Photography Business - 3 Ways to Position Yourself As Your Clients "In House" Photographer
It is said that is easier to get business from someone who has already given some, than to find a new client.
Think about how much it costs you in terms of time as well as money to acquire a new client. As it becomes more challenging to acquire new clients (especially in this current economic climate) it is far easier to go back to former clients and ask for new business.
Unfortunately many photographers tend to be on the side of the fence where they are constantly prospecting and searching for new clients. Nothing wrong with it, but it can be an awful time consuming process. If find yourself in this situation one way to break free of it is to ask yourself, "how can I serve my existing clients or former clients in new ways?"
In this article I am going to give you three suggestions you can use to keep your calendar full with additional work from existing clients while resurrecting relationships from former clients for new work. The key is to position yourself as your clients "in house" photographer.
1. Ask - I know it sound simple, but you'd be surprised how many photographers fail to ask for additional work while they are working with existing accounts. There several ways to do this with finesse for example; you can have your new clients fill out a questionnaire at the start of the job. The questions should relate to the job you've been hired to do.
Let's say for example you are an architecture photographer then you could ask if they need printing work done like annual reports and other collateral materials. You could inquire about photographing other buildings or residential properties they have in their portfolio (including interiors).
2. Court former clients - you can do this by dropping notes about your interest in working with them again via hand written note cards, handwritten works better because it shows that you took the time to contact them and not just send a form letter. Handwritten letters are often referred to as a warm letters. Think of it like the holiday letter that your aunt writes to update everyone of the families previous years accomplishments and activities.
In addition if you've won any awards, received any significant press coverage or been acknowledged in any way there is nothing wrong with dropping a note about your achievements or perhaps even a tear sheet.
3. Offer to schedule a lunch or coffee date - nothing gets your prospects attention faster than a face-to-face meeting. As a matter of fact when you send your warm letters you can place a pre-addressed stamped card to inquire if the recipient would be in interested in scheduling such a date. This is great way to follow up with your notes and/or warm letter.
The key to becoming your clients "in house photographer" is to present yourself as well as you possibly can in your chosen specialty, then once you're "in" with the client, continue to probe and uncover how you can be of further service. Finally, do the work, deliver, rinse and repeat.
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