Lessons

Lesson Info

3:30 pm - An End-to-End Process That Works

So let's dive in to exactly what the process is of how I would show photography to clients. I'm going to start out by simply showing a slide show that I would send a client's this slide show is a compilation of photographs I I actually start the slide show with an image. This is perfect because I'm showing this to you as somebody who wants to sell my work to my clients. There are three different ways I position my work three different ways, and they all require me to show different imagery in a different way. I either show my work to market my work to other people and get generate leads and that's one type of imagery I show my work to market. I show my work for my gallery, for my portfolio, for my professional presence, so marketing to clients, my portfolio, my gallery, my professional presence and the third way is to sell it to clients. I'm going to show you this slide show as I would show it to sell to clients a variety of images, but I start out with the one image that I worked real...

ly hard to get. It would not be the image I would put on my portfolio or gallery, and I probably wouldn't use it to market not that it's, not a lovely image of two beautiful kids, because it is but I want to give you a sense of why I put things in a certain order and what it means to me and how it goes with the song I choose I'm using the song grow by tyler stevenson it's on this song collection my triple scoop song collection I love this song um and looking behind me right now actually, if things slide that over these are these are really good differences to show uh, from show this for two seconds because these images actually surprisingly show that this's an image I would show my portfolio gallery I I love this image because one of the things I care so much about his engagement how do I get you to be here with me? How do I get you to stop being distracted by everything and actually show up emotionally? I care so much about that in my work I love this image because to me, how is this kid not engaged? I mean, his teeth were so engaged I'd love this image this's an image that I think would be lovely for marketing. It gets people in the frame of mind of like, oh, I want to go do some beach shoots, it feels open and she's dancing and the sun's coming through in reality this there's sand coming at you there you just stepped in dog poop is getting this is how I want to market my work is that there's a feeling there's an essence of freedom at the beach and there really is that's a lot of the reason why people go to the beach and it's a lot of reasons why I do destination shoots because you get such a different element when you go different places and incorporate that feeling thiss I actually included because I love the nostalgia of going back to the first class we shot this in the first class we ever did contemporary children's portrait photography think I'm using all my words here, but this would be a wonderful image and this would sell to my clients big my clients would love that image because it's their child and they see the face and they feel the energy and it's closer often that sells a lot more than very, very distant in the child being a small part of it, but it's not so close that we couldn't sell it really big. I'd have a hard time selling this is a cz a forty by sixty because someone might be afraid they'd be, but this image should be a no brainer, a big gorgeous so these are three different images that would show in different ways for different things the slide show that I'm about to go is how I would position images in the order of a position then to sell to a client. All right, we don't have to dim the lights right, magic. I heard you say that you was shot state and notre version long the four match, but if we're on a crow and we are staying the same so I won't cheat stretch myself way one to soothe leaves how is that different? Wait come from the dirt that's way both with the seasons way smooth stretch myself, david way we're entitled to change turning to change tack cost like a flower wear anything, a distant booth the funny thing about this this work we do is that if you're going out and you're empathizing and you get to know your clients and you're in the experience and you see them year after year and you get this amazing sense of them, you sit there and you look at all of it put together and you're thinking of every every laugh and every smile and every situation you turned around and every milestone that they went through and you really, really care, and I'm so look at that I'm obviously emotional because my voice sounds funny, but it's because I am so unbelievably great vaults of my clients for letting me have this job I'm so grateful like, how how do you get this job? This is amazing! I love this work and if you looked at these images, it's a combination of some my best favorite, most beloved portfolio pieces and it's the ones that I wouldn't put in my portfolio, my client with just thrilled about and it's got to be that it's never just freer but fall it's never just for marketing your intention should be to create work that elicits a response in your client that is meaningful in powerful on something they don't want to walk away from. And if you don't feel that level of passion for your work when you show it to your clients, it's it's difficult to get super excited when you try to sell it, let yourself get lost what you're creating and how much work it is because this is a lot of work, isn't it? It's, how many like late nights and efforts and dnas routing and like, I think I'm gonna go to html today like we're putting so much heart and passion and effort into this it's not mask that from our clients, they should see just how much we put into this because they also are putting a lot into this, right? Okay, so, so funny when you were looking at the stream before he turned around, I was about to ask you, do you ever get choked up seeing your own work? I do and you know what? To be very honest usually it comes at the culmination when it's all put together, so so when you're presenting it or in this case where I mean honestly just to get here presenting in creative live and especially when you're creating a brand new course this course there's a couple elements that I've most of it has you could tell is quite brand new it's a lot of thought, a lot of evaluation, a lot of research when you get here and you're like, why am I here? Why am I doing this it's because of them I am so on I'm incredibly grateful all right, so that's do be grateful do be grateful and do show it, but what good does it do all bottled up inside as you sit next your client and say ok, what next? You're not giving them a chance to feel anything either. I remember watching the grammys anybody ever seen pink at the grammys when she came down from the rope and saying this song you know, I'm talking about you can find it on youtube it's like a couple of years ago and came down is this extremely dramatic performance where she came down off this yeah this rope and she's in a skin tight thing and she's saying this song it was very soulful, it was very saying dramatic because she poured herself into the performance of it is a beautiful music, but she poured herself into apartments of it and remember watching that being struck by how how all in you have to be to do that it's got to be very, very raw and very vulnerable on dh also very aware that other people are having experience because you're allowing for this to happen and if you say for just a moment I'm afraid I'm going to come across a stupid I'm afraid I'm across them across is too emotional I'm afraid I'm gonna come across is trying to push something on them you are robbing them of the experience of what they can have the experience I had why watch that performance the experience they can have if you just let them sink into the imagery with you at their side helping to guide the experience if you're throwing it online and waiting for in order to come back, they don't even get to have that all right? Yeah, since we're getting emotional, I had a client come one time that it was just the mom the dad didn't come and I was like oh is so and so watching the kids and she alluded to the fact that things were going on at homes and you know, I were it's a client relationship still so I had that kind of barrier but as we were watching this side show she was obviously getting emotional which got me kind of emotional and I kind of struggled with this like wanting to just reach over and give her a big bear hug and just be like it's ok? It's ok? And but I had that awkward like I'm still trying to stay professional but that's what I want to be I want to be as real and authentic with my clients as possible and I want I want them to be friends. I want to go out for coffee or grab a drink and and give them a big bear hug when things air not okay. Yeah. You know, there should never be an opportunity where you have to apologize for showing your humanity. Never. Yeah, I think next time you feel that I hope you act on it. Most of us are walking around with all these barriers. If you can give people the opportunity to put it down that that's a gift, you know? Okay, let's, talk about the nine steps because that's where you go next, all right? Mm market you want to take a question or maybe that's a great idea thiss flow is now arguing let's do that, okay, there's, quite a few people, katie and empty wine. Several people had asked when do you introduce the price list? If you could just go through the process of yes that happens I can do that it on a technical absolutely I introduced the priceless is there we go immediately immediately when people call I immediately start out by saying this is our session fee in fact I can tell you um when I'm on a phone call and they're saying to me how much he costs I will say thank you for going etcetera really excited our sessions is five hundred dollars that includes, you know, no additional charge it's an unlimited on unlimited experience in terms that its unhurried there's no restrictions on clothing or opposes their location and that all the finishing is included with the images and let me send over the detailed priceless for you to check out and as you're checking that out, that should be what is your email address? Ok, give me your phone number real quick just to make sure that you get it okay, okay good I've got all that information I hate to send it to you and get bounced back we're going to junk folder this bacon reach out to you. Make sure you got it okay? And while that sending over to u s you can see everything in detail I'd love to tell you how we work and then I go into an overview of the experience you know, which is simply that you know I love finding out about you and your family what it is that you want when you coming down going after these photographs what we can create together my favorite part of the photography genuinely is getting to know you guys and I can say that because holy crap it's the truth that's so easy truth is easy and so the price is right away or given at the very at the very beginning I just want this comment from I think it's iris I'm not really sure I you r us their regular the charm they said priceless the ultimate move killer had a real that emotion back in my no price tamer lack a yea what a blubbering mess what would you do if they don't call because I get calls but I also get much more email and it's you know generally just hi we're looking what he crossed that is at least when you're on the phone you get teo like right position in a way you would like to where is with texas just like one s o one of two things one you consent you can have a description that you've written up that has a lot of detail about what the experience is a strong differentiator instead of just attack me you can do a couple things we attached a price list you can have a link where they can go see it on your website you could have a link where they can go see it what they clearly have to go through your website in more detail, which you know, gives a lot more credence to the quality of the imagery. The other thing you can do is actually within the wording of the response to the client. You can say I'd love to go through this in detail on the phone, I think you know, it's a little bit crazy to kind of throw out my prices that once and it much rather quickly explain it in a quick phone call, I mean, that's waiting one way to move them over to the found yes, so in that case, if they give you, they send you an email, but they don't include a phone number. Do you still give your price or do you just say I'd love to talk with you about it on the phone because some people, they just want to know the price, the email? So how do you handle that, right? It also depends on the quality of the inquiry. If you're getting an inquiry and we've all seen this, which seems so a terribly generic, it gets you in twenty other photographers listed in the to section I don't need to push really hard to turn that into a personal thing because I don't think it really was a personal thing. If it is a referral, er's I saw you work here this or that, then I will very that is a really warm lead, and we'll definitely make sure that turns into a phone call by trying to elicit it through means like that. So it depends on the quality of the email that has a lot to do that. A lot of times you'll get something through the contact us page on your website and, you know, there's a section there where we asked them for more detail, and that can be really helpful in determining that, um, I give my price a link to the pricing when they're enquiring about it, and then I said the session on dh then when I go to the sales session, I'll bring a printed copy of my pricing and services guide that they I had already gotten a link to when they inquired you do that, you did the sale session, okay, so I do it at the inquiry, and then when I go to their home and it's right there in front of us, the pricings there is that sufficient? Or should it be one more time where we're actually talking about the price that's very sufficient, and in fact, what I would do is have the pricing available at the sale session, but not in front of you available. Yeah, I mean everyone's well, that happens. They pick up your pricing and they're holding on to it. And this and that that's a very, really known as you're discussing the products. They might be looking at the price. I mean, a very normal question as you're going through images in choosing them and coming up with the order is like, how much is going to cause me? Yeah, great question. Yeah. Ok on, if you had advice is to I think overemphasizing the price is also a mistake. Right? Then again, what you want is this exchange to be something that's meaningful and important to them. What you do not want this to be is a financial transaction where they're choosing from a variety of commodities and you were one of the options. So give the information. Don't hide it, don't handle hall, don't apologize, but don't hammer it right. Okay, thank you. You're welcome. You know, on marketing specifically, one of the things that you need to keep in mind is some of us market and then we see things slowing down, and then we market again. Then we see things throwing down the market again. I strongly suggest that your marketing twenty four seven like you should be marketing all year long you know I'm currently booking a ways out for my normal sessions when people just kind of come in cold and they just want a book a session that that's booked ways out but that doesn't mean we ever slow down on marketing because I you catch up to that you get there you want to keep a nice full pipeline um in cream management so the first time you hear from a client this is going to sound rough but I'm just miss it the first time you hear from a client is typically where most photographers go wrong I just said it but it's true that when the first time you hear for from them should be the time where you're sinking and a lot of focus on a one things to be a great experience for you this is why I'm different I'm not to say I am different because but hopefully I go into a level of detail that shows you that this is going to be more of an quality experience versus another person vying for this technical job that is where you put a lot of effort in maggie didn't jump up into a role play with the real quick you're calling for a session huh make sure your skirts now all right go hi I wanted to book a session for my husband me and my two kids and looking for a photographer can you tell me how much it cost sure absolutely you said two children two children okay and you're looking to do something right away or you're just kind of in the planning phases right now we were hoping to get you hurt her and I said sure I'm actually going to be the price so she knows it's coming we were looking at you know now okay such now you know, other photographers are like one hundred fifty bucks with the city have what about you already fall I'm horrified that you even call may you know what I mean like you get no I don't actually I do people actually start out conversation saying other people are this what are you or do they just ask your your price you're just going to a ball breaker I don't know there then I have had a woman who actually ok do it but we're going to do in normal a normal engagement okay because again we can get caught up in every worst case scenario and do this for eight hours and turn this in the rocky horror picture show we're going to do a normal polite house somebody calls you have seen my website you have some sense of my work you're not you're not going to like call me up and yell at me all right? What would be the rationale for you to do that? Okay let's do this again it's almost like we didn't rehearse this way, didn't you hi my husband my husband and I are looking for a photographer to take family images of us with our two kids wonderful that sounds great I was just you know really and for calling me thanks. I was just wondering how much we like about a session he is and what it would entail sure I'd love to go through all of that you give me your email I'll send you over its you know I've got a detailed priceless and give you all the information you want to just give me your email real quick I get that right to you sure it's maggie and monumental dot com really interested in knowing well that's what? Ok and ok and then just in case I uh something happens it bounces back or something what's the best number to reach you at five five five great. Yeah well, I'm so glad you asked our session fee is five hundred dollars and that actually includes unlimited time in terms of our effort I don't really like to put a cap on it most the sessions or about two, maybe three hours depends on it goes there's no additional fees for anything that's the kind of all inclusive price so there's no cost proposing or outfit changes or you get services like four times now today any different locations that we want to go teo there's no additional charges for photo, finishing anything like in fact, what we love to do is find out a lot about you like what you're interested in doing and did you know if you want to do a session in your home or on location now you may be thinking that's so out of range war or no I'm just saying I'm just saying a normal client you might be thinking whoa did you just say five hundred dollars ok but if you're raising my website you've got some idea of the quality of the work etcetera you're probably not going to say that isn't saying you biaggio and then slammed down the phone you're just going to be thinking and you may even be you may be one of the other you might be saying because you might also be referred by a friend and have an idea of the pricing and not be shocked that might be fine have you ever gotten a oh you know I'm gonna have to talk to my husband about this okay? I'll give you call back ok that would be oh sure, sure because it's well, but but what I just said to you is have you given some thought about what you'd like to do this in your home or on location like that? You know, I've seen you're upset and I seeing pictures of kids outside and that's kind of what we're looking for good good sax action my favorite place to shoot we have a studio we've got the lighting we've got the setup and all sort of stuff but one of my family put the phone down one of my favorite things to dio can you still imagine him on the phone? Okay, one of my favorite things to do is go outside and really let the kids run loose how would you say your kids are five and two and a half oh, I don't know I just actually love this ages was the great ages and you've got crickets I actually love those ages it's kind of perfect because they're not newborn, they're not legally they can get up and move I'm sure they're to nap your old he'll be moving allows yeah, yeah, I would expect that ok, so we're just dogging I'm sharing the fact that I have a lot of experience with this. I say one of my favorite things with toddlers is because they're going to be racing around a lot I'm gonna be chasing them a lot and I need room to do that, you know, I'm getting her set up for the idea of how I work I don't want her to think that I'm going to sit back and just do this if you have a two and a half year old you're probably thinking how many get this kid to sit still for a picture, right he's crazy he's all boy right and so so as we're talking all these saying yeah, I like a lot of there's actually a couple of great options you know, I just shot a session in la la la gardens what's really beautiful about that is there's a lot of wide open spaces and there's a I'm assuming the sale right now I'm not I'm not doing it from the perspective where I am over talking you I'm actually actually questions and trying to hear about more but I'm saying I'm not sure if you've ever been there but that's actually a gorgeous time for session I could actually send you a recent session from there, so you get a really good idea of what I'm thinking maybe you're welcome now book me if you said you know actually we'd love something in our home we've got a big, great backyard it's so tell me a little bit more about that shooting in home homes of the wonderful thing of that some great samples I can show you you know, we started getting into a dialogue or all say something you say your five year old you know she loved being photographed is she could be more shy you might say she's really mo one she hates the camera and runs anytime I put in front of her face and she is a little bit shy but when she warms up to, she should be okay ok, so here's the part where you can start to brag a little bit about your successes this is the part where you can believe that you have a differentiator and that means whatever your differentiator is and hopefully you know what it isthe whatever you think stands you apart when we do workshops we go through business planning we start talking about what is your niche where do you stand out? What is your difference? You look at everybody else you want to stand out where is it and usually has something do with you personally what you personally bring to the table and who you are I would say right there to have a little bragging about the fact that you know what I would sum I would find a way to comfortably communicate to you I mean let's go back and rolls ok, so I've got a girl she's a little shy but she warms up here I think she'd be okay, okay, my two and half year old you're gonna have to now him to the floor. I'm incredibly used to others and you said earlier about like she doesn't like it take a nurse okay, so shouldn't let get her picture taken I actually had an experience not even that long ago where mom called me and said, you know honestly you're not all we have are photographs of the back of her head that is, there are whole collection of images, which I was thinking, oh, a challenge I love this not a challenge that I'm planning to fail act in fact, that actually never had to do a reshoot ever, because my goal is to get in there and make this experience where than your time in your effort and really showcase your kids. And you mentioned that she will warm up a little bit later, okay? So I've been thinking that during the session and you see, I'm kind of going into it, and if you are thinking what what do you thinking at this point, if we're having this is a comfortable dialogue divesting questions? You initially politely responded, but you are on the fence, and as we're going, I'm feeling we're comfortable you're making me feel like you would, you know, it's, not just a pricier inquiry anymore. Now we're having a conversation, we're making it riel, we're making it really so so instead, that being this hypothetical price election from one hundred different options that are out there, all of which are vague to me and unknown this one person has suddenly started to crystallize. I can see this person, I could envision the shoot, I can understand that this person is an expert. They feel confident about the fact that they have come up against all these things and they have delivered I can give you cases scenarios based on what you just told me and on experiences I've had, I can't tell you how I dealt with them. What you don't want to do is go to all this trouble going to shoot comeback in the images are terrible, I'm going to keep talking to you about why what my success rate is what people have said on if you saw our testimonials, I mean, I can feel very comfortable saying I'm really excited about this experience when I do workshops, I have a section on my page for workshops for feedback from people who have come to it, and I'm so proud of that am I like a braggart? Well, if I am don't say that loud, but it's not I'm just I put a lot of effort and hard and really care, and I work really hard in the content and I really care about the conversations I'm having, so I'm super super proud when I see it turn around and it's the same thing with my photography, so why would I sit there and let you call me? And after saying all this store staff say to you, my sessions fees for five hundred dollars it's probably a lot of sorry I'm not going to do that I'm going to tell you why it is in a lot of detail and I'm gonna do it in a comfortable exchanging way so then how do you move tio booking the sale from that's right like so I said to you you know what that that's a little bit more than I was planning I need to talk to my husband what do you yeah no, I completely understand it. You want to go ahead and talk to your husband if you want I will talk to him I have a great I joke I joke I would say that you want if you want to discuss that your husband that sounds wonderful you know, you may already have the prices you know your in box or whatever depending on where you are and you yeah you want to ask any questions about those really quickly I couldn't give you that detail again I'm forming a relationship I am not sitting here saying you talked your husband what do want to talk to your husband like ok have a knack for response. I gave you a lot of information I gave you a lot of enthusiasm I gave you an expert rate I give you testimonials every call that comes in do you think I book every call that comes in? I do not, but I've given you a lot to go away with and so if you call back we have already had a starter place I'm keeping notes about our conversation really excited I'm going to follow up with you I'm gonna say did you make sure you get this yes so I follow up on email and by phone actually sara our studio manager does let's be honest on dh that again when you're talking about setting up your organization if you feel like you're really awkward on the phone or you don't want to do the phone calls or someone's better at it or whatever the case might be make sure you set up your organization appropriately some people love to answer the phones others will do it sometimes and trade off with somebody else whatever your situation is but so then if all up and then the follow up isn't to say have you started yet have you decided it's to say I'm really interested you told me about your kids but I had this all built up you go in sounds great well two questions how do you go from like if she didn't say I need to talk to my husband do you have like you know would you like to book a session tio do you ask them? Yes and I said so if we want to go ahead and start getting them that this on the calendar I'm not sure where you are here is from the dates I have available it's a five hundred dollars session feed to book that we can either do that credit card right over the phone I said you the portrait contract it's easier just a book it on a credit card but if you want to send in a checkers something like that we could we could deal with that. I strongly prefer people to do it by credit card because that's just done unlike that cab driver I want to do it by credit card because of the convenience factor and because people spend more when they pay with credit cards right right and then other quick question when you do call back for the follow up what you say and just you know you called a couple you know, whatever I don't know like wow, how do you bring up hi it's me? You want to book me? Do you want me now? Do you want me now? No, no, no, I just want to see if you guys had a chance to have a conversation I'm really excited about possibly doing the shoot let me know of these is the dates I have available this sort of thing again it's just the constant building of making it really you know, I actually just had a talk with my studio manager not long ago about like the significant impact of putting that excitement that god within that enthusiasm putting it out there because otherwise you're just one more voice on the phone and you don't stand out, and if you really feel it, why wouldn't you show it? I'm not nervous that she's going to think I'm done for loving my work, I think she's going to be drawn to the fact that it seemed to really love my work, you know I need her to crystallize. This is a real experience and she could start out with reservations. I mean, every one of you we could go each one of you could tell us about experience, but you weren't sure gonna buy. It seems pricey, and by the end you were sold in sight. We've all had that experience and usually comes about by education, more information, picturing yourself, doing it, getting a feel for it, getting more and more excited, bought in and then you're there. Other times you know, we didn't play out is the times that people say ok, sounds good, here's, the date that does happen to there are times that your worst fears go unrecognized.