Once you’ve got clients by virtue of your awards, genius moments, press, and other social proof — click here if you missed the article about this — you’ll want to learn to sell your wares to ‘em.

But before you sell, you’ve got to get yourself a brand new mindset.

Lemme explain.

I entered the photography business by sheer…luck, fate, or universal mojo. I had zero talent, no experience with sales, and major stranger danger. What do you mean, I have to talk to everyone who enters the store?

I just knew I wanted OUT of my job and working at MotoPhoto, a photography studio/film lab, seemed as good a fit as any.

I quickly established a pattern for sales.

I had some software to use and some images to upload from the card reader, then I walked the client through every single image I’d just shot. Yes. Every single image — blinks, outtakes, mistakes, and strobe misfires. It was painful for everyone involved.

The clients ran all over me. Because I was just letting them see the photos — not guiding the sale, because what did I know about sales!? — their demands were outrageous. I obliged.

Show me that one again! Yes, one more time!

Can we go back to the beginning and start over?

Are you sure we can’t try taking a few more photos? ::goes into studio and takes more photos::

I’m not sure any of these are what we’re looking for.

Can you show me how that will look when it’s retouched? ::opens Photoshop and retouches::

Over and over, again and again, I learned that to take control — I had to TAKE it.

Control of the sales session is never given on a silver platter.

It was only my confidence that would allow me to say, “This is what we’re going to do” and then follow through on the sales steps.

If you’ve ever experienced that floundering moment when you lose control of the session to client demands, you know how important (and scary!) this moment can be.

Thing is, you’re doing the clients a favor by taking control of the sales session!  You’re actually allowing them to put all of your expert knowledge and wisdom to use.  

Let me repeat: you are doing your clients a favor by taking control of the sales session. 

Sitting back, relaxing, and letting someone else do the heavy lifting for decision-making is the ultimate service for your clients.

Back to those “sales steps” I mentioned — where did they come from?  I was making them up as I went along.

I went to a workshop to learn sales and the topic was mentioned for about twenty minutes. I went to a one-day seminar about marketing, and it was a thinly-veiled pitch for the sponsoring company. I attended a 3-day training in Atlantic City and was disappointed again.

The knowledge I needed simply did not exist in the photographic industry! I could buy DVDs of “rockstar” photographers in their million-dollar studios, lavishing ipods and prizes on clients perched upon $7,000 couches, but I couldn’t find simple sales information that would apply to me. To where I was — just trying to up my sales commission so I could stop racking up credit card debt and actually pay for groceries.

Months passed. Sales were getting better, meaning they’d increased from a $79 average to somewhere around a $149 average. (You’re jealous, I know.)

I was starting to figure out my own sales process. I was learning Photoshop and routinely retouching ordered prints. I was creating simpler packages that made sense to clients.  My boss was watching with sheer awe as I sold $300 and $400 packages routinely — an unheard-of feat in the studio!

Cut to 2011. I’m working with totally broke peeps in the photographic industry. When they ask how to sell, I know I can’t recommend sinking money into new equipment or sales training. I improvise, sending them off with a two-page document and asking ‘em to report back with their sales session experiences.

They were blown away. Many came back with their highest sales EVER — and more importantly, the confidence to keep pursuing their dreams. That two-page document became the basis for Sales Without Shame, which teaches you how to sell your portraits effectively and simply in person.

Every mistake I made and horror story I experienced over the course of those years holding multiple sales sessions per day has been translated into useful, actionable information in Sales Without Shame.

Step by step, I’ll help you communicate with clients more clearly, avoid the heartbreak of small sales, and love your business more than you thought possible.

I’ve been where you are, and I’ve created the program I would have given my left arm (and leg!) for access to a few years ago.

Your presence and your willingness to learn are all you need to start selling without shame.

Tell me, what scares YOU most about selling?

You can bet I’ve been there, and I’d love to help you work through your fears.  Lemme know in the comments below.  (And if you haven’t yet downloaded the free Sales Without Shame sampler — get on that!)