Business + Marketing
In-Person Sales: 3 Photographers Share Their Paths to Profitability
March 3, 2017
In an ever-shifting and continually expanding photo industry, the number of routes one can take to growing a contemporary business is dizzying. From transitioning into a full-service studio, using psychology and trend research to influence sales, to simply studying our relationships to money, these three photographers have blazed a path to improving client relationships while finding financial success doing what they love.
Photo © The Harris Company
The Harris Company: Full Service Dynamo
“It’s important to us to develop strong relationships with our clients while also being profitable,” say Dave Harris and Makayla Jade, owners of The Harris Company. In five years’ time, the duo has amassed multiple six-figure annual sales records from transitioning into a full-service, product-driven photo studio.
To create a sustainable business, they knew they had to set their pricing according to the services they were providing. “The more we showcased our product offerings online, the more our couples desired these items, and our sales were a direct reflection of this,” they explain. “We changed their perception of what a finished product was. It was no longer just the images; it was the images hung on their walls.”
They say their biggest asset as business owners is simple: the ability to listen and be receptive. “If you take the time to understand your clients and actually listen to their needs, you won’t have to push any products on them—you are simply offering them exciting solutions. And with trust comes the desire to invest.” This includes not being afraid to ask clients questions ahead of time, coming up with a few good options for that particular client and keeping it simple. For example, they say, “asking our clients to bring in photos of their own homes or take measurements beforehand has really helped us sell larger wall pieces and bigger gallery collections.”
Once the reasons for going into business are clarified, they say, you will “be motivated to keep at it, rework your systems, and find the workflows and policies that fit best for both you and your clients.”
The Harris Company Tips
1. Carefully select only a handful of products you believe in, those that fit the style of your imagery, and that you know your clients will love!
2. Price your products based on your cost and production time, not what you THINK your clients will pay—this is the only way to ensure sustainability!
3. List out your studio policies and stick to them. Honesty and transparency will give you the best success rate!
Photo © Amanda Holloway
Amanda Holloway: Targeting With Luxury
“Having target clients who understand your prices and believe in the experience you provide is the number one factor of good sales,” says Amanda Holloway, a high-end boutique senior photographer who’s been in business since 2010. The experience she creates for her clients isn’t ordinary. “I accept around four clients per month and keep the experience luxurious, with airbrush makeup and hairstyling, couture closet options and three-hour personalized senior sessions,” she explains. This luxury treatment totes a high price tag. “My first two ordering sessions in my target market yielded $4,000 sales each,” she says.
She models her business strategy on human psychology studies and generational trends. “Studies have shown that the longer a product spends in your hands, the higher the likelihood you are to purchase it,” she explains. “So, I began showcasing two of every sample I have. That way, the parents and my seniors don’t have to cut that time in half by sharing it with each other. They each have their own sample. I also make sure that my digital collection (which builds to higher sales) is what they are holding the longest. My average sale is $5,500 per client, so I’d say it’s working.”
As for upsells, “forced dichotomy is my main strategy,” Holloway explains when building collections with her clients. This means “dividing the collections psychologically and purposefully to split what sells most.” Noting this is the best business strategy she’s implemented, she continues, “most seniors want digitals and most parents want products. Why not restrict and separate them in your low collections and bring them together in your highest? It will ensure the highest sales possible almost every time.”
She notes that digital marketing is one of the best ways to sell products. “If your client doesn’t know you sell high-end products, they’re most likely going to think you sell only digitals (and are not very high end).” In order to keep the feeling of a boutique studio, she personalizes the experience to each client. “If they feel like they’re just a number in my business, they aren’t going to be motivated to spend more,” Holloway says.
In addition, she says educating clients on ordering session practices and being transparent about pricing ahead of time is key to guaranteeing sales. “People like to know what they’re getting themselves into before dropping a large amount of money. The way the collections are laid out, I don’t even have to sell anything. There are no hard sales, no bargaining and no hassles.”
Amanda Holloway is successful at delivering a couture photography experience to her senior clients, focusing on one’s true beauty, inside and out. She works with her clients to transform them into the wonderful women they want to be and makes them feel as though they just walked off the pages of Vogue.
Photo © Amanda Holloway
Amanda Holloway
1. Samples are a must-have. You wouldn’t buy a car without test-driving it, so why not showcase your products to motivate higher sales? Let your clients hold and touch the products so that they can imagine themselves in the pages of an album and on the canvases on their walls. The longer they hold the samples, the higher the likelihood they are to purchase them.
2. If you have customizable products, why not design them right there, in front of your clients? It will add a higher perceived value to their experience and they’ll come away from their session feeling like they had a hand in the result.
3. If you have a minimum order requirement or don’t offer payment plans, make sure clients know this well in advance and that they’ve seen and heard the information many times before they come in for their ordering session. Surprise strings frustrate clients and can really have an effect on their satisfaction with your brand.
Photo © Tiffany Angeles
Tiffany Angeles: The Human Touch
“Profitability means making and keeping money,” says Tiffany Angeles, who worked in the corporate sector before starting Unlimited Style Photography 10 years ago. “Without profitability, you are a charity.” She refers to herself as an expert in “financial freedom,” a role she takes on in her own photo business and speaking engagements after spending 15 years learning everything she could about money.
At the crux of her business philosophy is the idea that photographers often get in the way of their own ability to profit. When people are stuck financially, it’s often because of mental blocks, she explains. People tend to equate financial freedom with sales success, but this isn’t entirely accurate. “While being good at sales helps you bring in more money, it doesn’t have any bearing on whether you will keep it,” she explains. “Everyone thinks more money will solve their problems, but in reality it just creates more expensive problems to which you think you still need more money.” She has honed in on eight blocks people have when it comes to money, which she calls the Wheel of Misfortune: avoidance, being tightfisted, harboring resentment, over-spending, not creating boundaries, over-giving, being unable to receive, guilt and shame.
The key to a profitable studio, she says, centers on building repeat and referral business through interacting with clients on a personal level. In order to increase sales, she says, “people need to hear your voice. Replying to inquiries over email doesn’t let the person know whether they like you. And people do business with those they know, like and trust.”
She emphasizes keeping this human contact strong throughout the relationship, by physically speaking and not solely relying on email correspondence. “In a service business, the connection with clients is of utmost importance,” she says. “If they had a good time during the shoot, if I helped them feel comfortable and confident, they often would tell me they already knew the photos were going to be amazing.” It follows that if you are enthusiastic about what you’re selling then your clients will be too. The key to financial freedom, according to Angeles? “You have to resolve your relationship with money first,” she notes. “There is no shortage of tips and tricks when it comes to sales. But if you don’t fix your own beliefs, blocks and insecurities around money, you won’t be able to sustain any significant change.”
Photo © Tiffany Angeles
Tiffany Angeles
1. Know when it’s time to stop talking. So many people talk themselves right out of a sale by offering discounts and add-ons before they allow the client to respond.
2. Let your love and excitement of your products show through. People get excited about what you are excited about. Don’t be afraid to pump up your enthusiasm for the things you love.
3. Assume money is no concern. You don’t know if your client recently received a bonus, or Grandma is paying, or they have more money than they show off (often the case for wealthy people). When money is not a problem, you can focus on delivering what would be best for the client and confidently tell them the price. They will either get the money or make adjustments. Either way, it’s not a reflection of you personally.