By Michael Connors
President and Co-Founder
Here’s a quick refresh on what we covered last month in Part One.
- 80% of people hire the first person they talk to even if they talk to 4-5 others.
- The more people that know who you are the better off you will be.
- Hair Salons – Great way to generate business
- Reason to knock on business doors
- What photos make the biggest impact and why
Now, let’s move on to Part Two!
One of the easiest ways to generate business is from your existing customers. There are several clever ways to do this.
First, each time you send out any orders to your customers, always add a thank you note and a promotional offer for them to redeem. This is one of the most important things many photographers miss. Though some photographers send out offers separately, it doesn’t have the same impact, plus it’s going to cost you more!
A warm thanks for their business is always appreciated. For example, the call to action might read:
“We also photograph kids, families and seniors. Here is a coupon for a family photo shoot. We would be honored to capture memories of your wonderful family. Thank you again for your business!“
A special discount can also be offered if they purchase additional images from the event.
For sports photographers that only do sports events, their call to action might be something like this:
“By the way, we post all our upcoming events on our website. If you have grandparents or family coming to the event, call us a few days before and we can show up a little earlier to get some fun photos of your family with your child in their uniform.”
Next, if you’re a wedding photographer, you have a captured audience of guests who are potential new customers at every wedding you photograph. Networking here can undoubtedly help you build your clientele for all types of photography that you offer.
There are many ways to do this. One way is to go up to each table and introduce yourself.
“Hi, I’m Michael from Michaels Photography. Let me get a picture of all of you at this table. Smile! Here is my business card that has the information on how to see these images I’m taking today.”
If they’re like most guests, they’ll want the photo(s). Now that you have introduced yourself personally, you have made a personal connection. These customers now know your company name and recognize your face. When they look at your name again on your business card, they’ll remember to go to your site to view their images. Will the guest buy images? Most likely. Even if they don’t buy, what’s important is them getting to know you.
For a portrait photographer, the most important thing is to post all images online for a week or two. When your photo session is done, walk your clients to the door, thank them and let them know that you’ll have their images ready within two weeks. Encourage them to share your website with their friends and family to view the photos. It’s like if you had just handed them a stack of your business cards.
Two things that you may want to consider when posting the images online is to mark them up 20- 25%. Or you can charge visitors to the website just to view the images. This has worked better for me personally than I thought it would. For them to enter the event page, you charge a fee upfront and give them the credit back at check out.
If the Internet was made for any one, it’s for the photographer. What other company has a perfect way to get their customers to bring their friends and family to their site. As we all know, photos are always fun to share and show off!
You need to promote your business any time you can. That means always having business cards on you. I suggest you have your elevator pitch on your card. What I mean by this is what you do and where you do it at! I recommend adding your photo on your business card. Tests show it’s much harder for people to throw a card away that includes a photo.
The same holds true for the home page of your website. Include a photo of yourself and your location. I visit many photography sites searching hard to determine where the business is located. Sometimes not even a phone number is included, which is a bad business move. Remember, customers typically are looking for a photographer in a certain area. If you travel anywhere, then say where you’re based and that you serve the entire U.S.
Again, always remember the 80% rule – people hire the first person they talk to! When it comes to phone calls, make sure you return all calls that go to your voicemail ASAP.
Plus, have a personalized message on voice mail. If you do answer phone, make each person calling feel welcomed that they contacted you. Remember, they reached out to you, make them feel special. Many times through the years I thought when I answered the phone it was a sales call and almost hanged up before I found out it was a potential customer. Be careful not to assume. Answer the phone with a smile.
Recap
Keep in mind these key points:
1) Thank each client and ask for more business with every order.
2) Post all images online, even if you already have their order. Friends and family may want to order images.
3) Business cards and the home page of your website must have your elevator pitch on them. What you do and where you do it at. Add a photo of yourself as well.
4) Tune-up your message when it comes to the phone. Your voice mail needs to be friendly and if you answer the phone directly, make everyone feel welcomed and important.
Contact us today to help your photography business stay competitive!
Want to learn more? Register now for our upcoming webinar:
Shopping Carts Part 1: How to Monetize Your Photography Website
Date: Thursday, October 19, 11 a.m. PDT / 2 p.m. EST
Duration: 1 hour