How to improve your photography sales technique – cushions
Selling your photography doesn't have to feel like a Mexican stand-off where both parties feel uncomfortable.
The beauty of improving your photography sales technique is you don’t have to spend a fortune to make a huge difference to the success of your photography business.
Many people hate the idea of being a sales person, but a good sales technique isn’t about pressure or manipulation. An effective sales person builds rapport, asks questions and educates so that you can find out exactly what your client wants (which is very rarely the cheapest option).
One useful sales technique is to use cushions. Again, it’s the opposite of what you might think a sales person would do. The idea is to initially agree with the client, or say something positive when they say something you don’t want to hear. This then softens your ultimate response. For example, these are some statements most photographers don’t like hearing:
How do successful portrait and wedding photographers make their money?
Successful photographers understand: sales, marketing and pricing.
Successful wedding and portrait photographers do so well because they’re good at all the things you’re struggling with.
What are you struggling with? I’d happily smack a suitcase full of cash on the table and bet that you have three key problems:
- Getting enough people to contact you (marketing)
- Getting enough people to book you after they’ve contacted you (sales)
- Earning enough money from the people that do hire you (pricing)
Should photographers offer CDs to their customers?
Should you put portrait or wedding photos on a CD for your clients?
If you’re a portrait or wedding photographer and simply burning a CD for your customers then are you doing them and yourself a disservice.
Show the value of your photography
Photos should be printed, framed (or put into an album) and displayed at a decent size. Your customers will enjoy a framed 30 x 20 inch photo far more than squinting at something on their laptop. Think about it, how many photos do you have stored on CDs, portable memory devices and on your hard drive? How often do you browse them? Now think about the framed photos around your home. Precious aren’t they? If you display them in a lovely frame at a decent size then you probably look at them quite regularly and derive a great deal of pleasure from doing so.
A beautiful framed photo becomes a family heirloom. It looks and feels special. A CD just doesn’t do justice to your craft. Continue reading
How much is a portrait or wedding photo worth?
How much is a photo worth?
How much is a photo worth? How can some photographers earn far more than others despite their photography being no better?
Regardless of which photography market you are in you need to do the following two things if you want to earn more:
- Add value
- Show the quality
OK, so those two answers seem a bit vague initially, but bear with me. They’re vague because they’re broad enough to apply across any kind of photography and indeed any kind of business that wants to hit the high end of the market. Let’s look at each answer in turn. Continue reading
