Thank you again to everyone who made it out to Teasim on very cold and blustery Monday night. January was our largest PUG event in more than 8 months! I hope that we continue to see our events grow in the new year, because I believe that true success only comes when you have a strong network of piers supporting one another other which simultaneously strengthening our industry.
What I took away from our round (actually very long rectangular) table discussion, was that you are all amazing leaders! Every single one of you has creative ideas, tremendous passion and persistence along with a huge desire to learn. I walked away from the PUG with a renewed sense of excitement for what I believe we can all accomplish as individuals in our photography businesses, but also as a community.
I was not surprised to hear that many of us have similar goals for 2011. What I believe it all boils down to is connecting more with our clients, and being more comfortable with sales. For some of you there was also a strong desire to nurture your inner artist, to reconnect with what got you into photography in the first place. I also felt like I was hearing many of you reaching out for help, guidance, whether it be in new endeavors or revamping practices you already have in place. I was encouraged with the turn out this month because I believe that we all have something unique that we are good at, that can and needs to be shared. We have such a vast array of photographers in this area, there is no reason why we can’t all help one another to become the best business person and artist we each want to be (does that sound too much like the army slogan).
A post comes to mind that our very own Pictage CEO wrote not long ago with the title – “It’s not always pricing”. In reading Jim’s post, he reconfirmed something that I have always thought, but have never been able to eloquently express. In his post Jim talks about gaining a better understanding of your clients before meeting with them. We often look outside ourselves when the work isn’t coming in. We wonder why clients are calling, and when they call, why they don’t book. I do believe that one of the major factors of our success or lack there of hinges a fair amount on how we present ourselves to the client. The more we can understand why a specific client is contacting us before setting up the first meeting, the better. If you get the chance you must read Jim’s post http://lifenotes-justuff.blogspot.com/
So, with that said, the plan for our Feb 21st meeting which will help address sales as well help us all to take a long hard look at how we present ourselves, we will be…..drum roll please….
ROLL PLAYING! I know what you are all thinking, but wipe that crazy thought out of your head! We will divide ourselves into groups of three and switch rolls, going from, photographer to bride to groom, and we may even throw in a MOTHER OF THE BRIDE! I think that many of us underestimate the power of the face to face meeting. It never hurts to reexamine how and why we present ourselves the way we do. At the end of each round of photog, bride, groom pairings, there will be time for feedback given to the one in the photog hot seat. So come prepared with what you would bring to a normal meeting, and lets take this opportunity to help one another with constructive critique on our presentation and sales.
Thank you all for being a part of this fantastic group, I see us all working towards and accomplishing the businesses and personal photography goals we all really want this year. And stay tuned, I will be asking all of you to contribute to a new note on our facebook page where I would like for all of you to write down your suggestions and desires for future PUG meetings.
And last but not least, next on our agenda, I would like to talk about setting up portfolio reviews. Next to understanding the hows and whys of the ways in which we interact with our clients, it is vital that we continually revisit our photography and get constructive critique on the images themselves.
We’re off to a great start folks.
Here’s to a hugely successful 2011 for all of us!
Sarah
