Three Powerful Phone & E-mail Tips To Boost Your Photography Sales – FAST

Start Using These Tips NOW And Watch Your Photo Business Grow & Prosper!

Start Using These Tips NOW And Watch Your Photo Business Grow & Prosper!

Right now, I’m hearing from photographers all over the world complaining that potential clients ask them “how much do you charge,” and when the question is answered, they say “thanks, I’m just shopping around.  I’ll call you back if I have more questions.”   Boom.  They’re gone.  Never to be heard from again.

Imagine if you knew something you could say (in email responses or over the phone) that would combat that problem almost instantly, and turn up to 85% of all questions like that into BOOKED SESSIONS?

Well, no need to imagine.   Turns out there are 3 things you can do to help book more of those phone calls and emails.   And photographer Tom Morelli has tested this stuff out in his studio as well, and his booking percentage went up to 85%.   No joke.   You can use these to book more sessions too.

Here are those  three powerful tips:

1. Always use the “Redirection Question.”

Here’s how the Redirection Question goes:

A prospect calls or emails you and asks: “How much do you charge?”

You answer: …….   “I’ll be happy to discuss our fees but may I ask you a few questions first – so I know exactly what it is you’re looking for?”

By using the “Redirection Question” you are “redirecting” the prospect’s mind away from the question of price and onto the fact that you actually care about her and want to find out what it is she’s looking for.

This is an extremely powerful, little-known secret for telephone and e-mail handling of the questions about price. I urge you to use this with every phone call and every e-mail that comes into you.

2.  Use the “Magic Question.” I’ve talked about the Magic Question before, but just in case you missed it, here it is again:

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s most important to you about ____________?” (Where the _________ is what she is asking about – a family portrait, child’s portrait, wedding photography, etc.)

This is one of the most incredibly powerful and effective ways to find out what is known as the “DBM” – which is the dominant buying motive of that prospect – the one thing she wants to be sure to get out of the photography that she’s thinking of doing.

If you just ask this Magic Question and listen carefully to her answer, you will be given a wonderful opportunity to show her, in an emotional way, why she should work with you rather than any other photographer in the area.

It’s extremely powerful.

3. Handle the “Stalls” correctly.

A “stall” is a statement a prospect or client says that she thinks will “stall” you off – make it so she can just get off the phone (or stop responding to your emails) and then she will never call you again most likely.

The reason “stalls” are so powerful, is most photographers don’t know how to handle them, so it’s an easy “get away” for the client or prospect.

I will write a complete article on this in the future, but for today, let’s cover one of the most common stalls you and I receive all the time on the telephone & sometimes even in e-mails.

This stall goes like this: Prospect says, “I’ll have to talk with my husband about this, and I’ll call you back.”

You and I have heard this hundreds of times, right?

Here’s your response to this stall: “I understand completely.  If you don’t mind me asking, what do you feel he will say when you check with him?”

Then, you SHUT UP!   (The temptation will be to give her some “suggestions” about what you think he might say, but DON’T DO THAT!   Don’t be afraid of some silence on the phone.   Obviously, if this correspondence is happening via email, this isn’t an issue.)

What this does is it asks her to speak some more – rather than just hanging up. And as long as you keep the conversation going, you have a chance to turn it into a paying client.

Now, she might say, “Oh, I think he will say it’s too much money.”

(That’s always a common response I get.)

So then you say something like this: “You know, I totally understand.  I would probably say the same thing if I were him. Let’s say you call three photographers. The first one says ‘$50′ the second one says ‘$100′ and then I say ‘$300-$500′. I would probably say ‘I don’t know where we’ll go, but I know where we won’t go – we won’t go to that guy who said $300-$500!’  And you know what? That could very well be one of the biggest mistakes ever. Why? Because the fact that we charge a little more is the VERY REASON why you should seriously consider working with me.

“I can tell from talking with you how very important these photographs are to you. You want something special.  Something that touches your heart and makes you cry tears of joy every time you look at the photographs. And that’s what I specialize in creating for you. In fact, I GUARANTEE that you will cry tears of joy the first time you see the images, or I will give you all your money back.  Let’s get together and chat, no charge, and no obligation………”

See how you just turned someone who was going to walk away and never call you back, into someone who just might take the next “baby step” and come in to chat with you?

Very powerful – and remember – this is a win-win. Yes, you win by very possibly getting her as a client – but she wins, too – as she receives the beautiful images that only you can create for her in your special way.

I sincerely hope these three tips have been helpful for you. Now TAKE ACTION on them!

NOW – I challenge you here – let’s get a conversation going!   What do you think of these suggestions?   What questions do you have about what I’ve said here?   LEAVE ME A COMMENT BELOW.   Also, please Click “LIKE” on Facebook, and pass this around.    I truly want as many photographers as possible to understand these 3 vital phone and email booking tips.

All the best to you,

Charles J. Lewis

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14 Responses to Three Powerful Phone & E-mail Tips To Boost Your Photography Sales – FAST

  1. January 17, 2013 at 8:01 am

    Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive learn something like this before. So good to find somebody with some unique ideas on this subject. realy thank you for beginning this up. this website is something that is needed on the net, somebody with somewhat originality. helpful job for bringing something new to the internet!

  2. January 21, 2013 at 9:51 am

    Thanks Emil. I appreciate that.

  3. July 31, 2013 at 9:46 am

    Thanks again, Charles, for the reminder of these truly effective tools of language and relating to clients. They really work!

    • August 1, 2013 at 3:26 pm

      Thanks Suzanne, my pleasure!

  4. carlos
    July 31, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Thanks so much for this very important information!!

    • August 1, 2013 at 3:40 pm

      You’re welcome Carlos – glad to be of help.

  5. July 31, 2013 at 11:55 am

    Hey Chuck, Thanks for the tip. Every time I take your advice I succeed and make money…conversely when I try to reinvent the wheel the car has a flat tire. Your advice has been invaluable to my studio. Just wanted to tell you that without your advice I would have closed my studio a long time ago. You are the best.

    Thanks Coach,

    Dale Wallace Photography Studio
    Monroe , LA

    • August 1, 2013 at 3:37 pm

      Thank you Dale, I really appreciate your kind words.
      All the best,
      Chuck

  6. August 3, 2013 at 5:02 pm

    These sound like good phone tips but not email tips. Most people who contact me by email are not going to go into a dialogue like this.

    • August 4, 2013 at 5:56 pm

      Dana, Todd Lewis here – I understand your point about email. However, what we have found is, they usually email asking us what we charge. Then, how we respond to this email is key. We respond using these same principles, asking the right questions, talking about our guarantee, building the rapport. We treat it like a phone conversation – a back-and-forth. We then, of course, will give them an idea of what they could plan on investing for the photographs. Works great! We have seen booking percentages jump up to 85% when using these tips in emails. Just FYI…..

  7. August 3, 2013 at 7:34 pm

    I’m seriously thinking I need to revamp my business methods after reading such great pieces, but not sure where to start. I know I can’t book if I don’t have consultations if I don’t have inquiries. I need to figure out to get the inquiries so I can put these things into practice.
    James

    • August 4, 2013 at 5:57 pm

      James – Todd Lewis here. Yes, getting people to call you and email you has to happen first! We have lots of tips on this blog to help you with that as well. Keep plugging away – you’ll get there!

  8. August 4, 2013 at 9:59 pm

    Thank you Todd. I will try it, but I kind of think my clients would feel that they were being manipulated or “sold to” if I answered their questions with questions in an email that required them to write alot in response to a simple question. I am on the East Coast in an urban area, and people may not feel they want to write emails back and forth in order to get an answer. I do handle things the way you suggest on the phone, but I am leery of it in an email. Thanks.

    • August 10, 2013 at 12:36 pm

      Diana – I totally get where you’re coming from, but give this a try. I think you’ll be pleased. Does it work every time, no – but it does work so much better than just sending a “pricelist” or an email with your prices in it. They tend to just keep “shopping.” This starts to engage them, shows them you care about what they really want, and the people who are looking for a photographer like that will take the time to respond. Let me know how it goes!

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