wedding bookings...closing the deal

we manage to get the required number of inquiries & convert them into appointments at the studio. While there are couples who do not book based on budget constraints, there are couples who book other studios at the same or higher price point. In terms of quality of work, the perception of our studio is that we produce images of high quality & certainly at the least on a par with our main competitors. I feel that the reason we miss out on jobs is selling technique mostly. I would welcome any advice which would help me clinch the deal.......

Cheers,

Paul Bestwick

Ps I liked David Smith's advice on the bridal fairs. As usual, very useful contribution.

[David_A_Smith]

Hey Paul,
Thanks For the mention! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Before I offer too much advise, can you be more specific on where in your sales you think your going wrong? Do you follow up those who don't book and get any feedback as to why they are saying they are not booking with you? The sales process is a very involved one and would take too much rabbling on even for me so if you can give me any specific insights, I will be happy to put forward any suggestions I think may help. What percentage of your interviews are you booking at the moment?

There is one thing I will mention here and that is asking for the order. Again, this is a very basic but important sales Technique. It simply means at the end of your presentation you ask them if they want to book you. While this sounds painfully obvious, many people don't do it. In retail these days here in oz at least, when you ask a sales assistant something when you are in a store they will tell you what ( little) they know and then leave you with something like " If you need anymore help, let me know. I can't remember the last time anyone asked me " Would you like to put that on your credit card or will you be paying cash Sir" or " I'll just go and get one from out the back for you". These are all simple ways of asking the customer to buy called indirect questions. Just like " Would you prefer that in Red or Blue?" Even if the answer " green" they have bought and it is easier for the customer to say yes than no.

Here's what I do in my presentations ( and I'm sure I'll get plenty of suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong)

First thing is to start your close during the presentation. If the customer says to you " We are looking for a natural style of shots" you make a note of that and then feed it back to them later in the presentation. You may say " the style of work I do is a natural, relaxed style of work. Is that what you are looking for?' Of course they say yes. While this may sound dumb here, done properly it work and the client thinks you discovered what style they like all by yourself [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
The object is to get the customer saying yes to you throughout the presentation. At the end when you start doing your trial close's you say something to the client like. " Ok mary & Jim, it sounds like you are going to have a great wedding and i'm sure it will offer some fantastic photographic opportunities for your pictures. Now from what we have discussed here today, You seemed happy with the natural relaxed style of shots I do ? YES. Great, and you liked the albums, the black I think you said you prefered? YES. And you wanted coverage from the grooms home to the reception correct? YES. And we have discussed that the Alpha package is within your budget and even allows for a few more addins YES.
OK then, it seems to me we are all on the same wavelength here and understand what everyone wants ( BIG SMILE) so how would you prefer to fix up your booking fee? Card or cash? You could also use a minor close if you set it up right... :OK, that all sounds great, what colour album do you prefer, white or black? Blue, terriffic, I'll make a note of that to order it a few weeks before your big day. Now, would you like to fix up your booking fee by cash or card?"

Alternatively, if you feel they may be a bit less than overly impressed I ask " Would you like me to book the day in for you or would you like me to hold it for a few days and you can get back to me?
The alternative close will get about a 50/50 result but at least 50% of the ones that want me to hold the day will get back to me and book. Many times this happens as soon as they get home. They will say ring within an hour of leaving and say something like " We discussed it on the way home and we like your work and would like to book you. Can we put a cheque in the mail to you tomorrow?"

Now, the golden rule when you ask the closing question is SHUT UP! Do not speak another word untill they do first. At this point, first one who's lips move looses! Sit there for 10 minutes in silence if you have to but shut up till they say something. If it is a question, answer it and either ask another closing question or shut up again.

Once you ask the closing question they will either answer so you book them in, raise an objection ( not that anything at this point will be real significant, they are stalling for time) or tell you they have some more people to see and will get back to you. If they don't book , just go over all the positives again before you bid then seeyalater... " No worries, getting the right photographer is very important. You were happy with the shots I showed you? And you liked those ideas I suggested we do at the park? And the coverage is within your Budget? Great, I'll look forward to hearing from you soon then!" ( more big smiles!)

On the subject of other photographers, I usually raise this first usually when it comes to pricing... " Have you seen any other Photographers yet? No, Ok, well let me be the first to confuse you (Smile) Who else are you going to see?" When they name someone I either say something like " I haven't heard of them" Or " Ok, I think they do something pretty different to me "
NEVER bag out another photographer even if you know they are crooks. It just makes you look jealous and they will probably go see them anyway. I have actually booked quite a few weddings because the only reason the couple came to me was to see if I really was the two headed monster that ate little children like my competitor made me out to be.

As a general rule, I don't follow up on clients that don't book. I am pretty confident that if they want me they will ring. I have come to this conclusion through following clients up and I can't remember 1 ever booking me that I rang. Still, other shooters may like to do things more professionally than me.

Main tips I could offer is be friendly without being sickly, be happy and upbeat, get to know the people to build rapport and learn what will make them happy in their pics and....Don't let them out the door without asking if they want to book you...prefrably more than once if you can!

If you want to email me with any questions Paul, feel Free!

[JonathanRyan]

David - thanks. Absolutely great advice.

[MattRadlinski]

David's advice is great!

I'd like to add a few more comments. You may be the most amazing photographer in the world, but if the couple doesn't like you, you're not getting the booking. They may not be able to tell the difference between your work and your competitors', because clients are not always very savvy, or they may like both styles. So the winner is the one they feel the most comfortable with.

What kind of coversations do you enjoy more? Those where the other guy drones on and on about himself, or those where he is fascinated by all you do, and keeps wanting to know more about you (that is, those where you drone on and on about yourself)? Everybody likes to talk about themselves, so, let them, and brides always have 200 things to talk about with their wedding. It might be painful, but smile, nod, tell them what great choices they've made, and then ask them more questions.

When it comes to talking about photography, again, start by asking them questions. "What's most important to you about your wedding images?" is always a great start. Whatever it is that's most important, tell them you do. It won't be lying...if they say 'romantic portraits,' great, who doesn't do those? If they say 'fun,' who isn't fun? It's just another way of letting them know you're on the same page they are.

The big "yes I'll sign the contract!" is a serious of small yeses, so get them used to saying "yes" throughout the visit.

You: "Do you have guests coming from out of town?"
Bride: "Yes, aunt so and so is coming from Hoboken, and so is blah blah blah..."
You: "Oh, then you might be interested to know that we put your images on our website so even out of towners can see them. Does that sound like something you'd like?"
Bride: "Yes, I would!"

There's 120 more tips and tricks to this, so I'd recommend you take a sales course. The PPA has business classes all the time, and the affiliate schools have business and marketing courses in addition to photographic courses. Spend a few hundred bucks and take one of these, and you'll make a lot more than that back. Sadly, the most successful studios are not those with the best images. They're those with the best salesmen.

[David_Buzzard]

Wedding photogaphers are like wedding dresses, it's a very personal fit. There's a huge range of styles of photography, and your style might not jib with what your prosepective client might want. I'm a real believer in that you should be true to yourself as to your photographic style. It's better to be strong in one segment of the market than try to be everything to everyone.

You can easily talk yourself out of a job. Don't say anything about yourself unless client asks about it. Anyting political is also bad news. I find that clients like to ask about other parts of the wedding, and being able to give good advice shows that you experience. I like to be really casual when I meet clients, and give them some time on their own to look at my portfolio. It's a lot more comfortable looking at portfolio when you don't have the photographer looking at you.

David Buzzard

[David_A_Smith]

I totally agree with you David. You can't be everything to everybody and you simply should not book every client that comes through your door. Personality and style is a big part of the success you will have with different clients both photographically, financially and in the dealings you have with people. Sometimes you can push too hard and book the wrong people and you end up regretting it because any money you do make simply is not worth the stress.

One thing I have been real big on which heavily relates to closing is basically interviewing people when they call on the phone. It is quite normal for me to spend up to half an hour on the initial " How much do you charge? " call but if the clients then make a booking to come in, my closing rate averages 81%. I have had this well into the 90% but I have booked the wrong clients when I did this.
By the time the couple hit my door I have a good idea of all the basics, when, where, how many, stated styles prefrances, description of brides dress, bridesmaids dresses...... Etc. Sometinmes although I never try to withhold it, price is never mentioned right up till the time they want to book. If I know where the reception and other things are I have a good idea of photography budget. If they ask price I will certainly tell them and if we get onto more important things that make the bride more excited, sometimes it never comes up.

One thing I do different to you David is I don't leave them alone. When I show them my pictures I tell them to have a look through and I'll just ask them a few questions about their day. As they are going through the pictures ( used to be albums but now slide shows on the computer) You can pick up about what the couple like and dislike in their pictures. I have found that if you ask what do you want for you photos, little or conflicting infomation will come forward. Show people a bunch of pics and listen to their comments and you soon get a handle on it all.

This is also helpful in closing the deal because you know exactly what they like and can highlight that side of what you do and forget what has no appeal to them. When you know what they want you can feed it back to them to show you understand and are on their wavelength which builds rapport and when you do get the booking you know exactly what you need to concerntrate on shooting.

[RichPontier]

Wow David,

Great tips you are displaying here.
Thanks for sharing, I have adjusted my sellingtechnique to a few of your points.