Megan DiPiero shares about offering a luxury service

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Read her book, She Sells, here: https://megandipierocoaching.com/she-sells

Summary

In this engaging conversation, Megan DiPiero shares her journey as a successful photographer and educator, emphasizing the importance of mindset, pricing strategy, and creating a full-service experience for clients. She discusses the challenges photographers face in a competitive market and offers insights on how to break free from low pricing cycles. Megan also highlights the significance of valuing one's work and the transformative power of providing exceptional service. Listeners are encouraged to embrace their passion for photography while also thinking like business owners to achieve profitability.

Takeaways

• Success comes down to method, mindset, and magic.
• Mindset is the first most important thing in business.
• Understanding your cost of doing business is crucial.
• You can create a sustainable, profitable business.
• You don't have to compete in a race to the bottom.
• Providing a full-service experience enhances client satisfaction.
• Clients will pay for convenience and exceptional service.
• Transitioning to full-service photography can be done quickly.
• You can achieve high pricing in any market.
• Your passion for photography can lead to profitability.

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Transcript

Christa (00:01.386)
Okay, guys, I have never been more nervous and excited to record an episode for y'all because Megan DiPiro is here and she is someone that is just so incredible to me. She's someone I've always looked up to, always admired, that really gave me the push for even my own business to shift to full service in my way. And Megan is a photographer, she's an educator, she's in Fort Myers, Florida. Megan, thank you so much for being here.

Megan DiPiero (00:28.254)
What a warm welcome. Thank you, Chris. That's good to be here.

Christa (00:30.785)
Yes. Oh my goodness. I feel like I literally have butterflies. So you guys, if you're starting to listen to this, please watch, please listen, watch all the way through. Megan is just a gold mine, a wealth of information. She'll even share a resource at the end with you guys. But Megan, I would love if you just shared a little bit about, you know, your business with our listeners.

Megan DiPiero (00:52.674)
Yeah. Okay. So the business to date, I believe that in Q1 this year, we're going to hit $5 million lifetime. So that is, we've been in business 15 years and definitely been through lots of ups and downs. mean, recessions, I've seen them. COVID, seen it, you know, been through all the highs and the lows. And for the last five years running, we've been at 500K. So nothing's getting us down. We are stable, sturdy. And that's what I wish for all the...

other photographers too, is to create that sustainable, profitable business.

Christa (01:23.116)
Yeah. And like in talking about that, Megan, like those are some massive numbers. And then obviously I know you help other photographers rise above and achieve that for themselves. And one of the things that you really instilled within me, even without realizing it, is how much of like your mindset and just understanding the levels of business play a part in that. And I was wondering, would you be willing to just break down for our listeners, Megan? Both of those things are so powerful, like mindset of rising above, but also

You broke down those stages in business well during recessions, what gets cut back? Would you be willing to share about either of those?

Megan DiPiero (01:59.17)
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So I always say success comes down to method, mindset and magic. And mindset is the first most important thing because I remember when I was starting, I was looking around and I have this chapter in my book about the saddest stretch of highway. I was driving home from a shoot that got canceled last minute. And I was counting on that shoot because that was supposed to be the paycheck that was going to fill my tank with gas to get home.

And adding insult to injury, I was missing my son's play to go serve someone else's family. So that was kind of like game over. I had to scrounge up coins in between my cushions of my car, pay for gas, get home, and literally like the rain was falling, the tears was falling. I was like, this is the worst. So sometimes we have to hit that rock bottom, but I said, you know, I'm not going to run business like this anymore. I'm not going to sacrifice.

my family so that I can make these amazing experiences for someone else's family. has to be equal giving on both sides. So the mindset started first and I said, okay, I need to figure out how do I need to price? And it was a little bit of both. It was method and mindset. So the first thing I did is I got a really firm grasp on my cost of doing business analysis and it turns out, oh, no wonder I was failing. I needed a $3,100 average in order to accomplish my goals.

And so once you see it on paper, your mindset instantly starts to shift because, you know, I say, if it can't happen on paper, it can't happen in real life. And I'm like, if I cannot hit that $3,100 average, what am I doing here? Why, why am I even in business? You know, I could do it as a hobby. could create portraits of my kids that I already love. I don't have to call myself a professional, but if I want to be a professional mindset, it is. So I immediately started breaking down.

those blocks and certainly it doesn't happen overnight. I still sometimes find these sneaky little blocks, but I realized that like, okay, my worth has to come from somewhere. And for me, it came from the idea that I put my kids' picture on the back of my product guide with those very scary prices. And I said, okay, if I can't say I'm doing this for me, I can say I'm doing it for them. Because if I know that if I'm gonna be away from the kids,

Megan DiPiero (04:17.792)
it's going to be to make money that matters. And so that's where the mindset really started with me. And then of course, Method caught up with that because it was like, okay, I got to average this. How am going to do it? And sales psychology, know, putting pricing that's profitable, all the things started to roll together. But I think mindset is the first biggest, most important part.

Christa (04:39.266)
think that Megan correct me if I'm wrong. feel like that's the thing that trips up most photographers is I think so many come to that point and that was me I remember I paid out taxes one January and was like this does not make sense what I have left and like this couple grand of my bank account does not make sense with like how good my work is how much I love serving clients so for that photographer maybe they're at that like 300 400 500 mark and they're feeling that of like this is not making sense.

Megan DiPiero (04:44.133)
yeah.

Christa (05:07.554)
What are some really good mindset steps that they can tell themselves to know like this is possible? Like you can break out of that even if all of your competitors are in that 500 range.

Megan DiPiero (05:17.634)
Yeah, so the nice thing is that it is very spacious up here at the top. There are, I mean, I can't even tell you how many photographers are just competing at that rat race at the bottom. Recently, I came upon a group, Southwest Florida photographers, and it was one of those deals where someone said, can anyone recommend a reasonable photographer? And within four hours, there were 60 comments and people were saying,

I'm only 300, the next person, I'm only 200, I'm only 100. It was like total race to the bottom. And somehow I got all caught up in that. was like, my God, I don't even know any of these people's names. Like I used to know all the photographers. And now it's just like every year there's more and more and more. And it's always that race to the bottom, that competitiveness. But then you look at the top. And so where I'm at, you know, in this, I mean, I may actually be one of the most expensive photographers in the country now. Like we averaged $9,500.

But way back when it was 3000, I was still in the upper echelon. And so there were probably about 12 photographers in my market, only 12. And I thought, okay, we can all exist here. We can all play nice. We do, we refer each other back and forth and it works really well. And so the first thing I had to realize is that, wow, you don't have to compete. That's really exciting.

And so that was such an epiphany. Like, you if I just rise up and you said it best, you said full service photography. Cause I think we do, we want to give our heart, we want to give that, but you can't do that if you're, if you're doing things cheap, like you just can't afford a makeup artist, an assistant, top quality gear, top quality education, if you're in that rat race. So I was like, okay, I can serve better here. And this is what my heart is calling me to do. I want to serve, I want to serve at the top.

And that was really eye-opening. And then the next thing had to get over is like, wow, am I worth $3,000? So that, yeah.

Christa (07:11.126)
Yes, speak to that. hear that all the time of like Krista, there's no, I know I need to get to this average. There's no way people in my town would pay this.

Megan DiPiero (07:19.914)
No. And so this is the example I give to everyone. And this is going to be super eye opening for anyone listening. Ask yourself if you had to put a number on how much gear you have in your camera bag, what is that number? Okay, Krista, what is that number for you? How much gear, dollar wise, do you have in your camera bag?

Christa (07:38.328)
yeah, it's at least, you know, could be 15 grand on wedding days easily. Yeah. Yeah.

Megan DiPiero (07:41.262)
I believe it. Almost nobody answers less than 3,000. Most popular number I've heard is 5,000. So like probably a lot of people are saying, yep, I've got 5K, I've got 10K. So then you have to ask yourself, wait a second, because here's me and I'm saying, no, I don't spend big. I don't spend thousands of dollars on nothing. You know, that's me. And I'm like, wait a second, Megan, don't you though? Because if I have 3K of gear and you have 15K and someone else has 5K,

Christa (07:48.396)
Yep.

Megan DiPiero (08:10.018)
Here are all these same people who are saying, I'm broke, I don't spend money. And yet we do, we spend money, we spend on what we value. And there's lots of people here will say, no, I don't spend money. And yet they're sending their kids to private school. No, I don't spend money. And yet they're daughters in dance. We spend money on what we value. And that's all you need to know to start to switch that mindset. Because if you can imagine, I spent thousands of dollars and everyone listening spent thousands of dollars.

we can all spend thousands of dollars.

Christa (08:41.314)
Yeah, and when you look at that value piece, in economic hard times, we're cutting back to still spend money on what we value. And what we share is, if you're at that competitive mark, those are often the photographers getting cut. Yeah, versus if you're the one, they're investing in this experience with you. So like, Megan, would you mind sharing about your experience that you do for clients?

Megan DiPiero (08:48.374)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Megan DiPiero (08:58.535)
yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Megan DiPiero (09:08.218)
how I do it. Yeah, I love service. I just have always wanted to do that. I've experienced bad service for sure because, you know, there was a time where there's been several times, like I'm always hiring a photographer every year. And sometimes you just grab a quick photographer because you're on vacation or something. And then the worst experience was the photographer didn't know my kids' names. And

I'm sure no one would do that, right? Everyone would, of course you make it a priority. You're going to know those kids' names because that's what's so important. That's what you're there to do is create memories of the family. And how can you do that if you don't even have that connection? But I also realized, of course that photographer didn't have that connection. It was peak season, of vacation destination. She was probably doing three shoots a day. I mean, how could she get that in order? So I was like, no, what I want to do is I want to give my clients

the service they deserve. I want to know every kid. I want to be that liaison. if the mom has a hard time convincing her preteen to not wear track pants, I'm going to make sure that that kid feels great about showing up in something that's going to look good. That's going to make mom and him happy. So I can bridge that gap for people. can win over dad. And I do all that with the in-home consultation. So I am going to clients.

and I'm helping them pick out their clothes, which is the number one stressor that moms experiences. my God, what's everyone gonna wear? And even more than that, I adore wall art.

I love having wall art. Like I can see right behind you, you have wall art. Yeah, when we have wall art on our walls, then it's like it's lifting the memories out of Facebook, out of the phone and putting them in a place where, like I say, you can wake up to your beauty, you can wake up to your love. Just seeing the kids on the wall every day is transformational. So, you know, lot of photographers aren't able to do that for their clients because they don't have the time, the software, the expertise.

Megan DiPiero (11:00.658)
And so I can do that. can be full service for my clients. So start to finish from getting them prepped to seeing that wall art up on the wall. I am there to help them create the most extraordinary experience.

Christa (11:11.18)
Yeah, and then afterwards, they love it. Like you mentioned the senior example of like always remembering that incredible milestone versus, and I'll tell photographers this, Megan, like if you ask your past clients, like were you doing shooting burn, were you able to get anything printed and hung on the wall? The answer is usually no, or it's done in a really low quality way for like how important this season was.

Megan DiPiero (11:14.146)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Megan DiPiero (11:34.254)
Yeah. Or they think they're going to do it and they promise themselves they're going to do it and then life gets busy and they don't do it. And so it's like, we're, really helping them accomplish that thing. It's all about taking stress off the client's plate and people will pay a lot for that. mean, like perfect example that we use in our daily lives, Uber eats. These days, people are paying for service and convenience and they're paying for a frictionless experience. So if you can just take that friction away and make everything smoother and take away the pain and stress, clients will love you.

Christa (12:04.332)
love that. Was that hard for you? Cause you were years into the industry. Was that hard for you making that shift with past clients that you really loved? Did some stay with you? Like tell me about that.

Megan DiPiero (12:15.832)
So it wasn't as hard as for some people because luckily I hit that rock bottom really fast. was, yeah, I was only one year shooting burn. And then it was like, this ain't working for me. And I turned everything like literally overnight. went from, you know, $250 to suddenly I had an option for people to buy the same thing for $2,500. So it was like, boom, just moved it and just had to, just had to, cause that's what the number said. So then it was like, okay, well,

Christa (12:21.09)
That's good though.

Megan DiPiero (12:44.8)
where do we go from here? Now, luckily, 10 % of that first year clients stayed and that's all you need because if you're 10x higher and 10 % stay, you make the same exact amount of money with one-tenth the workload. So that was really lovely. And then from there, it was just all up from there. And I was able to really do what was in my soul and heart. And so I wrote it all down on paper. Here's the kind of service I want to deliver. And then I just priced for that and it's been

up, up, up. And the coolest thing, I had this complete full circle moment because my first ever portfolio build client, I brought her to my home studio. And so, yes, I had a home studio for seven years and did 400K out of that studio. And so I brought her in. At the time, was like, it was literally my home. there was like, couches were stained with who knows what came out of a sippy cup, know, like toddler stuff, but I would clean everything up before the shoot.

Christa (13:38.946)
Yes.

Megan DiPiero (13:43.19)
And so she came over and we did a beautiful shoot and it was just fun and creative. And to get her into that, I said, let me cover your session fee. Let me also gift you with an image credit. And if you're tempted to buy more, you're welcome to do so. And she did, she did so. She spent $3,000 first ever client. The next year she hired me for family, $5,000. Two years later, again, family, $5,000. So the whole time, I've known this woman for now 14 years.

And the whole time she has been referring me and she's been doing repeat business. And then like it happens, you sometimes our careers change, our life changes. She got this massive, well-deserved life upgrade that she took over her parents' business and acquired 200 employees. Completely different life stage. But because I set my pricing with intention on day one, I now have the same exact pricing today.

I was $250 an image then, I'm $250 an image now. Her lifestyle changed, her bank account and discretionary income changed. So her last session was $34,000. Yes.

Christa (14:52.162)
Megan, that is wild. I love what you said. That didn't come with a huge pricing leap once you got to X point. And that's something that I really try to share with photographers of even through our career, we had very few price increases. I think maybe during COVID our labor supplies on frames went up. We went up like $100, but that's it. And that's why I love how you said it. It's so important right out the gate.

don't build yourself up with a plan to eventually increase because those repeat clients, I equate it to like when you go through the Chick-fil-A drive-through and you get the exact same thing and you watch it creep up and you're like, I know what my number one cost. It feels misaligned in the photo space too. And how much better to like set yourself where you need to be to support. know you, I think you have two little ones that you've grown up obviously over this time and watch their mom crash it. my gosh. I think when I had.

Megan DiPiero (15:42.374)
They're not little, they're 20 and 18 now.

Christa (15:47.042)
come into your circle. I'm trying to remember how many years ago that was, Megan. But you were the one who really helped me see that of like, you you are going to get told no more. And just like you said, it becomes actually a numbers game. Even if you book a tenth of what you did before, it's still worth it. Even if that client that you give a credit to, I hear this, doesn't upgrade. They know your process. They can refer you. And it's not like, she did it for, you know, $100. And they're telling their friends that.

Megan DiPiero (16:15.66)
Yeah, because you have to know, and it's like when you're referring to people like, I very much love experience, like that's what I will pay for. My sister, she loves tangible things. Like she makes her own clothes. She's a designer. So her thing is fabric. If she has money, it's going to fabric. But because we have these different tastes, like I'm going to be the experienced girl. I'm going to put money into that. She will not. And so I would tell her if I was referring someone, I would be like, okay, like,

Listen, this one's expensive but worth it and she may or may not move forward. But clients need to know where you're going so that they can appropriately refer you and put the right caveats in front of it. And you know, I might not refer someone to my sister because I know like that's not going to be her MO, but I can refer her to my friend and you know, coworkers, I can do that.

Christa (16:57.09)
for sure, and that's okay.

Christa (17:01.782)
Right, because when you're at the top, you don't need to be the photographer for everybody. Like making all these changes to what feels good to you to just get that next client and you can stand really firm. bringing it back to the mindset, Megan, don't you love the trolls on Instagram? And we've had that more and more this year where they're like, people in regular cities would do not pay thousands of dollars for a session.

Megan DiPiero (17:06.734)
Totally.

Megan DiPiero (17:14.03)
Absolutely.

Christa (17:26.848)
And so what would you say to the photographer who's maybe heard that and is thinking that of like, maybe that works for Megan in Florida and, know, know, Krista and Greenville, but like my town, people aren't dropping thousands of dollars on something. What would your guidance there be to them?

Megan DiPiero (17:42.786)
Well, I would tell everybody to go Google my city and get your own information because if you Google Fort Myers median income, you're going to find it's $57,000. And when I started, it was $41,000. So, you know, it has grown, but not astronomically. No. And I think if people compared that with their own city, they would say, wait a second. Okay. If Megan can do it and her median income is 57,000 and my median income is 58,000, we're really in very similar markets.

Christa (17:52.684)
Wow!

Christa (17:59.574)
Not a time.

Megan DiPiero (18:12.108)
And then meanwhile, I have seen, you because we have our 10K club and our 10K club is for any of our students who hit their first $10,000 sale of the year. We celebrate with them every year when they report that. And so we have now seen every state, maybe minus Montana. think there's like one state missing, but you know, probably if you're in a state, you've someone in our group has hit 10K, if not 20, 30, 40K.

And so it's so fascinating that this can happen anywhere. And my right hand gal, who's an associate partner with me in my studio, she came from a little tiny town, panhandle Texas, population 4,000. And she hit a 10K sale in that city. So there's really no city that anybody can say that I can't point to. Wait a second, someone else in something comparable or maybe even in that exact same city has accomplished it. You can too.

Christa (19:08.802)
That's so inspiring to hear. you know, I don't know if you remember Aislinn, but like I was just talking to her recently and she brings up if you're always looking for the reason this can't work, you will always find it. But if you believe that and look at the numbers and say, I know this can work and not only Megan, you just proved it. It doesn't even have to come from like, I'm going to tell me like, no, it's working. That you can be full service anywhere. And you are such an inspiration to that. You've changed so many photographers lives.

Megan DiPiero (19:20.217)
you sure will.

Megan DiPiero (19:33.987)
Yes.

Christa (19:38.304)
Where can our listeners take that step to connect further with you?

Megan DiPiero (19:43.182)
Well, so all this mindset stuff, you're exactly right. This is the stuff they have to work on first. And I hope that one podcast can get them there and the next podcast and the next podcast. But meanwhile, I really spent so much time diving into motivational books. To this day, I read 20 minutes every day. And so I would very much invite them to read my book. It's called She Sells the Empathy Advantage. I'm really all about that. You can bring your love and your care and

Find that to your advantage. That is something that clients want. So She Sells is my book. And if they want to go ahead and join my group, Rise to the Top with Megan DePiro, where we will all rise to the top, then we have a promotion right now that if they join, they get that book for free. So that would be a great thing to add to their daily listening to start to evolve the mindset more.

Christa (20:32.494)
We're going to link that in the show notes or you can DM me if you have any questions. Megan, I know you're on Instagram too. Can they connect with you there?

Megan DiPiero (20:40.718)
I'm so barely on Instagram, which also, yes, absolutely my Facebook group, because I'm in there daily, but it also goes to show that, guess what guys, you don't have to be all over social media. And as another fun thing, like folks can check out just, you don't even have to like it, but go check out Megan DiPiro photography. I would be shocked if there's even 100 posts that have been on that page over the lifetime of our business.

Christa (20:43.463)
So the Facebook group is

Christa (20:52.961)
Nice.

Megan DiPiero (21:06.316)
because you don't have to be this content creator. You don't have to go drive yourself crazy putting out things on social media every day. You literally just have to go meet strangers, turn strangers into friends and turn those friends into clients by inviting them in for a shoot. That's how easy marketing can be. And it doesn't have to be like, my God, I gotta go make the next TikTok dance, you know? It's fine.

Christa (21:26.858)
No, I totally get that. And so many photographers face that bottleneck, even if it's like the website. I need this super flashy website. And like, think when, you know, I had been in your circles, like it was like, that's not even, don't even start there. Like just get out in your community with these people. Yeah.

Megan DiPiero (21:40.704)
No, that's it. Yeah. Just go ask your friends. Say, Hey friends, come in. My first ever client, you know, led to over a hundred K in business. It was because I invited her off of the playground into my studio. That was it. Yeah.

Christa (21:52.598)
Amazing, I love it. Guys, obviously you can hear Megan's fire for this. She helps hundreds and thousands of photographers every year. We'll link those resources. Megan, thank you so much again for being here. Is there anything else you wanted to say before we close out?

Megan DiPiero (22:07.178)
my goodness, what else can I say? I would just say like, listen, we've all been that mom with a camera who's had the passion and your passion can also bring profitability. So I would encourage everyone to think like a business owner, own your profit and your passion at the same time.