The Secret Of Getting More Work From Existing Clients
Growing a photography business is not that easy especially when there is a lot of competition around. Many photographers spend much of their time, effort, and energy in finding new clients while not trying that hard to generate more work from existing clients that they already have.
Many photographers also typically wait for previous clients to contact them for an assignment, thinking that the clients know where and how to contact them. You will rarely get any work from past clients with this approach. You can think up of a strategy to get more photography assignments from your existing clients and here are some suggestions that you may want to consider:
Know Your Clients Well. If you know your clients really well, you are in the better position to know the business proposals and services that are well-suited to their needs. If you want to know your clients well, you should not only be a photographer but also a good listener. You should be easy to get along with and you would need to be on a lookout for new assignment opportunities and possibilities.
When interacting with them on the personal level, you would need to be very approachable and you can share your thoughts and feeling with them. You would also need to be very patient with them, especially when they have a long and hard time making decisions or when they constantly change their mind. You also would need to practice utmost professionalism even when your clients are getting difficult. Always remind yourself that they are still the clients and that it is much better for you when your clients know that they can “be real” with you.
Keeping Track Of Your Contacts. There will be times when your contacts or people you worked with leave their companies and go elsewhere or will move up the corporate ladder. Seeking to have good relationships with all your clients will allow you to be in touch with them and the knowledge of their whereabouts can give you an insight on possible work opportunities with them.
The Personal Approach. Doing the personal approach brings more results than the traditional sending out of printed materials to clients. Moreover, sending printed matter costs a lot and the results are usually not that great. On the other hand, the personal approach makes you communicate with your clients on a more personal level. Keeping in touch with clients by doing phone calls, sending personal emails, and going on personal visits will give you better results.
Email Marketing. If you are doing email marketing to increase your client base and to get more work from your clients, make sure that your emails do not look like spam mails. You should take time to write a real email as email marketing is always directed to one person and has a very specific goal. You can include links in your email and with URL tagging, you will know if they clicked on the link you sent even though they have not replied to your email.
Another good thing to always keep in mind about email marketing is it makes it easier for people to pass your information to others through email. You can get referral and word-of-mouth assignments through this.
Your Clients Are People Too. If you have done some photography assignments with businesses or companies, remember that the people you have worked with also have their personal lives. This means that they have daughters who need a wedding photographer or wives who want to have their portrait taken or pets they want to have professionally-done photos of. Having more than just a business relationship with them will make them more likely to trust you to do photography assignments for them outside their work lives.
I always include my course at the bottom of these articles via this link so you can get underway with your own photography customers when you’re ready.
…enjoy,
Ray Baker
