The chair of a successful photographer has four legs. You may be able to sit on a chair with just one leg but it won’t take long before you fall over. A second leg might buy you a little extra time on the chair but you will fall. It’s possible to sit on a three legged chair for the duration of a career but it won’t be a comfortable one. So you need a chair with four solid legs if you want to make it as a pro shooter. In the first article we talked about QUALITY and in this second one we’ll focus on SERVICE.
Today, everyone wants to be a photographer. I don’t know why but for some reason many people feel attracted to the prospect of shooting pretty girls in various stages of undressing, watching sunsets on exotic beaches, being paid to go to crazy parties or just hanging out on the street all day with a camera. The fact is that competition is fierce these days and there are millions of talented people out there who have the same access to information that you have. By ensuring you provide top quality, you’ll position yourself at the upper end of that large group but quality alone will probably not enough to be (and stay) successful.
Quality is what will make clients come to you but SERVICE is what makes them coming back time and time again. It doesn’t matter what field of photography you are in, service is extremely important.
Service starts with you being a nice person to do business with. Be polite, be fun, be helpful, your clients will appreciate that a great deal. Would you do business with a grumpy bastard if there’s someone down the road who sells the same product with a genuine smile on his face? I know I won’t, and I even wouldn’t mind spending a bit more with the friendly guy. Many photographers think that being a pretentious prick is cool. Here’s a surprise … it isn’t.
Another thing I learned is that your smallest clients may become really big ones over time. So never pinhole your clients into classifications. One of my best earning portrait sessions ever was for a single mom who I’d almost turned down thinking she couldn’t afford it. It’s not that she had lots of money but the pictures of her and her daughter where so precious to her that she saved up to buy lots of large prints. In the mean time she has come back to me twice, got me at least five new portrait clients and the company she works for became a big client.
That, my friends, was a pretty humbling experience. Since that day I never judged another book by it’s cover.
You really want to make sure that you understand what your client expects and that they understand what and when you will deliver. The best way to avoid discussions afterwards is to put that in writing. It doesn’t always have to be a signed contract, an e-mail can be all that’s necessary most of the time.
When you promise something, make sure you keep that promise. This implies that you know that you can make that picture even when it rains and that you can meet that deadline even if your computer crashes halfway into the editing.
I believe in exceeding expectations. I even made it a business policy. I always try to deliver better and more pictures in a faster turnaround time than agreed upon. People will remember the photographer that delivered more than promised. And in the rare occasion that things get screwed up really bad, I’m the one who has some more leeway to fix things than the guy who promised something he can deliver only 90% of the time.
You may want to not overdo this exceeding thing. If I promised a turnaround time of five days, I will present the picture in three of four days even if they have been processed on day one. Clients will get used to your service over time and some will expect it even if it’s not what’s agreed upon. You don’t want to set the expectations higher than you know you can deliver time after time.
Some photographers charge an extra fee for rush jobs. I’m not against it but I usually don’t do it myself. I’ve saved a good amount of people’s asses by making the impossible possible. It happens that an employee of one of my clients screws up and thinks about hiring a photographer way too late. If you can help that person out by juggling your schedule or maybe hire another photographer who you trust, that person will be very thankful to you, believe me. Don’t get cocky about saving his butt and don’t mention the ordeal you went through to make it happen to his boss.
I’m pretty sure you could have charged 10% extra for such a rush job but then that person doesn’t have to be thankful to you, he payed for it, right? Not charging extra makes this guy your best sales rep within his company.
Again, you don’t want to overdo this thing to avoid taking advantage of your goodness.
You need to establish the level of service that your market wants. Talk to your clients to find out and make sure you meet that level. This will give you a good foundation to build upon but why don’t you take it a step further. Think about ways to provided an added value to your clients. If you offer some relevant services that none of your competitors does, you don’t have any competitors anymore.
I worked in some corporate jobs before I finally made the jump to photography and one thing that all big companies have in common is the use of SLA’s or Service Level Agreements. They have this document that states the minimum service that has to be provided by the company to it’s clients. I think it’s a good idea to write your own SLA so you always have a guideline.
A good service level is what allows you to be THE photographer instead of A photographer. All my corporate clients have a pool of photographers and I started out being just a photographer in that pool. By being easy to work with, constantly exceeding an already good service level and saving someone from being fired from time to time, I’ve become THE photographer in the pool even though I’m not the cheapest of the bunch. Take the plunge, improve your service and become THE photographer.
This article is the second in a four part series. You can read part 1 here.
) tear it apart filled with expectation. Did she really buy me that new lens I’ve been longing for all year ? Maybe she got my hints about that new camera I’ve been drooling over ? The paper comes off, you throw it over your shoulder and open the cardboard box, you dig and pull out the long awaited gift … WHAT ? Another sweater ? Damn it !!!!!
