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Lesson Info

The Art of Distraction

That first inquiry, when it comes to booking a client, is the most challenging thing you will do in your business. It is not easy it's an art but it's also a science, and there is a way to system isat and make it step by step by step by step to get your client through the gauntlet to that beautiful place called booking. Give me your credit card. Ok, so one of the big questions I get asked all the time if you ever have to call him talkto yes, yes, yes, yes, the phone is where you can connect with that person and relate email sucks. I hate e mail, and it takes ten times longer to type out what you want to say that it doesn't actually say it unless you can type it like I'm team words per minute, which I can't do ok, the phone is scary, and the problem with my target newborns is that all these young women are texting and email fools. I know photographers who only book via text text message okay, my client, I don't give my cell phone out number for the life of me. I don't want my client's t...

exting in the middle of the night they would okay, but that I guess what I'm saying is that there's that we're dealing with a generation especially us as newborn baby photographers were dealing with mothers who grew up in the digital age. They all have iphones by the time they're too and they text by the time they're six. Okay, so we need to be cognizant about and understand that they are just as uncomfortable on the phone as we are. But if you can master the phone call, you're going to get yourself a unique selling point because other photographers are not doing it there too, chick. Okay, so be the brave one. Have some courage and pick up the phone and call if you have problems the way to fix it. Oh, my god. What do I say they call? How much is your digital file? What's. The first question, right? My god, what did I say? I can't just told the price of a file, but she'll just go away. Ok? Right. That's, the feeling we get in our hearts like holy crap. What do I say? This woman this's where the art comes in the heart of distraction you guys seen the movie monsters university? I totally have a four year old boy. Can you tell monsters university, disney, pixar so, um, terry and terri is like this two headed monster and they are magicians and they have to win this like fraternity contests like this fraternity and so they have they're all talking about their skills and their powers and terry and terri are due this card trick and I go the art of distraction and I always think of that when I think about booking a phone call on the first thing hi my name's suzy and I just had a baby and I'm kind of like to know more about what you guys do and specifically that we're looking for just a few digital files how much does that cost? Well, first of all, nine times out of ten when I get a phone call like that like you're so not my client goto the craigslist people down the street ok that's my reaction most the time that's what I want to dio but I humor her and this is where the r destruction comes in oh, susie congratulations. I'm so excited for you winter you do. This is the most amazing experience you're ever gonna have oh, I'm due october fifth what are you having? Oh it's a surprise. We don't know yet so many people don't do that anymore. That is one of the few surprises left in giving birth how exciting we get so excited and if you book with us, you're gonna need to email us or calls right away the minute you know so we can squeal with you what? It is you a boy, a girl and because I know you were so excited about what you do in the nursery and then are you going with, like, blue or yellow or blue or pink? Or you're gonna go more neutral to kind of keep it? You know, sex. What am I doing? They are a distraction. Okay, what else am I doing? How does she feel in the conversation right now? Important? Yeah, we gotta get microphones. She feels important. Yeah. What else does she feel, exactly? And that's? The most important part when you're connecting with someone on the phone is building a rapport and they're like, oh, this person understands me. She gets my what I'm experiencing, what I'm going through it and suddenly it shifted from oh, how much of your digital files to this person gets me? Yeah, and there's nails it's connecting its connection absolutely. I want to present a plus that's he's a pro just getting, um but he's, right? You name it, I'm sorry, john. John hit the nail ahead. I am connecting, I'm relating, I'm getting I'm empathizing. I'm getting into her world. I'm showing her right off the bat that this is not about the files the files are the least of her worries what's important is her experience what she's about to go through how amazing it is to be a mother how this is the first day of the rest of her life and I need to communicate my why and my purpose to her in that ten minute phone call because she is not going to buy what I do she's going to buy why I do it so I need to communicate that why immediately so once we have this little conversation and then I'll ask all or late I'll feel my gosh my son four years ago and by this time I was so done ready to be done how are you doing? And some of them would be like yeah, I actually really like being pregnant to you oh my gosh, I wish I could've been like that that would be so nice okay are just relating to her asking questions and if you have problems with us, make a script it's not hard, okay, right down key questions that you know you're gonna have to ask haven't got a sheet in front of you the phone rings have she in front of you and just kind of go through within very important because she's going to say things to you they're going to trigger more questions and you're going to go that direction run down that rabbit trail and then come back to your thing and get down your list they'll be the art is getting her back to square one down your list then we get into the one of the very, very first questions that I ask about the experience itself. What are your goals for your session? First things first questions? Oh, I don't know, I just we just wanted to birth announcements and you know I mean that's really all I mean, craig, what I'm getting just because she says that doesn't mean she's not to make a customer okay that's all she knows right now it's my job to educate her okay, sometimes that's the best client of all because she's the naive one and I can manipulate her mold and shape her into what I want her to be okay, so and I will say, okay, I go that's wonderful! We are fine art studio most of I'm in fact all of our clients go home with digital files, but they usually nine times out of ten walk away with an art piece too, so we're usually creating something designed for the home because this is an amazingly special time in your life it's never going to happen again. Your baby will be growing within about four to six weeks they won't fit your arms the way we're going to photograph you and so it's important to to do something special with ease it's one thing to hire a professional and get images it's another thing to actually do something with them. Oh, I don't know, I don't know. And then I'll say, well, ah lot of people, I always asked my clients, how did they want to see these five, ten years from now, you want to walk by him every day in your home? Or do you want a book or an album that you could enjoy with your child as they get older and recognize themselves that they can have when your legacy is gone? What do you want to end up with when you kick the bucket? I'll say that when you kick the bucket, what do you want your child to have that signifies the beginning of their life? History and that's when they go? Oh, ok, I have just shifted the thinking, okay? And I have shifted this to be what a conversation that's more than just about digital files and taking a picture, I have now elevated this entire phone call to an experience and a brand and why you're doing this, not what you're doing and how much is it gonna cost? Ok, so the art of distraction just think of terry and terri for those of you who really want to, I mean I seriously have these little monsters in my head like carrying the little yellow monster. I should have a picture somewhere. Ah, look up. Terrian terry from monsters university. And you'll just laugh because it's the art of distraction and it actually gets you in a really positive place to think of something like that instead of a scary place when the phone rings, you know, it's an inquiry, you think of terry and terri like the art of destruction, okay? And you because, you know, you're gonna have to describe destructed client no matter what every single phone call that's the first thing we do distract him. So instead of getting scared of that phone call and ask yourself, are they gonna book or not? Think about how you khun divert their attention away from what they think is paramount. Okay, hash out all the scenarios, everything that could go wrong and stop. Trust me, sometimes it goes wrong. Our badge it's only three hundred fifty dollars. Okay, okay, I know those people are not my client waiting. I'm reading a wonderful book called the pumpkin plan by mike matlock wits and we're going to cover this a lot in boot camp, but he has an amazing theory about business. There are pumped. There are pumpkin growers who grow these like massive pumpkins it's a cult like fanatics out there obsessed with growing huge pumpkin's the art of growing a pumpkin are you pumpkin? Oh, my god we have a pumpkin grower in the room there is an art have you read the pumpkin plan? Oh, you need to regularly to read the rubber game plan hey, relate this business guy business entrepreneur relates growing a business to growing a prize gigantic pumpkin because there is an art to growing a pumpkin you plant the seed, you water it, pumpkins grow then you start weeding making sure nothing else is getting the nutrients in the soil. Then you start picking off all the other pumpkins for one to grow magnificently the one with the most potential. Okay, can you imagine picking off all your clients the nasty ones for the true group of wonderful clients who will grow into that giant pumpkin? All those nasty pumpkins are sucking the nutrients in the good ones. The weeks you've got a week to garden weeding the garden is the craigslist people get rid of those before they even pop out of the ground. They are a waste of your time, okay? And they are a waste of the nutrients towards the rest of your business. If you take on that three hundred fifty dollars a client, what have you just done? Prevented yourself from taking the three thousand dollar client and I'd like to say it, but I don't have it going. No, no, I think I'll take anything. Yes, you do. Take anything when you start out. I did too. But only if it doesn't sacrifice time and think about what you're missing out on by taking the three fifty dollar client. What you could be doing with your time marking, developing your brand, developing education, making your work better, developing better product line, creating systems, getting better sales, increasing your prices. You could be doing so many other things to your business that are more valuable. Long term, then, taking that silly three hundred dollar client who's gonna bitch at you complain, things are cheap. They wanna buy stuff everything's wrong. Oh, you know what I'm talking about pulling her up, get rid of him. We'd, um the reason your garden and they don't belong there. Okay, so the pumpkin plan is kind of what I'm relating this too, if you you'll feel it. And belinda now knows, and I let her do it, like, at first I was like, oh, my god, what's she doing she's totally going to have a client, but she knows now who those craigslist clients are, she could feel it on the phone, have you guys felt it? You feel when you ask questions and they just kind of wander and they don't want to pay attention and they just kind of way don't really want to do that, okay? Well negative knowing I don't need you either, okay, get rid of them my line to that as well. We are a high end boutiques to you, we produce fine art far clients and unfortunately we realized that custom photography is not for everyone and your budget unfortunately just really doesn't match with what most of our clients do, and I really don't think we can offer you the services and customization that we provide on that budget. So if you'd like to think about increasing your budget or maybe you want to come in for a visit and talk to us, we'd be more than happy to meet with you. You could see what we're all about, but I completely understand if your budget is not within those realms and I'd be happy to refer you to someone who is that's the line if you buy the class record that rewind it and write it down. So my charge to you is hash out all these scenarios make sure you write out of phone script right on a response to any objection yes on nobody s don't mean what you're saying yes, but you really mean no okay and then practice practice practice and keep that sheet in front of you. Bold point. The things you need to get across the client, the person information you need to plant in their head, because what we're doing on that first phone call is planting the seed of the sale, right? We want to make sure they know they're gonna spend a lot of money here, because if they don't, they get the sales appointment. They think they have to spend a lot of money, and they didn't know that. Oh, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, unhappy client, client circle, cut with a knife, bad referrals. Don't go there, protect that client circle with your life. That means if they are going toe, cancel out and not book, they're going to do it at the beginning. That circle not have a bad experience on the end of the circle, okay?