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Sales Quick Review Q&A

So I want to go over a little bit about what pro select is capable of and just how a design software can really help you in the sales and I think I've showed that a little bit but let's go into it a little bit more okay, so a software like post like when you first bring images in looks like this all the images were there and then you simply highlight the first one and start running the slide show okay, so the when the slide show was over all the thumbnails come back up, I get rid of that slide and they go there's always this emotional okay then I say if I know they're going for a wall siri's I'll say okay, we talked about your your living room wall I'm gonna go ahead and start designing some things, especially if I haven't pre designed I'll say, oh, you start designing some things is that okay? So we can kind of come up with some idea on what to do and they always want to see what ideo they always want to see what my opinion is, so I'll go over to the room view and I'll pull up either ...

their room or, you know, one of the sample can rooms I've got here that I purchased from a company on, I'll start giving them ideas so whether it be a nursery or their actual wall I'll start designing for that space cannot just come over here and do things that I think look good center I don't wanna get into that because we'll do it in the sails I can also design an entire album for them on the fly this right here where is it then I lose it there was another album here that was had a celery color to it well thanks thanks. So this album here is what you're saying and pro select okay full spread peters there you go there's a product there's the pro select ok shall I didn't find that out right now let's do another one okay this is going to be a pro dp I am ifthis album in eight by ten size it's twenty pages did I save those images on the side? No, I didn't so I'm just gonna I didn't normally I put the images that I want to put in the album in a separate folder in pro select I didn't do that this time if I do do that and sort through things and figure out what I want then what I simply have to do is highlight the images I want to put in the book drag them over to the template I want to use at it auto populates the book for me bam then I just have to rearrange to the order that I like oh I want this one here no I don't know I was going to say I don't know how easy this is to do but I would really want you to note is the workflow and pro select is ridiculously easy and then I don't think I have these people's images on my computer when I send this to something called production in pro select okay it will with a pro version of the software I can check all these images these are the pages of the book okay I can say make high res images and what do you think pro select does it opens photoshopped takes the client's images puts them in the album template exactly the way I laid it out save that ajay peg for me and high rez and it's ready to upload to the lab and it happens just like a photo shop action now you know why thirty minutes after my client is gone from the ordered appointment their order including albums, cards, storyboards all that stuff is at the lab saving me hours and hours of post order appointment work time my sister shoots a boatload of babies and at the time I showed her this she was shooting thirty to forty sessions a month she almost had a cornea. So the heart attack stroke when I told you this when we were little she had a complete connection because she was up till two or three in the morning processing proofing in making orders are you doing that felicia is doing that? You don't have to do that when you do a good presentation software that khun do these kinds of things for you it's all about time savings time is money and I hate it when I've got the money in hand and I got to go order the product and buy something I know that so still and I wanted it like I gotta give money like I got the money in my hand I don't want to have to get out silly but progressing, okay? I procrastinate actually placing the order so with this system in place that super easy will be any problem just do it get it done out of there and then they're order you know, with these laps producing things so quickly these days within forty eight, thirty six hours there their order is here at the studio and we call him and less than a week later they have their order and their thrilled they can't believe it. I've told them it will take three to four weeks and like I said, some products do take that long specialty fine art things those water color prints take a little longer the albums take a little bit longer the the custom designed once and the paintings obviously take a lot longer, so but simple products like that I mean camped on out of here time is money. Okay, so those air, um, kind of the major things with pros like, but you can also do what's called a layout and create a storyboard. So holiday cards all of a sudden are no brainer. Who's dragon drop your client's image into a holiday card. Order it and run it through highest production. House production takes that template, and then you can change the text of the name of the family. Everything in photoshopped save it is a gaping and you're done no more free transform, no more where's, the client's image that they want to be sure that you want what's the number oh, it's number two seven to five. Let's, look in my folder to seven to five to seventy five to seventy five percent where's that template again. Oh, I think it's on my drive up in the attic. I better go get it. Do you know I'm saying I mean, how many of you do that and just kill yourself a christmas time when people are ordering cards left and right? Okay, so now I think you can see why I'm a little biased and I totally admit I'm biased. I am very much biased, but there's, lots of different reservation southwards out there in that packet explains a few of them. You know, I don't really care if you do pro selector, whatever. I want to do something so you can sell easily and show what you want to sell to your client. I have a question. Yeah, please, robert, if they don't want to picture is on the spread, but just one. Then you need to make a template that just has one spread in pro select. You can make a bunch of different template. Yeah, and there's several designers that do this stuff for you that will make pro select ready templates that you could just import into the software. But if a client wants something with two images like oh, no it's not available, I'm not going to go make make a custom card for every single client. Are you kidding? No. It's. Too much time effort. If they want me to do that, they're going to get charged seventy five hundred dollars per hour design fee. Okay, so charge for your time, if someone says, oh, I want to make just so say, well, we have this card that has two images, this one doesn't come that way you know I can customize that foryou but it's going to be one hundred fifty dollars charge to do that for our time and photoshopped to create that no it's okay, thanks that won't tell you how important it is to them. Okay? Just value your time value your worth value art value your art okay? Questions? Yeah, absolutely. I've just been checking out the pro select website and eric erica's eva asked what do you recommend? Pro selector, pro select pro this's good question pros like pro hands down it comes with a book's module making those albums and it comes with iris production, which is that back end order apartment work flow system you do you get more frames, you get more action to get just tons more everything for the two or three hundred dollars more you spend for pro that money is worth its weight in gold for what you actually get it's the same thing we're talking about with pricing you get so much more for just a few hundred dollars okay it's the same concept. So if you're going to buy it by once prospect also has a leasing program, so keep that in mind for like thirty dollars a month you can lease the software, which is really nice for people who are just starting out or don't have quite the funds to fork over for the entire program it was a one time thing clear once you know could you talk about the plant approval process client approval process yes I have when they when they do an invoice for example I don't know if I wanted to let me do a test alma I want everybody's seeing my client's name here and she's specifically asking about album color and layouts yes with um my simple orders yeah that's doing that client teo I just don't want okay I know I can do this who's hanging on to it with simple orders I will just we designed the album they just get to pick the fabric on the outside that kind of thing we don't really let them approve layout on the custom albums I definitely what I'll do is I'll have them come will they'll decide to do the custom album and then we'll make it appointment for them to come back and do the first revision I always have my client's approved graphic design in studio do you know why a hard learned lesson the client wants order ten boxes of holiday cards I sent her an email proof she got the cards two hours later she called me demanding them to be reprinted you know why they were right? Everything was correct she approved it. What do you think was wrong talk to me what you think is wrong just take a wild guess wrong photo no everything was right back of the card no, no, no her monitor was not color calibrated like minus and the prints were not the cards were not the same color that she saw in her screen. Oh, okay, that became a new policy. Okay, so the invoice what happens is is this is what a pro select invoice looks like okay, so they could put your logo at the top but then I have this thing at the bottom that they have to sign for it. It's not only credit card authorization but its order cancellation changes graphic design. We're copyright acknowledgement all that thing is in here. Then I print two copies of it. They signed one I keep it and they get the other one for their own reference. So there's no dispute on what? The order wass there's some mail invoices everything's there they know they signed for it. It is a slam dunk dunk and they can't argue with me because we have both have the same copy of this. Yeah. Can we talk about the calibration? What? Ugo yeah, I have a color that's, right system. But I mean, how do you make sure that the clients monitors are so I don't want the building ok in student have to approve all graphic design work in the studio got it, I stop sending things via email you know, I won't even a client today asked me if I should they couldn't come in for their design appointment for the album and she asked me if I would put it on the internet I refused to do it. I can't let her see an album design on the internet because they're her monitors not going to look the same as mine. It probably looked terrible, probably okay? And then we should get the product is gonna look so different than what she saw in her monitor if she likes what she saw or monitor, I'm screwed. I've just ordered a four hundred dollar album that I have to reprint because she doesn't like it and I have no idea how to change it because I don't know what her monitor looks like. You're in a big dilemma that was a huge, huge mistake for me so quickly because I promised I would well as long as there's, no more pressing questions, I want to tell the story of, you know, people were wanting to know this, my pricing errors and my mistakes and that display that I had so quickly when I move my business from portland to bend when I moved to bend it was very scary, but I had to start everything over again this was for and a half years ago and I join my chamber of commerce went to the christmas party just to meet people cause I knew I needed to meet other businesses and I met two people who are critical I met lynn oh cheetah who is the main marketing director for the humane society in town and I also met a woman named aaron and aaron was in a state planning attorney and I thought oh she really can't help me my business maybe here and there but she deals with old people I don't mean to be blunt but you know I'm just I'm trying to drive home a point I don't mean any derogatory things was that but I'd like to see deals with people who really aren't my client not having babies dude I'm saying so thie I just I just liked her like let's be let's go to lunch you're cool I just want to make friends was kind of you know a new town was a little lonely so I in order to open my studio I held a little party holiday party was christmas and cookies with mrs claus and I opened we run of the studio in october redesigned it tore it down you know all the redecorating and then in december I open what a great month open that choice so I had to get clients in the door fast so I did this cookies with mrs claus thing and I did three days of story telling on kids could come in and for a ten dollar donation it would help a charity each day and one day it was the humane society and lynn bless her heart brought over a cat and a dog for the kids to play with all three days only four kids should have four children. Winston fly rod, no fish. Okay, so I was, like, distraught and embarrassed because not only did lin bring the dogs and hang out with us, but she also had a major open house going on at the humane society that day, the chief or go to come to my thing where nobody showed up. So I photographed the dog in the cat thinking, oh my gosh, if I can at least just get these animals adopted, don't make me feel better so I took these storyboards I just printed off my printer and brought him over to the humane society that day thinking after she had left thinking that if we just put him on the cage, that maybe the animals would get top did you know I was kind of a soft yes, and so she saw them enter just like, oh my god, they're so cute she brought over the executive director that means someone that's just okay and when I walked in the door being society here's, this hallway lit up with halogen spotlighting everywhere and the wolves were empty and I went think think think think think oh my god I gotta put art in here I asked her I said I said when I want to put my art on your walls she has looked at me like how much is this gonna cost me and I want it won't cost your thing and she looked at me she went what I want to photograph your top twenty donors of two thousand nine and all the employees of this student of this facility with their pets anybody has contributed anything to the facility in the last year I want to photograph them and cherish them and celebrate them on your walls it won't cost anything I'll do it I'll pay for it she was looked at me and she goes, you're bleeping brilliant I wasn't I just want my art on the walls but why did she say that it gave her an excuse to contact all the people who had given money to the means is that in the last year and give them something the marketing for her was fantastic for me it got me a bunch of new clients in the door in three weeks image ng was during the same time this was january okay, I photographed thirty six dogs six cats, two lizards affair in new guinea pig okay in four weeks was my ribbon cutting for the chamber of commerce we had the reveal party. We invited every single person who had been photographed to the studio, the press everything's that press release, and we let the client who had been photographed, come and reveal the portrait that was going to hang in the studio in the humane society. They had never seen anything before. There were tears left and right. People were so excited. You know how much money I have in my bank account? Two hundred and fifty dollars. I couldn't pay my rent in february. I couldn't pay, I was dying. I was every night crying going, what am I doing? I'm crazy. This is me jumping off the cliff thinking there's gonna be water down below hoping praying. Okay, don't do that. I'm just trying to get you my example to show you that, you know, things can be done after that party. For the next three weeks, we had viewing appointments like crazy, okay, they got a discount. The employees, of course, didn't spend that much money that they don't make a lot of money and humane society, but the donors did we made over forty thousand dollars in revenue in one month from the sales of those sessions, I was a dog photographer now depends ok, then I wanted to get into babies. Once I had my baby, I was like, okay, I want one of you babies I phased out pets and went into the newborn market nobody was really specializing heavily and newborns they were all being generalists they did babies but they're all being generalists so I said, why can't I do baby? So I just knocked out on my marketing said websites going to babies only we're only going to promote two babies and I needed to get that hospital when I first moved, I met with the hospital people inside I want to be there like, oh no, we've got an exclusive contract with someone else right now it's not up for a year and a half she went out of business, you have less than a year later she went on a business and I started approaching them again. Please, please, please, can I come in and they're like, no, we need an r a f a request for bid right be whatever it's called they were going to bid it out to the different photographers I go great, this is gonna be fantastic here I've been trying to get this for two years now and I can't because they're putting up red take finally this woman calls me and she goes, I was like a session for my son and his daughter they're having a baby son and his wife they're having a baby okay, great I can't really afford you can I make payments? You know how some things your gut just tells you to do something? I did it and I said okay she couldn't even pay me the full session fee before they came in for their session I was going to just make a list chris and his wife come in and we're shooting session lovely couples so sweet like a he's like six foot five big guy you don't know this but I don't want to be on the street in a dark alley full well scary but so nice and then we're wrapping up I'm talking about like, is it like yeah I work at the hospital like oh gosh, I've been trying to get in there for a couple years now I'd really love to donate some art to the birthing center so I can get you in what? Yeah, of course I could get you in the problem, larry in there next month like it's impossible he's in charge of all contracts the hospital he writes the contracts for the hospital he got me a meeting with the leader of the ppd actress unit and the birthing center we have a meeting I set forth a proposal I wrote my contract by tuesday the cfo had signed it. This was on friday a month later were in there with art. I'm scrambling. I buy a ninety, eight hundred printer group software. I'm blowing five grand on equipment can mess up the wazoo printing like crazy, learning how to gallery rap I had no idea how to gather up two years ago. We're wrapping campuses in my garage, okay? Trying to get this done. I put up this display, I've probably got ten thousand dollars of my own money in it percent out a press release local photographer jonah, seventy thousand dollars worth of art to the birthing center to encourage moms who are in labor. Okay, there's the headline four months goes by, we have permission to put our brochures up with pricing on them. I have access to all the birthing classes we give gift cards to every single mom who goes to a state, charles birthing class I mean, this is like ticket gold. This is like money pop, nobody's calling, can you match it? Remember that feeling of just like failure and going what did too and thinking because I told my husband, I go, if I get this display, we're not moving out of bend keep that in mind, you know? I'm gonna put a lot of money into this, we can't move and he's like, ok, no problem, and I'm thinking what I just remember my list from growing in his career just cause I want to stay here no, I take your point but I mean, you know the tar of george on your shoulder just telling you your piece and so finally I said to myself, what's wrong! I know I'm going to long here I'm going I'm going to shut up a minute um I think what's wrong where we're I started doing some research on my market and it don't on me that my clients are not at the height of their career they couldn't afford me I looked too expensive based on my pricing and how my pricing was presented to my client's member assure it looked like the starting point to get in with a thousand dollars it looked like okay, that was my average that's why I want my average to be but based on the market materials that's what they thought so when I revamped my pricing and restructured it to make it look like you could get in and out the door for five hundred bucks, the phone started ringing off the hook. My average is still over a thousand dollars but because the entry point looks more approachable plus the display started creating that branding the partnership we have the baby store in town, the birthing classes all these things started adding up to get that snowball rolling down the hill and now a year and a half two years later we are the new born photographers in town if you have a baby, you come to jewel images it's just kind of think if you're pregnant in my town you cannot not see me it's physically impossible to not go to the doctor's office not out of the hospital not going to the baby store birthing class in town and not see who we are and that was the case when people weren't calling that's why I was so confusing like everybody khun seanie I'm doing everything I can I'm not only have winston fly rod I got a bamboo hook I've got bait I've got everything along this river and nobody's coming what's wrong so sometimes you really have to step back and shut up george and say it's not you analyze your market where are where is the perception going wrong? Where is your marking message and correct and when you can nail that you can change it so don't put this self worth b s on you you know be be kind yourself and recognize that if you just make a few changes it might work positive too okay, sorry I'll go wow, I love your stories e also love your person here in my little and you know what that is so true so many people in the world are not persevere it they give up if you just persevere, you're going to be ten steps ahead of everybody else, just by keep pushing forward and not giving up. I mean, you remember, you told, did you tell the story yesterday about the snowboarder was who was sent to tell me that probably the radio warnings, no race going down the hill, and the first guy crashed, but he didn't give up. They kept going down the hill, even though he was last, and then five more people crash and hands up meddling. He would've medaled, had given up.