3 Ideas To Magnetize Your Photography Business
#5: They can make big things look small, and small things look big…
Summary: "3 Ideas To Magnetize Your Photography Business"
In answer to the perennial question of how to be a professional photographer, here are 3 simple ideas to turn your photography studio into a successful business and client magnet, though enthusiasm, positive thinking and being personable. These 3 alone will set you apart from the competition by a long margin!
In the pursuit of how to be a professional photographer, many people are heavily focused upon themselves, their photographic skills, artistic vision or Photoshop wizardry. However, one of the real keys to being successful is to focus more on the people we serve, but especially on the business persona we project into the world around us…
For example, we’re all familiar with the saying that “opposites attract“, especially as it applies to magnets and possibly to affairs of the heart, but it really doesn’t work that way when it comes to attracting the right kind of clients and being successful in the photography business!
After all, no amount of unhappy thinking is going to attract happy clients for us to photograph, regardless of how much faith you have in the idea of “opposites attract“.
In contrast, perhaps having the right attitude and a positive business “personality” will go a long way towards encouraging more success…
Here are 3 simple business ideas that can naturally attract more prospects, simply by changing a few basic things about the way we think, act and present ourselves. Believe it or not, these really do matter, and can make the difference between a thriving photography studio or being on the verge of extinction…
#1 – Professional Photography Is A Positive Expression
I really believe in the power of positive thinking to transform our lives for the better, and I’m especially aware of the power of negative thinking to make our lives miserable and unbearable (especially to everyone else around us). This is not some form of mystical magic or cultist thinking, but has been demonstrated to be true over again by many of the world’s most successful people.
Of course, some might argue that the successful folk are simply happy and positive because of their success, but that really isn’t the case. Read almost any biography of a successful businessperson and you’ll see that they suffered through adversity, defeat and failure just like the rest of us, often much worse. Yet they remained determined, persistent and positive through it all because of their faith, both in themselves and in their ability to succeed.
If opposites really do attract, then the positive thinkers would be in for a really annoying time!
At the end of the day, nobody likes to be surrounded by those who are negative, miserable, depressed, angry or stressed out. Our photography clients can sense these emotions, no matter how hard we try to conceal them, resulting in a wall of sales resistance that’s almost impossible to break down.
Left unchecked, we end up struggling to make a sale to client who won’t buy from us simply because of our attitude or lack of enthusiasm for what we do.
So remember, professional photography should be a positive experience for everyone, including the photographer!
#2 – Develop An Attractive Personality
It’s a commonly accepted fact that the majority of our communication occurs through non-verbal means such as body language, facial expressions, gestures, posture and degree of eye contact.
This stream of non-verbal messages is most often the mechanism through which the proverbial “first impression” is readily transmitted, usually without us even being aware of what we’re “saying“, so it’s important to ensure that we present a personable and welcoming face to our business when meeting someone for the first time.
This can be extended to how we speak, meaning that we must take special care not to come across as abrupt, or give the mistaken impression that the prospect is disturbing or interrupting us in some way if they happen to call or visit the photography studio unannounced.
No amount of niceties will repair a broken first impression.
#3 – Be Enthusiastic About Your Photography Business
This is a corollary to #1, but deserves to have a section of its own. Enthusiasm is one of the major elements in the development of a thriving photography business, and in enjoying successful sales. By the way, you are in the business of photography sales, whether you like it or not! Almost every conversation you have with a prospect or client is a form of selling, even if it only serves the purpose of selling yourself and your personality.
If we fail to infuse our conversations and client interactions with enthusiasm about our photography, the photographic business, or our clients themselves. then how can we possibly expect them to become enthusiastic about buying from us?
This comes back to the fact that our photographic services and portraits will not sell themselves, and it’s up to us to foster enthusiasm about what we do, to clearly demonstrate the passion we have for photography, and what it can mean to our clients.
Honestly, if you lack enthusiasm for what you do, or suffer from lackluster passion, then you have two choices: Either find your passion and enthusiasm quickly, or find another profession to be in; it’s really that simple.
How To Be A Professional Photographer – Have Fun, Be Nice!
The three very simple factors outlined above, if implemented correctly and genuinely, will really magnetize you and your photography business! People love to work with people they like, so it makes sense to make the very best of your own passion, enthusiasm, happiness and likeability. Besides, it just feels better to be positive and to smile – and it’s more fun too!
Go the extra mile out of your way to be helpful, welcoming, excited and passionate about your business (something most people just don’t want to do), and you’ll be amazed at how your clients will respond positively to you and your photography studio. In turn, a positive response may lead to more sales and then you’ll have something to really be positive about!
Have You Put These Into Practice?
How do you feel about these 3 ideas? Have you tried them with good effect in your own photography business? If so, let us know what you did and the results you saw!
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Interesting angle of the photography business. I am a shy person and not very good at social situations but have been a freelance portrait photographer for over 25 years. I have learnt little techniques that allow my personality not to hold me back and can photograph famous and important business people. I do agree that for long term business relationships you need to have a positive attitude, but more importantly you need to produce good photographs as that is what the client requires at the end of the day.