Lessons

Lesson Info

9:15 am - What is a Salesperson?

Let's talk about photography showy and sales sales and sales uh ok so photography what is it? What do you when you say I want to be a photographer what do you go out and learn how you learn about lighting you learn about gear you learn about exposure you want to be a photographer if you take it to the next level and say gosh you know I'm really getting into this I want to figure it out a little bit more you start learning about things like business hopefully hopefully you saw that taking care of business course last year um and you start learning about client connection hopefully, which is a huge thing that I am extremely focused on my photography but how often do you go out and learn about sales? Have any of you guys had any sales training as relates to photography does it wouldn't even make sense that you would is there a lot out there there's really not a lot out there that that many people flock to prioritize like I must learn about this so first and foremost huge props to you guys...

for doing so in photography about ten percent of what you're doing day in and day out even if you have a pretty booked schedule is the shooting part the rest of it is the business and very much so the fueling of the business which means you have to sell your work the interesting thing I think about photography is that a lot of people are getting into it right? Have you guys noticed this? A lot of people are getting into it and the reason is very interesting and very obvious. The technology, the difficulty of the technology is evening out it's a beautiful way to express yourself those people who are drawn to being artistic are drawn to this versus learning how to paint and there's a plentiful amount of reasons why people are getting into photography. The biggest thing that effects photographers is that there's a low barrier to entry you can get into it with a camera and a lot of motivation and a desire to learn more is a very low barrier to entry. What is not a low barrier to entry is learning how to stay in business and how to sell your work. Many people can get into photography, but many people will not stay in photography because they're not sustaining their business because of this missing part of sales. So this whole course is designed around the fact that hopefully you've chosen a profession that makes you happy. Hopefully you're doing work that you love was that part of your decision to move into photography by show of hands, every single person and our jacko's how many people on the internet are raising their hands that I mean, this is one of those few professions that, as opposed to, you know, like a list one last time I did that, I get in trouble, I kept listening, a banker, and I got really in trouble in the banking community, but hopefully this is a profession that you've chosen because you love the work, and if you love the work, you need to figure out how to stay in the work. So that is what this course is going to be about as we dive into three full days, just a quick reminder of what we did on the work life balance course, what we did was talk about the fact if you want in on that course, we built a priority plan, and what we built was looking at everything in your life. Where does it all shake out? How are you prioritizing your life? And I presented this dinner table idea where you're sitting at the dinner table and your perfect seat is in the middle of the dinner table, so you can see everybody who's at the dinner party and you're on a rotating seats. You can get around to talk to everybody, but you're not treating this like a lot of the graphics, but I've seen that represent work life balance like a pyramid or a scale or a pie chart, this is more like everybody at the table needs your attention. It works a vital part of it and so if you're sitting at home and thinking you know what three days and sales sounds awesome, I'm sure I need it I need a lot of stuff right now I'm busy with everything at the dinner party, so I'm gonna I'm gonna back burner and get to it later that's a very natural and normal response and yet back burning this and the work life bounces or two critical things that enable you to keep doing what you love and keep being happy on a daily basis, which is you saw wednesday that's the only way you get happy for life is you're happy on a day to day basis, so hopefully you can put everything aside and really sink into the details of this course because business is fundamentally producing goods and services and selling them think of every business model you know every one of them that is the premise for all of them that is all you are doing in business and if you have no goods and no services obviously it's important to cultivate your photography and really good get good at producing your work you have nothing to sell, but if you can't sell the work that you're great at, you cannot keep producing because you cannot stay in business, right? I mean, it really is that black and white in that vital so uh these are my babies who is in your head when you think of a sales person who is in your head like how are you picturing when somebody says sales person used cars used car you know what I'm going back this is really, really important actually who is in your head when you think of sales person let's ask the internet with yes I'd love it just throw it out right out because these are the words that were going knocked to the ground telemarket at the end of this yes scott ratliff says use cars tweed jackets with elbow patches used car ok that it's just I would hate to use cards I mean because you know that somebody's tuning in is a used car salesman of course. Statistically it's probable amuse card salesman tweed jacket with elbow cups elbow patches ok and she's writing it down. All right, why don't you guys in the odd in the studio telemarketer telemarketer okay, what do the images you have when you think about a sales person keep going. You know if this is necessarily like a prototype but I actually think a lot of people think of liars liars that now it's great that's exactly what I mean that this is exactly it what what is it about it that is to you? What corps? What do you think? What do you envisioning let's just get it out I think of making quotas doing anything to make a quota right so quota driven autumn atran all right uh cat captain coarsely photography of furniture store employees that follow you around their store stalker slash pushy pushy retail e okay simpson portrait says manipulation and painted foot said smooth talkers people are saying smooth talker scammers selling fluff wow politicians wow this is a maligned profession scammers smooth talkers politicians commission seekers okay, so keep going with that what's wrong with that that's what you are just we are we're one hundred percent commission sales people really get to the root of it what is wrong with commission sales? Right? So that's actually willard buy this now hellis well, dora w says pushing people who want you to spend more than you can afford pushy spend pushers what's wrong that selling no I'm saying get to the part that says that those were just the actions what is it about that action that's tricksters hi sisters is that story trickster huckster not listening to what it is that you maybe want not oh my gosh and that that's similar to what beth olson creative says which is you feel like the other person is more interested in your money than actually helping you? Yeah perfect then helping kristen says feels like you're spending hard earned cash for a product that is not being backed up so it feels like because the vision the vision is of the sales person so what I think she's saying or he's saying again, uh, let's, let me find it oh, christian and said she says feels like you're spending hard earned cash for a product that is not being backed up ok, so basically being swindled swindled to spend on something that doesn't last yeah or isn't supportive yeah is inequality okay? Swindled on poor quality aspires a swindled on poor quality I think that your client to know how much a print actually costs so you're as a sales person trying to sell them something that is much more expensive so that they have that that's over here. So you have a fear you're knowledgeable about the actual price that eh, they were good cross how does that relate to christ? Not the same as price okay images of his says anyone with an agenda, whether good or bad and I think that's very powerful because you do any time you're in a sales situation, you do feel like someone has an agenda, they haven't they haven't outcome in mind and they want it from you and it doesn't it doesn't, it doesn't feel like it's in your best interests their agenda, not yours all right, their agenda that's excellent, I mean, the reason why this is um excellent so excellent is because all of this is living in your head when you're thinking about I want to be this person how I get myself to be a huckster a liar and manipulator a scammer, a politician, a pushy spend pusher who was to be that person clear barra says intrusive, intrusive and smarmy smarmy it's like it's like you know what we need to do it just go to the source and look up horrible evil people and we've got our list all right oh wow we've got a lot of work in front of us, shall we? So this is in your head and you think of a sales person these air a horrible, horrible things to have in your head so first and foremost, if all of this is related to the term sales a person like sesame street you don't say salesman anymore it's not the mailman it's a mail carrier sales person I would suggest we stopped using the word sales person in our terminology because we have a problem with it call it what you want to call it a portrait consultant, fine art consultant, wedding photography consultant, fortune product photography consulted landscape specialist start with the language because we're getting tripped up on the languages languages ahh fall because I think I was going to say that in the end I think you know whenever I'm buying anything if I need help I just want an expert who's going to provide a solution my problem right? You wanted you wanted a consultant something's an expert in the subject? Yes. So if you could identify yourself yourself somehow identify yourself with a term that draws you in if I have a problem, I want to seek someone who can consult me with expert knowledge. I don't want a huckster so at least start by giving yourself the advantage of the proper terminology. I think that according to most research, all these yucky stereotypes out there, they actually described the worst worst salesman in terms of their quotas in their numbers in their success rates these these air not that used car salesman, that person you fear the one who stalks you around the living room furniture store. These are not the people at the top of their game. We're associating all these negative connotations with the people who are doing the worst at their job. They're not representing the industry and they're not representing the field. These are the people that are hot from deal deal and they're not successful long term because clearly with these attributes, they're not building relationships long term, so we're identifying with the lowest of the low in terms of reaching for how to the best do it in a way that seems seamless and successful and positive and uplifting and helpful I think philip there's a book out there called the art of the sale by philip brought, I believe, is how you say your name and hey summarizes basically the most successful people in their field one sentence after doing all this research that would sum it up is the most successful sales people out there would be considered the low ego character who sees genuine client service as their highest goal, not money, not booking it, not making their agenda where cannot swindling anybody but someone who says, look, if I can figure out how to please you and give you what you want and solve your problem and fill your needs, then eventually when it is time you will come to me to buy there's no pressure there's no, I'm going to make you do this it's very real it's very transparent and that is the person you want to go to when the time comes. Have you known people like this what's an example of somebody who fits this bill that you somebody you've known I think of like, uh, you know, a massage therapist or, you know, somebody that's kind of trying or acupuncture something in like health where they sell you the package? Yes for the ten massages, but they don't get the feeling that they're doing it for the money they really want you to feel better and her technology you you physically feel their help, you know exactly what it feels like to feel better because of their services, and you don't feel like they're trying to get anything out of this, except for dutifully charging what the services were that is genuinely helping you right and see if a positive association okay, that's, great hold onto that police as we go through this. Um, the interesting thing I think about sales is when you're looking. I talked earlier about how in photography most people don't get a lot of sales training what's even more interesting than that is in business. Most people don't get a lot of sales training it's it's a kind of jarring when you really look at sales education, but if you think the numbers are in there, if I have to do. According to a recent study at harvard business school, four hundred seventy nine of the u s business programs that are accredited on ly one hundred one had any sort of sales curriculum, and only fifteen of them offer some sort of sales oriented graduate curriculum only fifteen at the graduate level out of four hundred seventy nine. So they're not teaching sales not at all. They teach marketing marketing they if they tell you how to generate leads. But not like when that get it. Yeah, they teach you marketing. They teach you strategy. They take you finance that teach you how to build beautiful spreadsheets, right? They teach a lot about operations and logistics and distribution, important things to know depending on where you are business. But when we went back to the big isn't the beginning of this whole presentation and talked about the two fundamental parts of business producing products and services, and then the selling of them all that other stuff that gets taught that's thickly in there. But those of those in the tenant says the basic things you need to do, and that's the part that's getting left out. So in photography, if they're not doing in business schools, how many photography schools are teaching sales created by this that's, what we're here for?