(photo credit: the AMAZING Ashley Rae)
So, your dream photographer, the one you’ve been crushing on for a couple months now, FINALLY writes you back and says YES! I’d love to hear more about your editing services!
Sweet!
Right?!
Then it sinks in…
Now you ACTUALLY have to explain your processes and firm up their commitment.
Nerves creep in…
What do I say?
Should I just be myself?
Should I be locked on professional?
What questions are they going to ask me?
Okay, okay! Slow down a minute.
The first thing you need to understand is the mindset of a photographer looking to outsource. Here’s what you should expect:
- They are SUPER busy! That’s why they want you! They know outsourcing is the answer to their prayers for getting their life back, and how to get a break during the week so they can spend time with their family and relax before the next wedding weekend. Freedom in TIME is what they are most interested in!
- THEIR editing is THEIR baby! This is a REALLY BIG deal for them to trust someone with their edits and they want to be sure it’s the right thing to do.
- They don’t know the private editing process, and frankly, they don’t have the time to figure it out :) They might have also had a bad past experience outsourcing with a big box editing company on their mind.
Add all that up, and you get a huge WIN-WIN for you and the photographer. Really.
And here is how you use that information to land them :)
First, you need to sell them on the benefit, not the service. In other words, they know that you are technically providing photo edits, clearly. But the impact of that is something different…
TIME!
You need to keep the concept of giving them their time back a theme throughout your interactions.
Then, focus on the service.
Explain to them that you are here to implement THEIR artistic style. Period.
Trust me, they don’t want you to take their edits in a different direction. They want their baby to still look like THEIR BABY when you get done babysitting, so to speak ;)
This is going to ease a lot of their anxiety knowing you already understand that. Explaining your experience and why you’re qualified to handle their edits should take care of the rest.
And finally…
Focus on your ESTABLISHED processes.
Ease their mind by explaining that they don’t need to worry about the workflow at all. You’ve developed proven systems that you are ready to implement RIGHT NOW. Literally. Be ready to send them data transfer instructions the second you complete the conversation.
Knowing your processes and being able to confidently explain them will further ease the photographer’s mind AND save them…
TIME
Yep, you’re catching on! It’s all about giving them their time back and that starts at the very beginning before they commit to you :)
But what if you don’t have established processes?
You need them, and don’t worry – that’s exactly why I’ve created The Profitable Editor’s Kit, to show the EXACT systems I’ve developed from over 5 years of private photo editing experience with some of the best photographers in the industry.