JacobPhoto wrote in post #16205365
Have you followed up with clients that booked another photographer to see why they went that route? Many times, clients will be open with why they made the decision they did. Maybe you were over or under priced, maybe you gave off a negative vibe. We won't be able to deduce that just from looking at your internet presence.
This is a great start, I'll have to put together an email and send it out to those clients.
Nightstalker wrote in post #16205411Firstly from your website I am unable to determine where in the world you are based - this is not a good start. Your Facebook page tells me you are in Washington DC but this should be clear from your website also.
Your website BIO shouts that you have little experience - first picked up a camera in 2008 - and the entire text just does not make me want to call you - I cannot connect with you through the BIO at all - this could be better worded IMHO.
You have a pricelist section on the website but refuse to give prices - I don't like this as I am clicking through to a page that I feel will give me useful information but it doesn't - at least it's not titled "Investment" - I really can't stand that practice.
Your contact page forces me to use a contact form - this is good as an option but it stops me from using my own email program and keeping a copy of the correspondence - I'd also include a mailto: link and give your email address so that people can contact you using their own preferred means.
Your portfolio is good but I would rather see the site focussed on weddings if that is the business that you are pursuing - 3 of the 4 galleries that you show add nothing to me hiring you as a wedding photographer.
If you advertise a Blog on your website then link to one. This is a dead link and again says to me that you are inexperienced or just do not care about the website. If you donl't care about the website why would you care about me as a client?
Improving the website may get more enquiries but you then have to close them.
Getting face to face with the potential clients is key to building rapport with them. All things being equal people will generally buy from someone that they like and connect with rather than from soemone that there is no chemistry with even if the images are great.
When you meat make sure that you have a printed portfolio - preferably in the form of a sample album to show.
I used to be in corporate sales and the mantra was always - sell yourself, then the company, then the product. By the time the customer had engaged with and started to like me personally and bought into the fact that the company would live up to its commitments getting them to comit to the products was the easy part.
I know that some of this seems negative but that is definately not my intent - it is nearly midnight over here in the UK and I've had a long day so my thoughts are just unfiltered.
Good Luck.
No offense taken at all! I will definitly have to add in the "sell yourself, then the company then the product" Also, thanks for bringing my eyes back to my website and helping me realize that it needs work 
.
philwillmedia wrote in post #16205524The first line from your Bio...
"If you don't like what you see, you're not looking at it right."I wanted to stop reading right there, and I would suspect a lot of people would too.
Thanks for the heads up!
kenwood33 wrote in post #16205582Do you have something that will convince the client to meet with you face to face? Such as a hard copy of your portfolio or sample wedding albums? If not you might want to consider investing in something tangible.
As of right now I have a sample wedding album but will definitely have to add another album. Can you show an example of what you would take to meet with a client?
juicedownload wrote in post #16205715I also think a tangible item is good too. I'd go for a nice coffee table book or flat book for your portfolio and some other wedding album books. It's something to hold and the pages can easily be turned if they want to move back and forth or linger on a particular image.
Video slideshows or an iPad, while stylish, just don't have the same feel.
People will contact you because they like your images, but you have no pricing listed. Once they see the prices, then it's too high or possibly too low. I'd have something on your site in regards to price, either a starting price to give the visitor an idea, a range, or a few packages laid out in the open. I tend to get a lot of price shoppers even at the time when my prices were listed in detail. Clearly, they send out mass emails to various photogs.
You bring up a great point with the pricing. I'll add something regarding what our basic packages include and the starting price.
abbypanda wrote in post #16205957ditto, remove that immediately
I stopped reading right after "If you dont like what you see" and I thought ot myself "Is this guy fixing to tell people if you dont like what you see go somewhere else"
I only kept reading b/c I wanted to answer my own question.
That statement is so powerfully negative.
Aside from that, you mention things were working and now arent. I've noticed a slow down this year as of late in the economy in all our businesses.
We have also had to change and modify a few sales systems, but overall things are picking up.
While I dont like that part of your website, if you havent changed it recently, that's prob not the problem since you mention your problem is as of late. I'd think hard to what you have changed lately. If nothing, perhaps your competition changed something and they are simply outdoing you in regards to 1 area. Evaluate which area things are going wrong and then try to hone in and fix that.
Thanks!
jwhite65 wrote in post #16206008How far along in talking to potential clients are you getting? Is it a common point where you lose contact with them? For example, you exchange a few emails with them and they ask for prices. Do they cease contact after getting the prices? Or some other point?
They often stop responding after recieving the quote. Which leads me(now) to believe that my prices may be too high but at the same time I was comparing my work to those in the MD, DC, VA area and my prices are slightly lower than those around me...
Karl Johnston wrote in post #16206406In order to do this, we need to see what you're currently doing. Let's say prospect contacts you for a inquiry, "how much for a shoot" - what do you say to them within the first two email responses ? Maybe we could see an example reply from a dead-end prospect (one that doesn't reply)? If you could copy and paste (blank out identifying info) what your response is to that inquiry we can have a better idea what to suggest. At what point do you lose them?
I'll add this in with another post but great idea! Thanks!
memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #16206629Lots of things already mentioned:
Firstly you have to remember that not every enquiry is a potential client.
1) You may not be available on their wedding date.
2) You may not be in their local area (your lack of location details on your website really doesn't help you here. I have to make an effort to try and find where on the planet you are based? How about I just look at another photographer's site who makes it obvious where they are).
3) You may not fall in everyone's price bracket ("pricelist" on your website is kind of false advertising and damned annoying from a prospective client point of view. No prices there!).
4) If you come across to a prospective client the way your first line of your bio is then no wonder you aren't closing. Terrible opening line as has already been said.
5) You may not supply the coverage, products etc that they want. (Are you a shoot and burner or do you only supply albums? I don't know because your website tells me nothing in that regards).
Chances are what enquiries you are getting are mainly speculative since you don't really give any useful information on your website other than if they don't like your work they are wrong.
An enquiry is probably just that and nothing more. They may have liked your work enough to contact you (but they could have been contacting several other photographers in the same vein) just to get hold of a ball park figure. These types of enquiries are low quality ones in that they are not buying based on your work... they are buying on price.
When you say "we're having difficulty closing the deal in regards to the contract" you aren't even getting to that point. There is nothing to close at that point.
Look at it from a client perspective. There are literally hundreds of photographers for them to chose from. Your work isn't bad but it doesn't come across as being unique. All things being equal a person looking for a photographer seeing your site and another photographer's of similar ability (but better information) is already going to be more inclined towards the other photographer more than you. Why? Because their experience with your website doesn't help them. Make it as easy as possible for a potential client to find the information they want.
I've always worked on the basis that I want to answer as many of the client's questions before they even contact me. It saves my time and theirs. It also means when they do contact you they are already further down the track than just a speculative enquiry. Personally any speculative enquiries I get I just reply saying they can find all the details on my website in a reply.
I probably only get about 40-50 enquiries a year tops. But they are pre-filtered and very good prospects and the majority book.
Take a look at your website with fresh eyes and ask yourself what would make a potential bride book you over your competition? What would make a potential bride make an effort to find out more information when others have it readily available?
Awesome information! I will have to go through and attempt to filter out as many inquiries as possible.
