First, a big thank you for the feedback we’ve been getting (BTW, interesting how much of it comes off-line!). A long-time Aussie friend phoned me and said that posts about increasing your sales by pre-designing in PJ were all very well, but he was having trouble getting the booking in the first place! A mate of his, a top-flight photographer, told him that if he could get a couple of thousand for the image files on DVD he should take it and be grateful. He decided to try that tack with a well-heeled lady enquirer … and the most she would pay was $1500. He turned her down.

OK, this is life in the real world.

Reality #1: Go back to my post about how much you need to charge. 2000 Aussie dollars is probably not going to sustain your business unless you can shoot a LOT more jobs. On the other hand, as my Dad used to say, it’s a lot better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick … and like those airline seats, your Saturday is valueless if you don’t use it.

Reality #2: If you become known as the guy who gives them the image files I reckon you’re done. Now you’re lined up against all the weekend warriors who’ll do it for a few hundred. My friend is rightly proud of his photography. Financially and professionally that’s a really bad place to be.

What to do? First, don’t listen to me. Well listen critically anyway! You need to respond to your own situation, your own numbers, your own psychology. But a few thoughts.

1. Most of my friend’s weddings are from out of town. His chances of meeting clients are little or none. His website reflects his good taste, but I can see very little photography and no albums. Nigel would say, “You need a blog.” I agree, and I would display all the albums I sell on it, maybe the way we do here. Alternatively, Steve Sharp is one of New Zealand’s top professionals and he told us how he did it here.

2. My friend sells a QBY album with every package. But that album is expensive, and maybe it should be an up-sell. You have no idea how it hurts me to say this (!) but many of our clients offer a cheaper album alternative, or offer packages with no album at all. Have you read my articles on album marketing strategies, especially the one on entry-level packages (please contact Nigel for a URL and password)?

3. The airlines offer cheap seats when the plane’s empty. If Air New Zealand think they can sell a seat for full price you won’t see it on grabaseat. Maybe there’s a lesson there. Maybe you’ll only take bookings for certain packages a few months before the date, so you don’t sell your Saturday below budget unnecessarily.

4. Remember you have two bites at the cherry, pre-wedding and post-wedding. Just because her limit was $1500 pre-wedding doesn’t mean she won’t be prepared to spend more afterwards. But will you get the up-sell if you’ve already given her the crown jewels for $1500?

More questions than answers here, maybe, but something to chew on I hope.

Cheers, Ian

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