394: Patrick Boucousis – How to be a better salesperson in your photography business

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Patrick Boucousis of www.thesalesnatural.com and Mike McDerment of www.freshbooks.com both feature in today's episode.

Patrick is a sales coach who I learned about from photographer and PhotoBizX member, Adrian Harrison, who said in his email to me, after working with Patrick…

As for results, I get to a much deeper level of conversation with potential buyers which builds trust faster. It's not just a price game now. I have won more jobs and larger jobs (the biggest was a $12K job and my first $25K client – although these aren't the norm they aren't one-offs either).

Oh and in the past often a marketing assistant will contact me for a quote. Recently I've been able to get the manager (decision maker) on a Zoom call too which pushes my chances of winning the sale higher.

All in all, Patrick has been a great help and I have certainly progressed (I'm still learning and not there yet hehe) in my skills.

That was enough to have me reaching out to Patrick for this interview where he shares the real secret to successful sales – particularly if you want to be selling products – wall art and albums or experiences – to your photography clients. In this interview, learn how to be a better salesperson in your photography business

Here's some more of what we cover in the interview with Patrick:

• Defining what sales is
• Who are the most effective sales people
• How to increase your chances of a successful sale
• The best way to engage in conversation with potential leads
• A sales experts view on showing your pricing on your website
• How to handle pricing objections from photography clients
• Script guides to help get the conversation going
• The importance of rehearsing possible conversations you will have with clients
• Why you need to prepare canned responses
• Brainstorm responses with colleagues to figure out the right things to say to clients
• Why focusing on the sale is not good for your business
• Talk about impressions, results and outcomes instead of the product
• The real secret to selling photography
• How to create an environment where clients are sure to buy
• What is trust
• How to gain trust from clients and how not to lose their trust
• Differentiating price and value
• Using your professional skills and knowledge to answer client questions, not in making statements
• Curiosity as a good attribute for every salesperson
• Should you tell your customer what sets you apart from other photographers
• The difference between cost and price



Mike McDerment also features in this episode and is not a photographer but knows what it takes to start, build and run a successful business.

He is the Co-Founder and CEO of FreshBooks; cloud-based accounting software for small business.

He spent 3.5 years growing the business from his parents’ basement. Since launching in 2003, over 24 MILLION people have used FreshBooks.

He's also the co-author of the book Breaking The Time Barrier, which teaches self-employed professionals how to price their services. It's been downloaded more than 300,000 times and has received terrific praise.

Here's some more of what we cover in the interview with Mike:

• What is Freshbooks and what is the best way to use it
• When is the right time to use accounting software for your business
• The difference between Quickbooks and Freshbooks
• What is value-based billing
• Is forecasting your annual sales good business practice for small operators
• Understanding the value you offer to customers
• Why you should not advertise your price list on your website
• How Mike almost killed his Freshbooks business
• The importance of understanding your customer
• Using phone calls to follow up on clients
• Asking the right questions to get the answer you want from your customers

What’s on Offer for Premium Members

If you’re a premium member, you should have received an email with links to your version of this interview – the full length and more revealing version where you hear the absolute best tips and advice from every guest.

If you’re on the fence about becoming a premium member, join with the $1 trial today and get access to the FULL interviews each week, get access to an amazing back catalogue of interviews and ALL future interviews delivered automatically to your phone or tablet.

Plus special member-only interviews.

Sales is not about products or services. Sales is about buyers. It's about people. It's about the people that consumes those things. – Patrick Boucousis

You'll also receive access to the members-only Secret Facebook Group where you can connect with other Premium Members and interview guests to help, support and motivate you to take ideas you hear in each episode and put them into action. There are also FB live video tutorials, role-play interviews and special live interviews happening in the group. You will not find more friendly, more motivated, caring and sharing photographers online.

Seriously, that's not all.

In addition to everything above, you'll get access to and instructions on forming or joining a MasterMind Group with other premium members. These groups are super motivating, make you accountable and build friendships with other pro photographers with similar motives to you – to build a more successful photography business.

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Patrick and Mike shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below, let me know what your takeaways were, what you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode.

The way you gain trust is to let the other person talk. You can't grow trust. – Patrick Boucousis

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Patrick and Mike or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to add them in the comments area below.

iTunes Reviews and Shout-outs

Each week I check for any new iTunes reviews and it's always a buzz to receive these… for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it's confirmation that I'm on the right track with the interviews and that they really are helping you improve your photography business. That's awesome!

Secondly, iTunes is the biggest search engine when it comes to podcasts and it's your reviews and ratings that help other photographers find PhotoBizX. More listeners mean more interviews and ultimately a better show.

If you have left a review in the past, thank you! If you haven't and you'd like to, head to https://photobizx.com/itunes and you can leave some honest feedback and a rating which will help both me and the show and I'll be sure to thank you on the show and add a link to your website or blog if you let me know the URL of your website and your name.

It's not about me. It's not about my product. It's about you and you being happy. – Patrick Boucousis

Alternatively, if you've left a review for PhotoBizX and are looking for more backlinks to help your SEO, leave a review for the new Photography Xperiment Podcast and email me your keywords or keyword phrase and where you'd like me to link to.

Another great way to get a backlink to your site is to send a video testimonial. It doesn't need to be fancy and your phone will be perfect. Click record and tell me how PhotoBizX has made a difference to you and your photography business.