Every week I hear from photographers how hard it is these days to make money.  What surprises me is a lot of these photographers aren’t doing In Person Sales. There’s 2 ways to make more money in a photography business – increase your client base or increase your average sale. In Person Sales is by far the easiest way to increase your average sale.

I recently read a great article by The Modern Tog which highlights what a difference In Person Sales can make to your business. Yes, it will take more time and effort but the rewards are well worth it!

Take it the next step and seal the deal when your customer arrives by using Sue Bryce’s incredible Reveal Wall.  Sue Bryce is one of my favourite photographers and whilst recently going through her blog I come across one of my favourite posts – the Reveal Wall. Sue come up with the idea of her Reveal Wall years ago and the concept is brilliant. Sue packages her portrait sales in Portfolios using Frame Mounts to mount her prints. Before an in person sales session she prints her favourite 30 images, slides them into the Frame Mounts and has them on display when her client arrives. When the client walks in they see 30 beautifully printed and mounted images and she can pick them up and hold them. It’s a tangible product that the client not only see’s but can hold.  She then chooses which images she would like to take home. The beauty of this is the client sees gorgeous prints, not images on a screen, she’s excited to see the finished product and she can leave the sales presentation with her completed Portfolio. The beauty for the photographer is the portrait session is totally wrapped up – sale is complete, product handed over and all work done. Next client please!

I can hear some people now – but what if she doesn’t buy them all? So what! What have you lost? We all know the cost of a print and you build this into your pricing.  You can now slide the unwanted print out of the Frame Mount and reuse the mount in your next session.

Click here for Sue’s full Reveal Wall post.  I also highly recommend every portrait photographer check out Sue’s educational website. This site includes videos and tutorials on posing, lighting, sales, marketing – everything you need to run a successful portrait studio.

Do you have any tips for in person sales you’d like to share with your fellow photographers?  We’d love to hear your feedback.