When you decided to become a photography business owner, there may have been a few areas which you were unsure of, specifically in person photography sales. As the artist behind the camera, do you desire to reach out and master in person sales photography but feel uncomfortable doing so? What if you could create a service for your clients rather than feeling like a pushy salesperson?
In Person Sales Photography
In our Sell Your Work, Not Your Soul: Simplifying In Person Sales Webinar with Chris Scott from Swift Galleries, he shared how you can sell more work and outperform your competition, without ever feeling like a salesperson, by turning the process into a custom experience for every client. Here are the top 5 tips for simplifying photography sales from Chris’s webinar.
Quick Tip
Did you know by outsourcing wedding photo edits to a specialist, like ShootDotEdit, can save you an exponential amount of hours – time you can put toward practicing your in person sales photography skills!
1. Clarify Expectations with Clients
One of the key points of simplifying wedding photography sales is to start setting expectations for clients from the beginning. If you set expectations with your clients up front, you lower objections later in the process. Through your website, blog, and social media, the parts of your business you should set expectations for are price, product, and process.
Price
If you do not properly set expectations, you might turn off couples who are looking for a photographer, especially when it comes to pricing. If clients only reach your contact page, at least they have an idea of what your prices are when they reach out to you.
Product
On your website, blog, and social media are you including the products you provide for clients (and letting them know that you are selling photography prints and more as a part of their package)? Regardless of the platform, clients should always see the product you are “known for,” whether that is albums, prints, or wall art. Chris suggests that rather than using a teaser of multiple images on your blog, share a mock-up of those images in an album or as wall art. As well as sharing before the sale has been made, create follow-up blog posts that show how the product looks in the client’s home. Finally, add a portfolio item of just album spreads or wall prints on your website so clients can clearly see them when they visit your site.
Process
For you to avoid confusion, talking about your process on your website is crucial. You may include a pre-session planning meeting, the session itself, and the sales meeting, which is information to feature on your website. Avoid revealing too many details because many people are too busy to read through them. The idea is just to give them a taste of what they will experience if they book you for their wedding day. If you want to share more details, explain the process in detail during pre-booking or the planning meeting. You can also reinforce the process throughout to reduce objections later.
Related: How can understanding client behaviors help you succeed with in person sales?
2. Begin Planting Seeds
Once you set expectations, begin planting seeds with your clients to ensure you will not lose their interest. Start with your website by showing them who you are, what you do, and how they can work with you. As you receive their inquiry, find out if you are a good fit for them and if your skills match their needs. When you meet them for the planning meeting, ask them questions and make suggestions based on what you know about them.
During this planning meeting, you can start building a package for them. Because it puts context to the price they saw on your website, it will be easier to have a discussion with them about your products. An app, such as Swift Galleries, allows you to show them what your work would look like in their homes.
3. Focus on Asking Questions
As you discuss products and services in the planning meeting, begin the process by asking them questions, such as “where in your home would you like to display your wall art?” Even if they were not originally thinking about placing your products in their home, they are now thinking about it. Continue asking questions about their home, what color their walls are, what other images they have in that room, and what their furniture style is. Finding out everything you can about their style and space can help you figure out what to do with their photos. Your clients want someone who can help them decide what is best for them, especially when it comes to their wedding images.[ninja-inline id=14322]
Related: Simple Tricks to Doubling Your Professional Wedding Album Profits – read them here!
4. Build Excitement for Sales
Because the session is an important part of the process, you need to build excitement for the products you discuss. Think about it as you already know the products your clients are going to walk away with, which gives you the confidence to continue talking about them. If you are excited about in person sales photography, they are going to be excited. Make sure to talk about the products you discussed during the planning meeting (or even before). Keep your clients thinking creatively, helping them picture exactly what it will look like to have your work in their home.
5. Bring the Process Full Circle
Although many photographers fear this part of the process, this is the easy part, as long as every other step is done correctly. Remind them of what you discussed throughout the process. Talk to them about what they decided would look good in their home. Show them the products which would work for them. After you spend time getting to know them and their style, you will become more comfortable suggesting other ways to incorporate and use their photos. In this case, up-selling becomes an easier process when your clients are prepared and know what you are offering (and trust the person providing them the services).
Simplifying sales on your website, blog, and social media can make the in person sales process much easier. Having the confidence to share your products and services with your clients is a great way for you to continuously increase your profit. Speaking of profit – do you know how to properly price the products and services you provide for your photography business? Download our free Guide: The Keys to Pricing for Wedding Photographers to find out which pricing model is best for you! Click the banner below to grab your copy today.
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