Photographer Bradford Rowley made a great point on his Facebook page last week.
This is what he had to say…………
YOU HAVE GOOD MARKETING AND KILLER SALES BUT YOU STILL AREN’T LIVING THE LIFE OF YOUR DREAMS, AND HERE’S WHY…
“Some weeks ago, I was spending time with my sister outside of Chicago. She told me how she really admired the risks I have taken, and how successful I had been (in her eyes anyway) as a result. I told her that the truth is that I fail about 90-95% of the time on everything I ever try. But the difference for me is in those rare times when I do succeed, I exploit it more than almost anyone else, and that is what makes all the difference.
The missing ingredient for most photographers is volume. Massive volume!
Volume is a cure for so many things. Primarily, difficult clients (and we all get them) become so significant when we don’t have volume. I remember when I was first starting out, and a couple client came back into the studio unhappy with their portrait and demanded a refund. I was in my 20’s with a wife and two small children. I was devastated because I needed this money to put food on the table. As they were telling me all they were unhappy with, I was holding back tears from swelling up. That one client held so much power with me.
This morning as I write this post, My calendar has 255 appointments booked in advance. If I have a couple of really difficult clients, it is less than 1% of business on the books and has little effect on me. When the volume isn’t there, every single client becomes so important, so those difficult ones just really hurt. With volume, the hurt goes away.
Another thing is that our industry discourages people from getting volume because they teach gross inefficiencies that keep photographers busy, massively inefficient and low on profits. What other industry has 90% of it’s members depending on a spouse or other source of income to survive? To the contrary, I know 3 photographers in my circle that in the last few months had their husbands quit their jobs because their studios are doing so well.
So it’s time to hit things harder, smarter and more massive than you ever have before. Don’t stop. Don’t become complacent. Be relentless. Your pursuit of volume will fuel a lifestyle that gives you time to do the things you really love in life with those you really love the most to do them with.”
What great advice.
You need lots and lots and lots of customers to build a successful and sustainable photography business.
With the clients I work with (although we would all love to have hundreds of photography sessions across three studios, booked in advance like Bradford) our benchmark is to have a minimum of 20 portrait sessions booked in advance.
Seeing those bookings in your diary means that you have money coming into your bank account in the future.
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