On Becoming The World’s Best Photography Business Coach.

At the age of just 21 years old I managed to secure a dream job in working as a photographer on a luxury cruise ship.
 
I had a staff of three other photographers, and cruised all over the world photographing the passenger’s, and then I had to sell the photographs to the passengers, and my incentive was that I was on a 4% commission of total sales.
 
I achieved record sales for the photographs, on my very first round the world trip.
 
Two years later I opened my own studio, but I soon learned that there was a lot more to the business than just taking photographs.
 
The business needed to create cash flow, for there were lots of bills to be paid.
 
After just two years I had grown my photography business and I employed five staff, and opened a second studio in a nearby town.
 
Successful Marketing Selling was the key to my rapid growth.
 
I have owned and operated three successful photography studios over a period of 40 years, and then onto being an International Photography Business Coach.
 
The reason I was able to keep my studios profitable for this amount of time, was that I developed a great Marketing strategies, and a “soft sell” system that took the pressure off when it came to the sale.
 
I was able to go into the sales process relaxed, and with confidence that I would maximise the sale to each and every customer.
 
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, and It took me many years to realise that people love to buy, but hate to be sold.
 
Of course I have read numerous books on selling, but they never gave a specific step by step of the process.
 
So I developed my own.
 
It is powerful and it may appear too simple 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.

Most photographers do not see themselves as salespeople, and one of the biggest mistakes is that they talk too much. In the sales room you have to learn to listen and learn not to talk all the time.
 
All your talk is highly ineffective and completely unnecessary.

Focus on learning to listen instead of talking.
 
Listen to that potential client’s questions and concerns like you are being told the biggest secret in the world. You have to have big ears to listen to every word that they are saying.

All photographers are different…different clients, different bills, different family structure, different experience, different personalities. My “Soft Sell Approach suits each and every one of them.

Have No Fear
In my photography business coaching I consistently see photographers break sales records.
 
How exciting is that!
 
Imagine not having to close a sale, and instead the customers closing their own sale!
 
Just relax and let the system do its work.
 
One of the keys to the success of this strategy is the structure of your pricing and products.
 
These in turn should be connected to your branding and target market.
 
Keep in mind that all we are trying to do is maximize each and every portrait sale.
 
Let’s look at the 5 ways we can sell our portraits.
 
1.Pre-Sell Images
Usually cheap shoot and burners…no opportunity to upsell..usually inferior photography…hobbyist saving for a better camera.
 
2.Project Big-Sell Down
Mainly used to sell on big wall image…pressure used by some bigger style studios
…could create buyer remorse
 
3. Sell Online
Can work but not to Maximize sales
 
4.The Reveal Wall
This is where the client comes back to the studio and the images that were taken are all put up on a wall.
 
The clients can touch their images to create a sense of ownership and excitement, and is different than looking at a computer screen, or projected image.
 
No opportunity to up sell….strategy is to sell all images in a small size
 
5. Bernie’s Soft Sell System.
 
Can be done in clients home
 
Let The Customer make their own Decisions.
 
Forget what you would like the customer to buy.
 
Let them decide on what they based on the information that you have given them.
 
You should have a simple structured price list that leads the customer to buy your core products, which in turn will help maximise your sales.

My “soft sell” system gave me a very high average sale.
 
It changed my mindset.
 
It will change yours if you let 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 your average sale was just $600, over 50 sales that would equate to $30,000!
   
Never Prejudge
 
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. I have known a customer deprive themselves of a new car, choosing rather to spend thousands with me, on family photographs.
 
Never Underestimate The Value of a Lifetime Customer
 
By not prejudging a customer, you can open your mind to the possibility that this customer will come back again and again over the years.
 
Let your presentation, be carried by this excitement, enthusiasm, and belief.
 
Dress for Success
If you dress for success, the customer is more likely to take your higher prices seriously.
 
I don’t mean over the top, but I do mean that you should dress professionally.
 
Whether you are male or female dress appropriately when you are selling. It will have a positive effect on your sales presentation.
 
Many portrait photographers fall by the wayside in their attempt to build up their photography business and attempt to make it full time and earn enough money support their families.

Let’s be realistic…it isn’t easy to create a photography business, regardless of what you might read in forums and on various articles and comments on the internet. 

So what is the difference between those who fail and those who succeed?

Listen to what Delaware based photographer Kelli Carter Wilke had to say.

My own pivotal moment (besides having kids, getting divorced, getting married , moving.. not necessarily in that order) is when I wrote Bernie one year ago July 1st, 2020. I’m not sure why during a pandemic, I thought it was a good time to re-vamp my business, except that fact that I knew it would eventually end. 28+ years in doing photography, I’ve kind of done it all at this point.. except the one thing that could make me REAL money and make a difference in my life and quality of life. Not to say we didn’t have a good solid life and certainly didn’t suffer, but now I’m sitting in Wyoming with my kids all summer while someone else shoots for me and I do the sales.
I have a fat bank account and not too worried about spending money on camps, bikes and things to make our trip that much more fun. Both my husband and I are self employed so it’s always a bit of a wild card on what we make each year so we are careful but I feel much more free to do what I want.
I’ve NEVER had these type of sales ..ever.. even in my best days as a commercial photog. Major pivotal moment July 2020! thank you Bernie”.



Get my FREE “Soft Sell’ E-book.

What will your pivotal moment be?
 
The way to building a Rockstar Portrait Photography Business. ….How to Bank $10,000 to $30,000 Per Month in your Business.
 
Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just considering the industry, this powerful program will show you exactly what you need to do to become a photographer rockstar in your area!
 
You will learn…….
 
Why portrait photography  is a well-respected profession and why photography businesses are booming around the world.
 
How you can make an hourly rate that most big-city photographers would drool over, while helping everyday families get priceless memories that they will treasure forever.
 
Coaching used to be cost-prohibitive but isn’t anymore. (A decade ago, the outlay of cash to get a good business coaching would often total $10,000 or more. My NEW coaching program is just a fraction of that!)
 
Exactly what top-tier photographers are doing to build successful business from the ground up, even without investing thousands of dollars in getting set up.
 
How to market yourself successfully, so that you don’t waste time on cold calls, banging your head against the wall with tire kickers who aren’t serious, or HOPING—instead of KNOWING—how many clients you’ll get each month.
 
You will be comprehensively coached in a photography business model, world-class training, and marketing strategies that work!


GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  
“The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

 

www.callwithbernie.com

Photography Business Coach and Ducks in a Row

I received this today from a photographer enquiring about coaching……
 
“I’m honestly a little apprehensive about starting my photography business, but if I can make at least 5K a month from the photography, that would more than justify the cost of your coaching.
 
But before I do that, I have to get all of my wall samples made and really have my studio up and running. I know this will take some time and work, but I’m confident with your help I can do it.
 
I know a lot of photographers struggle with getting people to come to a session, but I have a  phone and sales background, so I’m hoping that won’t be a big obstacle for me to overcome. And of course getting a decent sales average that increases over time.
 
Sorry for the long email, but I’m just curious to know if you think making 5K a month (just the photography sales )  for a new person who is pretty new and just getting up and running is a realistic goal?”
 
My reply……
 
The exciting thing about “the photographers journey” is that we don’t know what financial results we will get until we go on the journey.
 
But I have proprietary “The Photographers 5 Steps To Freedom”  system that has proven to work for 86% of my clients to create big financial rewards.
 
In fact in the 8 plus years I have been coaching photographers, I have worked with, I have created over 5 million dollars in revenue for them over that time.
 
So when you think of “will it work for me” look to the numbers and the 86%.
 
$5,000 a month relates to 5 sessions a month at an average of just $1,000.
 
This I feel is very achievable, even at a “starting from scratch” level.
 
It seems that you are a ” getting all your ducks in a row” sort of person, but my methodology with my coaching is simple.
 
There are only 3 ducks called Market, Shoot and Sell.
 
They are already in a row, so we can start Marketing, Shooting and Selling at any time.
 
I have proven processes for each, and so by getting the ducks moving we can individualise and fine tune the processes to blend into your business.
 
Don’t forget also that my coaching is ”one on one” and not a program sitting idle on some computer portal.
 
Happy to supply you with a bucket load of real life examples  if you want.
 
Hope that helps.
 
“Your issue isn’t that your problems are that big… it maybe that you see yourself as too small.”

 
The way to building a Rockstar Portrait Photography Business. ….How to Bank $10,000 to $30,000 Per Month in your Business.
 
Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just considering the industry, this powerful program will show you exactly what you need to do to become a photographer rockstar in your area!
 
You will learn…….
 
Why portrait photography  is a well-respected profession and why photography businesses are booming around the world.
 
How you can make an hourly rate that most big-city photographers would drool over, while helping everyday families get priceless memories that they will treasure forever.
 
Coaching used to be cost-prohibitive but isn’t anymore. (A decade ago, the outlay of cash to get a good business coaching would often total $10,000 or more. My NEW coaching program is just a fraction of that!)
 
Exactly what top-tier photographers are doing to build successful business from the ground up, even without investing thousands of dollars in getting set up.
 
How to market yourself successfully, so that you don’t waste time on cold calls, banging your head against the wall with tire kickers who aren’t serious, or HOPING—instead of KNOWING—how many clients you’ll get each month.
 
You will be comprehensively coached in a photography business model, world-class training, and marketing strategies that work!

QUESTIONS…email me on info@berniegriffiths.com
 
To your success,
 
International Award Winning Photography Business Coach Bernie Griffiths
 
P.S. IMPORTANT: if you want to bank $10,000 to $30,000/month as a photographer, no need to wait for the price to go up.
 
Email me in for a quick chat, and I will tell you how I will get you rocking!
 
 
If you own a failing Photography Business, or are starting a new one….
 

GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  “The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

 

www.callwithbernie.com

A Photography Business Coach Can Give You Peace Of Mind

A New Time To Move Forward
 
The half way point of any new year encourages us to reflect on our own success or failures in the previous six months from our own perspective.
 
2021 is proving to be a great year for some photographers and not so good for others.
 
With courage, drive and deep want, some set up studios, fight the naysayers, jump out of their comfort zone, and push through moving forward towards their dreams.
 
Even a worldwide pandemic did not waiver some photographer’s aspirations to create, mould and amplify their wedding and portrait businesses.
 
You know what you have achieved. Be proud and stand tall as you celebrate any accomplishments, and realise you are at the start of many more successes to come in 2021.
 
With your passion and willingness to keep going, when weaker individuals would have given up, this will surely be your year.
 
Blind rhetoric and hope rarely brings great results but rather a strong belief and hard work.
 
We are not only photographic artists, but rather we are business owners who set goals, create challenges, and revel in the uncertainty of the outcome, not because it is easy but because it is hard.
 
There are 2 paths you can take on your way to creating a successful portrait photography business.
 
1. You can try and work everything out for yourself and take years of painful and expensive trial and error, as I did when I opened my first studio.
 
2. You can look at getting results faster by having a mentor or coach show you the ropes and help you avoid many costly and common mistakes.
 
There are many mentors or coaches to guide you in your photography business. At this moment you have the chance to take option two and learn as hundreds of other photographers have, on how to grow a photography business quickly.
 
Photographers do big things when they have the right photography business coach and a community to lean on and support during good and bad times.
 
The way to building a Rockstar Portrait Photography Business. ….How to Bank $10,000 to $30,000 Per Month in your Business.
 
Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just considering the industry, this powerful program will show you exactly what you need to do to become a photographer rockstar in your area!
 
You will learn…….
 
Why portrait photography  is a well-respected profession and why photography businesses are booming around the world.
 
How you can make an hourly rate that most big-city photographers would drool over, while helping everyday families get priceless memories that they will treasure forever.
 
Coaching used to be cost-prohibitive but isn’t anymore. (A decade ago, the outlay of cash to get a good business coaching would often total $10,000 or more. My NEW coaching program is just a fraction of that!)
 
Exactly what top-tier photographers are doing to build successful business from the ground up, even without investing thousands of dollars in getting set up.
 
How to market yourself successfully, so that you don’t waste time on cold calls, banging your head against the wall with tire kickers who aren’t serious, or HOPING—instead of KNOWING—how many clients you’ll get each month.
 
You will be comprehensively coached in a photography business model, world-class training, and marketing strategies that work!

GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  “The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

 

www.callwithbernie.com


From Chaos To Certainty

Many photographers fall by the wayside in their attempt to build up their photography business and attempt to make it full time and earn enough money support their families.

Let’s be realistic…it isn’t easy to create a photography business, regardless of what you might read in forums and on various articles and comments on the internet. 

So what is the difference between those who fail and those who succeed?

Listen to what Delaware based photographer Kelli Carter Wilke had to say.

“Very interesting podcast.. certainly my own pivotal moment (besides having kids, getting divorced, getting married , moving.. not necessarily in that order) is when I wrote Bernie one year ago July 1st, 2020. I’m not sure why during a pandemic, I thought it was a good time to re-vamp my business, except that fact that I knew it would eventually end. 28+ years in doing photography, I’ve kind of done it all at this point.. except the one thing that could make me REAL money and make a difference in my life and quality of life.

Not to say we didn’t have a good solid life and certainly didn’t suffer, but now I’m sitting in Wyoming with my kids all summer while someone else shoots for me and I do the sales.

I have a fat bank account and not too worried about spending money on camps, bikes and things to make our trip that much more fun. Both my husband and I are self employed so it’s always a bit of a wild card on what we make each year so we are careful but I feel much more free to do what I want.

I’ve NEVER had these type of sales ..ever.. even in my best days as a commercial photog. Major pivotal moment July 2020! thank you Bernie”.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

What will your pivotal moment be?
 
The way to building a Rockstar Portrait Photography Business. ….How to Bank $10,000 to $30,000 Per Month in your Business.
 
Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just considering the industry, this powerful program will show you exactly what you need to do to become a photographer rockstar in your area!
 
Check it out …….https://berniegriffiths.com/earn-money-from-your-photography/
 
You will learn…….
 
Why portrait photography  is a well-respected profession and why photography businesses are booming around the world.
 
How you can make an hourly rate that most big-city photographers would drool over, while helping everyday families get priceless memories that they will treasure forever.
 
Coaching used to be cost-prohibitive but isn’t anymore. (A decade ago, the outlay of cash to get a good business coaching would often total $10,000 or more. My NEW coaching program is just a fraction of that!)
 
Exactly what top-tier photographers are doing to build successful business from the ground up, even without investing thousands of dollars in getting set up.
 
How to market yourself successfully, so that you don’t waste time on cold calls, banging your head against the wall with tire kickers who aren’t serious, or HOPING—instead of KNOWING—how many clients you’ll get each month.
 
You will be comprehensively coached in a photography business model, world-class training, and marketing strategies that work!
 
LIMITED NUMBERS……REGISTER NOW!

QUESTIONS…email me on info@berniegriffiths.com
 
To your success,
 
International Award Winning Photography Business Coach Bernie Griffiths
 
P.S. IMPORTANT: if you want to bank $10,000 to $30,000/month as a photographer, no need to wait for the price to go up.
 
Email me in for a quick chat, and I will tell you how I will get you rocking!
 
If you own a failing Photography Business, or are starting a new one….
 
1. Grab a FREE copy of my book “Success Secrets of a Professional Photographer”
Email me bernie@berniegriffiths.com
 
2. Join the Membership Group  which includes “one on one” coaching.
 
3. Work with me with ”one on one” to grow your photography business to $100,000+ Email me a message with the subject line “Private” and tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on, and I’ll send you all the details!
Copyright © 2021 Bernie Griffiths, All rights reserved. 

Photography Business Coach Bernie Griffiths in an Interview with Michael Cheuk

Success Secrets of a Photography Business Coach

Interview with Michael Cheuk

Bernie Griffiths is an International Photography Business Coach who has over 5,000 hours of coaching photographers around the world toward success. This article is an excerpt of a conversation Bernie had with magazine editor Michael Cheuk.


GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  
“The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

 

www.callwithbernie.com

Michael Cheuk:
Bernie, it is great talking to you. Tell us about how you became an International Photography Coach.

Bernie Griffiths:
When I was around 15 years of age living in England, I set a goal to be a successful photographer and travel the world. I wrote that goal down, and then I applied and managed to get a job as a photographer for P&O Cruise ships. At age 23, I was traveling the world, supervising four photographers, and making a lot of money. After being a photographer on board for nearly two years travelling the world, I decided to emigrate to Australia. Within six months of arriving, I purchased my own photography studio. With a staff of three photographers, we grew into a million-dollar business doing portraits and weddings. During the forty years as a professional photographer, I also mentored a lot of other photographers. So it was natural for me to transition into a coach when I sold my studio.

The first thing I did after deciding to become a coach was to hire a coach. That’s the quickest way to learn to become a coach. I’ve been coaching other photographers for eight years now, with over 5000 one-hour coaching calls. I was fortunate to win the world’s Top 10 Outstanding Photography Professional Award for Photography Business Coaching two years ago. Nowadays I have clients in the US, UK, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and Australia. 

MC
So how did you transition from giving free advice to fellow photographers to marketing yourself as a professional photography coach?

Bernie  
Well, with the help of my coach, I put together a coaching program and then a pricing package, which was one of the hardest things to do. I put my pricing at what I thought was my “cringe point,” a price I thought no one would purchase. But I also offered four levels, and as we know, everyone tends to go for the second from the top. So that’s how I rolled for a while and it progressed from there. 

When I look back at what I used to charge to what I charge now, I just go, “Wow, why was I so cheap?” Because now, I know my value to my clients. It’s just incredible that they make so much money from my coaching and my implementation of systems to what they’re doing. So, I look upon myself as being quite cheap, really, for the value I provide my clients.

MC
So how do you charge your clients now?

Bernie

One thing I’ve learned is that sometimes you have to figure your pricing on an individual basis. What I charge for coaching can sometimes be related to the actual profit turnover of the company of the person I coach. In other words, if you’re going to coach a company that turns over a million dollars, you say: “Okay, so my coaching fee is usually 7% of photographers turnover per year.” That can be a fair and reasonable amount to charge because I know the value of my coaching that will help them earn more money. 

So it’s a mindset thing. You have to believe that what you’re doing is impacting people’s lives. In fact, coaches change people’s lives. When I look at many of my clients, their lives have changed totally because of my coaching. One client just bought a new home, which he wouldn’t have dreamed of being able to afford before he had the money, that I helped him earn as a coach. So my coaching does change people’s lives. while another photographer is earning four times more than what he did in the private sector.

MC
What I’m hearing is that while the dollars and cents are important, what is really crucial is an underlying belief in oneself and to take that step toward the future self that one believes and sees…whether as a coach or as a client. And when one has a coach, chances are much higher that vision will actually become a reality.

Bernie  
Very true. It’s building their self-esteem as well and their self-belief as you go. That’s what helps them enormously in their lives, as well as everything else. You have to believe in the value that you’re giving to the people you coach. 

MC 
In your practice, what are some common obstacles your clients face in marketing themselves? 

Bernie  
Fear is one of the biggest blockers. People say one way to overcome your fear is to do what you fear, like putting your prices a bit higher than you feel you should. I remember I did that in my own business with some products, and it took me a while to get over it. But it wasn’t long before that price became my normal.

Another obstacle of my clients is being stuck in their comfort zone. What we have to do, as coaches or as individuals, is to get out of our comfort zone and do things we haven’t done before. Like in our marketing, we get out of our comfort zones to find and speak to people, and to learn new things, like building third party affiliates. One of the things I’m learning is how to use LinkedIn Navigator to find new clients. So I’ve committed to the strategy by paying up front, and that forces me to move forward with it. 

Yet another obstacle is analysis paralysis. We’re so bombarded with so much information on the internet, we don’t know what’s right or wrong. This confusion leads to non-action, when we should be actively out in the marketplace testing and measuring. 

MC 
Talk more about testing and measuring.

Bernie  
Yeah, well, all business boils down to numbers, doesn’t it? It’s about the number of leads you can generate. It’s about how many leads you convert to clients. It’s about how much you charge those clients. And the bottom line, of course, is the one number that matters, whether there is profit or loss at the end of the year. 

So you have to test and measure your scripts — what you say to people and what you put out there. Personally, I tested a lot of things to get a response from my email list and I had very little traction coming from everything I tested. However, when I did my first webinar, suddenly, I got 70 people register! So now, I do a webinar about every two weeks, and those webinars enable me to build my list. 

MC
What’s one thing that has made a big impact in growing your business?

Bernie
From my experience, it’s all about creating a process and implementing that process. When I started my business as a photographer, I tried to run it following Michael Gerber’s book, The E-Myth. What he says is, “Build your business so that you can sell it.” He wasn’t saying you will sell it. He was saying to get your processes in place so that if you were to sell it, then people would buy it. And what they would buy is the instruction book of how to do your business. 

So I built my photography business that way. I have an instruction book that says, “So here’s the phone script, this is what you do. When a customer comes in, you sit them down, and you say this to them, and then you photograph them in this way, and then you do the sales this way, and these are the exact products to sell, and this is your price list etc.” And so on and so forth. 

I think, for a coach, it’s exactly the same thing. You have to build your processes. So that when you get an inquiry, this is the process you follow it through. And when you get that successful process working, it becomes easy, right? You don’t have to think about what’s the next step. You know what you’ll do the next day, all day. You know your next steps. You know the two or three objections to buying that leads may have, and you know how you’re going to answer. Every day, you continue to build your process. It’s about building. You just keep building and never stop. 

MC
That’s a great place to end our interview. Thanks for sharing your story and how you built your successful business as a photography business coach!

Bernie  
I really appreciate it, Michael, for your time…… thank you very much.


GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  
“The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

 

www.callwithbernie.com

Bernie Griffiths is an Award Winning International Photography Business Coach who has over 5,000 hours of coaching photographers around the world including the UK, USA, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and Australia. He is the author of Success Secrets of a Professional Photographer, and is a winner of the World’s Ten Outstanding Photography Professional Awards for Photography and Coaching. For the last ten years, he has coached photographers to record financial returns in their businesses. Visit his website www.berniegriffiths.com for more information.

Getting Tired Of The Struggle?

If you want to succeed in the portrait photography market, you have to have a proven system. 

A system that other photographers are using and who are making money.

A system that is the way to building a Rockstar Portrait Photography Business. ….How to Bank $10,000 to $30,000 Per Month in your Business.

Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just considering the industry, this powerful program will show you exactly what you need to do to become a photographer rockstar in your area…..regardless of where you are in the world!

The Complete Portrait System.

As used by Marcus Anthony Photography, Wilmington, North Carolina, Jenn Lindberg, Lockhart, Texas, John Glaser, Houston, Texas, Oliver Jones Photography, Cardiff, Wales U.K, Jessica Wikstrom Photography, Sweden, Europe, Kelli Wilke Photography, Wilmington, Delaware and many many more.

Every one of these photographers struggled, until they discovered my Portrait System.

WHAT YOU GET

  • OVER 50 “HOW TO” videos on Photography business strategies on Marketing, Social Media, Product selection, and creating a Price list.
  • Access to professional photographers community via Private Inner Circle Facebook group.
  • A 30 minute personal “one on one” live coaching sessions each month over a year to guide and support you.
  • 50 Marketing and Photography Business Coaching videos.
  • Personal email access, for mentoring and advice on growing your business.
  • Copy of book Success Secrets of a Professional Photographer.
  • Monthly “live” Zoom Group Meeting.

You will learn…….

Why portrait photography  is a well-respected profession and why photography businesses are booming around the world.

How you can make an hourly rate that most big-city attorneys would drool over, while helping everyday families get priceless memories that they will treasure forever.

Coaching used to be cost-prohibitive but isn’t anymore. (A decade ago, the outlay of cash to get a good business coaching would often total $10,000 or more. My NEW coaching program is just a fraction of that!)

Exactly what top-tier photographers are doing to build successful business from the ground up, even without investing thousands of dollars in getting set up.

How to market yourself successfully, so that you don’t waste time on cold calls, banging your head against the wall with tire kickers who aren’t serious, or HOPING—instead of KNOWING—how many clients you’ll get each month.

GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  “The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

www.callwithbernie.com

A Soft Sell For Your Photographs

A Soft Easy Selling System making your skills and your business appear valuable is essential, because not only will you start to believe it’s true, others will too. If you value yourself highly, it is more than likely others will value you highly too.

Hard sell can sometimes appear to be desperation. If all the right things are in place, the sales will generally fall into place. Selling is always a numbers game, a business of averages. Giving people the opportunity to buy in a non-pressured environment will give you the best result. In other words giving the client a product that they want, at a price they are willing to pay.

Is your work worthy of the price that you are charging for it? I suppose that we have all had those bad experiences with salespeople who were pushy, and use all those clever salesperson-type questions that lead you to say yes when you meant no! I didn’t want to be like that.

I had one of those experiences, and from that day I vowed that I would never be that type of salesperson with the selling of my photography. So I came up with a fantastic sales system that I call my “retail sales system”. No pressure on the customer, and no pressure on me.

A system that anyone can implement in their photography business, to maximize the sales, and leave the customer feeling happy with their purchase. You need to be successful at selling your photography, but at the same time, you do not want to put your customers under pressure or make them feel uncomfortable in any way about purchasing your images. You must always build trust with your customer.

This can be done by being open with your pricing and having knowledge of your product. It is amazing how many photographers that I have spoken to, do not sound convincing when I ask them their prices or to describe their various photography products.

By asking emotive questions like “How do you feel about that?” will also help the customer to mentally evaluate what they really like. You must be patient when you are selling your images. Do not rush the sales process, as it is a process that should be allowed to come to its own conclusion. Allowing one hour for the sales presentation is usually the amount of time that should give you the desired result

GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  “The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

 

www.callwithbernie.com

20 Must-Haves Before You Open Your Photography Business

  1. Register a Business name
  2. A Legal Entity….Business structure…Sole Trader, Company, Partnership etc
  3. A Website
  4. An Accountant to advise on tax, funding for retirement etc.
  5. A Professional email address eg not Gmail.
  6. A simple Business Plan containing your financial goals.
  7. A structured Price List with suitable products.
  8. Photography equipment Insurance, depending on the total value of the equipment.
  9. A Logo to give your business a professional look and trust.
  10. A Business Facebook page to allow you to do Facebook advertising. 
  11. Public Liability to protect yourself and your business from accident or injury to clients. 
  12. Electronic Point of Sale facility, like Square, to take credit and debit card payments, live and over the phone.
  13. Get a Calendar set up like Calendly.
  14. Get landing page Software like Jotform.
  15. Invest in a CRM like Tave, Light Blue, Studio Ninja, or Sprout Studio.
  16. Email marketing software like Mailchimp for email campaigns.
  17. A business Credit Card to pay business expenses.
  18. Accounting Software like MYOB, Xero, Quickbooks.
  19. A Marketing Plan and Strategy.
  20. A Coach or Mentor to guide you into building a Solid Business Foundation


    GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  
    “The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

     

    www.callwithbernie.com

The Millionaire Photography Business Coach

Cydney O’Sullivan, founder of Millionaires Academy, is an 18-times best-selling author, and shares the insider secrets she’s learned from building million dollar businesses for over 30 years. She has taught thousands of other experts how they can become more profitable as celebrity influencers.  

In this interview she talks to photography business coach Bernie Griffiths and how his unique “5 Steps to Freedom” coaching program is having so much success all around the world.

https://how-to-be-a-millionaire.captivate.fm/episode/7-figure-mentor-bernie-griffiths-photographers-coach-and-cydney-osullivan

Watch the video on opening your first studio using the “5 Steps to Freedom” Coaching Program.

WATCH VIDEO.

GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  “The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

www.callwithbernie.com

Photobizx And Bernie Style Facebook Ad Challenge

This Podcast is where it all began. The explosion in Marketing that has earned thousands of dollars for photographers over the last 3 years. This is the episode on Photobizx that started a Photography Business Revolution, and changed many photographers lives.

It is one one of the main reasons that Bernie is now often referred to as “The World’s Number One Photography Business Coach.”

YOU MUST LISTEN

https://photobizx.com/Book+More+Portrait+Photography+Sessions

You Must Grow these 5 Numbers in Your Photography Business

In my role as a photography business coach, I work with photographers to focus on five simple numbers they should be tracking and growing —increasing— every single month.

I’m the sort of a big number of person, and I do believe in tracking stuff that matters.

Here are the five simple numbers that we track every single month.

  1. Leads

The first number that we track is the number of leads.

And by leads, what I mean is how many leads are you getting every single month?

A lead is a response from any Marketing that you are doing, be it a Facebook ad, an e-mail marketing campaign, a third party Gift Voucher program, or a referral.

But that’s what we track every single month. Just once a month, you’re going to report in on your numbers. Okay? Number one: leads.

2. Revenue

Number two, we’re going to track weekly revenue.

The second deal we’re going to track is dollars per month; it’s gross sales per month. Right?

Most of the photographers in my Signature Coaching Program are doing between $5,000 and $15,000 with some a little bit more.

By the way, if you’d like a hand —if you’re already doing about a $100,000 a year and you want to scale, then, send me a private message via info@berniegriffiths.com and I’d love to help you get a little bit of a plan, or we can brainstorm.

So, number one, number of leads per month. Number two, monthly revenue.

3. Profit margins

Number three, profit as a percentage, is the third measure that we track. And so, obviously, how much money your business brings in is fantastic, but I think someone wise once said “Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity.”

And so, the third metric is profit —what’s your margins as a percentage?

We’ve got most clients who are doing a 90% gross profit margin, which relates in most cases to a 40% net profit.

That’s very doable when your business is super lean and in a “push” mode.

4. Photography

The fourth one of our five dials is the photography side and whether you are a smart photographer or not.

 You don’t want to work 100 hours a week, right?

What’s your smartness? It’s the thing that you have created in your photography business so that you work Smarter not Harder.

You do it effortlessly and easily. Your photography session goes seamlessly and so does the rest of your business.

So, what I want to know is how smart your business is?

What percent of the photographs that you take do you actually sell?

 5. Time Off

And finally, the number of free days. So, free days are the one that my high-performing photographers don’t struggle with.

For a lot of photographers, it is really hard to have time off. They take too many photographs, take too long to cull and edit them, have a too long sales process, and take too much time on the full customer experience. They find it all really hard.

6. Selling

Whichever of the 5 different ways you are selling, it is imperative that we maximize the sales, and create the highest profit.

My own “Soft Sell System” (I will send you the E-book on how to do this if you email me (info@berniegriffiths.com) has proven to be simple, time-efficient, and produce great sales.

So, here’s the thing right now. If you think about those five numbers, here’s your assignment; is to sketch up what they currently are for you.

And if you’d like some help brainstorming ways to make those numbers go up. I’m going to issue this as a challenge. My gut feeling is that almost no one’s going to do this. Maybe one.

And whoever it is, I reckon they’re the one who’s going grow their photography business.

“Screw it…..let’s do it.”

GRAB MY FREE BOOK  HERE  “The Ultimate Guide To Starting a Photography Business.”

 

www.callwithbernie.com