February 29, 2024 • 22 mins
The secrets of client conversion mastery with Brenda Eckhardt, a seasoned expert in photography and marketing with two decades of experience. Brenda unveils her foolproof strategies for elevating client consultations, blending fun and ease into every interaction. She reveals how to embed respect and trust into the core of client relationships from the get-go, leveraging your website as a potent pre-consultation educator.
But Brenda doesn’t stop at just sharing wisdom; she guides you through enhancing every facet of the consultation experience. From delivering immediate, personalized value to mastering the art of follow-up, she ensures your business stands out, far beyond a mere appointment. Her strategies are not confined to photography and marketing realms; they’re invaluable for any service-based business eager to attract and secure their ideal clients. If you’re ready to amplify your business’s voice and turn your consultations into a powerful client-attracting force, this is an episode you can’t afford to miss. Transform your approach and watch your business’s visibility soar.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, thanks for coming back to Boost your
Visibility.
I'm Brenda Eckhardt,photographer and marketing coach
.
I've worked the last 20 yearswith people taking you know
photos, doing photo shoots andbuilding a business that,
basically, I out marketed myself.
I became, thankfully, so busythat I had to make some big
(00:21):
changes in order to do my bestwork and I'm not saying that in
a boastful way, those are factsand I don't have a team around
me, I don't have co-workers tobe able to say that after 20
years, that is just how it is.
So, over time, I started tohave photography clients that
(00:44):
also own businesses and Istarted to work with them and
take photos for their products,services and all of those good
things, and then they realizedthat there's a lot more power to
the pictures, but they justdidn't know how to use them.
We're talking when Instagramfirst began.
That's how long I've been doingthis.
(01:05):
So I spent the last two yearssetting my own business aside
meaning photography and coachingto work in real life,
one-on-one with local smallbusinesses, to learn firsthand
and see with my own eyes, hearwith my own ears what the real
(01:26):
struggles are, what are theday-to-day challenges when it
comes to marketing, contentcreation and all of it.
And now this last couple ofmonths, I'm back to doubling
down on my own business andreleasing a lot of those clients
.
They're ready to stand on theirown marketing feet and
(01:49):
basically I have gone in andtaught them everything that I
can possibly help them with andempowered them with the tools
that they need, and that's whatI try to do with this podcast as
well.
So along those lines, I'venoticed some through lines
meaning some similarities towhat I have done as a
(02:11):
photographer that I didn'trealize.
I was creating a system thatworks in any industry.
But one of those systems is theway that I run consultations,
the system that I've createdthat helps me to work smarter
and not harder, and I want toshare that with you so that if
you do consultations, you canconvert those consultations to
(02:34):
either real customers or torefer out if they're just not
for you.
So I'm gonna run through mythought process and how I've
arrived at a 99% conversion rate, meaning when I have a phone or
an in-person consultation at mystudio, whether it's
(02:55):
photography or marketing, 99% ofthe time if I want them to
schedule, like if I'm okay withthem scheduling they schedule.
The other 1% is usually due toyou know them not being clear on
what they want or maybe nothaving it in their budget at the
time.
But the way that what has workedbest for me is to start
(03:19):
pre-educating, and this I highlyrecommend doing pre-educating
through your website, by addingsome verbiage about what your
North Star is, what it is thatyou really would like to bring
to life and how you want to workwith customers, because we need
(03:41):
to remember that we're not foreveryone, and that is okay.
Everyone's not for us either,and I understand if you're in
the early stages of business andyou want to grow.
The tendency is to just workwith anybody that wants to
schedule, and I can tell you,the biggest mistake that can be
(04:02):
made is to just have onlinescheduling with no
pre-qualification of thosepeople.
You're never going to elevateyour business if you just put a
fishing line out for anybodythat wants to bite.
So, with consultations whenpeople schedule with me, there
(04:25):
is a good paragraph about whatthe goal is, and the goal is to
make sure that we are the rightfit for each other.
That does a couple of things.
It helps people to realize thatI I have standards of who I'll
work with, and it's not that Iwill judge people or anything
(04:47):
like that, but there has to be acommon courtesy between us.
There has to be the trust inwhat I know and what I do, that
I'm allowed to do it because,for example, in photography, if
I didn't do that, there would bea lot of moms interrupting me
(05:09):
just as I lift my camera to takea picture, saying no, no, no,
no, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Is that the right angle?
And I can't work like that.
I will never do my best workand my prices are not low.
I've been there where I havehad very low rates and worked my
way up, and now, because of thelevel that I'm working at and
(05:31):
the amount of people that I havein my fold, I need to be smart
about it and I need to make surethat they understand that I
communicate in a certain way andI really do need them trusting
and engaged in the process.
So I highly recommend coming upwith a couple of phrases that
you just keep in your head, thatyou even say in your
(05:54):
consultations, and I have two ofthem that are helpful.
It helps people to kind of snapinto the reality of what this
is and how I work.
One of them is if it's not fun,I'm not going, meaning we cannot
have stress.
This should be fun foreverybody, including me.
(06:14):
Or what's the point?
Life should be fun.
We're only given so many daysand let's make the absolute best
of it.
Let's go have a photo adventureor on the business side, this
should be fun.
Social media or marketingshould not be completely
overwhelming to the point thatyou avoid it.
It should be fun and there areways to bring the joy in it.
(06:36):
For me it's adding in like 80ship hop music into my reels and
those little glints of joy.
So if it's not fun, I'm notgoing.
And number two is if it'sstressy, it gets messy.
Sounds funny, but if it getsstressy it gets messy every time
(06:59):
.
I share that with my customersbecause they do get excited and
get very stressed about things,especially if you have a
business and you have high hopesof getting this marketing going
and you just want to have it go.
Well, but the more you stressabout it, the more you're going
(07:19):
to avoid it, the moreprocrastination comes in.
And then there's impostersyndrome, and that even applies
to photo sessions.
You know, if you are a mom andyou're going to have family
pictures and everybody'sstressed as they're rushing out
the door and everybody'sfighting and dad's grumpy.
I understand that that happens,but don't bring that to the
(07:41):
session is the theme that I tryto talk about, because if we
don't call out all the possiblestruggles, we can't avoid them,
we can't replace them withpositives.
So I talk about that in myconsultations and then that sets
(08:02):
the tone for where we're headed.
And then it's what is yourdream for this partnership?
What would you like from usworking together?
What is your ideal photosession?
Or what is your ideal goal withInstagram and Facebook or email
marketing?
What does that look like foryou?
(08:24):
And then I shut up and listenand I do a lot of repeating the
last few words to let them knowthat I'm listening and I'm
hearing what they're saying,because validation is huge and
it's important that people feellike you're listening in order
to gain, for you to gain theirtrust.
(08:44):
So I do a lot of listening andI do a lot of note taking.
I use acuity scheduling andit's pretty much my client
management software.
So when someone schedules aconsultation, that's where I put
all of my notes.
During the consultation there'sa private box that you can have
notes about the either thesession or the customer's
(09:08):
journey that they'd like formarketing.
Whatever your line of businessis, if it's doing wedding
flowers or if you are a cakedecorator and you have specific
details, that's where you putthat information.
And I'm sure, whatever you usefor your note taking, even if
(09:29):
it's just a pad and paper,taking really good notes so that
you don't forget in thebusyness of the upcoming weeks
between when you meet for aconsultation and when that
transaction actually happens.
So after that, I recap what Iheard, to validate, to make sure
I understand, and then I talkabout what I do best.
(09:52):
And an example on thephotography side is my style, is
their style, but I lean towardnature.
A lot of my work is in naturebecause I feel like people are
very much open up and feel freeand themselves.
It's wide open but yet it'sprivate, so that you don't feel
(10:15):
exposed but yet you're just in abeautiful place.
And with marketing, I like toeither meet at the studio or a
coffee shop or wherever thatbusiness owner is comfortable,
so that we can really capturewhat it is, what the goal is and
what we're both hoping for inthe end.
(10:35):
So after that then you haveyour notes, you have your
understanding of where you'reheaded as together, because you
are going on a journey together.
Nobody's working against eachother, which I do recognize and
see often in a businesstransaction going to a car
(10:59):
dealership, for example A lot oftimes even the sales person
feels like they're going to haveto fight for the sale and
ultimately we all are trying tohead the same direction and we
want the same goal.
So why?
You know there's no need forhard selling, there's just a
need for being real andvalidating the goal and what it
(11:21):
is that you're looking for.
So this creates that personalconnection and the trust and
those dynamics.
So at that point in theconsultation it's helpful to
talk about how.
Again, the purpose of theconsultation is to make sure
we're the right fit for oneanother so we don't schedule a
(11:44):
session or we don't go forwardwith a marketing consulting
partnership.
At that meeting we both need tothink about it and make sure
that they're ready, I'm ready,and that we have the same style
of communicating.
Again, I'm not for everyone,you're not for everyone, and
(12:06):
they're not for you or me, andthat's great, that's okay.
That's how we kind of sloughoff all of the time consuming
miscommunications, struggles,even price complaining and so on
.
So once you've gotten to thatpoint in consultation, then you
(12:28):
talk about rates.
I don't talk about them in thebeginning.
Nobody has the rates beforethat, unless they've really dug
through my scheduling system ormy website.
But I don't just pull out apiece of paper and say here are
my rates.
I say what's your budget?
Do you know what marketingconsultant costs?
(12:49):
Or do you know what aphotographer charges for family
pictures?
What's your experience or yourexpectation?
And then again I'm taking notesand a lot of times it's almost
exactly what I charge, or more.
So don't ever apologize foryour rates.
And in a consultation it'sreally important that you're
(13:09):
confident in what you charge.
So if you have to fake that,fake it.
But that creates the trust andpeople then understand the value
of what you're providing, whatyou bring to the table.
Once we go through rates, westart to hone in on what this
partnership might look like,whether it's with coaching,
(13:33):
would it be through Zoom?
Do we meet in person?
Are you living in Ohio and I'min Wisconsin?
We start to work out thosethings.
And then, what's your schedulelike?
Would you like to meet once aweek, once a month?
Do you just want to have a onetime meeting to see if we can go
through your social media andassess where you're at and get
(13:56):
some quick tips, or do you wantto actually try to really make
this work and do three to six or12 months together and then you
know?
On the photography side it'swhen are you hoping to schedule?
What season are you thinking?
What season is you?
I ask a lot of questions whenit comes to the photography
(14:17):
portion, because here inWisconsin we have a lot of heat
and humidity and mosquitoes andall those things that nobody
ever thinks about.
When you're 17, you just wantto be in the wildflowers and who
doesn't?
But if you turn magenta purplein your cheeks when you're hot,
(14:37):
you probably don't want that inyour pictures.
It's really important to getdown to those granular details,
because not only does it helpyou to do a great job when the
day comes that you're going towork with that person, but it
also helps them to just have asense of relief.
This should not be work for thecustomer unless they're learning
(15:00):
something and uptakinginformation from you.
Your job is to make it easyeven still if that's the case.
So at the end of theconsultation again I repeat what
I'm seeing, what I'm thinkingif I have suggestions, quick
ideas, and I do try to give somequick wins at the end and that
(15:23):
could be like what to wear forbrand photos.
Here in email I'm gonna sendyou is what I'll say.
I'm gonna send you a link tosome inspiration boards for
brand photos so you can startthinking about what you might
want if we're gonna take yourheadshots or your team photos.
This is what a content schedulelooks like for a totally
(15:48):
separate industry, a differentcustomer.
But I want you to be able tosee and imagine how much of
relief that could bring to youto have a really great, solid
plan.
If it's a high school senior,then they get rates.
I'm sorry.
They get what to wearsuggestions, senior guys, high
school senior guys it eventalked my information even talks
(16:12):
about when to shave, when toget a haircut, what belt goes
with what outfit brown versus ablack belt.
What do guys really wear?
Do they really wear a suit?
No, a lot of times parentsassume that that's what they do.
So the number of outfits yousee how specific I get in these
(16:34):
consultations and I don't careif they take this information
and go work with somebody else.
My goal is to empower people andif I just did a free
consultation and they take allthat information and go
somewhere else, that's on them,that's not on me.
If they do, in a year or two oreven a month from now, when
(16:55):
something either doesn't workout or they're struggling or
maybe that other experiencewasn't the best, you know where
they'll be coming right here tome or to you.
So at the consultation, at thevery end, I promise that I'm
gonna send an email and withinan hour they get a thank you
(17:15):
email for coming in.
It is automated and then,depending on the session, it has
that how to prepare things tothink about.
Thank you so much.
All of those good things andthen within a few days I'll send
them an email and say I reallythink that we're on the same
wavelength.
I'm so excited to work with youand I start to bring those
(17:38):
little glints of joy and reliefand excitement to the process
through that email.
It's very short, but I say ifyou'd love to schedule with me,
I'd love for you to schedule.
Here's the link.
Feel free to choose.
Some times it sounds like we'regonna shoot for X month or X
week.
I made sure there's openings.
(17:59):
So that, in a nutshell, is howto run a consultation that will
convert to a customer.
And again, that doesn't meanthat every single consultation
is is going to be your idealcustomer.
But generally when you start tocreate this consultation
process and it doesn't take longit probably takes a day or two
(18:23):
of you really honing in andgetting your system in place of
how you're gonna do this.
Once you have that in place,then you almost pre-engineer the
consultation so that peopledon't even schedule a
consultation if they're not foryou.
They already know it and see itbased on your website
(18:44):
information.
So it really slumps off the thetire kickers, the people that
aren't as serious, and I don'tknow about you, where you're at
in business, but I really am ata stage in my work and my life
where I only want to work withpeople that want to work with me
(19:05):
specifically and maybe thatsounds arrogant, I don't mean to
come from that place, but whywould I want to work with or why
would you want to work withsomeone?
Sorry, hi Sky, I'll call youright back.
That was my daughter, sorry.
(19:26):
Why would we want to work withsomeone that has a list of five
other people that they'recompeting against?
Do I know?
Yes, that is business and thatis how you go about a business
transaction, but that's just notwhat I'm looking for and that
has served me well to not evenconsider that.
(19:46):
I don't ask who they're talkingto or who's my competition, or
are you doing consultations withothers?
I don't care.
I am here to empower youthrough my camera and through
social media or marketing, and Iknow what I do best, and
somebody else has their ownflavor and maybe that's your
(20:07):
flavor.
But if you want to work with meand what you see on my website
and what I've created withothers, then schedule a
consultation.
That's what your website shoulddo for you, as well as your
social media, and I know a lotof people talk about a brand and
what is a brand or your brandmessage?
(20:29):
It's all of it.
It's all of it.
It is all of the authority andconfidence and results that
you've created in the form ofyour garbage on your website,
how easy it is to navigate, howprofessional looking it is, and
then, with your social media,all of those things, but also
(20:51):
your personality, the fun, whatyou put in stories you know
every day or every few days, tohelp show who you are and what
it's like to be with you, whatit's like to work with you, and
if that's fitting for someone,then that's awesome and that's
the fastest, most productive wayto stack your schedule with
(21:16):
qualified consultations thatturn into sessions, that turn
into dollars in your pocket, andthat's the goal.
And this is again coming fromsomebody who I, who literally
out marketed herself.
So I would love it if you askme questions.
If you have questions, you canput them in the comments.
You can always reach me throughmy website, boost your
(21:37):
visibilitynet, and I'd love itif you followed me on Instagram.
It's at Brenda Eckhart and alsothe podcast.
Instagram is at boost yourvisibility and you can follow
there, definitely like andsubscribe.
I would love to have someinteraction from you and to
(21:59):
learn you know what industryyou're in and what you're
looking to learn.
I hope you found this helpfuland I look forward to seeing you
at the next on the next episodeof boost your visibility.
Hey, thanks for coming back to Boost your
Visibility.
I'm Brenda Eckhardt,photographer and marketing coach
.
I've worked the last 20 yearswith people taking you know
photos, doing photo shoots andbuilding a business that,
basically, I out marketed myself.
I became, thankfully, so busythat I had to make some big
(00:21):
changes in order to do my bestwork and I'm not saying that in
a boastful way, those are factsand I don't have a team around
me, I don't have co-workers tobe able to say that after 20
years, that is just how it is.
So, over time, I started tohave photography clients that
(00:44):
also own businesses and Istarted to work with them and
take photos for their products,services and all of those good
things, and then they realizedthat there's a lot more power to
the pictures, but they justdidn't know how to use them.
We're talking when Instagramfirst began.
That's how long I've been doingthis.
(01:05):
So I spent the last two yearssetting my own business aside
meaning photography and coachingto work in real life,
one-on-one with local smallbusinesses, to learn firsthand
and see with my own eyes, hearwith my own ears what the real
(01:26):
struggles are, what are theday-to-day challenges when it
comes to marketing, contentcreation and all of it.
And now this last couple ofmonths, I'm back to doubling
down on my own business andreleasing a lot of those clients
.
They're ready to stand on theirown marketing feet and
(01:49):
basically I have gone in andtaught them everything that I
can possibly help them with andempowered them with the tools
that they need, and that's whatI try to do with this podcast as
well.
So along those lines, I'venoticed some through lines
meaning some similarities towhat I have done as a
(02:11):
photographer that I didn'trealize.
I was creating a system thatworks in any industry.
But one of those systems is theway that I run consultations,
the system that I've createdthat helps me to work smarter
and not harder, and I want toshare that with you so that if
you do consultations, you canconvert those consultations to
(02:34):
either real customers or torefer out if they're just not
for you.
So I'm gonna run through mythought process and how I've
arrived at a 99% conversion rate, meaning when I have a phone or
an in-person consultation at mystudio, whether it's
(02:55):
photography or marketing, 99% ofthe time if I want them to
schedule, like if I'm okay withthem scheduling they schedule.
The other 1% is usually due toyou know them not being clear on
what they want or maybe nothaving it in their budget at the
time.
But the way that what has workedbest for me is to start
(03:19):
pre-educating, and this I highlyrecommend doing pre-educating
through your website, by addingsome verbiage about what your
North Star is, what it is thatyou really would like to bring
to life and how you want to workwith customers, because we need
(03:41):
to remember that we're not foreveryone, and that is okay.
Everyone's not for us either,and I understand if you're in
the early stages of business andyou want to grow.
The tendency is to just workwith anybody that wants to
schedule, and I can tell you,the biggest mistake that can be
(04:02):
made is to just have onlinescheduling with no
pre-qualification of thosepeople.
You're never going to elevateyour business if you just put a
fishing line out for anybodythat wants to bite.
So, with consultations whenpeople schedule with me, there
(04:25):
is a good paragraph about whatthe goal is, and the goal is to
make sure that we are the rightfit for each other.
That does a couple of things.
It helps people to realize thatI I have standards of who I'll
work with, and it's not that Iwill judge people or anything
(04:47):
like that, but there has to be acommon courtesy between us.
There has to be the trust inwhat I know and what I do, that
I'm allowed to do it because,for example, in photography, if
I didn't do that, there would bea lot of moms interrupting me
(05:09):
just as I lift my camera to takea picture, saying no, no, no,
no, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Is that the right angle?
And I can't work like that.
I will never do my best workand my prices are not low.
I've been there where I havehad very low rates and worked my
way up, and now, because of thelevel that I'm working at and
(05:31):
the amount of people that I havein my fold, I need to be smart
about it and I need to make surethat they understand that I
communicate in a certain way andI really do need them trusting
and engaged in the process.
So I highly recommend coming upwith a couple of phrases that
you just keep in your head, thatyou even say in your
(05:54):
consultations, and I have two ofthem that are helpful.
It helps people to kind of snapinto the reality of what this
is and how I work.
One of them is if it's not fun,I'm not going, meaning we cannot
have stress.
This should be fun foreverybody, including me.
(06:14):
Or what's the point?
Life should be fun.
We're only given so many daysand let's make the absolute best
of it.
Let's go have a photo adventureor on the business side, this
should be fun.
Social media or marketingshould not be completely
overwhelming to the point thatyou avoid it.
It should be fun and there areways to bring the joy in it.
(06:36):
For me it's adding in like 80ship hop music into my reels and
those little glints of joy.
So if it's not fun, I'm notgoing.
And number two is if it'sstressy, it gets messy.
Sounds funny, but if it getsstressy it gets messy every time
(06:59):
.
I share that with my customersbecause they do get excited and
get very stressed about things,especially if you have a
business and you have high hopesof getting this marketing going
and you just want to have it go.
Well, but the more you stressabout it, the more you're going
(07:19):
to avoid it, the moreprocrastination comes in.
And then there's impostersyndrome, and that even applies
to photo sessions.
You know, if you are a mom andyou're going to have family
pictures and everybody'sstressed as they're rushing out
the door and everybody'sfighting and dad's grumpy.
I understand that that happens,but don't bring that to the
(07:41):
session is the theme that I tryto talk about, because if we
don't call out all the possiblestruggles, we can't avoid them,
we can't replace them withpositives.
So I talk about that in myconsultations and then that sets
(08:02):
the tone for where we're headed.
And then it's what is yourdream for this partnership?
What would you like from usworking together?
What is your ideal photosession?
Or what is your ideal goal withInstagram and Facebook or email
marketing?
What does that look like foryou?
(08:24):
And then I shut up and listenand I do a lot of repeating the
last few words to let them knowthat I'm listening and I'm
hearing what they're saying,because validation is huge and
it's important that people feellike you're listening in order
to gain, for you to gain theirtrust.
(08:44):
So I do a lot of listening andI do a lot of note taking.
I use acuity scheduling andit's pretty much my client
management software.
So when someone schedules aconsultation, that's where I put
all of my notes.
During the consultation there'sa private box that you can have
notes about the either thesession or the customer's
(09:08):
journey that they'd like formarketing.
Whatever your line of businessis, if it's doing wedding
flowers or if you are a cakedecorator and you have specific
details, that's where you putthat information.
And I'm sure, whatever you usefor your note taking, even if
(09:29):
it's just a pad and paper,taking really good notes so that
you don't forget in thebusyness of the upcoming weeks
between when you meet for aconsultation and when that
transaction actually happens.
So after that, I recap what Iheard, to validate, to make sure
I understand, and then I talkabout what I do best.
(09:52):
And an example on thephotography side is my style, is
their style, but I lean towardnature.
A lot of my work is in naturebecause I feel like people are
very much open up and feel freeand themselves.
It's wide open but yet it'sprivate, so that you don't feel
(10:15):
exposed but yet you're just in abeautiful place.
And with marketing, I like toeither meet at the studio or a
coffee shop or wherever thatbusiness owner is comfortable,
so that we can really capturewhat it is, what the goal is and
what we're both hoping for inthe end.
(10:35):
So after that then you haveyour notes, you have your
understanding of where you'reheaded as together, because you
are going on a journey together.
Nobody's working against eachother, which I do recognize and
see often in a businesstransaction going to a car
(10:59):
dealership, for example A lot oftimes even the sales person
feels like they're going to haveto fight for the sale and
ultimately we all are trying tohead the same direction and we
want the same goal.
So why?
You know there's no need forhard selling, there's just a
need for being real andvalidating the goal and what it
(11:21):
is that you're looking for.
So this creates that personalconnection and the trust and
those dynamics.
So at that point in theconsultation it's helpful to
talk about how.
Again, the purpose of theconsultation is to make sure
we're the right fit for oneanother so we don't schedule a
(11:44):
session or we don't go forwardwith a marketing consulting
partnership.
At that meeting we both need tothink about it and make sure
that they're ready, I'm ready,and that we have the same style
of communicating.
Again, I'm not for everyone,you're not for everyone, and
(12:06):
they're not for you or me, andthat's great, that's okay.
That's how we kind of sloughoff all of the time consuming
miscommunications, struggles,even price complaining and so on
.
So once you've gotten to thatpoint in consultation, then you
(12:28):
talk about rates.
I don't talk about them in thebeginning.
Nobody has the rates beforethat, unless they've really dug
through my scheduling system ormy website.
But I don't just pull out apiece of paper and say here are
my rates.
I say what's your budget?
Do you know what marketingconsultant costs?
(12:49):
Or do you know what aphotographer charges for family
pictures?
What's your experience or yourexpectation?
And then again I'm taking notesand a lot of times it's almost
exactly what I charge, or more.
So don't ever apologize foryour rates.
And in a consultation it'sreally important that you're
(13:09):
confident in what you charge.
So if you have to fake that,fake it.
But that creates the trust andpeople then understand the value
of what you're providing, whatyou bring to the table.
Once we go through rates, westart to hone in on what this
partnership might look like,whether it's with coaching,
(13:33):
would it be through Zoom?
Do we meet in person?
Are you living in Ohio and I'min Wisconsin?
We start to work out thosethings.
And then, what's your schedulelike?
Would you like to meet once aweek, once a month?
Do you just want to have a onetime meeting to see if we can go
through your social media andassess where you're at and get
(13:56):
some quick tips, or do you wantto actually try to really make
this work and do three to six or12 months together and then you
know?
On the photography side it'swhen are you hoping to schedule?
What season are you thinking?
What season is you?
I ask a lot of questions whenit comes to the photography
(14:17):
portion, because here inWisconsin we have a lot of heat
and humidity and mosquitoes andall those things that nobody
ever thinks about.
When you're 17, you just wantto be in the wildflowers and who
doesn't?
But if you turn magenta purplein your cheeks when you're hot,
(14:37):
you probably don't want that inyour pictures.
It's really important to getdown to those granular details,
because not only does it helpyou to do a great job when the
day comes that you're going towork with that person, but it
also helps them to just have asense of relief.
This should not be work for thecustomer unless they're learning
(15:00):
something and uptakinginformation from you.
Your job is to make it easyeven still if that's the case.
So at the end of theconsultation again I repeat what
I'm seeing, what I'm thinkingif I have suggestions, quick
ideas, and I do try to give somequick wins at the end and that
(15:23):
could be like what to wear forbrand photos.
Here in email I'm gonna sendyou is what I'll say.
I'm gonna send you a link tosome inspiration boards for
brand photos so you can startthinking about what you might
want if we're gonna take yourheadshots or your team photos.
This is what a content schedulelooks like for a totally
(15:48):
separate industry, a differentcustomer.
But I want you to be able tosee and imagine how much of
relief that could bring to youto have a really great, solid
plan.
If it's a high school senior,then they get rates.
I'm sorry.
They get what to wearsuggestions, senior guys, high
school senior guys it eventalked my information even talks
(16:12):
about when to shave, when toget a haircut, what belt goes
with what outfit brown versus ablack belt.
What do guys really wear?
Do they really wear a suit?
No, a lot of times parentsassume that that's what they do.
So the number of outfits yousee how specific I get in these
(16:34):
consultations and I don't careif they take this information
and go work with somebody else.
My goal is to empower people andif I just did a free
consultation and they take allthat information and go
somewhere else, that's on them,that's not on me.
If they do, in a year or two oreven a month from now, when
(16:55):
something either doesn't workout or they're struggling or
maybe that other experiencewasn't the best, you know where
they'll be coming right here tome or to you.
So at the consultation, at thevery end, I promise that I'm
gonna send an email and withinan hour they get a thank you
(17:15):
email for coming in.
It is automated and then,depending on the session, it has
that how to prepare things tothink about.
Thank you so much.
All of those good things andthen within a few days I'll send
them an email and say I reallythink that we're on the same
wavelength.
I'm so excited to work with youand I start to bring those
(17:38):
little glints of joy and reliefand excitement to the process
through that email.
It's very short, but I say ifyou'd love to schedule with me,
I'd love for you to schedule.
Here's the link.
Feel free to choose.
Some times it sounds like we'regonna shoot for X month or X
week.
I made sure there's openings.
(17:59):
So that, in a nutshell, is howto run a consultation that will
convert to a customer.
And again, that doesn't meanthat every single consultation
is is going to be your idealcustomer.
But generally when you start tocreate this consultation
process and it doesn't take longit probably takes a day or two
(18:23):
of you really honing in andgetting your system in place of
how you're gonna do this.
Once you have that in place,then you almost pre-engineer the
consultation so that peopledon't even schedule a
consultation if they're not foryou.
They already know it and see itbased on your website
(18:44):
information.
So it really slumps off the thetire kickers, the people that
aren't as serious, and I don'tknow about you, where you're at
in business, but I really am ata stage in my work and my life
where I only want to work withpeople that want to work with me
(19:05):
specifically and maybe thatsounds arrogant, I don't mean to
come from that place, but whywould I want to work with or why
would you want to work withsomeone?
Sorry, hi Sky, I'll call youright back.
That was my daughter, sorry.
(19:26):
Why would we want to work withsomeone that has a list of five
other people that they'recompeting against?
Do I know?
Yes, that is business and thatis how you go about a business
transaction, but that's just notwhat I'm looking for and that
has served me well to not evenconsider that.
(19:46):
I don't ask who they're talkingto or who's my competition, or
are you doing consultations withothers?
I don't care.
I am here to empower youthrough my camera and through
social media or marketing, and Iknow what I do best, and
somebody else has their ownflavor and maybe that's your
(20:07):
flavor.
But if you want to work with meand what you see on my website
and what I've created withothers, then schedule a
consultation.
That's what your website shoulddo for you, as well as your
social media, and I know a lotof people talk about a brand and
what is a brand or your brandmessage?
(20:29):
It's all of it.
It's all of it.
It is all of the authority andconfidence and results that
you've created in the form ofyour garbage on your website,
how easy it is to navigate, howprofessional looking it is, and
then, with your social media,all of those things, but also
(20:51):
your personality, the fun, whatyou put in stories you know
every day or every few days, tohelp show who you are and what
it's like to be with you, whatit's like to work with you, and
if that's fitting for someone,then that's awesome and that's
the fastest, most productive wayto stack your schedule with
(21:16):
qualified consultations thatturn into sessions, that turn
into dollars in your pocket, andthat's the goal.
And this is again coming fromsomebody who I, who literally
out marketed herself.
So I would love it if you askme questions.
If you have questions, you canput them in the comments.
You can always reach me throughmy website, boost your
(21:37):
visibilitynet, and I'd love itif you followed me on Instagram.
It's at Brenda Eckhart and alsothe podcast.
Instagram is at boost yourvisibility and you can follow
there, definitely like andsubscribe.
I would love to have someinteraction from you and to
(21:59):
learn you know what industryyou're in and what you're
looking to learn.
I hope you found this helpfuland I look forward to seeing you
at the next on the next episodeof boost your visibility.
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