The Portrait Credit-Taking the Speculation out of Wedding Sales: Part 1
Friday June 2, 2006 by Mitche Graf
This is part one of two articles on: “The Portrait Credit-Taking the Speculation out of Wedding Sales”
My goals and objectives when I photograph a wedding are simple………..have fun, create some magical images for my clients, and maximize the amount of money I make for working on a Saturday. If I can do that my clients are happy, I am happy, and my business continues to produce profits every year.
I know some wonderful photographers from all across the United States that have a difficult time getting their clients to invest $1000 on their wedding photographs. I also know many “average” photographers that demand well averages north of $5000. In fact, because of the “Portrait Credit” program that we have instituted the last several years into our wedding efforts, we have been able to take our average wedding to over $8300. I am here to tell you that it has very little to do with our photography and a whole heck of a lot to do with the way we bundle, the way we sell, and the way we have been able to integrate the Portrait Credit into the fabric of our business.
One of the most frustrating things to many wedding photographers is the fact that so much of our sales are dependant on orders that are received after the wedding, which means when we roll out of bed on Saturday morning, we aren’t sure how much we are making that day. We speculate that after the wedding is over that Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, Aunt Sylvia, and the best friend from college will order large amounts of portraits and pay us the big bucks. The one problem is this happens on a very inconsistent and unpredictable basis, which leaves many photographers frustrated and looking for other creative ways to generate additional sales.
This challenge is so discouraging that many photographers have stopped doing weddings all-together. The way I look at it, if I’m going to work extremely hard on a Saturday and be away from my family, I need to make sure I know exactly how much money I am going to make….before I roll out of bed! Enter, the “Portrait Credit”.
Here’s basically how the program works….
Step 1
At the time of booking, we collect the names and address of parents, grandparents, brothers & sisters, aunts & uncles, best friends, bridesmaids and groomsmen, and anyone else who the Bride & Groom may want to include on the list. We let them know that 30 days before the wedding, we will be sending everyone a letter with what we call the “3-for-2 Portrait Credit Special”, which will save them a substantial amount of money. You will be amazed how many names and addresses your clients will come up with if they are going to be heroes in the eyes of their families!
What is happening in the Bride & Groom’s life 30 days from the wedding? Besides the craziness that is known as “wedding chaos”, there are also several other powerful things taking place. There is excitement, enthusiasm, anticipation, lots of family love, and of course there is still money left! This is the perfect time to take advantage of the emotion that exists in the lives of your customers, and take most of the speculation out of the post-wedding sales.
Mom may not know yet what images she is going to order (you haven’t taken any photographs yet!), but she knows she is going to want something, as does Grandma and Aunt Betty. Whether it’s a Parent Album or a series of gift portraits, they are excited to take advantage of your offer and save a significant amount of money.
For every $2 paid, the customer will receive $3 worth of Portrait Credit that can be used to purchase gift portraits, wall portraits, albums, folios, or anything else your studio sells. Here is how our program is laid out….
$10,000 gets $15,000 of Portrait Credit
$5,000 gets $7500 of Portrait Credit
$2500 gets $3750 of Portrait Credit
$1000 gets $1500 of Portrait Credit
$500 gets $750 of Portrait Credit
$250 gets $375 of Portrait Credit
$100 gets $150 of Portrait Credit
We have yet to sell the “Whopper” of $10,000, but it makes the rest of the investment levels look and feel much better! I will say this…….if you are selling your 8×10’s for $20, this program won’t work for you. You need to have the profit margin built into your pricing structure or this promotion will eat you alive! You can look at it in 1 of 2 ways- either you are giving a product bonus of 50% (buy 2, get 1 free), or you are discounting your sale by 33% (giving $3 worth of product for only $2). Either way, your pricing must be able to withstand this kind of pressure. You must have an intimate understanding of what it costs you to open the doors in the morning, produce a print from start to finish, and generate profits for your business. This is all part of being a good business person.
If your pricing is not to where you can manage to pull off a program such as this, you may also want to consider a 5-for-4, a 4-for-3, or something similar. However, from experience the 3-for-2 is the most effective.
Step 2
30 days prior to the wedding, we send out the mailer complete with a cover letter, business card, description of the program, and a price list. They then have 2 weeks to respond to the offer and return there order form to you, along with their payment.
The cover letter is also an opportunity to introduce yourself to them and let them know you are looking forward to meeting them come the wedding day. It’s all about the emotion, and building a relationship with the family members and friends is a big step the right direction.
Once the orders are received, we then send them a professional-looking gift certificate with their credit amount written in.
In 2004, we generated an additional $1712 in sales for each wedding we photographed. In 2005, the number jumped to $2188 in additional sales from this program alone. Now, when I get up on a Saturday morning, I already know how much money I am making from that client before I have my first cup of coffee!
Step 3
When you show up to photograph the wedding, you now have the benefit of knowing exactly what family and friends have ordered, and you can “create” the products during the day as you go. If I know that Mom has ordered a 30-print 5×7 Parent Album, it may change the way I shoot certain events during the day. This concept can be applied to just about any situation and any product line.
With digital technology giving wedding photographers all sorts of new challenges to deal with, we need to find ways to separate ourselves from the rest of the pack, and instituting some sort of a Portrait Credit program has the potential to do just that.
In Part 2 of the article I will be discussing how we have integrated the Portrait Credit into our wedding packages and collections, which has enabled us to receive an average of $2000 more from each client.
