Bernie Griffiths – Page 15 – Bernie Griffiths

Bernie Griffiths MARKETING, photography, photography business, photography business coach, photography coach, photography marketing, portraits

Photobizx and Photography Business Coach

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www.photobizx.com.au

Photography Business Coach Bernie Griffiths of berniegriffiths.com is responsible for the episode of PhotoBizX that has produced more leads, sales and discussion than any other – The Facebook Ad Challenge episode. I contacted Bernie for a follow up interview to ask him to share what listeners felt might have been the missing link when approaching the FB Ad challenge – how to sort the spenders from the non-spenders when offering free portrait sessions.

If you’re new here and want the full story of the Facebook Ad Challenge, how to structure your ad, what copy you’ll need to maximise results, which images to include and how to generate a lot of leads, shoots and sales. Go and trial the Photobizx Premium Membership for $1 and check out episodes 136 and 138 in the Premium Area. Then jump into the secret Facebook Group to see a lot of examples and discussion around these ads which have been used to book portraits, engaged couples and weddings for a lot of members.

Here’s some of what we cover in this interview with photography business coach Bernie Griffiths:

What to expect when working with Bernie to seek help to grow your photography business

Photographers should drop their wedding photography and concentrate on portraits instead

Wedding photography is overly competitive while portrait photography is wide open

How you learn more from you losses than you do from your wins

How to improve chances of sales from Facebook Ads and “free” shoots

The three possible outcomes you should be seeking from your Facebook Ads

3 strategies that you need to implement into your photography business

Why a 15% lead conversion is ideal from your Facebook Ads

Engaged couples sessions are a portrait sessions and why you should treat them as such

Stop aiming for wedding bookings and consider the portrait sessions as the win from your ads

How to filter the spenders from the non-spenders amongst your leads

What content needs to be in your Facebook ads

Email open rates – only 30% of people open their emails let alone read them

How to be successful with your client phone calls

The best rebuttal statement when clients decline to pay upfront during phone calls

The need to involve all involved parties when booking photo sessions

Grabbing people’s attention about your business is never a trick – it’s a marketing strategy

Why pre-consultations guarantee higher sales

How to work less yet earn more

The need to overcome every photographer’s mindset to book more sales

Planting the seed on how much clients are likely to spend after a photo session

Why it’s OK for clients to walk away after the mention “average spend” on free photo shoots

How to deal with objections from clients

Which is better: Adverts or Boosted Posts?

Replying to shares and comments on your FB Ads to keep the momentum and engagement going

Why you must include a call-to-action in your FB Ads

Changing photographer’s mentality to gain confidence in selling their images

Photographers deprive people of spending their money – how to stop doing that

Discounts are no longer motivators for client bookings

Marketing is all about doing multiple things at the same time

Chase your clients

How to increase your Facebook likes

How to target the right audience in your FB Ads

Photography Business Coach Bernie Griffiths Photography Podcast

Premium Photobizx Member Questions for Bernie

www.berniegriffiths.com

Bernie Griffiths Uncategorized

4 Facts That I Know, Based On My Experience, About Wedding/Portrait Photography.

FACT 1
These are good times for photographers who are business and marketing educated.

FACT 2
Many photographers today have a great photography business.

FACT 3
The consumer market demands good quality photography .

FACT 4
There is a strong demand for the right photography products.

When you learn how to attract the right clients, and once you discover how to sell to clients, and once you get busy and put into practice running a “real” business, and start to “test and measure” everything that you do, you will be well rewarded.

Your photography will be in demand if you market in the right way, and you will have a good income that can last a lifetime.

Lots of photographers are achieving great success, whether it be in the big cities or in country towns.

One of my clients in an outer city suburb has over 40 photography sessions booked in her diary.

Another client photographs over 400 portraits a year.

Four of my clients made monthly gross turnover records, while others have achieved amazing high sales.

The wedding photographer who was struggling getting couples to book, then on my advice simplified his wedding price list and booked the next two couples that he interviewed.

Believe me, these photographers didn’t believe that they could achieve such amazing results a few months ago either.

These are the reasons I love being a photography business coach.

What About You?

So what about you? Maybe as you read this you are wondering why you aren’t having as much success.

Maybe you have tried evrything and you still are not getting the financial return that you would like.

You may also may have had your photography business for many years and are feeling tired and unmotivated.

It is all getting too hard.

I would like to offer a little advice.

I have a sticker on my laptop.

It says ” Happiness is found when you stop comparing yourself to other people.”

So although some of my photography clients are having some success now, it hasn’t always been that way.

They have had their “low” moments in their business, and will probably have lots more in the future.

Everyone photography business owner does!

Even the most successful and accomplished photographer you know has days when they feel like they are banging their head against a brick wall.

Success in your photography business is partly to do with luck, but a lot of it is about having a plan, and consistently working towards what you’re trying to achieve.

Trust me. No one has a perfect photography business.

Your business, like life itself is a jouney, not a destination.

Bernie’s Fantastic Facebook Challenge

The Original Bernie’s Facebook Challenge.

Sweeping the world over the last 12 Months has been an amazing Facebook post that has revolutionised Facebook advertising for wedding/portrait photographers.

Globally known as “Bernie’s Facebook Challenge” it started on three different podcast platforms.

Hundreds of photographers around the world have implemented the step by step strategies that I mentioned on the Podcasts and as a result they have photographed heaps of photography portrait and engagement sessions, and in the process have made many dollars in sales, not only in portrait sales but also in wedding bookings.

This is just one of the many marketing strategies that I use when I work with in my photography business coaching.

CHECK OUT THE PODCAST h ttps://photobizx.com/Book+More+Portrait+Photography+Sessions

What Andrew Hellmich from Photobizx Had To Say……………

“Last week I interviewed Bernie Griffiths, a photography coach who helps photographers attract clients and make sales. Anyway, he put forward a challenge to the listeners and me. The challenge: construct a FB post, boost it and get more bookings than ever before. I’ve done this a heap of times already but have never seen the success I did this week!

I ran my ad one week ago today and paid $30 to boost the post. My results so far have blown me away!

40 Enquiries about the shoots, 17 confirmed bookings, 14 potential clients we’ve left messages for and are yet to hear from 9 potential clients to call back following voice mail messages they’ve left for us over the weekend.”

To Your Amazing Photography Business Success Your Photography Business Coach

Bernie Griffiths photography, photography business, photography business coach, photography coach, photography marketing, SALES, Uncategorized

Photographer Going Broke.

I found this letter posted on a photographers forum recently. As a photography business coach I find it sad in some ways yet very inspiring and motivational in other ways.

Rebecca Tompkins 20 June at 08:23

” I sit here now still trying to wrap my mind around the decision. I closed my business today. After 2 years of trying, I just can’t do it right now. I am writing this post to acknowledge the many mistakes I made and to hope others will not make the same ones.

I closed my business for multiple reasons. One being no paying clients in over a year and the other being I just got diagnosed with a mess of issues with my back (degenerative disc disease, 2 herniated discs and spinal stenosis in 2 areas of my lumbar spine). It has been very rough lately. I am one of the lucky ones where I did not quit a full time job to start this venture, I was a stay at home mom with a partner who supports me in anything and everything I could ever dream of doing. My disappointment is due to my own personal guilt and feelings of failure.

The mistakes I made are common! Don’t get discouraged by my post but take into consideration as you amazing photographers out there start and continue on this journey!

I started business too soon. I was one of those photographers you see everyone bash and hate on social media. I got a nice camera, took a few good shots and listened to everyone around me say “You should start charging for that. You are soo good!” I literally roll my eyes thinking about it now. I offered 25 and 50$ sessions with flash drives included. I just went out and thought I was a professional.
I started my business to recoup the money spend on my hobby. I have troubles due to being a domestic violence survivor with guilt. I felt so guilty about how much everything cost that I wanted to make money to get back what was being spent. This is a horrible reason to go into business.
I lacked confidence. I still to this day do not believe my images are as great as everyone else tries to tell me they are. I can find a flaw anywhere and after shooting consistently for 3 years, I have never, not even once been brave enough to ask for constructive criticism. If I get CC on social media without asking, I will usually delete the image and pretend it didn’t just destroy a small part of me in my head. You must believe in yourself!!! Believe in your work!!!
I never found a niche! I certainly rebranded often enough to have tried them all. I did family, weddings, maternity, documentary, newborn etc. I just never found anything that quite lit my fire the way my own random shoots to bring forth a creative vision did. In a rural area (a town of less than 1,500 people, 10 photographers and no sense of community) a niche was needed. When I did market a niche, one of the more established photographers in my area would market the same thing I was marketing and well no clients came my way.
I did not research enough. This goes back to number 1 and starting a business too soon. I never paid attention to who else was running a business around me, how they marketed, what kind of clients to market too etc. I just wanted to make money and that was it.
I was no good at being a salesperson. How can you sell yourself, your talent and your product, if you don’t think it is any good??? If you cannot talk to someone and take the criticism or believe in your prices, you cannot profit off of your talent.
I did not give myself fully to the business. Somewhere in the back of my head, I never thought it would be a success. So, I allowed myself to put less and less effort into it over time. Every disappointment was an affirmation that I was not good enough. The 5 times I advertised mini session and no one showed, the model calls no one followed up on, the lack of interest in anything other than standard posed images, well it all just added up.

I sit here and type this with tears rolling down my face, not knowing where else to lay it all out there, not having many who genuinely understand the frustration (my back) and sadness (giving up) I am feeling. I want any one of you who reads this to take to heart that running a business is not for the weak. You have to do so much to make it work, I have total confidence that you all will be a success and I wanted to share a few of the do not do’s to help you all along.

I am working through it all in my head and I may try this as a business venture again somewhere far in the distant future. For right now, I am just going to love taking pictures every chance I get and I am going to focus on my creativity and technical flow. The future holds a lot for me outside of a DBA and a tax number. I am and always will be an artist. My heart comes alive with the camera in my hand shooting the things I love. Thank you all for reading!!

Keep on trying everyone! Keep on striving and know that sometimes even if it doesn’t all work out, you are still a photographer and an artist when you go to bed!!!

Much love!

photography business coach photography mentor photography coaching

Bernie Griffiths Uncategorized

Targeted Marketing ‘is everything’

Bernie Griffiths is certain the service he offers to wedding, portrait and family photographers is unique, with no one else in the world doing it quite like he does.

Bernie (pictured right) operates a photography coaching business with an emphasis on marketing strategies and creating successful business models. But what separates him from the touring seminars and other business coaches is that he corresponds one-on-one on a weekly basis with all his clients, and tailors the coaching program around photographers and their businesses.

‘The way I do the coaching is one-on-one. I don’t do group coaching or send a bunch of generic videos to clients. It’s a weekly, one-on-one ‘face-to-face’ Skype session,’ he told ProCounter. ‘What I offer is quite unique within the industry. Photographers running marketing seminars only teach others based on their own business and what has worked for them.

‘But every photographer comes from a different place, has different clientele, style, skill, and expectations. So I extract information and implement a pricing, selling, and photography structure for that particular business.’

Bernie opened his first and only wedding and portrait studio in Melbourne back in 1969 when he was 23, only to sell it three years ago when he decided a career change was in order. He doesn’t claim to have been overly skilled with a camera, but was in tune with how to market and promote his business. That’s what he sees as an art.

Because Kodak and other industry-related businesses sponsored his seminars during his photography career, becoming a full-time photography business coach seemed like a natural next step. And given his business was successful for a long timer, he figured a few tricks he learned along the way could be shared to help others make more money.

The vast majority of the 65 clients he has coached in the last three years are from Australia and New Zealand. Some are masters of photography looking to freshen up their business whereas others are completely new to the industry.

In total he estimates around $1 million in profit has been generated for clients with his assistance.

The coaching is done in either a six or 12-month program which involve a weekly hour-long session. Specific tasks for the photographer are set, and those taking the 12-month program have a two-day visit from Bernie – be it in a studio, or a desk and chair crammed in the corner of a home office.

Given Bernie believes no two businesses are the same, it can be difficult for him to be specific about challenges wedding and portrait photographers face. However he’s noticed a few areas where photographers can improve: ‘New photographers generally fall short because of their ‘non-actions,’ he said.

‘They have to learn a lot of new skills – as I did when I became a full-time coach. First and foremost they have to know how to use their camera and post-processing software, but there is also an art in learning how to market, and sometimes I find they don’t follow through with actions.’

What he means is that photographers aren’t reading the ‘business manual’. Instead, and like many of us, they just hastily rip open the box, throw the instruction manual aside and try to figure it out on their own. Only later, after a few mistakes, will they come back to it and take the time to learn how to run a business.

Bernie makes photographers accountable for their business, he said. Here he is with Fi Mims at her studio in St. Kilda, Melbourne.

Spending less is more
When it comes to marketing, Bernie recommends spending as little money as possible. The best way to do this is by posting consistently on social media to draw attention to the brand. It’s cost-effective but obviously has limited reach and, frankly, everyone does it.

But marketing can also be a little more creative.

‘Starting a third party alliance with a business or organisation can be really handy and cheap, and I’ve noticed a lot of the successful, big studios do this. Let’s use car dealerships as an example,’ he said.

‘Make an agreement where each time the local dealership sells a car, have them send the customer a letter saying “As a thank-you we’ve organised a family portrait session with the area’s leading portrait photographer, with a print included at the value of $600”.’

But strategically targeting the right market is important. A photographer at the high-end of the market will yield better results by partnering with a Mercedes or Lexus dealership than, say, a Holden or Toyota dealership. Someone like Yervant or Rocco Ancora would be best suited with a Maserati or Ferrari dealer – ‘targeting is everything’.

For photographers in regional areas of Australia in particular, these strategies can prove hugely successful once word-of-mouth spreads.

New and up-and-coming wedding photographers often base their pricing off what others are doing – but that’s not always a wise strategy!

Perceived value creates opportunities
Pricing is another area Bernie finds photographers struggle with because, again, many base it on what other photographers recommend.

He suggests to clients that they adopt a system of collections or packages, ‘perceived value is very important and creates opportunities to upsell’.

‘One of my client’s wedding packages averages around $10,000. He does this because he only does albums – no shoot-and-burn coverages. His incoming price is around $3000, but when the clients come in for the album design he sells about $7000 more. He uses the files at a lever to encourage clients to go with the upgrade.’

Given customers cannot resist the temptation of digital files, making the more expensive packages the ones with digital files can push a client to spend more.

‘It’s common for clients to specifically want digital files rather than prints. It’s a product that they want,’ he said. ‘So knowing that, perhaps offer prints in the cheaper collections, and then offer some files in the slightly more expensive collection. And the fourth collection – the most expensive – offer all the files. We know what the consumer wants, and if that’s files, we can encourage them up the ladder so they spend more money.’

Resist the trends!
Lastly he thinks too many photographers – particularly those entering the industry as part-time professionals – tend to copy or mimic other photographers, rather than testing out what works for them.

When it comes to things like shooting style and locations, too many photographers follow the leader, making it harder for potential clients to differentiate one from the other. Ultimately they start making decisions based on prices.

There's far less professional portrait photographers who operate their own studio these days.

Far fewer professional portrait photographers operate from their own studio these days.

At the moment the trend (latest fad?) among portrait photographers he’s noticed is to shoot at a client’s home with a documentary, black-and-white style. (Possibly because fewer photographers have their own studio and this keeps overheads low.)

Throughout his career Bernie said that when a trend emerged he’d resist it – when the majority started shooting portraits in the outdoors, he put more focus on the studio.

Bernie said he is currently running at 80 percent capacity with his coaching business. For the next month any photographers interested in his coaching but unsure whether to commit can try a four week ‘A Taste of Success’ program for $97 by clicking here.

He told ProCounter that not all photographers will benefit or be able to work with him and he will be upfront with a cashback guarantee.if that’s the case.

Bernie first appeared on ProCounter’s radar earlier this year when he was interviewed about National Family Portrait Month, a charity-based event he organised with the aim of raising the profile of professional family portraiture in Australia. (And… possibly his own business!)

photography business coach

Bernie Griffiths Uncategorized

National Family Portrait Month

…..because life can change in a heartbeat.

I am happy to be organising our third annual National Family Portrait Month, which will help raise funds for beyondblue.
www.familyportraitmonth.com.au

Photographers Click For Charity

Australia’s top portrait photographers are donating their talent and their time, and with your help are planning to help raise $10,000 for beyondblue….. www.beyondblue.org.au.

The participating photographers are not only donating their time, but they are also making a substantial donation to the charity to be a part of the project. They look forward to photographing you. A portion of any photography products that you may purchase, and sales from the book, will also be donated to beyondblue.

Please help us raise these much needed funds.

Check out your local participating Photographer HERE.

Wanted…. Mothers And Their Children

During the month of July 2017, we are looking for Mothers and Children to be photographed for an upcoming book called “A MOTHER AND HER CHILDREN… An Unbreakable Bond.”

To be part of this exciting fundraising initiative, simply REGISTER HERE with your $51 per family participation fee, all of which will be forwarded to beyondblue, to help raise our target of $10,000.

Wherever life takes you over the years, your family portraits will serve as a timeless reminder of your memories. In a fleeting single glance, family portraits can transport you to the moment when you were surrounded by family, love, and support.

Enquiries…Email Bernie ….info@aswpp.com.au or call 0418 509 228

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nationalfamilyportraitmonth/

photography business coach

Bernie Griffiths Uncategorized

Bernie’s Famous Facebook Challenge

Andrew here from Photobizx. This is from the Podcast that featured Photography Business Coach Bernie Griffiths tell us how to do a simple Facebook Boosted Post that has brought in hundreds of photography sessions, and put hundreds of thousands of dollars into his photography clients bank accounts.

Ok, let’s get stuck into this Facebook (FB) ad tactic that saw me book 23 shoots in a week!

BTW, this isn’t my strategy, it’s straight from Bernie Griffith’s play book.

Bernie’s a photography business coach – he teaches his clients how to stay booked, charge for their work, be accountable and generally have a profitable photography business. I interviewed him in episode 136 and it was pure gold!

That’s the episode I linked to in the last email:

[PBX136: Bernie Griffiths – A Challenge for You to Book More Portrait Photography Sessions]

Here’s the gist of what he taught in that episode.

You gotta try this yourself!

First up, you need to have a target market for your ad – I chose kids with their pet dog but it can be anything; couples, newborns, toddlers with their fluffy toy, pure bred cats… whatever and wherever your passion lays.

With that in mind, create a headline for your FB post – which you’ll turn into an ad later – I’ll show you how.

Your headline must be specific – you’re aiming to scare off as many people outside your small target as possible – think laser focused.

Side note – this is one reason why Amanda has been so successful – laser focuses on her target market.

Seriously. Don’t be scared to push people away with your headline.

It works better that way.

I know, it’s difficult for us photographers to push people away.

Try it just and test it, just once.

Here’s my ad headline:

WANTED: Kids aged 4-8 yrs with their pet Dog

Specific. Clear. Simple.

I should have tweaked my headline and added another word which I plan to test. I reckon it would have doubled my post engagement. I’ll let you know once I try it.

Now for the body text – your REASON for wanting to photograph whoever you’re appealing to.

This can be anything but you need a reason.

You also want to include your HOOK to generate interest.

Can you guess what the hook is?

If you said free shoot and print, go you! Correcta mondo!

Some examples for a reason: new studio display, promotional material, a personal project, trying something new, taking your business in a new direction, new branding, new website images, portfolio building…

Got the idea?

This is what I used for my ad:

We’re looking to update our studio samples and will be offering a free photography session and a “thank you” print to the right families.

If you or someone you know has a child or children between the ages of 4 and 8 with a pet dog (the cuter the better), please get in touch.

Change the wording to suit your offer but make sure your hook is obvious.

BTW – kids and dogs aren’t my specialty, this was purely a test for me. It also made it glaringly obvious, I really can photograph whatever the hell I want and make money doing it.

I don’t have to photograph what’s “expected” OR what I normally do…

NEWS FLASH – neither do you!

No matter where you’re at with your business, what you currently shoot or your style… you can shoot whatever and however you like and make money doing it by running an ad like the one described here.

I don’t normally photograph kids with dogs yet I booked 23 sessions with one Facebook ad!

How easy to start shooting what ever it is you want to with this style of ad.

Or… to attract more clients like the ones you already have.

If you want to book more shoots, change direction or re-brand, shoot more B&W, shoot film or whatever… use this as a tool to get where you want with paying clients.

Yeah, yeah, the shoots are free and you’re giving away a print but wait… There’s more. I’ll get to the sales part in a sec.

I want to share a success story about a photographer who went through a re-brand. She was scared shitless but it paid off big time. I’ll save that one for a future email because there’s a bit to it and I want to share the full story.

Back to your ad…

Don’t mess with something that works when testing the waters.

A bunch of listeners did and they bombed… BIG TIME.

They tried to get fancy, add their spin and flopped.

And there’s nothing more depressing than a disheartened and discouraged photographer.

I’m right aren’t I!?

This idea works for wedding photographers too – for booking weddings – well, more for meeting engaged couples and photographing them.

Raymond is a premium member of the podcast and went full time with his wedding photography business recently.

It was a big move!

He jumped at the FB ad idea and gave it a go.

If you’re a wedding photographer, click here and I’ll share a copy of Ray’s ad and his results.

Ray had to take his ad down, there were that many enquiries… Yep, that many!

Taking the ad down was a mistake. Live and learn though.

To save this getting too complicated, let’s cover what to do with your leads (the people who engage with your FB ad) in a future email. Just know to leave your ad running for at least a week, don’t take it down no matter how well it’s going.

Back to you and your ad – let’s finish putting it together.

The end of your ad needs to have a way viewers can contact you.

No need to get fancy with landing pages and contact forms (although they work well, especially if you’re after weddings and I’ll cover that for the wedding photographers), stick to something like this to start with:

You can message me via Facebook or email: (insert your email address) for more information and to book a session.

So here’s my complete ad – plus I included a cute, close up photo of a big dog licking a little kids face.

WANTED: Kids aged 4-8yrs with their pet Dog

We’re looking to update our studio samples and will be offering a free photography session and a “thank you” print to the right families.

If you or someone you know has a child or children between the ages of 4 and 8 with a pet dog (the cuter the better), please get in touch.

You can message me via Facebook or email: tenneille@impact-images.com.au for more information and to book a session.

This ad ran for 7 days, cost $30AUD and generated 23 shoots plus a heap of leads (email addresses) for future marketing.

Try it!

Jared and Amanda have both used this strategy – and it worked for both. Although Jared totally messed up his ad targeting inside the Ads Manager.

He’d never photographed an African American family in the past and couldn’t understand why the only enquires coming in from his ad were African American mothers?

I checked his FB ad settings and sure enough…

He was ONLY targeting African American mothers who lived close by and were between the ages of 24 and 45 years.

Not a bad thing if they are your target demographic.

And what proof that Facebook targeting really works!

Next email I share how to get the sales happening from a free shoot – it’s not difficult if you follow some simple steps.

Look out for Jared and Amanda’s ads and result in an upcoming email too.

Speak then
Andrew “the booking machine” Hellmich

P.S Once you create the post on your timeline, you need to make it into an ad, using the Facebook Ads manager.

I recorded a video to show you exactly how to do that.

And how to get your targeting right, not like Jared.  

Here’s the link:   [Creating an Ad from your timeline post – how to video]

P.P.S If you shoot weddings, click here so I can send you a better way to use this style of FB Ad to attract engagement shoot bookings which should lead to weddings.

Bernie Griffiths photography, photography business coach, photography coach, photography marketing, Uncategorized

Market, Shoot And Sell

After many requests from photographers over the years, I am finally coming to North Queensland to do a seminar, and I am bringing with me a couple Australia’s most successful photographers.

After the fantastic success of the “A Day For Photographers” in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth, we will be travelling to Cairns to help as many photographers as we can to help grow their photography business.Do you lie awake at night thinking how you can get more customers?

Wondering how to take better photographs?

How to build your photography business?

This 1 and 1/2 day event will focus on Photography – Marketing – Selling.

1. Developing Your Photography Into A Clear Brand.
2. Getting the Right Customers.
3. Developing A Conversion System To Convert Leads Into Customers.
4. Creating Your Price List To Maximise Sales.
5. Marketing for a Constant Flow of Customers.
6. Becoming a Master Photographer.
7. Facebook Marketing Strategies.

Monday 24 July 1pm – 4pm
Live demonstration with Murielle and Carol photographing families and children in their individual unique styles. Bring your cameras along and and learn some new techniqes.

Tuesday 25 July 9.30am – 4pm
A full day in learning all the business things that you need to know to create a successful photography business, from Facebook advertising to making big portrait sales….it will all be there!
Tuesday’s Presentations

Bernie Griffiths

5 Keys To Developing A Successful Photography Business
After having a successful wedding/portrait studio for over 40 years, Bernie transitioned into being a Photography Business Coach.

He is now the “go to” coach for those studios looking at taking their business to the next level.

His studio experience, expertise in Facebook Marketing, and down to earth approach to business, has enabled him to help and guide photographers in growing their business and generating more income.

He will help you build something that lasts, and guide you in growing your business and getting results.

You won’t hear the same old strategies you’ve heard a million times before!

Other photographers call him the world’s only 365 days, 24hours a day photography business coach, because coaching is his life.

Bernie is widely recognised as Australia’s Leading Photography Business Coach, and his presentation will be on the 5 most important things that a photographer should focus on to build a successful photography business.

Murielle Sassine

Getting Work/Life Balance In A Busy Home Studio
Murielle Sassine, owner and operator of Vivid Imaging and Blackbox Portraits, developed a passion for photography at a young age.

She pursued her interests in photography and obtained a degree in Visual Communication, establishing herself as a photo media specialist.

Murielle has run a successful photography business from home for over 17 years, and has achieved great success with her sales in the areas of portrait and glamour photography.

Her portrait sales this year have been “mind blowing” and she had a record turnover for her business, over the past 12 months.

She will talk about some of the many challenges facing photographers who work from home and how you can get a good work/life balance.

Carol Gibbons

How To Sustain A Profitable Photography Business
Sydney Master Photographer Carol Gibbons, has more than 25 years experience specialising in portrait photography of newborn babies, kids, pets and families of all ages.

Her shop front studio is based in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney, and she is celebrating 18 years in that location this year.

While studying Fine Art, Carol found photography was her passion and pursued further study in Art Photography, after completing her diploma.

She started her business in the early 90’s photographing Weddings as well as Portraits, and has continued to update her skills as well as judging at the State and National Awards for the AIPP.

Carol Gibbons is an Accredited Member and Licentiate of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography and has qualified as a Master of Photography many years ago, as well as winning a Grand Award for Portraiture at WPPI.

She believes that to survive in the portrait photography business, you have to develop your own style in photography as well as marketing, look after your customers, and give people a reason to pay us to create their portraits.

When : Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 July
Where : Pullman Cairns International 17 Abbott Street Cairns

MORE INFO……………………………

info@berniegriffithsbusinesscoach.com.au

www.berniegriffiths.com

Bernie Griffiths photography, photography business, photography business coach, photography coach, photography marketing, portraits

Great Products Equals Profit

One of the keys to having a successful photography business is to have great products to sell, and to showcase your photography.

Many of the photographers that I coach are achieving some incredibly high numbers in their portrait sales, by selling prints not pixels.

In an era where we hear so much about photographers selling files at incredibly cheap prices, there are many portrait photographers who are regularly making portrait sales well over $2,000, by selling high quality photography product.

Whether it is babies, weddings, families, or even pets, there is a big market out there for people wanting to buy wall art, albums and other products that will become long term priceless memories of their family history.

Choosing the right photography products takes time, and you need to approach choosing the right products for your photography business in an unhurried, comprehensive, and professional manner.

Sales are the lifeblood of your photography business, and having the latest and purpose designed products, puts your images at the centre of attention, and gives an irresistible offering to your customer.

One of the biggest suppliers to the photographer is Seldex. They are a local company based in Melbourne and have been at the forefront of manufacturing high quality photography products for decades, and as a studio owner for over 40 years they were my major supplier.

Now as the world’s only, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, photography business coach, I recommend Seldex to my clients.

Here is a great opportunity for you to view their products and have all of your questions answered.

For more information www.seldex.com.au or email nicole@seldex.com.au.

Bernie Griffiths Uncategorized

Do You Keep The Files?

I used to store multiple copies of images of my weddings and portraits on a disc, on an external hard drive, on my computer, and even in a fireproof safe!

Yes I would tell my clients that I would store them indefinitely.

A frequently asked question I was asked by clients at sale time was “ You keep the files don’t you? We can always come back later and order?”

It was a hard one to overcome.

Of course they rarely came back.

I had to find a way in my systems and processes so that this objection didn’t come up.

I decided to put a Digital File Collections offering on my price list, and give my clients the opportunity to purchase their digital files.

I did also feel that I wasn’t a data storage company, and if the customer didn’t want to purchase their images in digital form, they did not want them, and therefore I had no responsibility to keep them.

Through one of my FAQ key letters that my clients received prior to their photography session, it stated …

”Can I order photographs at a later date?

The answer?

“Of course you may order photographs at a time later than the purchasing session time, but please note that we keep your files for only 28 days after your photography session”.

Phew!

Problem solved!

From that moment no-one ever asked about whether they could order at a later date, as they knew that I didn’t keep the files.

As a Photography Business Coach it just makes good business sense?

It was amazing to recently learn that some photography bodies and organisations require their members to keep their client files for at least 4 years.

That is just plain silly!

Are we, as photographers really responsible for our customer’s memories, when they had the opportunity to purchase them, but made a decision not to?

Please help me understand some photographer’s mindset about keeping, archiving, saving, customers files.

It just doesn’t make sense to me and is a very dated approach to a fast flowing photography industry.

Why would you waste time and effort in keeping something that isn’t yours anyway?

They are but photographs, and unlike the years prior to digital, everyone has thousands of images on their phones and computers now.

Don’t you?

Which ones of the thousands are the most important to you?

What are your thoughts?

info@berniegriffithsbusinesscoach.com.au

Photography Business Coach

www.berniegriffiths.com

Enquiries….info @berniegriffithsbusinesscoach.com.au

Bernie Griffiths MARKETING, photography, photography business, photography business coach, portraits

Using Pro Select To Soft Sell

For professional portrait photographers around the world the must have and “go to” software is Pro Select.

This software was specially designed for photographers for “face to face” selling of their images.

There is plenty of information on the internet in forums, webinars, seminars and the like, on the way that you talk to the customer at sale time, but most of these rely on the photographer being a confident sales person, or learning slick sales phrases.

For me, as a photography business coach, the key is to use a selling system that is non pressure for the photographer and the client.

Most of us as photographers are not born sales people and often the sale time can be stressful for both photographer and customer.

In fact selling is what most photographers fear the most.

More and more photographers are working from home, and these photographers juggle their business and family life, and so having a simple soft sell sales system is crucial for their success.

You Need The Right Sales System

If you fail to do a competent and relaxed purchasing session, you may not make any money.

You can in fact lose money.

If you give the customer a bad experience, you may quickly get a bad reputation in your area, and not get any customers at all.

Both of these scenarios are of course not acceptable.

Bernie’s Pro Select Soft Sales System That Sells

Solid, predictable and consistent selling systems are the heart and life blood of any business.

I must admit that I did learn from my mistakes, of which I made many.

Selling can be pressure for both the customer and the sales person.

It took me many years to realise that people love to buy, but hate to be sold.

Of course over many years I read numerous books on selling, been to seminars, and looked at online courses on in person sales.

Non of them gave a specific step by step way of doing the selling process, and all the information was very dated, (and still is) in doing things the way I did 20 years ago.

I decided to develop a new way to do my portrait sales.

A very relaxed way. A no pressure way. A way that anyone could do.

Although very simple, it is powerful and it may be hard initially for your brain to accept, but believe me it is based on my specific experience over thousands of portrait sales that have put hundreds of thousands of dollars into my bank account.

Once I implemented my “Bernie’s Pro Select Soft Sell System” not only was the pressure taken off my in person sales, but my sales substantially increased!

A Simple 10 Step No Pressure Selling System.

My new sales system changed my mindset. It will change yours if you let it. Don’t fight it, simply try it. Test it.

I believe that you can at least double your average sale.

You can easily lose thousands of dollars if you do not do your selling correctly.

Imagine if you only increased your average sale by just $100, over 50 sales that would equate to $5,000!

Most photographers do not see themselves as salespeople.

That is why they fail, in the most important part of their business.

I believe that ninety-five percent of photographers in sales are failing miserably.

Change what you are doing and you’re going to succeed.

With the photographers that I coach, I see even experienced photographers consistently break all their records in sales, by using my Pro Select Soft Sell System.

Just relax and let the system do its work. Let it come to its natural conclusion.

Do not prejudge what the customer can or cannot afford.

Don’t think that the customer doesn’t have the money to invest a lot in photography.

This is a big mistake.

Simply follow my system. Get my E-Book here. It’s FREE.

“Have I thanked you enough for changing the direction my business is going.
Your experience in this industry is invaluable to whoever is thinking of going into business full time in the field of photography. This is our first ever Christmas since having my family that I have not stressed about money, I NOW HAVE MONEY!!!!
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be making Portrait sales as this”.
Zaharoula Harris from Zed Photography

www.berniegriffiths.com

Enquiries….info@aswpp.com.au

Bernie Griffiths Uncategorized

Photography Pricing.

Are You Worth More Than You Think ?
“I am so excited! I love photography and two years ago I started a business from home. I just did “shoot and burn“, offering a CD of images for $175. After a little mindset change and going through a lot of learning curves, and after making some hard decisions, I am now charging closer to my real worth, and I am regularly selling nearly $1000 per sale. I have also had quite a few sales even higher than that.
What it took me so long to learn, was that people will pay a lot more, than what you think you are worth.
I used to photograph a lot of sessions a week, and I thought that I was making good money. But the time and effort involved was just not worth it.

I was just about to give my photography passion away, and go back to my previous job as an administration officer for the local council., when a close friend who was also a photographer, suggested I contact Bernie Photography to see if he could help me.
I didn’t have much hope that anyone could help me, as I am no good at selling, so I could not see any way out of my situation as I only knew Shoot and Burn. I would show my customers their images on my computer and then give them the CD, and they would leave.
I organized to have a free Sype session with Bernie. He asked me lots of questions, and then suggested that he could help me in the key areas that I was lacking.
One was that I needed to stop Shoot and Burn, and start selling wall portraits. Then to design a structured price list , and then to adopt a simple selling system.
The structured price list was the most important thing. Once I had that all I would have to do, would be to show them what I have for sale, and sit back to let them make their own decisions. Simple really. But it worked!
Having an effective photography pricing strategy, combined with a simple selection of products to sell, resulted in less work and a lot more money.
By the way, I understand if you’re charging less than $35 each for your Gift Prints (8×10 and smaller). Those were the prices that I had been charging. You are probably cheating yourself, because I know from my own experience that the customer is willing to pay heaps more than you think.
If you love what you do, sometimes you forget about the money. You take photographs because you love it. It could be the only thing that you have found that you are really good at. I just got so tired of working so hard and having no money in the bank.
I have spent the time, money, energy, and then even more of my time to take better photographs, so why was I giving it away?
Yes it was scary at first trying to lift my self worth and lift those prices up. But when I did, my customers respected me more, and raved about their photographs.
My advice would be to get rid of that nervous and devalued mentality, if you have it, and get help to develop a photography pricing plan and selling structure that will take you to developing a strong home business.
Be strong – do it for you and your family!”
Call Bernie for a FREE consultation like I did. Better now than never.

photography business coach

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