Clients

When we don’t hear back from clients after submitting our bid for the job, I can almost guarantee (most often) that it is because they don’t have a budget anywhere close to our total. Assume that- before spending too much time and effort trying to follow up to make the job happen. 

Q:

I’ve had a couple of commercial jobs go to “another photographer” recently with the further suggestion that they would like to work with me in the future. I’m curious if it’s common practice to inquire as to how the client made their decision. Something like,  “I would love more information in your decision-making process to better shape my offering.” Is there a good way to do this, or do I thank them for the opportunity and that I would also love to work with them later?

A:

We all want honest client feedback, but the truth is, it’s almost impossible to get. I tend to get the real story when I know them personally, and it’s a one-on-one discussion instead of an email. You can ask, but unfortunately, I see it as a more general nicety that will not be taken seriously on their end. The best way I know to handle this is to find out who did get the job. You then look at their site to make a comparison. See what they focus on, their overall streamlined style, and what we can learn from this comparison.

Q:

If I think I would be a good fit for a certain client, what is the best way to approach them? Should I approach them directly or through their agency? If I should contact the agency, how can I best reach the right person there? Many companies have different agencies for various products or platforms. 

A:

Yes, approach the client directly and also get in touch with their agency. Try as many ways as you can think of. Be creative and innovative; find ways to get their attention. To find the right person, ask around. I highly recommend LinkedIn, as people tend to respond to it. Go get ‘em!

Q:

How would you advise a photographer to reach out to new clients to ask for a face-to-face meeting to introduce oneself?

A:

The best way to ask for an in-person meeting is to entice them with an easy and fun excuse, like bringing them a treat or taking them for a coffee/lunch. I would not ask via phone, but I would warm up your potential client with regular outreach via email, IG, LinkedIn, etc. As long as your portfolio pertains to their client needs, you may have a good chance of seeing them in person. 

Q:

How would you advise a photographer to reach out to new clients to ask for a face-to-face meeting to introduce oneself?

A:

The best way to ask for an in-person meeting is to treat your client as you would want to be treated. A phone call would annoy me so I don’t do many of them. If you can meet the person at an event, that could help, but otherwise, the simple answer is email them with your website as that is what they really need to see first. 

A general good “sales” rule:  Ask questions instead of overloading your clients with information.

Q:

Once you do a test shoot, what is the best way to get this new work in front of the right audience?

A:

As a rep, this is one of my favorite topics because this is the purpose of testing. Reps and consultants’ goals are all about shaping the long-road path. I call this- “growing forward.” Every test should have a client in mind, and with that comes the OUTREACH follow-through to share the images with the appropriate “warm” and “cold” potential clients. Outreach happens on all platforms, including personalized communication, to upgrade clients to a warmer level than where they are now. You want to be good enough to be on their list when that specific type of project comes up. This is either a monotonous process or a fine-tuned, distinct, mapped-out marketing plan.

What is the trick to Marketing? Quick answer: Relationships. 

How to do this: Try everything, see what sticks, but only base some of your future marketing on what you learned in the past. I know this is tricky; we must try it all, keep experimenting, and DO NOT LIMIT OURSELVES only to what has worked in the past.

We all know how important marketing is in our business—it’s everything. Yet, there is no set plan for it; there is no absolute, definite “this must happen.” Of course, your website needs to be correct and up-to-date, but marketing as a whole has to be more experimental. I see it as throwing spaghetti against a wall and seeing what sticks. However, we can’t rely on just one approach over time; we have to continuously try new things.

Marketing is heavily based on relationships. I often get calls from clients I didn’t even know would remember my name, but we had a nice connection a year ago or even three years ago. When you get yourself on a list, clients remember you and want to stay in touch. The more we put ourselves out there, the better. We need to try everything, see what sticks, and not solely rely on what’s worked before. Do more of what works, but also explore every possible avenue to connect with clients.

Bidding on a job requires fact-checking client answers. Often they are slow to come in or don’t get responded to. What do we do? Try a new way – make your questions form a cohesive list to be answered by attention-getting dashes, bullet points, or (my fave) numbers.

You know when you’re bidding on a job and the contact at the agency or client isn’t responding to your questions? It seems like they’re missing something. I assume they’re rushed and don’t have time to go through a full email, or maybe there’s too much chatter instead of getting to the point. We need to make our emails extremely clear and concise. Don’t be afraid to keep asking the same questions until they get answered.

I know we don’t want to make the person uncomfortable or make the communication awkward, but you have to keep asking. Try doing it in a different style; perhaps they’ll understand better if we lay it out differently, using bullet points, dashes, or numbers—numbers are very helpful in an email. If that doesn’t work, consider trying a phone call; maybe they’re not into emails, and that’s why it’s not working. The important thing is to keep trying, even if it feels awkward.

Learning why we DID NOT get the job can be the most value-packed free resource, and I’m surprised by how available it is to us if we ask. With a bit of timely follow-through, we could potentially receive the clear strategic feedback every business needs.

I’m finding that we can get more information about why we didn’t get certain jobs if we put some effort into asking. It’s strange, but for some reason, clients seem more open to sharing the specific reasons why we weren’t selected. We just have to ask them and make sure we pose the question. It’s not that hard; we just need to put ourselves out there.