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"The First Rule of Holes"

2/12/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
© Nomad_Soul
The first rule of holes: When you're in one, stop digging!
Mary Ivins
Shortly after posting one of my favorite tweets recently, I started thinking about it. I've met so many photographers in my career who define a problem and then make it worse by reacting to it. Often, they're not even problems, just simple bumps in the road.

Here's a prime example, when business is slow we all do the same thing - we question our abilities. We question the path we're on. We start to question some of our most important beliefs. Over and over again I've seen photographers drop their prices because their competitors were lower than they were. Business was slow, so what else could it be? 

It's not a pricing game with your market but an added value and education game.

Added Value: Stop discounting and look for things you can do to add value to what you offer your clients. It could be anything from framed images to special albums to extended coverage at a wedding for example. Just discounting makes your services a commodity item.

Education: It's up to you to help your target audience understand why your skill set is special. It's also up to you to get them to understand the value of the finished product. A wedding album isn't just a book of pictures, but the first family heirloom of a brand new family. A family portrait isn't a big print but a tangible memory to hand down to future generations. 

Then there's the issue of how you show your work. It's not about how many images you share in your gallery, but the quality of each photograph. Don't dig a deeper hole by showing average images, thinking that if you show hundreds of images you'll get more attention from your target audience. Instead, only show "wow" prints - images that are so good you get the job showing just one of them! Ten "wow" prints will beat hundreds of mediocre shots any day of the week.

Most important of all, use your network. Talk with friends and associates in your inner circle and just like the image on top, get a little help. So often we exaggerate the challenges we face and need a different perspective from a friend to find our way out. Don't be afraid to ask for help!

I want to wrap it up with one more favorite quote: 
Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success.
They quit on the one yard line.
They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touchdown.

Ross Perot

2 Comments
Jackie link
2/13/2016 04:27:40 am

I have booked more weddings from one single image than anything else combined. My first destination wedding in Spain came from that one image. I display it everywhere, because everyone loves it. If you have images that couples love, USE THEM! It doesn't matter if they are old or new, what matters is that image(s) that pulls your clients in.

Reply
Edvydas Cicenas link
2/13/2016 09:33:40 am

The whole price game does become such a knee-jerk reaction. And when you're in the hole (we're in one at the moment) it is sometimes worth stepping back and taking a look at more. For us, we've found we've vanished from searches in the cities we target. We don't live in these cites and are based more than a half hour to an hour away from them. And we're going to work on changing that. But our prices, nope, we're not too high whatsoever for what we do and what we deliver. And why am I so sure of this, well I've got more weddings booked in 2017 than 2016 so I know we do the right things. We still need to handle our dip this year. And will. But it won't be by offering discounts, lowering our prices or expectations. The clients we've booked for 2017 are gushing about us. Crazy. Or maybe not. We have to keep in mind we are in a service business and not a discount business. Plus, keep in mind who you are and what you want. Yes, it's important! Very, very important.

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    Skip Cohen is President of SCU, founder of Marketing Essentials International and past president of Rangefinder Publishing and WPPI. He's been an active participant in the photographic industry since joining Hasselblad USA in 1987 as president.  He has co-authored six books on photography and actively supports dozens of projects each year involving photographic education.

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    Scott Bourne was the first Dean of Marketing at SCU. He helped to establish this blog as a resource for aspiring and working professional photographers. He's an educator, artist, author and from time to time you'll see his name on guest posts that are always relevant to photography and marketing!

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