Photography Sales: Rejection As A Learning Opportunity

Nobody sells them all… not you, not me, not even Zig Ziglar, or anyone else for that matter. Yet, it still hurts when a sale we were pretty confident in does go south, and the prospect ends up booking a different photographer. This can be especially true for the wedding photographer who wants to learn how to book weddings.

Yesterday’s post (read it here) dealt with the difficulties of remaining positive when everything around us, and in our own minds, can serve to drive us closer to the negative side of life. One thing that’s certain to cause emotional upset is the potential humiliation that comes with a lost sale…

A Sale Lost Is An Opportunity Gained

I encountered this very thing myself today, having spent over two hours yesterday chatting with a prospective bride, her mother, and the groom about their wedding plans and hoping to work with them on their wedding photography.

To my disappointment, I discovered that they weren’t going to hire me after all. I found out quite by accident by reading a joyful announcement on another photographer’s Facebook page, from the photographer who actually did get hired. By the way, the other photographer happens to be a good one, so I know they are in good hands, and I’m not in the least bit mad at anyone other than myself for failing to make the sale in the first place, when I had the chance. I wouldn’t want my readers to mistakenly believe that I’m angry at anyone.

I remembered soon after learning this that, according to Napoleon Hill, every setback has, contained within it, a benefit of equal or greater value – as long as we know how and where to look for it.

In other words, a sale lost should be an opportunity gained, rather than a defeat. We can choose to view it either way, with very different results in our thinking.

I haven’t spoken with the prospects yet, so they’re unaware that I know they won’t be hiring me, which means that I’m equally unaware of their reasons for choosing the other photographer.

One thing is certain, though. I made it very clear to them during our consultation that my goal is not to use sales tactics to persuade them to hire me, but to help make them become aware of the things they need to know in order to choose the photographer that’s right for them.

From that particular standpoint, I would like to think that my consultation with them was therefore a resounding success.

It’s Not About The Money

In many instances, the choice of which photographer to hire does come down solely to price, and who is the cheapest. However, in this case, money wouldn’t appear to be the main determining factor, since they seemed quite content with the collections I offered them at the time.

In fact, the collection they were most interested in fulfilled all their needs, or at least the ones they told me about, and they appeared quite excited at everything that was included for the (significant) level of investment they were looking at.

I believe this means that their decision must have been based upon criteria other than the price or service offering, hopefully with the result that they and the photographer they ended up choosing are actually a better fit for each other.

A Learning Experience

So, for me, the end result of losing a sale (not the first, and most certainly not the last by any means) makes this an experience I would hope to learn something from with the goal of improving the next time.

There’s always room for improvement in everything we do, and this is no exception. In this case, my biggest mistake was not making a more direct request for the sale. The couple had already indicated that they were scheduled to visit with another studio over the course of the weekend, and I allowed that to influence my judgment when it came time to close the sale. Instead of asking them to book, I tried to be nice and encouraged them to visit with other photographers to ensure that they do find the person that’s right for them.

If I had tried to close the sale, a refusal to make a booking on their part might have led them, through questioning from me, to reveal areas where doubt still remained. That would then have given me the opportunity to fill in those blanks and help them to make a commitment to buy.

At the end of the day, setbacks and temporary defeats such as this are a necessary part of the photography business, and we should do our very best to learn from them in order to make improvements for the future.

Don’t Make This Mistake

However, whatever you do, no matter how much you feel tempted, don’t go from a failed sales consultation into “my pricing needs second-guessing” mode. This is one of the worst things you can do, as it can drag you into a vicious cycle of endless price tinkering. Concentrate instead on how you conduct the sales presentations, building rapport with the prospects, asking questions, and becoming a better sales person.

Remember that no one books them all, and not every prospect is going to be your client – you must be prepared to let some people walk away…

What do you think about this subject? I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on any other ways this type of situation can be dealt with on a personal level. Obviously, it’s no fun going through the process of sales rejection, but we need to get used to it and develop a thick skin.

Thanks for reading, and talk to you again soon!

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Sales & Marketing client consultation, learning from mistakes, photography sales