FOBSKYPE2012

“I wanted to wish you a heartfelt thanks for your time and your expertise last Friday. I’m buoyed by your passion for the business of photography and ability to translate otherwise dull material into an exciting game. I also really appreciate your “cut through” approach and it has solidified my own passion for photography. I am going to take the time I need to be ready to devote myself to my business when I’m in a position to and anticipate signing up for many more courses from Instinctive Desires. For now I’m going to focus on getting as much photographic experience and expertise as I can so I can clearly decide the style and niche of photography that drives me the most.” Michael McKenzie

Whatever your positioning in the market place you should be aware that the impression you make on your clients is a lasting one and affects how much they will be comfortable to spend with you when the time comes.

Every contact that you have with your client, from the first ad they see through to the after sales follow up affects how they view you.  Very few people will making their purchasing decisions based solely on your photography – they will be drawing on their impressions in the following ways:-

1.  Your advertising

2. The first contact whether it be a face to face meeting, telephone call, letter or email

3. The welcome they received when you first met – did your first impression reassure them?

4. The presentation of your studio or workspace

5. How and when you discussed your pricing structure

6. How you handled the viewing of their images and the subsequent involvement in the designing of finished pieces that will complement their homes

7. How you negotiated the finished order and proceeded to produce that order to meet their expectations

8. Your delivery, follow up and after sales service

 next steps . . .

Take advantage of our mystery call or mystery shopper service to see exactly what first impressions you are making.  Sometimes all that is needed is a tidy up at the front entrance; a wardrobe makeover; a redesign of your client correspondence/branding; a review of how you present your completed orders or implementing a system for ongoing contact.  Take it from us – small changes can make a lasting impact on your bank balance!

Maybe you don’t think you are missing out on sales, but are you maximising every sale with your customers?

How often do you predetermine what a customer will spend? The truth is you can never really be sure!

To maximise on a sale, you must not fall into the order-taking trap of assuming how much a customer may spend or what they are interested in. Never assume that the customer understands the emotional impact of the goods and services you offer.

Take the time to build desire with your customer – personalise each aspect of your product range on an emotional level.

How do you build desire? Ask your customer the right questions and then listen to their responses. Find out how they envisage the final products and services in emotional terms and then identify how your products and services can match their emotional needs.

The result? Your customer will be more interested in negotiating for something that they feel compliments them emotionally. They will more readily purchase an item if the emotional attachment has been made for them.

This is going to be a collaborative project – we need graphic design, videography, photography, theatrical producer & director and that’s just for starters! We have been working towards this for so many years, almost without realising it.

03 8819 0502.

http://www.shuttersincpodcast.com/2012/06/03/shutters-inc-episode-202/

Grab a sheet of paper, draw a cross and complete 6 answers in each box. You may find this challenging, so feel free to grab a friend, colleague or family member who can be completely honest with you and get their input too.

What are you really good at?  You may say photography, however think about the other skills you need to achieve a fantastic result in your business.  Do you make people comfortable in front of the camera? Are you great at designing the lighting you want? Are you great at sales or marketing?

What do you not know you are good at? And this is where the friend or colleage will come in handy – very often we take our skills for granted – we have done the task for so long that we don’t even need to think about it.  This is an area that you may surprise yourself in acknowledging what makes you tick.

What you know you’re not great at  Personally top of this list is graphic design – so forgive me the plain graphics . This list can also include things you don’t like to do as the purpose of this exercise is to give you some pointers as to where you would be happiest.

And finally, what you don’t know you’re not great at  Obviously this can be a delicate area for a friend or family member to discuss but can also be the most rewarding in terms of taking steps to address these issues.

When you have finished with your lists you can then review whether what you are doing to earn a dollar is fulfilling you and what you can do to improve the quality of your life. The outcomes can be as simple as giving you the confidence to increase your prices or pay someone to do the accounts for you or a realisation that you are ready for a significant change.

Embrace change – when you speak to the older generation, they most often regret what they haven’t done, not what they have done!

I so often talk with photographers who aren’t following the path they would really love to follow due to a misplaced sense of ‘what I should be doing’ taking priority over ‘what I would love to do’. I am a big believer that if you follow your heart – what you would love to do – then you open yourself to opportunities that will get you one step closer.

And of course, if you would like a second opinion . . . having opinions is in my ‘things I know I am good at’ list

More than ever, business is driven by consumer trends. Consumers have more power than ever before to shape how and what businesses can provide to them. An educated consumer knows that if you don’t give them what they want, they will simply go elsewhere and find someone who will. The technology is also changing at breakneck speed – Lytro is just one case in point – the retail product is already available, but the consumer wants will drive the future development – the company will very quickly see what consumers want from this product and will need to adapt it accordingly. Because you know if they don’t, someone else will!

If you want more evidence that the consumers are in control, can you believe that companies like OurDeal, Living Social and Scoopon are less than 2 years old? Getting online offers to be profitable requires you to work out a deal that will meet the needs of the consumer while also giving you the potential to onsell more product.

It is our role as trainers and educators to implement change in business.  Some resist change because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”, some resist because they feel unsure of the outcome or because they are making assumptions that aren’t substantiated by the evidence. Whatever the reason, now more than ever you need to be able to adapt your business in order to survive.

In our own business we used to operate a 3 year plan,  we are currently working only 6 months ahead as the changes in our product ranges, delivery methods, target market and marketing techniques continue to evolve. If you are in any doubt as to future directions of the photography industry check out this link from Melbourne company IBISWorld.

It seems as if no sooner have we updated our product range, marketing vehicles or business development strategies that it is time to do it again. While this can be frustrating, having the flexibility to identify influences in your business and implement change accordingly is one of the primary roles of the business owner today.

Since 2001, Instinctive Desires have had as part of our mission statement  “to encourage studios to compete on style not price” and I don’t think there has ever been a more vital time to review how you are defining yourself. The Emotional Sale principles relate equally to Professionalism, Efficiency and Value for Money as they do to Casual, Natural and Carefree. Ensure that you don’t take the styles of your business for granted in these ever changing times!

For more information about The Emotional Sale and how it relates to your business in today’s changing market, just call 03 8819 0502.

We have been watching the developments in the photographic industry in Australia over the last 12 years and now more than ever, photographers need to focus on developing new business. Our clients who are continuing to build or maintain their businesses are those whose focus is marketing, with multiple vehicles and promotions to keep the customers coming through the doors.

Lead generation is NOT what it used to be – there is more competition and customers are now conditioned to look for the best deal. However this just means you need to work smarter not harder. Get out of the production room and onto the phone – build relationships with partner businesses, trial as many promotions as you can! Softening under the eyes will not build your business; ask yourself over the next few days – “will this task bring me more customers?” and if the answer is ‘no’, stop what you are doing and get on with some marketing, marketing, marketing!