Portrait Photography Sales Mastery

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Here's a brief preview of how the portrait photography selling system works.

Why photography is not scalable, and what this means for your pricing if you want to make a decent income.

Luxury products (like portrait photography) don't sell on price, they sell on emotion. Be the luxury product.

What you can afford doesn't matter. What you'd be willing to pay doesn't matter. That's because you're probably not your own target market, and that's okay!

Session fees give you insurance against a bad session. It will also increase the customer's commitment to buy.

A high-end restaurant only has a few items in an elegantly simple menu. You should strive for the same with your photography business.

The products that you want to sell the most belong at the very top of your price list.

If you're only selling really small prints, chances are your pricing ladder is too steep. Start selling bigger by flattening out that ladder.

You don't need packages, but if you do, keep them subtle. You should be all about selling art, not deals.

Everything about your business should signal high-end luxury, including your price list.

To sell up, name down. This will allow the laws of human nature to run its course.

Yes, you should offer digital files if your goal is to maximize revenue. Here's how to do it.

How to set the absolute level of your prices. Here are a few things to think about.

Here's my actual prices. Obviously, you're going to adjust your prices up or down depending on your location.

But regardless of the actual level, you can use this price list to model your own. For example, look at the % changes between my print sizes.

Here's a PDF copy of my price list. Please feel free to use this for inspiration. Or just copy it if you'd like!

Please take the time to do this exercise before proceeding.

How do you handle the initial inquiry? This lesson explains what you need to do and how to do it.

Here's a sample script to give you some ideas on exactly what to say.

The pre-portrait consultation is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the entire sales system. Here's why.

Your meeting space should give your clients an important first impression. The moment they walk in they should think "wow". They should also think "luxury", which puts them in the proper mindset. They should know they're going to be spending some money after seeing your space.

You need to make the right first impression. This lesson is about putting your client in the proper frame of mind.

Here are a few style resources for men and women.

The pre-portrait consultation is the most important part of the system. The studio tour is the most important part of the pre-portrait consultation. Ergo - this is the most important lesson in the course!

Let's continue with the tour. In this lesson I talk about albums and ask probing questions to get the client thinking big!

Okay, great advice on the studio tour - but what if I don't have my own space? Should I sell at Starbucks? This lesson shows you what to do.

After the tour it's time to review your price list. Keep it short and sweet, and don't do a lot of talking. Your client will become your best sales person.

The pre-portrait consultation is not just about building emotion for the big sale - it is about the shoot, too.

We're wrapping up the pre-portrait consultation, but there's one more important thing you need to do - assign homework!

A summary and concluding thoughts on the pre-portrait consultation.

Here are the things you need to prepare for a successful pre-portrait consultation.

If you want a successful shoot, don't just wing it! You need a plan if you want to get the big print order.

When shooting you're the big game hunter. Your mission: get that hero image. Here are some tips that will help.

After you've nabbed the hero image, it's time to have fun and get the supporting images for the album and gift prints.

Let's make a plan for your shoots to nab those signature images.

Yes, that's what I call it - the SALES session. Be prepared to be amazed.

Selling online is a lousy way to sell compared to selling face-to-face. Here's why.

If you want to have a successful sales session, you must cull your images down to a manageable number.

How I quickly get my images ready for the session. Remember this isn't a course on Lightroom or image editing - I just wanted to give you a peek behind the curtains of how I do it.

I always start my sales sessions with a slide show to get the client's emotional juices flowing.

Now it's time for the client to make their choices. Here's how I walk them through the process.

After the images are selected it's time to discuss albums and digital files. This is incremental revenue, so make sure you don't forget!

In this lecture I discuss my typical results, as well as how to respond to a session that turns out to be a dud.

Here's how I wrap up the session: tallying the order, accepting payments, etc.

Here's my sample order sheet. Feel free to copy it if you'd like!

My favorite product vendors. No, I'm not an affiliate for any of them. I pay full price for their products because of their solid business practices, great customer service, and terrific products.

Every part of this sales system is important, even something as mundane as the client picking up their order! Use every opportunity to move your business forward.

You've had a great session and the customer is pleased. Don't let the relationship end there!

Here are some things you can do to prepare for your sales session.

Answers to common questions about the system.

Answers to common questions about the system.

What we've learned, and what to do next.