I received an email the other day that I wanted to share with you from one of our Digital Creation’s Club Members. She is starting to have portrait parties and needed some advice.

So…I thought I’d share it with you, because most people…including myself have fallen into this trap.

Here’s the email she wrote and the advice I gave her.

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Hi Scott, my name is Bec,

I have bought and am using many of your backgrounds and am about to begin a party plan business using them. I will purchase many more from you in the future for this business.

Scott, I need some very quick advice please. I am currently charging $60 for a creation fee and in that the customer was getting 6 photos onto 6 different backgrounds of there choice + 6 small photos.

The problem I had with my first party was that everyone took the 6 free photos with the intention to scan them, so therefor I had not even 1 sale, an in fact was in debt from that party.

Do you have any suggestions please?

Bec
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Hi Bec,

First let me say…congrats on Taking Action! That’s the very first step and most people don’t even get that far.

Now…I would suggest tweaking and testing different ways to present your portraits. You could have a follow up party or meet with each person again to show them their portraits. Then you could sell additional items and possibly set up a future private session.

***It’s Not Always About Making The Sale!***

The other thing you need to keep in mind is that the portrait party is not all about making the sale. Yes…you can make some money, but it’s all about getting your name out there and setting up appointments for your full sessions.

You should be collecting their email, mailing address and phone numbers. That’s The TRUE Gold Here!

Then you can follow up with them to let them know of your upcoming Specials, Facebook updates, Blog updates….and Build The Relationship!

***Building Relationships….Is HUGE***

I can’t stress this enough. Building a relationship is HUGE for long business success. These people will become fans and promote you and your business for YEARS!

I know you said this may have cost you money…but it’s a much better way to spend money on advertising than just throwing an Ad in the newspaper. You actually met with people who are in your targeted market. You should have received their contact information for future follow ups.

So…if it cost you $25 to create these images, I would say that’s money well spent. Yes…you spent your time, but that’s business. If you want to be successful, you need to put in the work and the time.

I hope this helps to show how it’s not always about getting the sale. It goes much deeper and the price on a potential client and their contact information….is HUGE!

Keep your chin up and focus on creating beautiful images that Make People Happy and you’ll do FINE!

It’s all part of the journey. But…if you have a passion for photography and love making people happy by creating portraits, you have to keep pushing. The only one that can get in the way of your success…is you.

Here’s to your success!

Scott

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I hope you can see there’s that there’s so much more than just the initial sale and just because you didn’t get the sale today…you may receive one tomorrow.

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Resources:

Create Unique portraits month after month – Digital Creation’s Club

NPB Pro The Inner Circle – Photography Business Community

After receiving so many emails from our NPB subscribers asking “How Do I Get New Clients?“…I decided to create this short lesson.

I’ll reveal (2) important mistakes that photography businesses make and how you can avoid them. Plus…I’ll show you (2) methods so you can get new clients and more sales…without having to do a lot more work. That’s pretty COOL

In this lesson I’ll show you a real life example from (Karen) one of our NPB Pro Inner Circle Members. She did everything right and now proved to herself that this stuff really works. As long as you use what I show you in this lesson…your business can grow leaps and bounds.

This is all about using the resources you already have and Taking Action! I’ll explain everything in this short 9 minute video.

Click the play button below.

Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

…and Click the “LIKE” button and show a little love to our Facebook friends

Here’s a short audio clip from one of our NPB Pro Inner Circle Master Mind Calls. The actual call went on for  over an hour, but I wanted to let you eves drop in on the call. So you can see how these work and also learn from what we talked about and many struggle with…Pricing!

Joel just started his business…did his first shoot and already has 3 more lined up. But he asked on the call….What Do I Charge? So…we talked for about 10 minutes and really broke everything down, so now he can set up some pricing for his future clients.

I can tell that Joel is going to run with this and has already said he’ll be following up on  next month’s Master Mind Call. That’s why NPB Pro The Inner Circle is so Awesome

======> Click Here to Join NPB Pro The Inner Circle <======

The other day I was reading an interesting thread on our NPB Private Forum about getting new clients and being FRUSTRATED. The common thing being said was “I tried this one technique and it was a Big Flop”.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this from Photography Business Owners. We as humans want results….NOW! We think if we try something once and it doesn’t work, than it doesn’t work. We expect if we send out a postcard to people one time, they should respond.

WRONG!

The truth is that it can take 5-7 times (sometimes more) for people to see you and then respond. Sometimes the time isn’t right for the individual or maybe they just don’t know you or trust you. Maybe they are happy with their photographer at the moment.

But…who knows if they will 6 months from now. Things change as we all know…Right?

I wanted to shoot a video and explain why marketing is a lot like fishing or playing sports. I want you to see that you need to be persistent and willing to keep trying in order to be successful. If it was so easy…everyone would be successful.

I also wanted to remind you that the clients that you already have or get in the future, will be your best advertising tool…EVER! So many people want to find new clients, but don’t use their past clients to help promote them. This is the BIG picture. Finding clients and having those clients promote you with word of mouth advertising. Period!

Remember…it takes persistence and a desire to be successful. You can do it

Watch the video below!

Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!

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This is a follow up post to the video I did the other day titled “How To Deal With Negative Feedback From Clients”.

First let me say, thanks for all the comments and feedback everyone posted. It just goes to show that we all experience negative feedback…usually one time or another, but we need to learn how to channel it.

Today’s video I wanted to talk about Deadlines and the power of using them in your business. I wanted to share a Deadline that has me running to the store TODAY with my son. If I don’t…Guess What’s Going To Happen? I’ll tell you in the video

Bottom Line: They got me…but you know what? I need that kick in the butt sometimes to get me moving. Sometimes you have to give your clients a kick in the butt too!

Press Play To Watch

Leave a comment and let me hear your thoughts!

Click the “LIKE” button if you want to spread the love.

Listen to the short 4 minute audio recording below and I’ll explain about this trap that most new Photographers fall into. Then read the post to see a clear visual of how this works.

I received an email a few weeks ago from Sharron, who’s an NewPortraitBiz subscriber asking “How To Compete With The Big Dog Photography Studios“.

I get asked this a lot and the fact is that most people who are Starting a Photography Business worry about competing with the Walmart type Photography Studios and they really shouldn’t.

After Sharron read my email I sent IMMEDIATELY, a few weeks later she wrote me back and said…”Thank You!”

Here’s the email I received giving me the UPDATE.
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Hi Scott – You probably don’t remember me but I emailed you last month in a panic regarding these studios offering unbelievable deals and asked how could I compete.  You said “DON’T”.  “Treat your client’s well and move forward”

Thank you!

Since then I’ve done a huge family project, have been invited to bid on a county youth lacrosse league to shoot teams and individual players, invited to bid on shooting an open house for a large insurance agency (posed and candid shots), a wedding and two family sittings.

Not bragging – just wanted to tell you I’m so glad I had the sense to listen to you and to share my progress.

Thanks!

Sharron Key
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So What Did I Tell Her?

I emailed Sharron back immediately and told her that she shouldn’t worry about this type of competition. What she should focus on is how to separate herself from the crowd and “Treat Her Client’s Well” and move on.

We all tend to focus on what we can’t change and not focus on what we can change. Here’s a few ways to make yourself standout from the Big Dogs.

I want you to read that again…”We all tend to focus on what we can’t change and not focus on what we can change.” That’s a BIg One!

So…here’s the basic idea how to do it.

1. Develop A Relationship (Your Control)
Learn about them and their families and take the time to focus on what they need and want. Having patience to get that perfect shot when the Walmart Photographer, just says next. You’ll stand out and the clients will tell their friends and family how you took the time to get the shot.

2. Over Deliver (Your Control)
Give them something they weren’t expecting. If they ordered a large package…throw in an extra 8×10 just to say thanks. Sometimes spending a little extra time could be considered over delivering.

3. Great Communications (Your Control)
This one a lot of people drop the ball on. If a client calls to book an appointment, make sure you follow up ASAP. If they have an issue with an order…fix it FAST!

You have complete control over your clients experience and that’s what you should be focusing on.

This is just 3 things that you can do to stand out from the crowd. Plus…people will talk about you and how Awesome you are…and that’s what you want.

So, basically what I told Sharron was…”Treat Your Clients Well…And Move On“….and she did!

Yes, there will always be people looking for the best deal in town, but we don’t really want to focus on these people. We want to focus on people that want great portraits and a Great Experience. That’s what you Deliver!

If you focus on these 3 things…the rest will take care of itself. Trust in yourself and so will others.

Here’s to your Success

Leave a comment down below and let me know your thoughts or if you’ve fallen into this trap.

If you liked this post…send me a little LOVE and Click the “Like” button below.

In this post I want to go over how you can create a MARKETING MACHINE that your clients will pay for and mail to other possible leads for FREE.
After this lesson you will learn (2) important elements that you can add to your photography business IMMEDIATELY!

• 1. Create an additional service that can add to your sales.
• 2. Create a Marketing Machine that can bring in new leads.

Watch the video below and I’ll explain all the details:

Download the FREE template I used in the video HERE!

In this Podcast we talk about “How To Sell Your Unique Portraits” and getting the most out of your hard work.

Listen to the Podcast below and leave a comment and let us know what you think

Help us spread the WORD!

I’m sure like a lot of people want to know “How Do I Market My Photography Business?” and get more clients?

This is probably the Million Dollar question. The truth is that there are many ways to do this, but sometimes it takes trying and testing new methods until you find one that works for you.

That’s why I’m so excited to share a recording from a phone call I recently did with one of our NPB students.

His name is Gregg Workman and he’s done some testing in this department and agreed to share one of his techniques with me and everyone else in our little NPB Forum community.

This is why it’s so important to surround yourself with like minded people that have the same goals. You can speed up the process by learning from other peoples mistakes and success.

Press the play button to start the recording and Enjoy!

Make sure to take notes and do what Gregg did…Take Action!

Click Here to Register for NPB Photography Business Plan)

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