Trouble Closing

[wrdm]

Looking for a bit of advice, maybe someone can tell me where I'm going wrong

In the past few weeks I've had almost 30 enquiries for price (mostly through facebook) and my standard reply is

"many thanks for your enquiry. My session fee is £45 and includes a complimentary 8x10 photo. You are of course free to make further purchases afterwards but there is no obligation. The session can either be studio based or on location. How does this all sound??"

Afterwards I either hear thanks will be in touch or nothing and it's starting to frustrate me big time, I'm convinced I'm missing some sort of hook but can quiet see what. Any help at all guys would be great.

[Gulf Coast Girl]

I'm not a professional photographer so my perspective is based solely on business practices in the general sense.

Your email response does not sound professional at all, in fact the ending "how does this all sound?" screams "I haven't got a clue".


I would suggest something more along the lines of (not in Red, that is just for ease of reading here):



Thank you for your recent inquiry for photography services by "xxxxx Photography". For your convenience I have enclosed a price list for the services we offer. Please don't hesitate to contact me at (###) ###-#### with any questions you have.

I look forward to speaking with you about the photography requirements of your next event. I will follow up with you next week.

Regards,

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(###) ### - ####
xxxxxx@websitewithportfolio.dotcom



With your reply all they will read is they get one 8x10 for $45 (sorry I used the dollar sign... it's just easier for me than looking for the funny "L" ASCII code on my American English keyboard). From everything I've read, a professional photographer should ABSOLUTELY have a well thought out, professional looking and easy to understand Service / Price List.

I think people who are seriously looking to hire a photographer want to know what they can get and for what price range. With your reply, they don't have a clue other than the 8x10 for $45. It's a bit intimidating for people on a tight budget to have to essentially ask AGAIN for the list. The simple fact is that anyone making an inquiry is looking to see all the options and price range.


IMO you should be all business in your reply (none of that "what do you think" bs) and state that you will follow up. If you get a reply.... GREAT! Regardless, build a database of inquiries and unless someone specifically asks not to be contacted again, add the inquiry to your database and send out an annual (or bi-annual) email newsletter. Even if they are lookie-loos now.... a year from now they might really need a photographer.




** Disclaimer: I am not a professional photographer and my advice might be shit (it sounded good in my head) and if it is, I'm sure others will be along shortly to correct me.

Best of luck to you

[KimberlyH]

Originally Posted by Gulf Coast Girl

** Disclaimer: I am not a professional photographer and my advice might be shit (it sounded good in my head) and if it is, I'm sure others will be along shortly to correct me.

Best of luck to you

No correction here. I think that's very sound advice.If you don't have a good business plan and a professional image how will anyone take you seriously.

[JFSanders]

Martin, people that are price shopping are not sure what they want. Don't lead with price. Price is the last thing you talk about. What you do first is get them to a face to face. When they inquire ask the when would be a good time to come by and see your operation and then you can show them your portfolio. Ask them questions (plural) about them and guide them toward their goal. As they answer the questions you can get a feel for what their price point is. Once you understand what that is you can steer them toward a package that they will see as a positive buy. Then you discuss price and options after they have decided to buy. Use facebook to get appointments for face to face meetings.

Jim

[Biomech]

(this isn't directed at you JF, it's just an expansion on your very valid points :P)

Ask them questions

Classic one; try not to ask yes/no answer questions at the start. You only really want those answers when you want a yes (It looks good right?). Someone once said to me, "A good salesman only asks questions he knows the answer for" - essentially, you know what answer you want, so you ask the question to get that answer. ... and sorry for the ensuring long post....

Price is the last thing you talk about.

.

Indeed, but don't make the pitch too long, I've thrown quotes out because they drone on and on about what is on offer when all I want is a price.

So maybe one paragraph, "Hi name, thanks [informal] for your enquiry. When you book me [assumptive] I will provide [assumptive] you with a professional shoot, a free 8x10 print and I can put them on facebook ready for you to share with your friends. You'll get [assumptive] all of that for only [perceived value] £45.00!"

In sales you need to love your product, if you don't believe in it, the client won't. It's harder with text so you need to convey that - you can use !, but don't over do it. And for each product pitch remember FAB - Features And Benefits. "This 9x6 uses high grade matt paper [feature] which means ... you won't get shine from your lights [benefit]

Also, via text you can't read their internal system type, you can't see how the breathe, how they stand or what they are wearing. So try to hit all 3 and work in

1 word associated with pictures (does that look good, picture this, we'll see what happens)
1 word associated with sound (that sounds good right?, we'll have a laugh)
1 word associated with feeling (comfortable, think, rough, smooth)

A crude example;
"Your friends will be talking [sound] about how great they think [feeling] you look [visual] for years to come!"

I want a reply to my emails, if they are interested or not. So I always end with something like "I'd love to get your feedback on this" or "I'd love to work with you so let me know what you think".

Hope that helps. You can, in this day and age, slap their email into facebook to get an idea of what kind of person they are and how to structure your reply, but that's up to you. Try to also end with a command or "call to action" [call us now for a free quote!] - and the easiest way to close is to ask them (and as I mentioned in another post remove the negatives and assumptives); "So do you [<-- bad] want to book one of those then?" becomes; "So you want to [assumptive, suggestive] book one of those?".

It's not easy, I'm still trying to convert all my face-to-face skills to text myself :P But I hope that helps.

Oh, one more thing, at this point you're not trying to close so don't be disheartened. You're only reply to an enquiry.

Enquiry/Lead -> convert -> close.

As they answer the questions you can get a feel for what their price point is.

Come in under budget for the "main" service to give you space to up sell. If the budget is £100, you wouldn't charge a 2 hour sitting for £100. You might charge £80 leaving £20 for prints - which will generally turn into say £40. Too many people say "whats the budget? ... right this one... now you;ll need X,Y,Z" and the client is like "hang on, it's all adding up now". Go into Currys and enquire about TV's - everything they do; don't.

[NicolaB]

Good points raised.

In addition:


Ideally speak to them on the phone - ask for a contact number on your website.

"Hi Lee-Anne, Martin Ward from Martin Ward Photography here. Thank you for your enquiry. What kind of photographs are you looking for?"

"Oh I was thinking of having some family photos taken"

Martin "Oh great. Who would that be?" blah blah - get your self a picture of who they are, how old the children are etc

" Have you thought what you would like to do with the photographs? Are you thinking about personalised art for your walls?" now you can get an idea of how much they have thought and you are selling them the vision

" Well it is not a decision you need to make right now, but we can do anything from plain prints to canvasses, photobooks ......"

"OK. Well packages start at x and the average spend tends to be y. There is no minimum order. We'll present the best 30 images from your shoot for you to choose from. Our aim is to make the day as fun, creative and exciting as we can to capture photographs to treasure. Would you prefer to come to the studio or do you fancy going to on- location?"

Martin "Are you wanting a weekend or week day shoot?"

Martin "Well I have monday 14th free in two weeks, or the following thursday. Which would suit you better?"


Just think of it as a chat with a friend about how you can help them. Be confident, be 'smiley' and be knowledgable.

For times of year when business is slow, do you have special offers? eg

For bookings taken before the end of June, you have a special offer of x

hth