I love getting questions from Brand Camp blog readers! From a lovely photographer in Dallas…

Here’s the way it works for my business. I do an in-home client proofing session with projector and large screen. I post them online and give them 10 days to place their orders. I nag them if they don’t. This last part feels like babysitting and drives me crazy and is a waste of my time. I tell them there is a $25 fee if I have to re-post their web gallery.

I don’t like the “pressure them at the slideshow so they’ll buy right then” method because I don’t expect everyone to make $700 decisions on the spot. I used to offer a 10% discount if they order at the slideshow viewing but now that I’ve used Easy as Pie, I don’t want to lower my prices by offering yet another discount.

How do I get customers to get off their asses and place their orders?

Dear Dallas: A few simple tips can change your clients from feet-dragging to downright spiffy order-placer-people. (That’s the very technical term for them. The Latin? Spendmoneyicus-nowicus.)

Call your session an ORDERING session.

Not proofing, previewing, viewing, or revealing. Straight up, cash-taking, money-talking, order-placing ORDERING.

Take portrait orders on the spot.

I absolutely expect people to make $700 portrait-purchasing decisions on the spot. I don’t have the time to hold 2 or 3 ordering sessions to get one order, and I’ll bet you don’t either. I’m not into high pressure sales, but you’ll find that simply having the expectation of ordering yields…orders. If we’ve designated Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. as our ordering session, we’re going to order, dammit!

Offer portrait collections only at the time of your ordering appointment.

In other words, if you’re going to inconvenience me by ‘talking it over’ for three days while your order total drops by 40 to 60 percent, you’re going to be paying a la carte pricing. If you’d like to enjoy the discounts of collection pricing, you’re going to have to order at our convenient and ridiculously awesome in-home ordering appointment.

Narrow the online gallery window to 72 hours.

If your clients absolutely, positively cannot make a decision and are willing to defer to a la carte pricing, let them choose the 72 hours when they’d like to have their order online. If they choose that window, there’s no excuse for a baseball game or concert or cheerleading practice keeping them from placing their order.

Charge a higher gallery republishing fee.

A $25 fee is inconvenient, yes, but if it’s $75 or more, it’s downright profitable! The higher the price, the more likely that this fee will never have to be charged and your orders will be placed on time.

(If you need more tips like this for rocking the sales and projection with your portrait photography clients, I recommend buying the Projection and Sales Merit Badge.    Shameless, I know.)

This has no reason, but it makes me happy.  Stressed about clients? Christmas? Orders? Bills?  AGH?  Just watch.

If you’d like to submit a question for the blog, use the contact form to hit me with it!