Zenologue

In order for us to remain in business as professional photographers, we need paying clients. Convincing prospects to turn themselves into paying clients is where most of us experience difficulties, and we feel forced to become salespeople.

I’ll be honest; I used to hate the idea of being a salesman of any kind. Unfortunately, my thinking had been colored by incorrect stereotypes of the “typical” salesperson, and I saw it as a black art involving trickery, manipulation and dubious integrity.

Now that I’ve undergone an appropriate attitude adjustment over the last couple of years, I can safely say that I enjoy being a salesman, and I aim to become a better one all the time, following Zig Ziglar’s advice that a good salesman simply helps his clients to get what they want.

There is no trickery, manipulation or deception involved in good sales, and the sense of satisfaction gained when a client makes the educated choice to buy from you is truly wonderful. This is how we build great and lasting relationships with our clients that keep them coming back time and again.

Since selling is an area that many photographers are constantly struggling with, I thought it might be a good idea to share some of my own limited experience and thoughts here, and I would encourage anyone reading this blog to add anything that’s appropriate.

Over time, I plan to add specific articles on dealing with the myriad situations that come up again and again, with ideas on how to handle them effectively.

Sales business, professional photography, selling

As mentioned in a previous post, fear (in its many forms) is probably the number one thing holding many of us photographers back from success in their business. Few people are completely immune to its effects, but there are ways to combat it and keep our fears in perspective 

Think about your favorite successful entrepreneur for a moment. Mine happens to be Sir Richard Branson, but you can pick whomever you like. Imagine them facing the challenges they’ve had to overcome in order to be successful…

Now, do you think that person has ever experienced feelings of fear in their business ventures?

Of course they have.

The difference between the successful business people and the failures lies in how they respond to what happens to them and how they deal with those things that cause them fear.

For most of us, fear connected with our business comes from insecurity or lack of confidence in our ability to succeed.  It manifests itself as indecisiveness and procrastination, or the tackling of tasks half-heartedly. We may even put off trying something completely, finding one excuse after another not to face the possibility of failure through simple fear alone.

I believe the secret to fighting this insidious enemy of our success is to firstly acknowledge that we are experiencing fear and then to examine it for rationality. How much risk is there really? What are the chances of us appearing foolish? What are the rewards for success? Where can we draw more confidence to try?

Assuming that we want to press forward with whatever it is we’re going to try to do, we can break it down into manageable chunks; slice it and dice it into pieces so small that each one is nothing more than a simple step. Yet each of those steps brings us closer to achieving our goals. Furthermore, with each step we take, our success looks brighter and fear shrinks further back until in the end it’s gone completely.

I am sure that Sir Richard Branson, and others like him, have all faced significant fears in the pursuit of their endeavors. However, they have all faced those fears head on and taken on the challenges to become the successes we know today.

Motivation business, encouragement, professional photographer, professional photography, success

Except for those in the Southern hemisphere, most of us are in the grip of a cold snap that’s setting records in some areas and causing major disruption everywhere.

While the snow can be photogenic from a landscape perspective, this isn’t just a minor inconvenience for us photographers, especially those who create portraits on location – for many it’s brought business to an apparent standstill.

But, within every disadvantage is the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

Rather than become frustrated and despondent about the problems caused by the weather, we can take this quieter time to plan ahead for the rest of the year.

Now is the perfect time to dream up those creative marketing plans, special events, promotions etc.

Grab a calendar and start marking out the dates you want to book for weddings. Black out those special dates when you know you won’t want to work, such as family birthdays, vacations etc. Take a look at your procedures and workflow to look for improvements in efficiency.

Do you want to run a family portrait month special or dedicate time especially for senior portraits? If so, decide when and start planning the marketing efforts now.

As silly as it might sound, you can even spend some time designing next year’s holiday cards.

Work on your financial projections for the year, design some new products, embark on a personal project, take a class, or even take a break.

Business might be slow right now, but 2010 promises to be a growth year. Take advantage of any time you have now – because you could well be too busy later on.

Time Mgt. business, planning, professional photographer, time management