You are an expert in your field. You take amazing photos using great gear and people love your work. But how do you automate your process to close the deal and take your expert-level customer service up a notch?
Let’s get real. The first thing you need to do is identify your ideal client (or clients if you specialize in more than one type of photography). Who are they? What’s their vibe? If your goal is to attract your ideal client time and time again, you have to do the work of knowing exactly who they are so that you can speak their language when you’re talking to them.
Once you know that, you’re going to want to nail your communication with them every time. Here are a few ways to automate that and make your business easier and more organized than ever:
Reply immediately by setting up an automated lead-response that is unique to each type of photography that you do. Tell them you’ve received their message, attach a brief questionnaire to learn more about what they want and link them to some of your most recent amazing work (whether it’s your blog or a recent publication). That way, no matter if you’re on a shoot or enjoying time with friends, your potential clients are hearing back from you right away.
Once they’ve booked, automate a shoot prep email to get them ready. We recommend a what to wear guide to get them started on deciding their look. You can also include some suggestions for your favorite locations and links to recent blog posts from those spots. It’s a great time to attach a questionnaire to learn even more about their objectives for the shoot and what they’re going to do with the images when they’re done (this can help you later as you try to upsell products).
A few days before their shoot, schedule a strong confirmation email to send. This is a great time to remind them that their anxiety is normal and that you’re going to make a great team. Send a link to their location and provide any specifics on parking. You can also mention to them that you’ll be delivering their images in x days so that their expectations are set and you’re not fielding emails 24 hours after the shoot. Include your cell phone number so that they can reach you should anything come up!
There’s no reason not to have a thank you email queued up for the day after their shoot. This is a great place to link them (again) to your social media feeds and start to build excitement about teasers. If you’ve started adding images to their gallery, you can include that as a variable, as well. Attaching a pricing sheet with any promotions that you’re doing (or downloading instructions, if applicable) can get their wheels turning as to what products they will want to purchase and display in their house.
There are so many quick and easy (and automated!) ways to position yourself as the expert to your ideal clients. You’ll be booking clients and getting referrals left and right once you’ve set their expectations and knocked them out of the park.
Need help with exactly what to say when drafting your automated emails?
Our new FREE DOWNLOADABLE EMAIL TEMPLATE GUIDE will help you decide where you get started.
And, when you’re ready to take your game to the next level with a 14-day trial, we will help you get started HERE.
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