Sales Tips for Photographers | Part 1

Sales Tips for Photographers | Death of the “Sneak Peeks”

I have taken the approach of limiting my sneak peeks because I want the clients to actually be happy when they see the pictures; and I want to see that happiness. This job, a Photographer, can be demanding and stressful, as well as fun, and part of the fun is seeing a happy customer.  As photographers, we work diligently to pose our clients, edit the pictures and make sure that it’s representational of our brand. Then we dump all those pictures on to a disc, thumbdrive or upload them to {insert third party site here} and have the client download them. Or even better, we blog about the images and show the clients 20-30 images from a wedding or 8-10 images from a session with the best images from the session. When the client finally sees all the images they don’t have that same feeling they had when you gave them a sneak peek. By no means am I saying that we should and I wont post blogs with all the images, I now choose to do it after the client has seen all the images in person first.

I have moved away from that approach altogether. I have put more of an emphasis on going to a client’s home or having them come to mines and doing a formal image and sales presentation. I put together a slide show (through Photodex) and design it to where clients can actually see their images in HD on their television. I run a dynamic slideshow through my iPad with the use of a hdmi cable (find yours here) and it shows on their television for the entire family to enjoy. Then I print out 4×6 of all the images from the session so when it comes time to order prints and products they have tangible pictures that use can help them make better-informed decisions.  We usually set those pictures up a the dining room table so they can form yes and no piles. I write on the back of each image the information that the customer wants and changes that may need to be done to the final prints like: airbrushing, black and white, sepia tones, ect. Not only has this helped me on the back in selling better products for the customer, but also it has made my customers a lot happier with their experience.

I don’t consider myself the expert or the know-it-all, but I do know one thing. Happy customers refer friends who become more happy customers; and that cycle can go on forever. So, as I nervously prepare for the reveal of baby Noah’s newborn session tomorrow at my client’s home; I’m happy to know that I will be taking another step in making more happy customers and we both know what they do…

Here’s the one sneak shot that I sent to the client just to wet their taste buds. It’s not the best one from the session either, but it’s just good enough to create some excitement and anticipation for the grand reveal. =)