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Back to Businss by Michael Connors & MorePhotos Staff

Back to Business ~ Chapter 2, Get Your Work in Front of More Eyes

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A Success Series for Modern-Day Photographers

Photography Business Tips - Get Your Work in Front of More Eyes

image courtesy of graur codrin

We’re back with more business advice for photographers.  Last week, we talked about some very basic rules, like the 80/20 rule (80% of people go with the first photographer they find), and some other simple business basics like eagerness, tone of voice and professionalism.

As we move along in the series, we’ll be getting more specific and covering some tricks to help you gain new business in out-of-the box ways.  How many of you are wedding photographers?  While this next tip will work with virtually all types of photography, it may be especially beneficial for wedding photographers.  Here’s how you can gain new eyes viewing your work, and thus more potential clients – through hair salon marketing.   Huh?  Trust me.   I’ve been telling our long time photographers this one for years with positive results.

The average couple books a photographer 2 – 2 ½ months after they get engaged.  That doesn’t leave you with a whole lot of time to nab newly engaged couples and book up your season.  Now if you think about it, who knows what’s going on in the life of a bride-to-be (especially big events like a wedding), better than her hair dresser?  They likely see her every 4-5 weeks and will be one of the first to get a time slot booked for their big day.  Hair is important on a wedding day.

If we go back to the 80/20 rule, we know that if you’ve got a high end hair salon referring you, you’re likely to get some good business from it.  So how do you get them to refer YOU.  Well, doing great work is one way, and if you’re a pro photographer then we hope that’s the case no matter what.  Another way is to get crafty, in a good way of course.  See if you can get in touch with the owner of the Salon, introduce yourself and share your experience in the photography industry.  Let them know that you’d like to work out some referral services that might be mutually beneficial to your business and the salon.  Here’s a good line that usually works:

“Since we’ve never worked together, I thought one morning I could come by the salon and take a group photo of your employees.  If you’re interested, it may be fun to even get a group shot of the employees’ kids together to show the family side of your business.  I’ll print the photos and frame them for you, and you can hang them up in the salon for the world to see your team!  If you like my work, you can recommend me to the brides, families and sports players that come into your salon.  On the same token, I’ll refer folks from event venues and bookings to you for a great salon experience.”

Sounds like a win-win right?  Another bonus is that once you establish a good working relationship, there could be all kinds of benefits.  Offer to come in and re-do the shot every year to keep it fresh in exchange for setting up  a mobile portrait studio on a busy Saturday, offering before-and-after shots for immediate purchase.  Keep this line of thinking and apply it to other related industries.  If you can hone these simple partnership marketing skills, you’ll never have a shortage of business.  Partnerships are like a garden.  Sow seeds and water them and you’ll produce fruit.

Thanks!

Mike Connors | MorePhotos| CEO

Back to Businss by Michael Connors & MorePhotos Staff

Back to Business ~ Chapter 1

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A Success Series for Modern-Day Photographers

People always ask me what they can do to create more business and be more successful.  Well, there are many things.  I’m going to publish a series of ideas covering a broad range of subjects and since this is the first, we’re going to keep it simple and start with the basics.  As the series moves on, we’ll get more advanced, and we’ll draw on what we’ve learned along the way.

Do you know the 80/20 rule?  80% of people will do business with the first person they talk to, even if they talk to five others later.  A lot of my ideas come from this very basic rule.  You should always try to answer the phone when potential clients call because the next call they place might be to your competitor, giving them an 80% chance of getting the business while you’re still trying to return the voice message they just left.  Wow, that’s pretty simple right?  Now, we’re all busy at times, so if you can’t answer the phone, make sure your voice mail is up-beat and tell them that you’re EXCITED to work with them.  When (not if!) you call them back, earn the business through your pleasant demeanor.  No one wants to work with a downer.

Every customer you work with has friends and family.  Referral business is critical to long term success in almost any industry, especially service industries like photography.  Never forget every interaction with clients has the potential to spark hundreds or thousands of interactions with new potential clients that they know – and it’s all in your hands.

Always keep in mind, the more people that know you, the better off you are. Expand your network.  There’s always a little luck involved, but numbers never fail.  Reach out, help, network, do great work, repeat.

Don’t be the low cost provider.  If you think cheap your customers will think you’re cheap, and thus do low quality work.  Spend a few bucks if you can.  Have a nice place to meet.  Dress sharp – in something that makes you feel comfortable, so you can be yourself.  If you’re selling portraits have some nice large examples of work you’ve done in the past, perhaps canvas or albums.  Remember that when it’s your clients’ day, they want to be the star, just like in Hollywood.  Make them feel that way.

So that’s just a start.  These are few basic rules, but it’s amazing how few people abide by them.  The most expensive camera in the world won’t save you from faltering if you ignore the basic rules of business.  In our next issue, we’ll  cover specific (and crafty) ways to get new customers.

Thanks!

CEO MorePhotos | Mike Connors