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DO YOU STRUGGLE TO GET BOOKINGS?
When we asked what things our group having trouble with recently, the most popular answer was getting those bookings.
Getting bookings is just one part of the sales process and if you are struggling to get them, then there is a disconnect somewhere in what you are doing right now or multiple things, that need working on in your business.
Let's dispel the first excuse that comes to mind when we aren't succeeding at what we want.
The most common thing we look at when we are struggling with our bookings is our price. We automatically use that imposter syndrome, lack of confidence, easy excuse and say it's our pricing, we say we are too expensive.
Yes, we potentially could be, but it's probably not the real reason, there are layers underneath that. We might be too expensive for how hard it is for our client to book with us. We might be too expensive for how confusing we make it for our clients to pay us. We might be too expensive for how hard our website is to navigate and to show the client the value. We might be too expensive for the experience we give to the client. We might be too expensive for the amount of gaps in our presence on social media or in networking. We might be too expensive for our lack of confidence that we have.
What I'm trying to tell you, is that if it is the price, is that it's the disconnect between the price that you want and the rest of your brand and the marketing you are doing.
The actual dollar figure is not the problem. People will pay regardless of the quality of the photograph if you've just shown them the value, uncovered their needs and made the experience amazing and easy for them. It's not the price. It's not the recession and it's not that the photographer down the road is cheaper than you.
Blaming our price for a lack of bookings is the easy way out. It allows you to make the easiest change. Instead of actually looking at the rest of your brand, your workflow and your client experience and seeing where you are falling short.
You can be super fully booked with low pricing, but that also doesn't mean you aren't missing opportunities or providing a good service to your clients. It also doesn't mean you are being sustainable or making ends meet. For you, you might be, but for the next person with a bigger goal it wouldn't be enough. Just because you see that someone else looking super busy, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the prices you're asking for. Stop the comparison and stop using price as the excuse for your lack of bookings. Their business model or lifestyle values might be totally different to yours. Stop the comparisons and stop the assumptions. Work on your own business.
So. Right now, heaps of us are struggling with getting bookings in the group. We can sit here and say we are in a recession, no one is spending money, my prices are too high for people right now, they're all going to so-and-so because they are cheaper, my portfolio isn't good enough, blah blah blah. Those are excuses. There are photographers still doing amazing, some of us are even doubling what things looked like last year or tripling it.
Look inwards at your own business right now. What could you be doing better. How could you invest in your business better right now. How could you pivot your business or your mindset right now to better serve your business and your goals.
Look at your workflow. Your systems. Your booking methods. Your website flow. Your story branding. Your client experience. Your habits and productivity. Your passive and active marketing. Are you networking? Is your price list easy to understand? Are you providing a solution to your clients needs? Are you limiting your sales by providing all inclusive packages or are you up selling after the shoot, does it serve you to do this? Are you providing a full service. Is your client gallery experience streamlined? Are you offering relevant payment options. Are you making booking with you easy? Are you asking for referrals and reviews? Are you rewarding clients for referrals? Are you using all of the social platforms and marketing avenues at your fingertips properly? Are you posting content? Are you blogging to your website and updating it regularly? Do you know where you come up on google? Is your price too cheap and therefore people don't value what you are giving them? Is your pricing model to confusing for your client? Are you overwhelming them with options or making it hard to book with you? What does your written content on your website say to your client? Have you utilised SEO properly? Do you have an active marketing plan in place right now? Are waiting for people to come to you or are you actively looking for them? Are you showing benefits and features? Do you understand your sales process? Are you using your email templates properly? Questionnaires? Getting people on the phone? Showing them samples. Posing better. Exploring what your client actually might need instead of assuming they don't want prints. This list goes on and on.
What else could you be doing for your business model? Have you even started by setting your goals around what kind of business you want to be and what turnover you want?
Start asking yourself questions. Start working on your business. Getting bookings is just one part of the process, there is something wrong with your process if you are not getting the bookings. Invest in your business and work to fix the things that aren't working how they should be or that you are missing.
Ready to start taking responsibility for your business?