articles/Convention/thesecretofsellingyourself-page2

The secret of selling yourself - part 2 of 1 2

Published 01/11/2012

"So even though we strive to be the best photographers we can, that's not what differentiates us from everyone else. We do that by positioning ourselves as something else. Our site, branding and most of what we do have nothing to do with photography, and everything to do with how our business will make our clients feel. We live in an experienced-based economy according to Tim Sanders ('Love is the Killer App'), and the quicker a photographer can learn to build their business around a real position and create a dynamic experience, the faster they will be able to capture a serious part of the market.

"How do we do this? We make sure that our business has a personal feel - Zach and Jody is the name of our brand, not 'pretty image picture makers dot com,' which is far from personal - and we deliver products and services that are designed to enhance our clients' lives. We give them books on marriage, give them date-night gifts and do many other things that are about their relationship and not about our photography, and we also under-promise and over-deliver on a regular basis.

"For example, clients expect to see their images in 90 days on an online gallery, but instead we build them their own website and deliver their images for viewing in one week. All of those things and more turn our business into an experience and it's the opposite of us trying to stand out based on our imagery alone. Delivering great images and having a unique style is a given these days and not something to try and build a position for your business around."

Spreading the word

Both Zach and Jody have a passion for teaching and aiding photographers, and they see their big challenge as trying to run two businesses at once. "Running a wedding brand is more than a full-time job and so is educating photographers," says Jody. "So we're working on that tough challenge every day!"

Having spoken at the Convention in 2011 Zach and Jody know what they're in for in January, and they are relishing the prospect. "We met some amazing people in London and have made some lifelong friends," says Jody. "The value for us with The Societies is the people, hands down!

"We'll be talking on the Tuesday at the Business School about what we consider to be the three ways that you can improve your bottom line without having to be a sales person. We have been able to make five-figure sales on a regular basis through a very simple system of selling, so we are going to break that down in this class.

"We'll also have a more in-depth workshop on the Friday, which covers ways in which you can turn your clients into walking, talking billboards so that you no longer have to go out there to try to sell yourself. Sales is all about trust, and once a client trusts you they purchase from you. We are going to be talking about the tools that we use to build that trust relationship with clients so that they go out and sell you."It's all invaluable information, and with speakers of the calibre of Zach and Jody appearing at the Convention it's a great chance to learn from the best and to implement some crucial clear-headed thinking into your own business approach.

More information:
www.zachandjody.com

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1st Published 01/11/2012
last update 09/12/2022 14:59:46

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