As we’ve gone through this series, I’ve basically taken you step-by-step from the very first email inquiry all the way now to the moment when the doorbell rings and I meet the couple for the first time. Remember how I said it can feel like an awkward first date?

It doesn’t have to!

I’m an introvert by nature, but in this business I have to work every day to be comfortable in extroverted scenarios. It hasn’t been easy doing consults, but over time, it has gotten so much more comfortable.

Create a focus topic. 

Ask if the directions were okay; if they found the place without any trouble. Ask about how work is. Ask about their dog (if they have one; most of my clients have dogs and they’ve usually already spoken about them in email).

I’ve created certain conversation pieces throughout my home from the doorway into the living room. One is an enormous, stunning canvas in the entryway by my good friend Jill. Another is my piano shelf that my dad made for me for Christmas one year. And, ironically, I have a lot of clients also buying or recently bought homes and they like to talk about my paint colors. (In case you wanna know, they think I’m a genius paint-color picker!)

It doesn’t necessarily matter what the topics are, but create a comfortable environment right at the front of the door; from the get-go.

Don’t talk about prices.

This isn’t a trick, I’m not scamming, and my prices aren’t a secret.

But if prices come up right away, I’ve immediately taken away all personal aspects of relationship-building and have become strictly a salesperson. I’m a service-based business. I thrive on relationships. I WANT to get to know my clients and vice versa. So I wait for pricing talk until the very end.

Instead, we talk about how they met, what they like to do together, how they got engaged, etcetera.

Show examples.

Clients who come to me have already seen my website so they know my style of photography, but I like to have tangible examples of what they can expect as well.

One way of sharing the tangible is by having sample albums available. I used the best album lab in the world whose quality is seriously unmatched. (I’ve yet to find another album company as good as my Madera.) It’s important that couples can pick up the leather albums and turn the pages. Not only are they seeing other weddings I’ve done in full and the style with which I design my albums, but it gives them a marker for quality to expect–both with my photography and with the end product of a wedding album.

I also use my iPad in conjuction with Apple TV to show them how awesome PASS is as well as an example of one of my client +Sites (a personalized client site), which I include free to all of my wedding clients.

End on a high note.

I currently offer a same-day booking discount. It comes with no obligations and no pressure, but many clients come prepared to book me anyway so it’s a win-win to go ahead and get the date booked right away if they’re ready.

No matter how you conduct your consults, be true to yourself and your brand.

Things I’ve learned over the years is that no one person or business does it perfectly. In my early years, I was a sponge and absorbed everything as if it were the Bible of business. Then I realized that it doesn’t work like that. You have to learn to take pieces of advice from different sources and create what works FOR YOU.

Mostly, be yourself. If your potential clients don’t like you when you are relaxed and hosting in your own space, they won’t like you on a wedding day when everyone’s stress levels are high(er). Be yourself. You’ll find the best clients that way.