140 | Selling with Confidence and Authenticity: Simple Strategies to Book More Ideal Clients

I’d love to support you if selling your photography packages with confidence feels like a current challenge. My group coaching program AMPLIFY is in open enrollment, and inside I provide direct 1:1 style coaching to members to help them create simple, successful strategies that work for their photography business. And once you’re in, you have lifetime access to both the training, content and the monthly coaching. If you’re ready to dive in and learn more, you can find the link to join us inside AMPLIFY in the show notes below.

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Summary:
For many photographers, they absolutely hate the idea of having to sell themselves to potential clients. They either get nervous and in their head, trying to make sure they say the right things – or they are so worried that they’ll come across as pushy that they take a really laid back approach.

In either case, it’s often true that they aren’t booking as many clients as they’d like. And I’m here to share, there is a better and more proven way to BOTH make selling feel like an organic and natural part of your business – and ALSO empowers your clients to know, in that moment, that you are the person they have been searching for.

If you’ve asked yourself questions like:

• What should I be saying to potential clients on discovery calls to get them to book with me?
• How can I say the right things to potential clients so that I stand out from the rest of the photographers in my market?
• How can I sell myself more naturally so that clients book with me?
• How can I stand out from other photographers by having great sales calls?

…  this episode is for YOU!

If you're ready to create more momentum and visibility inside your business (meaning: more inquiries and more booked clients) -- you'll want to join me for my next free workshop.  This workshop will be interactive meaning you get real-time coaching & strategies to grow your business. Head over to heykristamarie.com/workshop to save your seat.

Ways we can work together:

• <<Coaching>> Photographers, are you ready to create a sustainable business strategy?
• <<Brand Photos>> Is it time to elevate your business and get updated , gorgeous brand photos?

I'D LOVE TO CONNECT WITH YOU!

• Say hello on Instagram 👋
• Watch/Listen the podcast episodes on Youtube 📺
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 🎙
• Join the email community ✍🏻

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello, friend and welcome. You're listening to the she Calls Her Shots podcast, the show that empowers photographers like you to take inspired action and earn more money as a full-time photographer and business owner. For so many photographers, they absolutely hate the idea of having to sell themselves to potential clients. And you might be raising your hand saying, krista, that's me, I hate the feeling of having to sell myself. And you might be raising your hand saying, krista, that's me, I hate the feeling of having to sell myself. And feeling like all of this pressure when I get on to discovery calls and sales calls and I need you to know that this is normal and I find oftentimes the two biggest things that people hate photographers hate about having to sell themselves is that number one they either get really nervous and in their head and they try to make sure that they say the right things, right. You know that feeling where you're hopping on a call with someone and you're like how do I say the right things to help this person know that I am the right person for them? Or sometimes we get so worried that we're going to come across as pushy right, so we're so afraid that the other person, that the potential client, is going to think that we're being pushy if we try to sell ourselves too much, and so we take this really laid back approach to selling, but what ends up happening is we kind of lose our power in the conversation and all of the power is left in the client's hands, and then we get ghosted. We don't hear back from them and we're just like what did I do wrong? Right, how can I make this feel easier and I want to share today. There is a more proven and a better feeling way to both make selling feel like an organic and natural part of your business, but to also the selling conversations empower your clients to know in that moment that you are the person that they have been searching for. So if you've asked yourself questions like what should I be saying to potential clients to help them book, or how can I say the right things so that I stand out from the rest of photographers in my market, this episode is for you.

Speaker 1: 2:05

And if we haven't met yet, I'm Krista Marie, a brand photographer in San Francisco that has gone through two cross-country moves, rebuilding my business from the ground up each time, and I spent 14 years as a wedding and engagement photographer before moving fully into personal brand photography. I've helped photographers all around the world build thriving photography businesses that allow them to create more wealth and freedom in their day-to-day lives, and I want you to know I mentioned this already but this feeling of selling feeling hard is very common. This is something that I have seen time and time again with my clients and I've experienced it myself growing a photography business. So if you have been feeling stuck, if you aren't sure what you should be focusing on in order to help you book more of those dream level clients, or if you're looking for more support on how you can really own and claim your gifts, your talents, and make those selling conversations feel more natural and easy, at the end of the episode, I'm going to share more information about how I can support you as you build and create that successful, sustainable business and the strategy behind it, but for now, let's go ahead and dive into how you can start feeling more confident about your selling strategy and how it can feel more authentic inside of your business strategy and how it can feel more authentic inside of your business. So, first things first. I actually feel like, as photographers, our work does a really great job of selling itself For a lot of other service-based businesses and I can speak to this actually as a brand photographer it's a struggle to communicate what they do in photos.

Speaker 1: 3:44

Like, a lot of service-based businesses have a hard time having brand photos that really communicate the value and the depth of the work that they do with their clients, because they have to really kind of get creative about how they can share that. As photographers, our work speaks for itself, and so I think I wanna honor that first and foremost, because that's such a beautiful part of the selling process that we have this beautiful artwork and photos and albums and imagery that we can showcase to our future clients to help that at least speak to the quality and the education that we have around how to use our equipment and how to manipulate light and how to, you know, capture real and raw emotions from people. And so I want to just first and foremost point out that the photography is going to speak to our clients first and foremost. But what we need to get clear on as the photographer, as a service provider, is understanding how we help people right and what service we're actually providing. And here's a hint for you it's not actually the photos. As a photographer, yes, you're providing photos, but that's not the actual service that you're providing for your clients.

Speaker 1: 5:01

For example, how many times, as a wedding photographer, do you step in as a planner, or sometimes as even a therapist, for your clients during the planning process or on the day of the wedding? Right, I can speak to the amount of times that, as a wedding photographer, I felt like I was giving my clients space to talk about their fears, their stresses, what was worrying them about the wedding. I was there to calm their nerves and to help them remember that this is about them. This is their day. Right, that was me going above and beyond the photography aspect of my job and for so many of you listening in. As a wedding photographer, you do the same for your clients and it comes naturally. Photographer, you do the same for your clients and it comes naturally. Or for family photographers, how many times are you, during a session, giving the parents and the little ones permission to just be themselves, letting them know that the chaos and the running around and the energy is all a part of the natural beauty, of what makes these photos unique to them and authentic to them, and showcasing the stage and the milestone that their little ones are in.

Speaker 1: 6:08

As a brand photographer right for myself, for anyone listening in how many times are we helping clients fully step in and own their brand style and vibe during the session? It's about so much more than just showing up and putting my camera on the right settings and taking some photos and being in the right moment at the right time. There's so much more intentionality and effort and thought and care and heart and love that goes into the service that we provide and so often we leave that part out of the selling conversation or we don't spend enough time focusing on that. And we spend too much time focusing on what the package includes and how many hours Feeling like we need to almost prove the worth of the session by the details of what's included. And I say this because I've done this myself. I have hopped onto discovery calls.

Speaker 1: 7:07

I have been in that seat where you feel like I have to prove something, I have to win them over, and the way I'm going to win them over is with the amount of hours that's included or the amount of photos or how many prep calls we have or the guides or XYZ thing that I'm including in my process. And don't get me wrong. Those things matter. But if your client can't attach meaning to those things, if your package includes two hours of coverage but you know they don't understand that you're going to like make those two hours super efficient because of all of the planning you're going to do, they don't understand that during those two hours you are going to be interacting with the kids and with the family like the entire time. You know like they can't see the visual of what we're providing to them. It's just numbers, and so, as a photographer, it's our job in these sales calls to communicate so much more than just what the package includes.

Speaker 1: 8:08

And something I've found that can be really tricky and why these sales conversations can feel difficult for photographers is that we haven't fully owned and claimed our full set of skills and everything that we provide to our clients, our full set of skills and everything that we provide to our clients. 99% of the time when I work with photographers, the reason why selling feels so hard is because they don't fully believe in their skills, talents, capabilities and everything that they are offering to their clients. And I say this so often inside of my group coaching program and with my one-to-one clients, but this is the real work that we do as business owners, the work that we do to excavate deep down and to dig deep into oh, I actually know a lot more than I'm giving myself credit for. Oh, you know what? I'm actually downplaying a lot of the things that I'm good at because I'm afraid of failure or I'm afraid of someone thinking that I'm too this or to that or not enough or too much. This is the work that we do, but I'm here to share that. This work matters. And this is why Because we need to be able to fully own claim and believe in everything that we have overcome, the success that we've seen, the impact we've made with our clients. We have to believe that fully if anyone else is going to see that in us, right, like, people can't see the gifts and talents and all of the things that exude from you if you aren't fully able to believe them yourself.

Speaker 1: 9:44

And one thing I want us to think about, kind of on that same note, is when we think about selling. Even just the word selling can sometimes trigger us in some not helpful ways, because when we think of a sale, it's hard for us to detach a sale from something money or income right, like when you think of a sale. A sale equals a transaction. In order for a transaction to occur, there has to be a reciprocation of something. You're trading money for a sale of something, and so I want us to, first and foremost, as we're thinking about owning and claiming our gifts and having these selling conversations, let's reframe it from selling and instead let's think about we are inviting the clients into an experience Because we can better serve them, and the focus can be on the client more specifically when we think about it from the lens of I am here to serve you and invite you into this experience and this offer, as opposed to I want to sell you something that is going to be helpful for you.

Speaker 1: 10:52

But even just saying I'm going to sell you something, even as I say it, I can feel the change, I can feel the feeling of what comes up with that it doesn't feel good Because the focus is on me. Right, I'm selling you something. Yes, it will help you, yes, you will love it, yes, it'll probably make an impact, but the whole kind of core focus is more on me. I'm selling you something, as opposed to I'm going to take this time to share this experience with you, to talk about it to invite you into this experience. See how that's so much more focused on the client than it is on me selling something. So, first and foremost, to change the narrative of how we have this selling conversation, I want to just go ahead and remove this word selling from it at all. And instead, when we think about this and how I'll talk about it for the rest of this podcast, is I want us to focus on inviting and creating that invitation into an experience. And I want you to think about when we think about this invitation.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Sometimes it can be easier to think about this in kind of a more concrete setting, right? So you can be inviting people into your photography business, whether you are speaking to someone in person, right? So, on a discovery call, on an initial call with a potential client, you can think about this invitation in the sense of getting connected to your client. What is it that they're looking for? If you're a wedding photographer, what moments are they most excited about capturing? What parts of the wedding day absolutely light them up and are they like? I don't want to miss this. If you're a family photographer, right, thinking about what types of photos light them up about their littles. Do they love the really posed, curated photos, or do they want them kind of messy, laughing, smiling, like really get to know them and what they want and then, assuming it's a right fit for your style and your work, right, like assuming this is a session that you would like to take on and it matches with your vibe speak to how you are going to help facilitate that. What is it about your experience that is really going to help amplify this experience for them?

Speaker 1: 13:09

And when you get into the details of talking about what your package includes, why are your offers structured the way that they are right? Why four hours instead of five? Or why three hours instead of two? Or why do you have a studio session versus, you know, outdoor photography? Like, really speak to the difference of the service and the level of service that you're able to provide in what it is that you're selling. Again, as opposed to just trying to feel like we need to convince them by offering more hours or more coverage or more photos. What do those things mean? Speak more about the experience than you do about, like, the metrics and the details of the package.

Speaker 1: 13:55

And one thing I want you to remember when it comes to selling, when it comes to hopping on these calls and posing these invitations for potential clients to book with you. Posing these invitations for potential clients to book with you, I want you to remember we're focusing on booking more of your dream clients. Your dream client cares more about the service and the level that you're going to provide than they do about an extra 30 minutes of coverage. Right Like your dream clients care about the experience. There will be potential clients who come to you who are price shoppers. They are never going to go away. We're always going to have people who are comparing only based on the price and, while I have so much to say about that, I want you to not get hung up when those people are the ones who are telling you no, because they found someone who's willing to do it cheaper.

Speaker 1: 15:39

And there's a few things behind that Number one there will always be someone who will out beat you on price. There will always be a photographer who is willing to burn themselves out for a low price and likely not have a sustainable business and not be in business after a certain period of time. So know that that is always going to be the case. We're never going to win based on price alone, which is why it is so important to think about the overall experience that you provide outside of that. But another reason why I don't want you to focus only on the price shoppers is because we put the things that we buy, the things that we purchase. We're willing to spend more money on things that are important to us right, like I am willing to spend more money on my favorite scented candles because I like the way they smell, I like the way that they burn, they have a long burn time, right. I'm just using this as an example. We prioritize the things that are important to us and we're willing to spend more on something that matters.

Speaker 1: 16:41

For someone who is only price shopping, photography is not important Not that it's not important, I shouldn't say that but it's not as important to them If they are only basing their photo experience based on the price. Clearly there's a misalignment there on it. It's just not a top priority for them, and that's true no matter what photography industry you're in weddings, families, brand right, like they care about it, but only to a certain extent. And the question I have for you is when you start to feel frustrated if you get on these conversations, if you're having these conversations and you're inviting and you're spending time focusing on the experience and why it matters and everything that you provide. If someone comes back and says no and if the reason is because they found someone who's willing to do it for less money, I want you to not take that personally, because the question is do you actually want to work with that client if photos aren't really that important to them? Because, as a heart-centered photographer, what I know about you is you are pouring your heart and soul and time and energy into making this an experience they are going to love and if they're not going to appreciate it, they're not the right fit client love and if they're not going to appreciate it, they're not the right fit client.

Speaker 1: 18:03

So, part of this right and the reason I'm saying this is because I want us to take the pressure off of feeling like we need to say the right things during these conversations to convince someone to work with us. Because when we're so focused on saying the right things so that someone will say yes, we lose sight of the bigger purpose and the why of what we do, of why we do what we do. We lose sight of the sole purpose, the thing that lights us up, but our sole clients, the ones who love us, who love our personalities, who want to work with us specifically those dream soul clients the things that they care about are often the things that we are downplaying. They're often the things that we are taking for granted when we're making invitations. We're not focusing on the heart and soul behind why we do what we do and everything that we're pouring into our clients. And so I want you to think about.

Speaker 1: 18:58

Think about an incredible selling situation that you have experienced. So, when you purchased something and you just felt like it was, you were so excited to make that purchase. It was something that meant so much to you. How did you feel during that selling situation? What were the thoughts and the feelings and the emotions behind your purchase? And I want you to realize that the reason it felt like such a great experience was one. That thing was a priority to you. The reason it stands out and that it means so much to you is because it meant something to you. It was a priority. It also likely spoke to your feelings and the emotions that you had.

Speaker 1: 19:40

And the last thing I want to talk about when it comes to making these invitations, we have to be so fully confident around our pricing and the way that our packages are structured Because, remember, we're going into this conversation focusing on everything that we're providing. That's kind of outside of the package itself. Right, we talked about not just selling based on, or not just inviting based on the amount of hours of coverage or how many photos it includes. We're really speaking to the overall experience of what we're providing. But when we go to talk about the price, when we say the price, we have to fully and full body believe that this price is so in alignment that we say it without any hesitation, there's no fears, there's no doubts, there's no, you know, oh, I feel like maybe I should include an extra hour because maybe this is more money than they're willing to pay, so maybe I'll add in more things. Like we, we can't have space for those feelings in these conversations, and so we have to feel so confident and so aligned with our price point and with what our offer includes, because we're not trying to win based on the amount of hours, we're not trying to win over the client based on how many photos, right.

Speaker 1: 20:57

And oftentimes, when we feel unsure or shaky about our pricing or our offers or what the package includes. What we usually end up doing is overgiving overgiving extra hours, overgiving extra time, overgiving extra things because we don't actually believe that our package is worth the amount that we're charging. And so I wanted to include that, because the pricing and the packaging and how your offers are created is really the foundation to having these conversations where you're inviting people into your offers. We have to feel super confident and clear if we are going to have these conversations well and if these conversations are going to turn into book to dream clients. We have to feel confident, and I know that pricing can be something that is so subjective and feel so unsure for a lot of us on am I priced correctly? And so I want to put that in there, because that is a common thing that I work with clients on, and it's not something that can just be oh, this is the right price. It is going to depend on your market. Do you have all-inclusive packages? Do you do creative fees? Are you doing weddings? Are you doing studio sessions, sessions, outdoor sessions, like?

Speaker 1: 22:17

There's so many factors included here, but we want to feel confident about our pricing and I know we talked about a lot today, so I want to do a very quick recap just of everything that we covered. First and foremost, it's so important to get clear on the service that you provide outside of the actual photos. What is it that you are giving to your clients that aren't necessarily included in the package offerings? We also want to shift our mindset from one of selling that sales equals a monetary transaction to one of inviting right. We're inviting our clients potential clients into an experience, and we also want to remember that our dream clients are going to care more about how you make them feel than the extra hour of coverage, because the extra hour doesn't necessarily mean anything to them if they can't attach meaning to it. And we also want to be really confident about our pricing strategy, because we have to believe in our offers if we want other people to believe in the value of our offers.

Speaker 1: 23:20

And if this is something that you are struggling with, I would love to support you. If booking more clients and selling your photography packages feels like a challenge, my group coaching program Amplify is an open enrollment group coaching program, and inside of it, I'm providing direct, one-to-one style coaching to each of our members, helping them create strategies that work for their unique photography businesses. And once you're in, you have lifetime access to both the training and the content that's included, and also to the monthly coaching from me. So if you're ready to dive in, if you want to learn more, you can find the link to join us inside Amplify in the show notes below. I'm so grateful for you. I'm excited for what this next season holds for you inside of your business, and I want you to remember we are all in this together and I'm here to support you as you continue to stretch and grow. Thank you.