By Hannah Freeland
There are many ways to show your confidence or lack of it, it could be your wardrobe, your language or maybe the way you hold yourself.
Today I want to talk to you about showing your confidence in the three areas that are the most important in order to succeed in this industry.
- Confidence in your images
- Confidence in your service
- Confidence in your prices
Confidence in your images
Ok, I’m starting with the obvious, confidence in your images. Without this your business is going to stutter. There are a few exercises that can propel the rate you believe in your images and feel the true confidence. You need to be able to assess your images without too many personal emotions to enable you to get better. Easier said than done, believe me I know. However, if you can master the art of hearing feedback, assessing your images and getting over the emotional toll it can take, you will get better and better and therefore your confidence boost is natural and worthy.
Raise your confidence by:
- Education/Mentoring/Portfolio Review
- Submit a panel to a professional body for feedback
- Enter awards
Now lets focus on showing your clients the confidence you feel in your images. Hold your hand up if you use these sentences…
“I hope you’re going to love your images”
“Im pretty sure I have some lovely images of you and your horse”
“Fingers crossed you will love them all”
Really listen to what you’re saying here. Using the word ‘hope’, they immediately think “Oh boy, I hope so to” and worse of all, they may start thinking that its their fault that you’re not sure whether you have a wonderful set of image.
Here is the fix – yup, I’m giving you the full fix and you’ll never have to sound unconfident again about your images. Ready?
I want you to say:
“I know you are going to love your images”
“I know we nailed gorgeous images of you and your horse”
“Oh my, you are going to LOVE all of them!”
Now you’ve told your clients that you are good at your job, that they nailed the shoot, so did their horse and they should be looking forward to seeing the images. This isn’t cocky, or big headed – this is confidence that your clients are looking for. Believing in your images should be fundamental, don’t let yourself down by not believing.
Confidence in your service
Who here has taken time to walk through the experience you offer your clients? Does this fill you with confidence?
In order for your client to trust you and feel confident they need to be managed well. If something is going to take 6 weeks, tell them it will take 6 weeks. Don’t tell them 4 weeks because thats what they want to hear and then they feel let down when it takes 6 weeks.
Confidence in your service is all about ensuring you have your ‘ducks in a row’. Each step of the process has been thought about and processes have been put into place.
As soon as a client asks about the next phase of the experience and you don’t know, they loose confidence and so do you.
Top Tip:
Map out the perfect client experience, here’s an example for you:
- Take clients payment
- Confirm via email and in writing
- Send them a welcome pack and style guide
- book in call before the shoot
- double check all shoot details 48hrs before shoot
- SHOOT
- Confirm viewing dates 24hrs after shoot
- Remind them about viewing 48hrs before and confirm directions and timings
- VIEWING
- Confirm order in writing
- Confirm delivery options and timings
- Delivery and follow up thank you letter
You can add as much as you would like to this, but having a solid workflow for your clients builds huge confidence.
Confidence in your pricing
Ok, who has had the question, “How much is that frame?” and you say “ummm, well, I think, it’s around, let me have a look, Ill get back to you, sorry”
If that sounds familiar, lets turn that around right now! Firstly, do not EVER apologise for your prices. Your prices are your prices and you never have to justify them.
I hear you shouting, “Hannah, my clients will ask my why my frames cost £600 when they can go to John Lewis and get one for £100”
Do you know when they will push back like that? When they hear you don’t have confidence in your prices. I know that my clients cannot walk into John Lewis and buy the frame that Im offering, do you know why? Because John Lewis doesn’t have the image that makes it priceless for my clients.
Feel this confidence with your pricing and you will start attracting clients who enjoy spending money with confident people. No one asks Tiffany & Co to justify their paper clip bookmark that they sell for £155, because they have confidence tin the product.
The other side to your pricing confidence is having a professional price list. No picking numbers out of the sky, get those numbers down on a nicely presented price list and never, ever apologise for them.
As soon as your client asks how much that frame is, say with confidence “That frame is £600, would you like one or two?”
Ill leave you with…
Confidence does not come easily or naturally to most – especially creatives. Go through this post and implement as much as you can.
Believe in what you produce and how you produce it so that your clients can too.
Lastly, compare the 2:
A £25 photo shoot, no processes, no price list, unconfident and not quite sure how long things will take.
£495 photo shoot. Processes all in place. Have a printed out price list and everything is clear and concise.