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This is a system I created years ago to take the equation the dollar equation out our stick the dollar out of the equation I don't like the dollar sign because it's a fear sign nobody likes that on dh so we want to take money out of the sale we wanna make it an emotional and an educational sell we don't sell anything we educate our clients on the things they need and once they know they need them they buy them so we don't sell anything so the credit system is like this big in your head it takes it it does take some it takes some acceptance and some understanding once you get it it can make you a lot of money it is incredibly successful program we've converted hundreds of studios over to it and when you get it, you get it really good. So that's kind of the direction we're going is we're gonna go through this booking of the session. We're going to go through the creation of the credit system, how to do it yourself and then all the way down to the sales appointment what people by how they...

buy tonight hopefully like to leave you a little piece on some fun charity stuff that I'd like to share so let's get going when do we address pricing? I think we kind of answered that before because that question did come up but we don't mind addressing pricing at the initial phone call, but we don't give prices, clients often call and they say I'd like to book an appointment it and we book we book consultation, we never book a direct appointment, everybody has to have a consultation, but if they're the type of client that says, well, you tell me kind of how much things cost what is a a package, and we will then try to reeducate them on, you know as much as we'd love to tell you, oliver packages it's actually really much better for you to come in and have a consultation so that we can show you the different types of crack it packed package structures, it's lunch seven fun package structures that we have now some people that's good enough. Uh, other people well, could you just kind of give me an idea? You know, what is a package start at now? This is important. We never, ever state prices. My biggest mistake and many of you I know you're out there doing the same thing when you're thinking packages or when you're thinking discussions on the phone. It's national for us, too. Always give the lowest price you have, everybody does that. So if a client calls and you have a package that starts at ninety nine and goes to two thousand, client calls and says, can you tell me how much your packages are you're going to say? They started ninety nine dollars because you think that's a good idea that's a really bad idea. You have set the client's expectation at ninety nine dollars when they walk in the door, they expect to spend ninety nine dollars, because that's what you said now to take them through that you're priceless to get them to two thousand dollars, you have got a huge steps to make tio in order to get them up there. So first thing I want to tell you is when you're addressing pricing, never ever state your lowest price that's not where you want people to go anyway, we're gonna talk later about howto establish what your lowest price khun b so when we address that person that's, you know, can you tell me just how much of packages we don't want to turn people off? We're going to refuse that, but our answer and this is important, is we answer it by the session type baby sessions, people spend more less than family sessions, so let me give you a baby plan example clients calling about a baby plan and they really want another price will say typically our baby playing clients spend between eight hundred and fifteen hundred dollars what's your budget now you see what I just did you put it back on them now they have to answer the question if I say eight hundred to fifteen hundred dollars if they go okay great done were sold if they say oh, do you have something maybe a little less than that we say you know, we do have packages that actually little bit smaller than that. But we really would want you to come in and have a consultation to address that and then there's the third type of client that will say something like, uh, you know what? I'm gonna go and talk to my husband and I will just give you a call back. What are they really saying? No that's. Okay, you know what? That is not your client. Don't fight for it. I also made the mistake of uh oh. But you know what? I have a special going on right now and if you just if you just want to go and book a session it's a complimentary session fee and fifty percent off your order and I made those mistakes because I thought that that was that was money going out the door by trying to force that client to come it was actually time going out the door and that was really important so so we don't mind addressing it at on the phone call we never state specific prices we always get a range if it's a family portrait there booking it would be very different we would say typically our family portrait client's been between fifteen hundred and three thousand dollars what's your budget so of course that takes him to another level in another mindset and if it's way out of their range we're going to establish that right out of the gate you all know your own pricing so it's going to be different for you but that's kind of how we do that we do have an intake sheet in fact you have the intake sheet because you want the entire studio management somewhere out in the virtual world one that as well every sheet we use in our company and there are hundreds of them literally are in that book so this is the intake sheet this is an actual sheet that we go through with every single client that calls and our rule is that every question on it has sponsored now we're not mechanical we don't say things like hi can you tell me your name please great what is it you know it it's so fluid that you would never know we were working off a sheet but the receptionist is having a conversation and she's touching every point on here including the ages the birthday, the children's what they've heard about us how they heard about it every single thing we know from marketing demographics all the way down to anniversaries if we want is on this form this tells us a lot about the client it also prepares the sales are the associate that's going to do the consultation as to who they are? It actually saves time in that process because we've already established that relationship there so this is very important and take sheet is very important to us because it gives us information ah proper consultation will give you the chance to educate your clients about everything from location clothing, your final display and pricing and it allows you to build your relationship and that's really the most important part to me all of those components are important in the session, but if a client walks into the session I feel like they're my friend it's an easier start than a complete stranger as I said I do not know my own consultations I don't have time all of my time when I'm home is spent shooting I only work four days a week I worked tuesday through friday I do four sessions a day the rest of the time belongs to you know I try to keep saturdays for my family when I'm not traveling sundays for the guy upstairs and mondays is the prep time in my world, so monday is the day that I try to run my business and that's how it works. So when I have shoot time, that's, all I do is shoot if you can do your own consultations, I think that's better. Um, but I think we have such an incredibly trained staff that I don't think the client feels a huge transition between the consultation and meeting me, and I haven't very, I think, gregarious personality that we don't leave a lot of room for youto not get to know me, I come on pretty strong, pretty quick. Um, with the baby plan, I wanted to go back to this a little bit because I wanted to show you how when you're educating your client in addition to sitting with them and talking to them, it is appropriate to have information for them to take home. We have a client packet. Yes, we do allow the priceless to go home with a client. At that point, we've established pricing, and my opinion is this when you have a conversation with the client and you're talking about what size portrait they want on the wall and you're talking about establishing that cell, the client might be looking at that and looking at your price list in thinking okay well looks like I'm gonna be around eight hundred dollars they take that priceless home and they mull over it and they lock their minds into eight hundred dollars so now by having that they've they've stayed familiar with it now when they come into the studio we know we're in eight hundred dollars we know it's easier to get them to two thousand dollars if we didn't send him a price list home then they would have a conversation that they would forget and then when they came back in would be starting all over basically so not every client studies it but a lot of them do a lot of them want to kind of have an idea of what they do so every type of session that we have we have literature for it I know a lot of you have been to you can do dot com which is great and signed up for that free catalogue which will give some more free stuff tonight but we have things like this is this what to expect guide is in the baby kit that I know a lot of you joined a sandy puts university and this is actually one of the things that you got for free in the baby kit we want our clients to actually go home with more than just the price list we want them to have some balance there we want them to know what they're gonna be doing so with babies to me it's the most important because when a newborn comes in mom is literally fried she's just had a baby and tired and so the things were saying to her about the entire first year she's not going to remember them about what what does the baby do it six months and what are they gonna be doing at one one year? So we give them an actual physical printed guide that covers the entire year and it's so cute because oh my gosh they read it I mean they literally read it word for awarding word and just like, you know how new moms are just like every is like a check box get the stroller get this get the photographer and this stuff becomes very imp important to them in fact we have suggestions for clothing and here each stage and I'll have moms come in you know what? That was a three month old in there, okay? You know they have the little book in their diaper and they're like, ok, I got the guy I got the diaper cover and the blanket, but I couldn't find a little silver rattle isthat ok and you shall I say, you know, unfortunately I'm not gonna be able to work with, you know, just but it's funny they take it so seriously because we suggest like a little like a silver rattle or you know, we suggest these things and some people come in like it's a list like they have to have it and of course they don't we can work in any situation, so these little guides help us help us relate to the client and give them long term information if it's a family session, they're going to be sent home with clothing, guides and everything they need to know so that we make this a smooth session now keeping in touch is something that we talked about before we talked about the newsletters and how important it is every little piece along the way is a communication we don't just see our clients once we see them multiple times and we talked to them even more they book they make the phone call they come in for the count location just to get into the consultation they've not only been sent a um we've called them and said this is a reminder three days before their session that are there consultation they're going to have it we also email them um and again these are all forms that we've created in our book that we e mail them and tell them by the way, just a reminder your consultation is this date when they have the session we see sentiment, cinema phone we make a phone call telling them they have a session we also send them an email reminder every single thing we do comes with email reminders and phones when their order's ready, we make a phone call and we send them an email so that we constantly when clients come in and they want teo when they come in and they want to book with us if we asked for an email address and a client goes, oh, you know, I really don't have one of the client that doesn't want to give it, we tell them that's fine, but we do almost all of our communications through email were going to send you a reminder for your session. We're going to get our consultation, we're going to send your reminder for your session. We're going to send you a reminder when your order is done and all of a sudden they're like, oh, this is for me, I'll do it because it's gonna help me now we're collecting that data and that information, so it is important to keep in touch in fact, baby session, I threw this one in here because this is a good example, even though they had the book and a good chunk of those clients hold on to the book when they booked their session, we book their six month session at the three month session. You book their one year session at the six month session and so on so we don't let them leave without booking the next session but it's been a few months so of course when we call them and send them a reminder we also send them eh email reminder and you can see we try to pretty everything up these air templates that we've created there's a three month a six month a nine month and a twelve month session so this is a nice little thing that we can send them it says your session what to expect what they're so detailed what to do before for your session pack your diaper bag this is a great session to order wallets um this is your session and even at personalize it with the baby's name so it feels like it was written for their child um your your baby a twelve month it's here it tells everything a baby should be doing at twelve months we do have parents that will call and say my son's not walking should I reschedule? Yes please do you're going to get a better session? So this I mean for a small is this is there's every single thing it's as you know now every question is answered there so we don't have teo do that so so creating templates and credit things like this yes it seems like it's a lot of work but it's worth it? Because once it's done it's done for the rest of your history, if you don't want to update it now, do you really want to know how you're doing through this process? Do you want to know what your client thinks of you will ask them, and this is also a really important piece of your business. I have learned more from customer service on our customer surveys, then anything I've ever done in my business class will be very honest with you when I want good information all tie in and offer to it we have a customer service that goes out after the sales appointment. Um, usually the sales associate will give it to the client, and they'll say, uh, this is a self addressed step envelope if you don't mind filling it out and sending it back, sandy is the only one that reads these, and it is literally a list of questions that and there basically a scale so it's from good from poor teo excellent service, because I want to know if my cells associates or doing the right thing, my photographers have those to give out to clients, and I don't make all of them do that. I know helen's amazing people absolutely love her new photographers when I'm training them they are required if I don't see those coming in the mail I'm gonna have a huge problem because I need to know what it is and the stuff you learn is incredible the stuff that you had no idea that you irritated a client or they were frustrated about that's how you learn him. So at the sales session we have won the photographers the newer photographers have won and the delivery when our client when our orders go out there's a nice little self addressed stamped envelope in there with that form in there and it says that only the owner of the company will see it but we would just love to feel it out. Does everybody feel them out? Of course not typically the ones that are a little frustrated with you are more likely to fill them out and we do get some really beautiful letters where people actually sat down and took the time because we put it out there to give us incredible testimonials about what we do. But honestly, I would say seventy percent of them are the stuff we did wrong and we do make mistakes and most of the mistakes we make, we didn't even realize we made so that's why these thes letters become so important you've never done it before and you want to institute it the first time I ever did it, I sent a customer survey tax, every single client that I had in my database, and I said, I'm just trying to learn more about my business and everybody that responds. At that time, I gave a complimentary eight by ten. Now I probably wouldn't do it that way. I give a credit instead of we talked about that instead of an eight by ten. But just to give you an idea, it was great to get a massive amount of those back and to get feedback. The questions were more global, like what you know. What are your concerns? What do you love? What would you like to see changed? You know, as opposed to specific, where its sales specific or shooting specific eso customer surveys are really great?