Hey photographer friends! Welcome back to our Photography Blog, Mastering the Wedding Photography Biz with Hunter and Sarah! Today, we’re going to convince you why a sales page on your website, a pricing pdf in your email, or even a phone call are just not sufficient if you want to consistently book weddings photography jobs. So here are our three reasons why wedding photographers need a client consultation call!

 

 

Reason 1: You Cannot Consistently Book Weddings Without a Client Consultation Call

Something that we see all the time with our photography students is a pretty serious misunderstanding when it comes to sales and the wedding photography client experience. And this misunderstanding isn’t just theoretical. It can lead to talented photographers getting ghosted time and time again by wedding clients. Because they just aren’t demonstrating their value!

 

And here’s that big misunderstanding. A lot of photographers don’t realize that in order to sell a client on a multi-thousand-dollar decision like wedding photography — often one of the biggest decisions that a couple makes regarding the most important day of their lives  — there needs to be a thorough and well-thought out sales process. We see photographers all the time trying to get clients to book them for their wedding by running a few social media ads, or driving them to their wedding website. Basically, they’re hoping that some well-written copy or low prices is going to help them book more weddings.

 

But no matter how much you’re charging — whether you’re in the budget market or breaking into the luxury wedding scene — people want to talk with a REAL person before they make a decision as important as wedding photography.

 

 

Without Sales, You Just Have a Pretty Website

But just getting on the phone and asking a couple how they met is not enough. There needs to be an actual sales process — a journey that you take your customer on that connects them with you personally, gets them emotionally invested in your services, and demonstrates your value.

 

And we cannot stress enough how important the sales process is. You could have an incredibly attractive website and tons of marketing bringing people to your contact form. But if you don’t know how to actually convert those leads into booked clients with an effective sales journey, you’ll get ghosted time and time again.

 

And one of the things we’ve found is that a lot of our students think that “sales” means sleazy, high-pressure tactics that are going to make them feel like used car salesmen. But that’s not at all what an effective sales process has to look like.

 

 

Reason 2: Wedding Clients Need to Meet You

The second reason why we think that all wedding photographers need a client consultation call as part of their sales process is because we believe that you are what makes the difference in your business. So at the end of the day, your clients need to meet you.

 

On a typically wedding day, Sarah is literally in the getting ready suite with the bride as she’s getting into her wedding dress. That’s an incredibly vulnerable moment, so it’s important to us that our couples feel like they know us and are comfortable with us. We also make sure our couples realize that they’ll spend more time with us on their wedding day than they will with literally anyone else. More than with their wedding party or their parents or their best friends. So meeting us over video chat “face to face” can inspire a lot of confidence. It can show them that we’re going to be a great fit to spend all day with! Or it can show them that we won’t be a good fit and they should look elsewhere.

 

Either way, this is another area that even the strongest sales page on your website just won’t do the trick. And honestly, even a phone call really falls short in this area, as compared to a client consultation video call.

 

 

Reason 3: YOU Will Do Sales Best

The third and final reason why we think that wedding photographers who want to be successful need a true client consultation call or sales video chat is this. Once you get some reps at this and start to feel confident in sales — nothing will book you more weddings than an effective sales call.

 

No email script, no marketing hack or Instagram Ad, no website template. NOTHING is going to help your clients fall in love with you more than a face-to-face meeting! There’s a reason that car dealerships, realty companies, software companies, and a slew of other industries still employ full-time salespeople. It’s not because AI Chatbots can’t get out the right information. And it’s not because the best computer scientists in the world can’t make an effective enough website. It’s because fundamentally, humans trust other humans. So if we’re going to make a big decision, we want someone who knows what they’re talking about to walk us through it.

 

And the thing is, if you do this well, your clients will get off of the consultation video chat thanking you for how helpful and informative you’ve been — not guarded and withdrawn because they feel like they’re being assaulted with sales jargon and one-liners meant to get them to make a rash decision.

 

Of course, it can take some time to feel comfortable in these types of meetings. But once you know how to approach them with a solid plan and a conversational tone, it won’t feel like you’re running a sales meeting. It will feel like you’re having a conversation. And once you do start to build confidence in sales (which is one of the hardest skills for most creatives and photographers to build) your wedding photography business could really take off.

 

 

Ready to Learn Our Client Consultation Call Method?

So if you’re ready to begin learning ALL about how to run an effective sales meeting — and to do it in a way that both makes your ideal clients fall in love with your brand while demonstrating your value to them — then you have GOT to consider our workshop. On September 26th, 2023 we’re hosting our next for-photographers live workshop. “The Wedding Photography Client Consultation Call – The Sales Meeting Template that’s Made Us $700k (and counting)! 👈 Click this link to learn more!

 

 

More Details About Our Client Consultation/Sales Workshop

We’ll be live on Zoom from 7:00 PM until 9:00-9:30 PM ET. Then the replay will be available to everyone who purchases a ticket! In this workshop we’re not only going to teach you how to actually get interested leads into a video call. But we’re also going to teach you everything we’ve learned after running and improving this sales meeting over and over again — more than 200 times!

 

We’ll talk about prep and set-up, as well as breaking the ice and getting comfortable with your potential clients. Then we’ll talk through the exact method we use to educate and inform our clients, all while selling our brand and our services to them in a way that makes them feel great.

 

We’ll also teach on how to discuss pricing. Then, we’ll answer all of the most common questions that our students have had in the past about sales and our client consultation call. Again, you do not want to miss this one!