Zenologue

All photographers need inspiration – unfortunately, it isn’t something that magically drops out of thin air, and if we sit around all day waiting for our muse to slap us in the head with a new idea, we could be waiting for a long time!

Techniques, poses, interesting perspectives etc. are all things we constantly look for help and inspiration with, and the Internet is a huge help in this area with all the blogs,web sites, professional pages etc. to choose from.

Today, I was browsing around Flickr and came across the group Inspirational Wedding Photography, a set of “invitation-only” images designed to give us that little jolt of inspiration we need. Check it out, and absorb what you like the most.

However, avoid trying to exactly replicate other people’s photographs or ideas – instead, use them as a spring board, a starting point for your own ideas. This allows your unique style to show through and can help in your efforts to remain distinct from your competition in the wedding photography market.

Photography Flickr, inspiration, wedding photography

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

If you’re a wedding photographer, you don’t need to be in business very long before a prospective client comes back to you with something like this: “I have an old friend who wants to get into wedding photography and has agreed to photograph my wedding for a great price… 

What can we say to this? Is there anything we can do to win this client back? Or is the sale lost forever? Worse still, can we rescue this client from the possible dangers of working with a non-professional?

I believe the best solution to this issue is to be proactive and deal with it before it happens. This can be achieved through the process of educating our prospects about the reasons why it’s a good idea to hire a professional rather than a friend, family member etc.

But, if they do come back with the news that a friend or family member has offered to photograph their wedding, is there anything we can say to counter it?

To start with, the one thing we don’t want to compete on is price. Don’t make the mistake of turning this into an issue about price by offering them a big discount to try to win the sale back. Just as importantly, don’t make the equally bad mistake of criticizing the other photographer’s work – this does your image no good at all.

If you feel that this client is a good fit for your business and that they’re simply making a genuine mistake (probably because they don’t want to hurt their friend’s feelings), then there are ways to attempt to persuade back into your camp.

The key is to emphasize those points that set you apart from the casual or “friend of the family” photographer, which make the choice of working with you more beneficial to the client.

For example:

• Your guarantee
• Your status as a full-time professional photographer
• Your legal status (proper business licenses, sales tax registration etc.)
• Your liability insurance coverage
• Experience in the business
• Membership of professional bodies (PPA, WPPI, RPS etc.)
• Your policies on delivery times
• Easier for them to be honest with you than with a friend in the event they’re unhappy with the photographs
• Backup equipment
• Assistants
• Access to professional print labs
• Professional backup of the finished images

Will this work every time? Of course not. But it might occasionally save a sale that would otherwise have been lost. Better still, you will have helped your clients make the choice that is right for them.

Sales professional photography, Sales, selling, wedding photography