Tools for Your Photography Business – The Perfect Viewing

This is the sixth in our series looking at essential tools for your photography business. We’re going to be looking at some of the essential tools you’ll need to acquire in at least the first year (if not the first month) of your business.

Part 1 – Software and Online Presence
Part 2 – Financials
Part 3 – Wedding Photographers
Part 4 – Studio Portrait Photographers
Part 5 – Location Portrait Photographers

Part 6 – The Perfect Viewing

Is there such thing as a perfect viewing?

Perhaps not, but what is important is having certain elements right so that at least you’re setting yourself up for that perfect sale.

How do we define the perfect sale/viewing?

Before I start to ramble on first I must actually define what we’re talking about…. so what is a perfect viewing?

A perfect viewing is when you make the kind of sale you’ve always hoped for or aspired towards….with very little effort…. then you do it again …. and again….. not every-time…. but certainly more frequently than never or occasionally.

In other words we’re simply talking about making more money from your photography by changing very little.

Depending on what type of photography you do really depends on how your clients view their images. I’m going to concentrate on the wedding and portrait area as I’ve a feeling that is what most of you concentrate on.

There’s no reason why any other type of photographer can’t apply the same principles though.

I’m also aware the many of us don’t have lovely big studios so sometimes viewing are done in client’s homes. I’m going to take that into account and there will be some variances.

Christmas is the ONLY time of year you’ll catch me doing spot colouring!

Online Galleries

Some photographers may argue that they make decent sales from online galleries…. I’d argue that you’re losing better sales because of online galleries.

I’m not talking about previewing images on blogs by the way, I’m talking about using online galleries as your main sales focus for your shoot. If you’re relying on online galleries as your primary sales tool then you’re easily missing out on 10 times the profit you could be making.

Do ALL your viewings in person. Even if it’s a wedding couple and you’re just showing them a slideshow for the first time. Nothing beats face time with your clients.

The bigger the better

What’s the biggest thing you sell? Does your supplier make a bigger version of the same product?

Just because not everyone will want that massive wall art or that coffee table book which is bigger than a table, doesn’t mean than someone won’t want it.

Having a product for everyone

This is a continuation of the last point really. Having a product for everyone doesn’t mean ‘have lots of cheap options’. A $1000 wall art is always going to look more affordable if you put it next to a $10,000 one….. and a $500 one certainly is.

You might never sell that $10,000 wall art but I bet you’ll sell a lot more $1000 ones than you used to.

Setting the scene

When selling a house the old trick used to be bake some bread. The whole point is that you created a ‘homey’ feel. It doesn’t matter if you do a viewing at a clients home (take a bottle of wine) or in your studio (have refreshments)….. it’s all about setting a scene… and making it comfortable.

So make your viewing space a comfortable place to be. Have a nice sofa, make sure you have good heating and/or A/C.

A little bit of mood lighting is always good and so is a little bit of music.

Show it big

What’s the biggest screen people have in their homes? Answer: It isn’t their computers and it’s not going to be your laptop … it’s that big ‘ol flatscreen they just brought… and guess what? It’s got a nice HDMI slot in the back ready for you to connect your laptop.

Projectors are great if you have limited space for a 60″ flat screen in the studio but if you have room for it I’d go for the later….. they show a better image and are generally cheaper.

If you sell it show it

You’re never going to sell a 60×40 wall art by describing it (you might but not as many as you could).

If you want to sell loads of $20 7×5 prints then cover you’re studio walls with them….if you prefer to sell something a bit more expensive then I’d advise to taking them down.

We don’t mean to pressure you but…….

This might sound like the hard sell bit but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Sell at the viewing… you’ll make more money than if people go away to ‘think about it’. To do this you’ll need to do a couple of things:

1. At the time of booking (the viewing or the shoot or both) let your client know this is when they’ll be ordering something. By all means be subtle but make sure you get your point across.
2. Make sure all of the decision makers are there. How many times have you heard the words “I’ll just have to speak to my husband”?
3. Incentivise the sale. Be as harsh as you like (or that suits you) but give the client a reason (even the smallest one like $5 off) to order at the viewing. An extreme (although highly effective) technique is to tell your clients that if no order is made then images are deleted. This might sound a bit over the top but storage space isn’t free so why should you hold images for up to a year for nothing?

Sticking to your guns

Know your prices, know your discounts, stick to your guns, don’t deviate. If people want to haggle then be prepared for that:

• We’ll tell all of our friends about you – Wonderful! We offer a $XX voucher for very session booked from a referral.
• How much discount do we get if we order …..? – This is our multiple order discount……
• Can we wait to order? – Yes but – you lose the discount / we only store the images for
  1 month / no

Example Studio Portrait Viewing

This a quick play by play overview of how you might want to do a studio viewing, adhering to all of the rules above as well.

• Arrange viewing within 1 week of photo-shoot.
• Allow at least 1 hour for viewing.
• Send a text or email reminder for the viewing appointment one day after the shoot.
• Always call at least one day before the viewing to confirm.
• Make sure everyone is sitting conformably and begin…
• Show a slideshow (set to music) of the very best images. This should last about 5 minutes (40- 60 images).
• After the slideshow go through the images one by one picking out some of the favourites.
• Once you have a short list of the favourites YOU match the images with the different products you offer.
• Create a product with the client. For example: how a set of three image might look together in a frame.
• Introduce full price lists and options.
• Introduce offers and discounts.
• Discuss payment and if applicable payment plans.
• Make final sale and organise delivery.

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Michael Shilling

Michael has been working as a photographer for the last ten years. In that time he has shot over 100,000 peoples’ portraits and worked in four different continents. In 2001 Michael graduated with a degree in photography from Manchester Metropolitan University.

www.memorygate.co.uk