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Dear Member, Here's ISSUE #2 of this email photographic marketing course! Actually, this issue is going to deal more with STUDIO DESIGN, which is a vital part of the success of your marketing and sales. Enjoy! Cheri and I recently returned from an In-Studio Consultation with one of our members in Colorado. What we discussed was so important, that I want to repeat some of it here for you. Now, this husband and wife team are just super people. They have applied a great deal of what we teach, and have dramatically improved their income. So please understand that I'm not criticizing them, or saying anything bad here. I just want to share some of the things we talked about at their studio, with you. How To Modify Your Studio (Whether it's in your home, or a store-front) So You Book More Clients, And Each Client Invests In More PhotographyThere were 9 Key Points that came up at this consultation. Let's go thru them. Key Point #1. You sell what you show. This is such a HUGE point! When we walked in the studio, the first thing we saw was this very nice wall display of 4x5's. Then there were other "folios" of 8 4x5's sitting on various pieces of furniture. Then there were 11x14's and larger portraits on the walls. What you need to realize, is that the client or prospect sees all these small images, and instantly becomes aware that you sell lots of those smaller sizes. It happens subconsciously and instantly - they don't even realize it's happening! Now, the whole point to my philosophies is that you want to work LESS hard, and make MORE money. That's it. That's what I stand for and believe in. So the way to do this, is have more of your clients invest in wall portraits. And the way to do that, is to ONLY show wall portraits! Nothing else! So we recommended that they immediately remove EVERYTHING that is smaller than a 20 x24. Now, I know what you may be thinking. "But Chuck, how do I show off all the variety that we offer our clients?" Well, you do that by having a sample book of 8x10's or 11x14's - each sample book is of ONE PARTICULAR SESSION TYPE - for example, you have one for seniors, one for families, one for children, etc. Then, all you do is bring out the ONE book of the particular client type with whom you are meeting. Don't have all the books sitting out in the studio. Only have the one book that applies to this client. Key Point #2. The first impression is the lasting impression. We know this to be true. It has been proven over and over again, in all types of businesses and industries. So let's be darn sure we take advantage of this law. Really, everything we're going to talk about deals with this law. That's the major reason we put wall portraits in our studio. That's why we dress nicely for our clients. We only get one chance at a first impression. But what I mean here is that you want your studio to look like you are successful. Remember, "NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS." If you want to BE successful, you must FIRST LOOK successful. Now, I don't mean you have to go out and buy all new furniture for your studio, and a new car, etc. But what I do mean is that you want things to look like you are really successful. I learned this way back in the beginning, when Cheri and I didn't have hardly any money, but we wanted the studio to look really nice. So we took the furniture out of our home, and put it in the studio, so the studio would look "successful." It wasn't super furniture. But it wasn't bad. It was a start. You can do the same thing. Simply take everything that doesn't look "successful" out of the studio. You don't want anything to distract from the feeling of success. For example, don't have any camera equipment, mail, film boxes, props, bare prints, etc. laying around. This is clutter. And clutter does not "say" success. What "says" success is having everything very neat, clean, orderly. Having nothing out in the "lobby" or other "client areas" that isn't absolutely imperative to the look and feel of the environment. By the way, everything I'm saying here applies whether you have a store front studio, or have a studio in your home. Always remember this: You DO HAVE A STUDIO - whether it's on main street, or in an office building, or in your home! Key Point #3. Have your studio look like a home. You want your studio to look and feel like a home. You want "home" type furniture around. This does two important things: First, it helps a client feel comfortable when she walks into your studio. And if she feels comfortable, she will be much more likely to work with you, and invest in more photos. Second, it helps her immediately see how beautiful fine photography looks on the walls of a home. She can think to herself, "Gee, I have a sofa about that size in my home. Boy, a portrait would look nice over that sofa, just like it looks so nice here...." That's the beginning of wall portrait sales!!!! Key Point #4. Project, and project into a frame Here's the honest truth. It doesn't take hardly any more time to project your images for you clients, than it does not to project. Think about this. Cheri and I discussed this at length with this coaching client out in Colorado. She felt it would take too long to project. But when we added up how much time she was spending with each client anyway, without projecting, it turned out that projecting wouldn't take any more time! Listen, if you've studied with me at all, you know how strongly I feel about this issue. You put so much time, hard work, talent, tears and effort into creating your photographs. Put just a little more effort into how you present your images to your clients, and watch your sales go through the roof! This coaching client already had put in a "projection room" but was only using it to show the clients the 4x5's! Can you believe that?! They have the place to project, but had decided it was too much work to project! Sales were fair - but not great - because they had given up projecting! Please hear this: projecting your images will double your sales almost over night! Now, the very first time you do it, it might not go as well as you'd like. But think about this. What's the worse possible thing that could happen? They'd just buy 8x10's, etc. Well, that's what they're doing now! But many, many times, you will have people invest in very "adequate" sized images if you project! Remember, the first image is the lasting image. If they see a 4x5 first, then an 8x10 truly is a "big" one. But if they see a 40x50 first, then a 16x20 looks like a postage stamp! And project into a frame. Not just some stretched canvas or foam core hung on the wall - use a FRAME - so the clients can see exactly how nice it will look on their wall. Key Point #5. Don't have samples of different sizes Don't get trapped into this one! What this member had done was take one family portrait, and print it in all sizes, from 11x14 up to 24x30. They hung them side by side, (IN THE PROJECTION ROOM!) so people could see the differences. They honestly believed that this was being helpful to their clients. All this will do is confuse your clients, and sell you a lot more of the small sizes. So our strong recommendation was to IMMEDIATELY take all those images down, simply use the projecting to show the clients what the different sizes look like - using the client's portraits! Key Point #6. Never, ever have photos sitting on the floor. This is so important. I understand that as an "artist" you want to have lots of different images available to you to show perspective clients. You want them to see how versatile and creative you are. However, don't do it. Not if you are dead serious about making MORE money with LESS work. Have each of your wall portraits beautifully framed, and presented on the wall, where they belong. Do NOT ever set photos on the floor, leaning up against the wall. This is totally disrespectful to your work, and conveys non-verbally to the client that you do not place a large value on your talent and imagery. Key Point #7. Each photo must occupy it's own plane You want each portrait on the wall to occupy it's own plane and space. By this, I mean that you don't want to have two 20x24's hung side by side in your studio. Because both of those images would be occupying the same "plane" of space. It will be a hundred times more powerful and "artistic" to take those two images down, and replace them with only ONE 30 x40. Now, sometimes, you will have a long wall, which has a door in it. Okay, now you can display one wall portrait on one side of the door opening, and another wall portrait on the other side of the door opening. Because the door "breaks" up the single plane. Key Point #8. Don't get so hung up on getting LOTS of clients, and sacrifice doing each client correctly I see this a lot with the coaching and consulting I do with some of my students. They still are thinking that the answer to all their problems is to do more, and more, and more sessions and/or weddings. This is understandable. All of us can fall into this trap if we're not careful. So they try to get more and more clients, and as a result of this larger number of people, they start giving up certain key "pieces" of the System, because they don't have time for them. So, even if we know better, we are tempted from time to time to stop doing some of the things that made us successful in the first place. Look out for this. It will kill you. Take the time with each client to do the entire System as I am sharing it with you. It works. I have thousands of photographers telling me how well it works ! Don't try to "re-invent the wheel." Just use the System. The System works. So if you have too many clients to implement all the aspects of this System, then decrease the number of clients if you must. But certainly don't drop some of the pieces of the system because you don't have time to do them! Key Point #9 Clean up - everything must be spotless This is obvious, isn't it? But keep everything spotlessly clean. Floors vacuumed. Everything dusted. Windows and doors perfectly clean. No clutter (as we spoke of above.) The neater and cleaner everything looks to the client, the more they will want to work with you, and honestly believe that you will take good care of them. That's why it's so important that you dress really sharp, also. Remember we deal in an appearance profession. Be sure you show your clients that you know how to look good yourself! Now, you can dress more casually if you want. But keep it "professional casual." Slacks, not jeans. And never, ever a T-shirt, etc. Nice shoes. Nice everything. Believe me, it's very important to the ultimate success of your studio! I hope this has helped remind you of some of the important aspects of studio design. Do this correctly, and prosper beyond your wildest dreams! Do this incorrectly, and work way too hard for way too little money. It's that important! BONUS SECTION: Here's Four Major Keys To Being Successful In Photography I was thinking about this the other day, and thought you'd like to hear this. There are four major keys to being successful, if you stop and break everything down to it's absolutely most basic, simple terms. 1. Everything isn't always going to work, or be easy. This seems so obvious, but it's important that we hear it from time to time, just to remind us of it. Sometimes, some things you and I do aren't going to be as easy as we would like them to be. And some times, something won't work at all. Remember, if it were easy, then everyone would be doing this stuff. And then it would really be hard, because everyone would be doing it. Be because it's hard, nobody is willing to do this stuff, and therefore it's easier, but not easy! So when things are going badly, or things are harder than you would like, remember this - and then remember #2: 2. Persistence is the primary "secret" of the rich, famous and successful. If you spend any time studying the lives of the "rich and famous" people, you will very quickly learn this one! Almost EVERY successful person had times in their life when they simply refused to quit, even though times were tough. Almost every success story is riddled with stories of failure, hardship and fear. This is an important sign of character. They would not quit. They forged ahead, even though everyone else was telling them to give up. The fact of the matter is this: Usually, when things are at their all time low, you are in reality almost there! If you will just push forward and keep going, you will "break through" and reach your objective. But so many people give up - not realizing that they are so close to winning. And they then join the masses of the "also rans" who tried something and failed. Now, don't get me wrong here. Sometimes it's important to bail out and head in another direction. An old saying goes like this: "The best way to get out of a hole is to stop digging." So I will agree that once in a while, it is necessary to quit and head in a new direction. But be very, very careful before you give up something. Remember, you could be almost there and just not realize it yet! 3. It's not what happens, it's how you respond. I first heard this powerful truth from Zig Ziglar. And that was 25 years ago. Now, I see it almost every day, in both my own life, and the lives of the photographers and members with whom I work. Honestly, it's not what happens to you in life that determines how successful you become. It's how you respond to what happens to you. So how do you choose to respond when something goes wrong? Think about it! Choose to respond in a positive way. W. Clement Stone, who built the largest insurance company in the world, used to respond to bad news with one sentence. It used to drive everybody who worked with him nuts, but it sure helped him become successful! When given some bad news, or told of a "problem" they were having, he'd immediately say , "That's good!" His staff would then say, "How is that good!?" And then he'd work really hard to find something about that bad situation that was actually good. And you know what? Something always was good! Really, there usually is something good about any bad situation. Get into the habit of looking for it, instead of blowing your top and allowing yourself to be depressed or affected in some other negative, damaging way. You are the only person in your life who can control how you respond to things. Think about that... 4. Successful people take action. They do the things they learn! Successful people take action! They do something! Anything! But do it! Don't just learn something, and then not do anything about it! Right now, there is something you are thinking about and considering doing. Stop thinking about it and start doing it! Take action! You'll be glad you did. So there are the four major keys to success. I always recommend that you write these on a 3x5 card, and tape it to your mirror in your bathroom, so you will see it every morning and every evening. You want to make these a conscious part of your every day life, as you work and think your way to more success and prosperity. One last thought: When I was a small boy, my mother owned a scotch tape dispenser (you know, one of those rather heavy things that allow you to pull the tape off with just one hand.) On the side there was a saying that I never could understand, but that I have never forgotten. Here's what it said: "We Grow Too Soon Old, And To Late Smart" Now that I'm older, I understand exactly what it means! My purpose of these newsletters is to help you realize and be able to use, all the "information of the ages" that I have discovered and am still learning. It comes from studying with 56 or more business geniuses (not photographers) from all over the world. Then working long and hard to develop and fine tune all that information into my "System" for success in photography. I sincerely hope that I am helping you reach your goals and earn the kind of money you know you deserve! Go For It!
Charles J. Lewis
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FREE
I only have a small number of these FREE CD SETS in the office here (I produced 37 more sets than I needed recently), and therefore, the first 37 e-course members who want them can have them! Yes, they are a $120 value, and they are FULL-LENGTH audio CDs that will play in any CD player, or computer... - Charles J. Lewis |
