Intro by Skip Cohen
There’s so much helpful information on the Internet, but you have to know where to look.
Bryan Caporicci is a professional photographer, focusing mostly on weddings, but he’s also the founder of Sprout Studio. He understands the challenges professional photographers deal with because he’s dealing with the same ones.
In this first part of this mini-series of posts, Bryan hits on the importance of the one-on-one relationship you have with your clients. I love his suggestion about the importance of building trust. In turn, that trust impacts sales and helps to better solidify the relationship.
And, while we’re all hopeful that many of the challenges of the pandemic are behind us, we can’t assume anything! The year ahead is hopefully going to be a rebuilding year for so many businesses, especially event photographers. However, at the same time, we’re going to continue to deal with client concerns and a more conservative definition of “celebration.”
By Bryan Caporicci
You have a wedding booked two months from now.
But everything is shut down right now.
You don’t know what’s going to happen next week, let alone two months from now. Plus, you had counted on the income from that wedding as well as all the other weddings you have next month.
So – what do you do? And what about the wedding you have in 6 months?
The answer is simple – be proactive!
Reach out to your couples.
And – reach out to them 1-on-1. Don’t do it through a Facebook status, a post on your Instagram or a generic blog post. Remember, you’re in the business of serving people. Your business revolves around relationships.
This is a time, more than ever, to focus on relationships. This is a time, more than ever, to connect and to have a genuine conversation with your clients. They need this. You need this.
Plus, when you reach out to your clients 1-on-1:
- It ensures that the message is heard and received. We all know what percentage of our audience actually sees our social media posts.
- It shows you care about them. Empathy and compassion through these times are some of the most important characteristics you can exhibit.
- It gives you an opportunity to discuss their individual situation and handle questions in a safe and private 1-on-1 atmosphere.
When you reach out to your couples, be mindful that you are:
- Empathetic
- Understanding
- Comforting
- Reassuring
- Clarifying
You need to be a guide for your clients. Avoid panic. Don’t add to their stress. Be a voice of reason for them during a time when everyone else seems to be doing nothing but freaking out.
There’ll be two groups of couples you should reach out to. There’ll be those whose wedding is in the short-term (i.e., the next three months or less) and those whose wedding in the short-long-term (i.e. those with weddings between 3 and 9 months from now).
Reach out to both groups but reach out with a slightly different message.
