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Start A Photography Business The Smart Way: Key #2 - Selling

By Charles Lewis

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 12Jan2010 Word count: 616 Viewed: 280 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Starting a photography business can be extremely rewarding, but scary at the same time.

If you don't have some proven "keys" to starting your own photography business, you could easily find yourself out of business before you hardly got started.

There are three primary "keys" to starting a photography business, that if you use them correctly, can almost guarantee your success. I talked about #1 in a previous article.

Here's Key #2: Smart Selling Skills -

Now, when I say "Smart Selling Skills" I do NOT mean trickery, manipulation or pressure. That's not selling at all, and we want NOTHING to do with that.

What I do mean is you must, to be successful in your photography business, discover how to be persuasive. How to be able to gently influence your client's and prospect's decisions in a good, positive way.

Here's 4 powerful sales secrets that will revolutionize your photography business if you use them:

Sales Secret #1: You sell what you show, absolutely. So be certain you only show in your business what you want to sell. In my case, it's wall portraits as fine home décor. So there is NOTHING in my studio smaller than 24x30 (and only one of that size.) I show 2 - 40x50's, a 40x40, a 32x50, a 30x40 and one 24x30. That's all! Each portrait is beautifully enhanced, framed and displayed just like it will be displayed in a client's home.

Sales Secret #2: Your telephone is your most important tool - not your camera or computer. Basically, all your business comes through this tool. Yes, you have people email you, but eventually each and every prospect should end up talking with you in person on the telephone. So be sure you use this powerful tool correctly.

For today, let's just mention the #1 best way to use the telephone - ask questions of your callers. Don't just talk and talk about how great you are. Instead, ask her questions that show you care about what she's looking for and why she's thinking of having a fine photograph created at this time. This builds trust and rapport with her, and encourages her to "move to the next step" in working with you.

Sales Secret #3: Volunteer your fees before you are asked - this says two things - 1.) you're worth it and 2.) you're proud of the fees. Don't try to avoid this. Instead, after asking several good questions, volunteer the fees yourself, before she asks you to. This is what I call the "Volunteer Statement" and it must be memorized word for word so you say it the same way, every single time.

Here's our Volunteer Statement for our studio, for portraiture: "Before we go any further, let me give you an indication of what you can plan on investing. Is that okay? (Wait for her to answer.) Most people in your situation can plan on investing between $X and $Y and get a larger one for themselves, and a few smaller ones for gifts. Does that fit within your budget?"

Sales Secret #4: The first impression is the lasting impression, so be sure that first impression is a good one. This involves things like how you are dressed, the vocabulary you use, how meticulously clean the studio is, how the exterior of your studio appears as she walks up to the door, etc.

Remember, you are dealing in appearances. One of my favorite sayings is: "The reason people say 'Don't judge a book by it's cover,' is that everyone does."

In my next article, I'll cover the third major key to success in starting your photography business, or in improving the profitability of the one you already have, and that is smart photography marketing.

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