing we’re both reading right now: The Success Principles. I’ve had this amazing book for a couple of years now, and I pick it up all the time. I read it through once from beginning to end. Now I pick it up, open it up to a page, and read just that chapter. Usually I end up on a chapter that directly applies to what I need in my business. And I take it to heart, and apply what I learn.

I enjoy books like this because you can always learn from them. The principles apply today, and they’ll apply 5 years from now.

So I challenge you to start thinking differently. Don’t concentrate on the negatives – focus on the positives. What can you do to turn your business around?

photo source juzara

Seven Figures? I’m still struggling with Six Figures

You open up your email and several come in with the phrase “zero to seven figures in less than a year.”

That would be great. But what if you’ve been struggling to make six figures? Since the average photographer makes just above $50,000 per year, making the leap to seven figures may be a bit of a stretch for most photographers.

Everything in life is in logical smoney mentorequence. You have to crawl before you walk. You have to walk before you run.

If you’re earning a salary from a job, you have to understand how to turn your “job” mentality into an entrepreneurial mentality. You have to know how to run a business and bring in the same income as your previous “job”.

Then when you achieve your old salary level, it’s time to move to a Six Figure level. Only when you achieve each of these steps is it even feasible to see the seven figure level in sight.

We started our photography studio while we both held full time jobs. Neither of us came from entrepreneurial families, so we learned from mentors around us. Andrew made the break first after being downsized three times in three years. My break was more difficult because I held a guaranteed paycheck with benefits.

We were definitely at the average income level when I quit my position. Yet we doubled and tripled our profits again and again because we were both working full time on our photography – and we learned from the best.

You can’t do it alone. You have to take cues from others. Guidance is the only way to build your business quickly, and to turn it into the business of your dreams. 

Mindset Your Way To Success

I’m a firm believer in using mentors to achieve success in your life. Why create the path yourself when you can follow in someone else’s footsteps?

So anytime you find me relaxing by the pool, driving to a meeting, or with spare minutes on the weekends, I’ll either have a book in hand or be listening to an audio file on my iPod. (And of course lots of training seminars!)

I was introduced to a man a few weeks ago, and decided to listen to his tape series. If you believe in laws of attraction, you may be interested as well.

So last night on my way home to and from my Mastermind group, I listened to part 4 in the series by David Neagle. I’ve learned a lot from the entire series, but one thing he said made me stop the program, and sit and think for awhile.

And of course restructure it for my photographers!

wedding reception photographyThink for a moment about what brings you satisfaction with your business (or your dreams of starting a photography business.) Chances are it’s the artwork itself. You love using your camera to take photographs. You love looking through the viewfinder, knowing you’re about to capture a perfect image. You love opening the digital file, enhancing it, printing it, and displaying it for your customer. Your pleasure comes from the entire process of creating a work of art. That’s where your passion lies.

Now let me ask you one question.

How do you feel about selling your photography?

Did you just tense up? Did you think of a used car salesman? Did you think high pressure? Did you think that’s the worst part about being in business for yourself?

In order to be in business – especially if you strive to be one of my Six Figure Photographers – you have to get just as much pleasure from selling your work as you do from creating your work.

I remember one wedding in particular that Andrew and I did. We flew several thousand miles to attend a weekend long event. We attended the rehearsal dinner, and a full day at the wedding itself. It was nothing short of phenomenal. The bride and groom were ecstatic to have us there – photographs meant the world to them.

wedding ceremony photography We were the true professionals. And we knew each image we captured would be a treasure in their final album. We knew what to take, and how we would ultimately place it in each page layout. We let the bride and groom relax, and allowed them to enjoy the day without a lot of interruptions. We had guests tell us how beautiful the images were  – and they hadn’t even seen them yet! They just loved the entire process, and KNEW they would turn out perfectly.

Needless to say they did, and the bride and groom purchased a several volume set. Because selling was as important as the images themselves, and we sold constantly along the way with everything we did.

That’s being a Six Figure Photographer. Want to be one too?