Lessons

Lesson Info

1:15 pm - Student Evaluation: Carey's E-mails

All right so let's jump into some sale sessions okay we're going to start out by looking at kerry brave kerry thank you very much and I do want to say this to everybody by the way thank you for the efforts that you made to put these videos together we're not going to sit there and watch them from start to finish and exhaust you and exhaust everybody we're picking out highlights were looking at certain things we're going to fast forward through some stuff just to get a sense of watching you guys and watching these exchanges what's happening and just with the last day and a half of content we're going to learn a lot right? Yes thank you all right so this is carrie's letter to awesome client and awesome client's wife carrie you could hear the micro quick just quick quickly tell us when you sell your work and in a nutshell what is the process basically I mean when it comes to the actual sales it's I put up the gallery I sent an email saying thank you so much had blast uh you know, this is ...

the link it's may or may not be password protected if they want it to be and they'll have my price list already and I may just remind them that you know an eight by ten is yeah the idea and just look through them let me know what you did like and we'll get started and then that's and then bill exchange back and forth and it kind of takes forever yeah, but the very end at the very end I total it up for them and I collect their payment and I get everything package it up and then I'll deliver it to them perfect. Perfect. Okay, and would you say that you're thrilled with this process? I hate this process. Okay? All right. I love the honesty. All right, so let's start out. We're going to look at this letter. Um so do your awesome client I just finished editing ours photos so this is a session where is just of the child alone? Or was it a family session two or a combination of what? I was under the assumption it was also a gift certificate. I was under the assumption that it was a family session because that's what the co workers but the guests just get for because he just that they had just adopted this child and when I got there they're like, oh, we just want a picture far christmas card like, oh, ok. And you know, now that if you'd ask the very beginning what their goals were, this could have been a different process, right? You see how impactful oh, yeah, yeah, okay, I'm also yeah adoption um so you said I just finished editing the photos for this person for this child, one of the reasons I asked what you what you did in the session is often often I have clients contact me. It says, I just want a photograph of our child or our children together and I say, well, what about you guys? Yeah, just just the kids I don't need a baby photos I advocate highly for getting everybody into the photograph for a lot of races. I mean, one of the compelling, most significant reasons is because you do want a marker as a family, and I believe that strongly, regardless of, you know, extenuating circumstances as they relate to cosmetic concerns, not going into the details like when things were rough at home and all that sort of stuff. That's not what I mean, I mean, in general, if there's an opportunity and a willingness to engage in converting this into a family shoot that can also have children's photos within it. I love that, and it results in higher sales, as I did convince them, tio like, grab a couple shots. So we did do a couple shots of them as a family, but they were, like, completely not prepared. The mom was kind of, they were very attractive sweats, and I thought she look fantastic, but she's like this, I can't be active. Sure, but why would that situation? She would've been dressed differently if that conversation happened ahead of time. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm gonna throw another fake statistic on this about eighty seven percent of the time you run into a problem during a shoot or during a sale, it could've been nipped in the bud if had been discussed earlier. Who's going to be there are they? Do. They are. They were going to be in the shoot. A perfect example. I to shoot a couple weeks ago where she told me that they're gonna bring along her mom to just help out with the shoot and everything. And they she her mom had a great relationship with her son. You know, she calls her man calls her nana, and they're just like best buds. And I said, ok, so she's going to part of the shooter's? Oh, no, she's just gonna come to help and it's a you know, I'm going to ask her to be part of the shoot. Please tell her to dress accordingly in case she gets in some of the shots just to be kind of a little bit more prepped on dh again, if somebody's like uh, no matter what, I'm not going to turn this into a weird, controlling situation like, ok, got it. But if there's some openness to it, I love that because you don't want to be there, have a gorgeous moment, snap it, and then later say that would be the most perfect image in the world. If I had even thought to be ready for camera, give them an opportunity to get ready for camera. Um, so I just finished editing ours photos, and again wonderful thing would be able to say your family's photographs and as well, a stone says I ended up just letting them all, so you don't have to decide which ones to see edited. I was in the process of changing the way that I did might it was this horrible other thing that I used to do, so weighs just show them show them and because it was something else I had picked up somewhere, which was, why decide which smiles the best one to edit because they might like this smile, but then this smile out in a few part of that, and so you just showem all, and then they pick which ones I want you to, which I didn't I didn't like that, so I've changed, but when this went on, I was the process of switching over okay, so you want to explain it yes, yes understood understood and you know what I'm gonna say several times as we do this but that none of this is that need judge what you need this is more like let's get observant about what we're doing and see how we can fix this not only for you guys but everybody watching so this is again really awesome that you guys are putting this out there very, very cool s o here is the link the password pirate hats cute. Um I put a little blurb on that page about what you have credit what you have for credit from the defense to it so please make sure to check that out it was a blast et cetera um ok, so maybe we'll use them in marketing material terrell's I will need to send you a model release why would you need to send them a model release from marketing materials? Because I was a bad photographer and didn't have um signed my portrait contract. Okay, but just office it's just know if it's in your portrait contract ahead of time that it's a agreed upon it is I still always tell them I don't know it's a personal I'm just like I just want you to know that I don't know okay because this is just coming back to saving yourself time with a client later if you take fabulous images on dh you know going forward you just have them up front say it's okay that you can use this in iraqi materials but when you ask the client to sign a model elise that's kind of a next step up and you don't need a model release to be able to show images on your block you know, model race you start getting into when you're using it for commercial purposes or something like that and sometimes that term can be a little kind of to a client like what do you need that for? Where is you don't need to even go through all that mess if you simply just want toe show the chute on your block for instance so I mean you can just simply give hat make sure that they know up front and again this is an illegal presentation but sometimes the burbage sometimes we make it harder for ourselves that it needs to be okay so then we're going through here um this was the gift certificate it was just the blur bubble what they're gives just so they had a reminder of how much was on their gift certificate on dh what sets of different prices and stuff like that they had a price list but okay, so one of things that would be lovely instead of just physically putting that down is even if you feel like you know what I hear you in person thing, it's not for me, I'm going to continue to put my images online, let us at least figure out how to make that a more profitable situation. If you're going to put them online, could you see doing it the a skype or something instead and walking through it with them and having a conversation? Absolutely, I mean, I could definitely see I know myself will be going in person sales, yes, now, but at the time I could see how that would absolutely have benefited okay? And sometimes something like this when people include gift certificates or a priceless or this is matt when it comes to ordering, I'm not talking about the early part, but now we're in the ordering session the much smoother way it's tio discuss it and talk about it and have a verbal conversation together because this sometimes looks like but what? This is what this is not included, that's included that's not as much as we could be clear and simple, we build trust and we remove the overwhelming thoughts that prevent us from buying or just not being sure, and I think you could get back to it later think about your normal tendencies and everyday life if something seems confusing and you're not quite sure to do, and you've got to figure out what to do first we tend to say, well, you put this over here, I'm gonna go to something I do know which is watch my favorite tv show whatever the case might be if something seems like we've never done it before and it's a little overwhelming we tend to progress made on it we don't really want to jump into it we don't want our clients to procrastinate on this, so don't give them anything that seems fuzzy and makes him think too much all right, s o u sent the link they wrote back cary thank you for the pictures they look great. We hope to have some quiet time this weekend pick him out depending on the photo we mean, we may need to photo shop a chipped tooth. Thanks. Awesome client all right, so obviously we really talked about the fact that you have no control over how they viewed it and so we don't know what's going on with that. The second thing, of course, is they don't even know when they're going to actually start thinking about when to do anything about this. We hope to have some time this weekend, but clearly it's not a real priority for us and then right away remember you're going to do more work, all right, so they were coming over here, um carey, we have decided on photo number sixteen if possible could you photo shop his friendship tooth top right incisor we're still coming up on the list of people to buy pictures for and molest you know later this week thanks who's in control awesome pliant and the awesome clones life do you have any control over this situation after you sent off for like no do you you see why you might want to be able to direct the flow of conversation? Absolutely am I might want to set the process out on a really clear way for them to follow you because you are the expert this is what you do. She is letting you know what she'll do when she gets to it not meanly awesome clients probably lovely, but she is that she hasn't been told that it's going to happen any differently um awesome awesome client I will work on that now therefore ahead is very cute kid before he had to have in springfield area uh did you want the color it's a sort of color black, white and just so we're clear this pose right? So you said this is a low resident you put in? Yes ok, so it's a low res image that you attach because now you're just talking about one photo that you at all know for sure they might buy well, it was the one that they wanted they were using they're part of their gift certificate for the file for so they could go and make their own christmas cards right ok, so but then obviously what you did on your end was say ok got the mess they're going to go back and find that file it may pull it let me put it on email clarified that that's the correct line right? So we're going back and forth on if you've been sitting live that had been a second that one that one this was probably what a week a couple day problem that it's time stamped up there so I'm sure november thirtieth there in backwards I had to copy and paste and that inserted so it's not the point is it wasn't right away I didn't change ok yes is the foot correct photo color okay wow so you guys have a really good communication and then that's a correct photo here's the editing and so you did all the editing for the ordered anything or the I m pei did that when did they pay? They had the the session fee was paid for with their gift certificate and then they had left over from the gift certificate for prints okay, so you knew that they had already had a certain credit and you're just feeling that credit ok? Because in general it's, if we could make sure and I always say that I don't actually start working on the finishing of client images which means that next finishing step because that is that does take a lot of time you've got to go out pay for things like the cost of framing also stuff I don't do any of that until at least now I've got the fifty percent up front because I'm now investing dollars as well as my time you know additionally um here's the edit images please let me know the toothpicks works I'm making you destroy the photos before the extra edits so no super color saturation of black and white like you saw in the gallery but still all the images so again that was when I was switching over I gave them and I ended up changing it and giving them everything anyway even though I told him I wasn't I just gave money and it isn't just be done with it I was so exhausted that I just giving everything story and initially that you were going to hold some back to give them an opportunity to purchase more right I was going to give him just like a approved at it but not like not anything black and white or anything I was just going to give him okay exposures corrected and right you know but I was just going to give them that one image and then everything else just soft proved to be exactly and just also meeting to be really clear you are representing a whole lot of people in the audience wouldn't you say kind of kerry's representing a whole bunch of people the office just now ah whole bunch of people do it this way so this is really, really helpful. Um copy of attach it is a good quality size for use on a site like snapfish though I felt you probably want this one sooner so you guys could get your cars and made cards made an out thanks again. Let me know what you'll need for prints so you're waiting for for this still yes carry nice dental work class nice. The image was stretched quarters ali when I received it but I figured out how to correct the aspect ratio. I don't know how he knew knew the word aspect ratio because he's not in anything like that, right he's not in talking their graphics. We're just gonna put that over there. Isn't that interesting? All right. Um carey, could you send the pictures of j peg? I'm having problems importing it. How much does this age cost them tio yet why off me? I charged them seventy dollars seventy dollars for the night again face much work for seven dollars so far yes, carrie first we loved her christmas card very creative so you designed a christmas card sort of them my own there their co workers of my husband so or he's a co worker minds so we sent christmas cards to them because oh, she's just saying to your s ours got it my bad all right, we finally decided the photos there were so many to so this is a couple weeks now yes, there's somebody to choose from we're not sure they in the process and delivered by christmas if not, no big deal people can wait. So noah urgency at all. Ok, here is the list, all five by sevens ten companies to congress to get. And you when you got this order, how did you feel are honestly at the time, I actually at the time, I was like, oh, that's a lot more than I've ever, ever sold, so I was very excited now looking back ten copies that is exciting five by seven, but so this is the best order you'd had today. Yes, and so that was really exciting. You hadn't had expected a big order like that new yeah, which is also I know, I know I feel steak harvey's. All right, here's a list, two copies of copies. All right, let me know what we owe you and I'll give you a check on friday. Thanks. Awesome, quiet and my fixing his teeth and all the images ok, so was there ever a discussion about what it might cost to do that additional editing no because I felt it was such a quick just cloning what what would take me yeah really wasn't that because the chip wasn't about now and I asked that truly because what I have something where someone and this is not uncommon at all where a child will show up and he had an accident two days ago film about scratch themselves sister you know it's active never if I know that there I have to I could just quickly use the patch tool and voter shop and it takes me a second as I'm clicking order on a print I don't charge for that and and I make a point to say I could do that for you no problem if however on dh maybe this was a home run for you but I have something where it's a chipped tooth or it's something with braces or it's something with something that's going to take me ten, fifteen minutes per there's absolutely an additional fee for that and I may not even do it I may outsource it to my lab to dio and just make sure the costs are covered it was like a ten second per image may be okay right the total after using the remaining balance of six taxes two hundred ninety five dollars and forty five cents how do you accept money uh at that point it was check I do accept credit card now okay great. So just get a check and then do you wait you get the money or do you send out the work um for check okay so this is really that I knew he was good for it s so I sent it out because they wanted them I felt they probably wanted them in time for christmas I know that they said they didn't but I as a full nobody because it be really good if they had a star isn't so I just wanted to see the photos came from you right and so I sent it out and it was within a few days that my husband got the check from that when he went down yeah and I'm not at all saying really you just sent that oh my god that's not what I'm saying but I am saying you're going to give yourself additional work with having toe follow up from accounts receivable if you get paid after deliver things and people with the best of intentions who are totally good for it get busy and now you have one more thing to do after along with all the other things you have to d'oh that should be the trigger I got the cash boom but let that be your trigger initially because you don't want to be in accounts receivable business all right, thank you very much and this has been my biggest sell to date. It was awesome at the time, and now looking at is a lot of work, just the communication doesn't feel like a great payoff. I'm also bomb, but they don't buy any wall prints or anything above a five by seven yeah, and what never happened as you never got an opportunity to talk about any other prints that you delivered because you thought were good that they never even told you why they didn't choose because it could have been another, you know, quite a number of images that they ruled out because not knowing what you can do just assumed that I gave you example, yesterday about, like, dad's got an iphone in their pocket, you know? And it doesn't look good, so I'm not going get that print, not knowing weaken do photo shop work on that. So you missed the opportunity to really go through them all and build that emotional connection and going back and forth like this. You don't get a chance to build on more of a relationship, right? Yes, yes, no and that's a huge thing, there's a huge thing to be sitting down together, making it spirits have been getting to know them, picking up on all their nonverbal communication. Do you know how many times that the issue isn't that they didn't like your print the issue has to do something about the way the people are buying communicate with each other like they should have said I want for well porter it's going to be like you're crazy no she's like fine for one five seven whereas if they've been in front of you you could have helped guide that conversation a little bit and navigated some of the intricacies of the dynamic between the people purchasing and brought the attention back to the product and did something that worked for everybody so there's a there's a whole lot of reasons why you know makes lot of sense but the biggest thing I notice is how long this takes you know if I'm awesome client and you're saying to me hey guess what else in client next time we do a shoot I've gotten create news actually calculated up how long it takes to go back and forth and I realized I'd been doing you a disservice and I don't want to continue to do anything but a great service for you so next time going to sit down I keep hearing back that people are thrilled because we just not get out I know you're busy I'm busy I want to make sure it's a good experience for you and then we'll get you what you really love and let you see all your options that's how I would transition this client going forward because that is a big fear for people. If I'm going from online sales to in person sales, how do I communicate that? What if I lose my clients to me? That's a big added service. Does anybody have any questions about this? Any more questions about this before I go on any questions from the interwebs, there are questions about contra contracts and things like that. You want to take a couple of those? Okay, uh, question from portrait's by amanda, what should be in the portrait contract? They say I do not have a contract at this time. I use a model release form. Yeah, so I went over that if for we went into break, I believe I could tell you again because I wrote it down, but basically it's saying that we are going tio, first of all, just make sure you realize that I am covered under acts of god like that that occurs, I can't be held responsible confirming that I can use the images on my block and my marketing and my advertising confirming that they know that everything will be delivered in a combination of color black and white tony of the artist's choice, we're basically clarifying the details, the expectations in this one document on dh they understand that's a nonrefundable session fee that they're paying so they can't say later, you know, it was said that this you don't want money back waken reschedule the shoot, but you already committed to a non refundable session because I had to book my time out to make sure I secured it and I just my catholic calendar for that, and I didn't book other work at that time because we had to talk to about your ship. We've confirmed your shape so those are the things that go into portrait client you contract you could make that a ten page contract if you want ours is a few lines like it's a two paragraphs but that is basically what's being said was basically doing said is let's, be nice to each other. Let me tell you exactly what to expect. You know there's no questions it's very clear, it's. Very transparent, there's. Nothing fuzzy. Oh, shady happening here if you can sign off, we're good to go. Okay, thank you for giving us that recap. You're welcome that I'm going to be great. If we were ready in such real time video editing, I could say oh, that that was at three thirty nine. Ok, so let's go to a video, shall we? Did you have another? I'm sorry, just another quick question from stay fabulous how exactly do you communicate to the client that they have to pay first before you deliver the prints actually that's not the question I was going to ask but okay well the answer that one a symbol of how would you like to pay for that exactly? Ok so the one I was getting it like that but really it's a it's a very simple prompt for payment if there's no need to explain that I need to now take payment I'm we're selling this right and so how would take care of it thank you so the one I was going to ask who's got new vision images what do you do with that awkward moment when you know that mom and dad are arguing over prices is that even my problem oh that is so common that is very common and often it's not like a flat out argument right it's a subtle energy shift that you can tell there's something that's going on that's got nothing to do with the pictures we're looking at and that is really really common that happens on the shoot it happens during the initial looking sometimes when you go back and forth and so on so those questions and it happens during the sale I am a firm firm believer that as much as you could be armed with the knowledge that most people's decision making is going on in terms of how they feel if they're comfortable all the vibes going back and forth between two people who have known each other for a long time and all the unspoken communication that happens if you can dial into that you can take yourself out of equation instead of saying I feel so awkward you could simply accept that's what's going on and be like a good marriage cancer would be which is to say I hear your point I threw your point there's no women a gang up on either of you and lose both of you because that's what happens if a couple are going back and forth and arguing like I like that when I don't like that you always say that you always say that shut up you shut up and you're sitting there just like so black and white I mean if that dynamic starts occurring I think sometimes the temptation is to join the person who's going for the sale right and I think that backfires because basically it makes the other person feel ostracised and often again we want this sale to be final now and for them to feel good about it later I don't want buyer's remorse so how do we then you know remove them from that situation and move on to talking about the print and so one way might be to say ok I understand what you're saying is this if I get this right if you get this wrong what you're saying is this awesome. Let's. See how we put that together? You're both everyone wins, and I don't say it like you guys have a problem with each other. That's, not my business, you know.