Zenologue

One of the biggest, but less often considered, challenges we face as photographers selling our work is the choice between selling images straight from the lab or as finished framed pieces ready to hang on the wall.

It doesn’t seem like a big challenge on the face of it, just another of the many business decisions we have to make.

But, there are consequences that stem from either choice – consequences that truly affect how we’re perceived in the market place.

So, we’ll start with a quick question…

Do you sell framed photography, loose prints or a mixture of the two?

Like many photographers, I started out by selling loose prints only – framing to my mind seemed like a whole different kettle of fish entirely and wasn’t something I was ready to jump into.

Heck, at that time it was hard enough to convince the client to purchase an 8×10, let alone have to go through the extended process of having them purchase a frame with it! So, before I knew it, clients were taking away 8x10s, 16x20s and even larger prints just as they were when they came back from the lab – mounted, but no frames; “naked”, as it were.

Whether or not “unframed” or “framed” is the “right” decision for your own business is a question only you can answer, but I began to feel that somehow I was letting my clients down. I would find myself worrying about what became of those precious photographs – were they given appropriate frames and hung proudly on the wall, or left in their bags in a lonely corner until the owner could get around to framing them? I imagined 8x10s lying at the bottom of a drawer somewhere, never to see the light of day again.

More importantly for me, here I was trying to sell photography at a premium but then allowing it to walk out the door in an essentially unfinished state. There was an apparent disconnect between my business philosophy and my own actions that I felt needed to be rectified.

So, I made the decision that no photograph larger than a 5×7 should leave the studio as a loose print. Everything 8×10 and larger should be in a frame and ready to display. I was even uncomfortable with sending out loose 5×7 prints – I would rather them go out in a small album than in a simple packet. This is really moving into the area of merchandising, a whole topic of conversation all by itself.

The main problem with this “everything must be framed” approach, of course, is that the cost to the client of the finished work goes up accordingly, making it a little more challenging to sell – but by no means impossible. Then we do hear some of the usual objections:

• “I don’t want it in a frame…”
• “Framing is a hobby of mine…”
• “A friend has their own framing business…”
• “I want a larger choice of frames…”
• and so on…

All of these objections can easily be dealt with at the initial consultation stage and even at the time we qualify our clients, if not at the actual sales session. If the clients are aware up front that we only sell finished artwork, but they don’t want to abide by our policy, then we can politely send them away.

Another, more subtle yet equally effective way, is take to advantage of the fact that we sell what we show. If the client sees only framed wall art in the studio, with no loose prints of any kind anywhere, that sends a very clear message to them that this is what we expect them to invest in.

Just as importantly, projecting the images into a framed canvas sends another powerful signal to the client.

To keep things very simple, I offer only a basic selection of frames – three different color tones (light, medium & dark) in each of three styles (slim, medium & deep). The frames are chosen to complement the style of work I do and there is usually one that suits both the finished piece and the location where it will be displayed. The choice of frame is only made after the client has made their portrait selections, so as not to put too many decisions onto them at any one time.

I’m not saying that everyone should adopt the exact same approach to this, far from it because every photographer and photography studio is unique. But, if you feel something nagging inside you every time you hand a client a “naked” 11×14 print, you might want to consider testing out the inclusion of frames in your sales.

Sales framing, portraits, professional photography, Sales, selling

“Location, location, location!” – the often-touted necessity for a successful business. But how true is that statement really? I’m not really talking about the fine detail of location here; after all, common sense would dictate that an office located between the city dump, county jail and the water treatment facility might not be a great choice. I’m referring more to the perceived differences between one city and another, or between different parts of the country.

Any photographer that studies or learns from other successful photographers eventually hears or even speaks the objection, “that won’t work in my town!” It’s very tempting to think that most marketing tactics that work in one part of the country simply won’t work in our own locale, for a variety of (false) reasons:

• Our town or city has no people with money
• People are different here
• I live in a bad market
• There’s too much competition in my area

The truth is that this is just the lazy and negative part of our own minds trying to rationalize our lack of effort or belief in what we’re doing. The lizard part of our mind, that primitive part that doesn’t like change, is simply attempting to convince us that it’s no use even trying.

The reality is that the successful photographers are not magically living in some enchanted place of abundance. They’re simply applying tried and tested marketing methods to attract their target market.

If you think you don’t truly believe this, try a simple thought experiment…

Imagine for a moment a photographer whom you admire as someone successful. You can see them in your mind’s eye running their studio, being busy and enjoying the successes of operating a great photography business.

Now, imagine that they’ve just opened up a new studio across the street from you. How do you imagine they will do? Can you see them being successful? Can you imagine them making the same excuses for lack of clients? If you met them in the local coffee shop and talked to them I doubt they would be saying, “man, this town stinks, no one has any money, there are no clients, it’s a crummy market, and there’s too much competition here. I think I’m going back to Magic City where the grass is always green…”

Don’t allow your own mind to limit you and keep you constrained by what you “think” you can or can’t do. People are basically the same everywhere, all over the country, because they are governed by the simple rules of human psychology, which is how marketing and sales work after all.

Photography is an emotional business – that is what we sell. It’s not about pieces of paper or which neighborhood someone lives in. It’s not even about how much money they have, although they should have enough to buy from you, but even then it could be on a payment plan or layaway. It’s all about how you and your photography make them feel. It’s about the value that a captured smile, a fleeting expression or a simple look can have for someone.

Emotions are a very human thing, and there are humans everywhere, no matter which “market” your studio happens to be in.

Marketing Marketing, professional photographer, Sales, selling

Wedding photography is not an easy service to sell – we have to work hard at attracting prospective clients before we even have a chance to try to book them. Bridal shows, advertising, marketing campaigns – and many more avenues – all require huge amounts of effort just to get brides to notice that we’re there.

Then, the really hard work starts.

If we’re lucky enough to get a living, breathing, talking bride on the telephone we have the chance to find out as much as we can about their wedding plans, the kind of client they might be and whether or not they would be a good match for our business.

After all that hard work, we arrive at the end of the conversation and suggest that they meet with us for a consultation only to hear the response, “I need to talk to my fiancé or parents about this and then I’ll call you back to set up a time…”

Many of us at this point say, “Oh, okay, no problem. Talk it over and then call me back. I look forward to talking to you again soon. Bye.”

Of course, it’s more than likely that we’ll never hear from her again.

For a long time, I thought there was no solution to this problem. I assumed that I was being nice by not pressuring the bride and that they really would talk it over and call back.

Little did I realize that what they’re really saying is something like this: “I like what you’ve said so far, but you haven’t established a real connection with me or convinced me that I should hire you. There’s also another reason why I’m not sure about this, but I don’t know you or trust you enough to tell you what it is, so I’m going to make up an excuse to get off the phone…”

Knowing this, we can now see that the fault is entirely of our own making. Maybe we didn’t take the time to build enough rapport with her, or perhaps we forgot to find out what the most important thing about her wedding is. Did we educate her about the factors that separate us from the other photographers in the area?

Did we ask enough emotional questions? Did we show true interest in her and her wedding? How excited and passionate did we sound? Did we take the time to find out what the most important buying decision is for her?

More importantly, who was in control of the conversation? Usually, that’s the person asking the questions, which should be us. Even more importantly still, ask questions and then listen to the answers. It’s a fact that successful sales people spend more time listening than talking.

Now, when asked to arrange a face-to-face consultation, if they respond with, “I need to talk to my fiancé or parents about this and then I’ll call you back to set up a time…”, there are ways to find out what they really mean.

For example, you might reply with something like, “I understand what you mean. But, if I may ask, what do you feel they will say when you talk to them about what we’ve discussed today?”

This gives them the opportunity to voice whatever real concerns they might have. For example:

• The price is too far outside our budget
• You don’t offer something that we really want
• We’re looking for something very specific
• I’m not really ready to book yet

Now you have a chance to either address the problem or let them go based on the fact that they might not be qualified clients. I’ve come to the conclusion that every phone consultation I have should either result in a definite face-to-face meeting or a mutual agreement that I’m probably not the photographer for them. This eliminates all the frustration of waiting for people to call back, or having to chase them up with fruitless phone calls that waste both my time and theirs.

This can all be achieved without resorting to aggressive sales techniques or being pushy. Simply talking to the client, asking appropriate and emotionally based questions, and listening to the answers are all it takes 

Remember, though, that we can’t work with every single person that calls us – we have to send some people away for one reason or another. Just knowing that puts us more in control of things and takes away some of the pressure we put on ourselves to be successful.

Sales professional photography, Sales, selling, wedding photography