Senior Reps, pt 2

Wow, this has been a much anticipated post ... and long-awaited.
Missed part 1? See it here!


How do I do things? My program is benefit rich. As I've said before, I give a lot to my senior reps... but they give even more back to me.


Basics: They get free sessions. They get cool tools to use both online and offline and something for mom to show, too. They earn credit and bonuses. They don't have to order until spring of their senior year, but are offered an early order bonus. They have a group on Facebook, have very few requirements and I keep the lines of communication as open as possible. They do pay to take part in the program (but it is used as credit towards their order if they actively participate). 


Reps usually come from recommendations from former reps or clients. When building a new rep program, I get referrals from school counselors, youth pastors, current clients, the blog and Facebook. I like to use Facebook ads to promote during the recruiting time. 


Reps go through an interview process. I call each rep and ask them specific questions designed to tell me if they're a good fit for the program. If they are, I set up an in person, group style orientation. If not, I refer them to a website that has further questions. 


Once they're invited to the orientation, I send them a welcome packet with a quick overview of the program plus a handwritten note with confirmation of their time and date. Parents are encouraged to attend this, as orientation is when they actually enroll and forms/money will need to be signed and exchange hands. 


At orientation, I do a presentation of slides and talk about the program in depth. It is very interactive and fun, with snacks and samples and lots of great information for them. I also take plenty of time to answer any questions. 


If they choose to enroll (and over 90% do), they schedule their session and let me know which brand training they can attend, pay their rep fee, and get their Guidebook.


As a Senior Rep they get some awesome freebies, like a Rep In/Out Studio Session, Stylized On Location Session, Sibling Session, Family Session, Update Session (spring of sr year), Prom Session, Spirit Session, and Grad DVD. 


I know, it seems like a LOT of free sessions. Only one is required (the Rep In/Out) and the rest are optional. Not every rep takes advantage of every session, and only about half do more than 1. These aren't all at once, and they are spread out over the course of the time they are a Rep. There are black out times when their free sessions aren't able to be scheduled (busy season).

The more you can keep new images filtered in for the rep, the more excitement builds, and the more they have to show off and share (and eventually, the more they order from).

They get a lot of tools to get their images in front of other people. They get a portfolio book from their main session and mini portfolio books from any of the optional ones they do alone. They get 70 printed referral cards (to start, more available at any time) with an image of their choice. They get a digital kit that includes a digital referral card, a video short (Animoto style) and a video montage of recent seniors images. They get a photo from their session posted on FB monthly where they are tagged, and they are tagged to all promo images or notes online as well. They also take part in a Rep Sale.

I keep reps in the loop by using a Secret Facebook Group, monthly newsletters, and updates. Every week I send them an email of how many people have mentioned them as their referrer, and every two weeks I send an update of their credit. Credit is only earned once the referral is photographed. 

Rep images are featured on the FB page, the website, the blog, mailers, email advertising and as samples.

They can earn credit in over 20 ways. I try to make up new ways to earn credit every month, so there is a lot of variety and something that appeals to everyone. Credit is in the form of print credit or free products, and ways range from referrals to assisting at shoots. I offer bonus levels at increments for referrals. 

They are required to pay the Rep fee (I sponsor 1-2 per year for hardship cases), turn in an email list of kids from their senior class they think would be most interested in our work, to participate in the rep sale, abide by copyright laws, tag photos and share photos and posts, and allow images to be used unconditionally. They are required to also attend brand training. There are no minimum requirements for the number of referrals. 

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This is an overview of how I do things. If you need any clarification on any of this, comment below. 

If this sounds like a good fit for you, contact me about a Custom Rep Program just for your business. 

Urban Trend: Featured Photographer, week 3

Urban Trend

::Hugghin's Photography Senior Division::
Studio and Location Photographer
Online: Facebook and Website
Serves: Gwinnett and Athens, GA areas
Market: Seniors
Go to gear: Canon! I shoot with a 5D and LOVE my 85 1.8. I'm working on upgrading my current 50mm.

I decided to start my senior division last year after a few family friends asked me about doing them. I got so busy with kids and babies that it got pushed to the backburner. 

This year, I started planning in January, knowing I wanted to launch it in the summer. I made a list of everything I wanted to do- branding, names, colors, blog posts, even picking potential models. 

I wanted it to look similar to my main brand, but still be able to stand on its own. I was lucky enough to find an amazing make-up artist who set me up with some lovely teens to help me build my style and portfolio. It all went really well and we have had a ton of interest since its launch in July!

Our main focus is to make these high schoolers feel like they too can look like the girls they see in their favorite magazines. I love to show them that no matter what their size or style, they will love their portraits! I struggled a bit with my own self-esteem as a teen, always being the tall and lanky girl, but now it really helps me demonstate poses! My favorite part is during the shoot when I show them a really great shot on my camera and they say "What? Is that how hot I look? I didn't think I could look like that!" It's just the best!

We continue to work on styled and themed shoots to help set ourselves apart from every other senior photog around. I want girls to know that their senior portraits can be so much more! We just finished up a super fun "Back To School" shoot with a junior from a local private school.

We designed the wardrobe, and with the help of my fantastic make up artist and an amazing location, we created an editorial type feel to the shoot. We were able to experiment with posing and makeup, so it was very helpful as well as fun! As with the last few of our styled shoots, we give the models a bunch of Facebook photos to show off and their friends have been raving over them!

We gained a majority of our fans through them and have received several inquiries. We will even be doing a "Sweet 16" shoot in a few weeks! I have been loving how dynamic this division has become! We hope to do so much more in the coming months with the new brand! I can't wait to begin our new Rep Program this Spring! I am loving these girls and hope to do seniors as a majority of my business in 2012!

Lovin' that Urban Trend feel? 

Visit them on Facebook! 

and Check out their Website!

Senior Reps, pt.1

So, you may have noticed that I titled this post with a part number. I do anticipate this to be a series of posts regarding the program that I've found to be successful.  Here in part 1, I want to talk about Defining a Rep Program, Goals and Planning.

Disclaimer: This is what I would do, how I would run my program. Feel free to tweak it, or even disagree with me. This is what has worked for me. 

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Reality Check #1: I will be the first to tell you, a successful Rep program can be extremely time consuming. At the very minimum, you will need to spend an hour a day on it during busy season, and more in slow season.  Recruiting, securing, training and photographing your Reps is a full-time job. If you cannot commit the time to do this, please find an intern or hire someone to help you. It will pay for itself.

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What you believe about Reps is the very first thing you need to address when you're planning your Rep program. So many photographers see these teens as their means to an end. They think of Reps as their key clients and that you want to make sure you don't give them too much stuff or they won't spend anything. 

WRONG. Want to truly define a Rep program that will pay off? You have to realize that the point of a Rep program is create controlled word-of-mouth experiential marketing placed strategically within your market reach IN ORDER TO BRING IN REFERRALS.  These are those awesome branding interns that are out there in real time (think of them as living, breathing social media) ... they are a means to an end.

Referrals are your key clients. You just have to trust that you can build a program to recruit the right kind of Reps, so they bring in the clients that can support your business. This lets you spoil your reps - they're out there working hard, shouldn't they be rewarded?

Let me tell you why I believe this. With the hundreds of Reps I've worked with, the biggest thing they need to know and feel is that they matter. That this is exclusive. That they've been chosen for this program because you believe in them. They need you to keep them interested and energized. 

So what's in it for them? They need to know that if they're going to put in effort (even intangible effort), they're going to be recognized for it. They need to know that you're not just going to photograph them, hand them a stack of referral cards, and send them out the door saying "bring in 5 people to me who spend x amount, or you don't get anything else from us"... and then not hear from you again until you want them to place an order. 

BRAND OUCH. Yet, so many photographers do exactly that. 

Your Reps are your brand. You would spoil, invest in, pamper and spend a lot of time on your brand. Right? (I am imagining you saying yes here. I would really hope no one would actually say no)

Define your Rep program as a part of your brand and not a part of your income. Define your Reps as Brand Ambassadors and not as dollar signs. Besides, you're gonna build such an awesome Rep program, all the people they refer will be enough to support your business. The Rep orders will just be icing on the cake :)

Now that you've defined your program, its time to set Goals. When you start to think about your program, think about how many schools are in your market, the amount of time it will take to complete your parts of the program, and how many referrals you can take on the highest end of the spectrum and still have a real life. With your family and friends ... sans camera. Think about the students you will want to have involved. 

For the schools you want to target, plan on having no more than 1 rep for every 50 students enrolled. Many programs can do well with 1 per every 100. The goal here is to balance saturation. Try to recruit students that have varied friend groups within the school and their outside activities. A school with 400 enrollment should have 4-5 reps. 

You'll need to plan time for phone call interviews, in person interviews (and program enrollment), brand training, photographing their rep session, showing them their images and giving them their tools, sending out newsletters and idea emails, keeping in touch and answering questions, keeping track of and informing them of credit earned, follow up throughout the program for self-checks and assistance, and eventually orders. That's the bare minimum involvement I would recommend. 

How many referrals would mean how many kids can you realistically photograph during your season. Don't over-recruit and end up being unable to book referrals from excited reps. Know your limits. How many referrals will you expect from each Rep in your program? How will you monitor that and enforce it? (I don't recommend requiring a certain number of referrals. I find the less pressure, the higher percentage of reps that refer. Seriously -- this one change took a rep program from 22% participation to 95% in ONE season). 

Figure out your target Rep. Are they involved at school? What about outside of school? What traits should they have? What kind of personality and interaction level? Are they influential? Are they involved online? Also define what kind of Rep you don't want. What doesn't represent your brand at it's best? Don't just take anyone who's interested and has a heartbeat. Someone who lives your brand authentically will do your brand a better service than someone who just came to you for the "free" session. 

Now that you have all that in mind, you can start Planning your program. We will go into this part in a lot more detail further in this series, but I did want to touch on it now. Having a good plan in place is essential. 

It is almost impossible to say "Hey, I want to run a Rep program" and then launch it a few weeks later and have it be crazy successful. Take your time. Plan for everything you can think of. 

Try to discover the loopholes, the questions, what feels right for you, what you love. Start planning now, and launch it next year. You'll be glad you waited and made sure you had everything in place.

Who's ready to see how I do things?

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... more to come soon, watch for pt. 2 ...

It's a Rep Sale!

Ok, so here goes. The "Rep 10-hour Sale". (I avoid using One Day Sale in any marketing/advertising. A big name retailer uses it and it now draws only those looking for brand name at garage sale prices - not the kind of clients we want, right?).

First, contact all your reps and find out when most of their friends are online or see FB. You only need a day, not the hours. Choose the most popular day. Give yourself at least a week to prep so you can email blast, prep your reps and they can hype it up to their friends.

How it works – Each rep chooses an image from the ones you've provided them (even better if it's a digital version of their rep card). It has to stay as their profile pic during the entire day. It has to have your logo on it (no cropping it out). They also change their status to your marketing message for the day.

Then they post the marketing picture (you provide this – a nice jpg with pictures and info about the special), and they share it/tag friends with all their friends on their page that are seniors within your target market. They also post a note with the marketing message you've sent them and share it with their friends as well (with a link to your Facebook page)

Note: Everything is about Urgent Call to Action. But don't sound sales-y.

The special I run is usually 50% off the session fee (more than the studio's current discount for regular clients, so they feel special), and 1 free Facebook image plus 16 wallets (this is what they get from the rep card anyways) if they call today, mention the 10 hour sale and book their session (pay their session fee). Depending on how much response I want, sometimes I do 3 Facebook images instead of 1.

Reps then earn a free sibling session for taking part in the promo (you can do credit or points, its up to you. The free session averages $500 sales when I use it). They also earn double credit for each referral that day only (huge call to action for them, and it pays off) … plus they can earn another Facebook image. Keep in mind, they don't get credit until the person is photographed.

A Facebook Status Messages for Reps: “Class of 2012 friends – I got my senior portraits done! Have you? I had the best experience ever, because I went to ________. Just for knowing me, they'll give you 50% off your session and a bunch of free stuff, but you have to call by 5pm today! Don't forget to tell them _______ told you to call!”

They can re-word it a little, but you need to approve it before they do. They should have their status message to you by the day before if they want to change it up so you can say yes or no.

Your image should include all of the sale info – details about session fees, when they have to call by, your facebook and webpage, etc.

Also let your reps know, if their friends leave a comment on your page during the week before, both that friend and the rep will be entered in a drawing for some great prizes (think free wallets, $10 iTunes gift card, etc). Hold the drawing every hour on the day of the sale and post winners – they have to be a fan to win.

The reps can compete against eachother as well, the rep that gets the most referrals booked that day wins a prize, too!

Then, be prepared for phone calls from an hour before the sale to a couple of hours after. :)

Trainer Tuesday: Coaching Your Seniors to Ask the Right Questions

This post was recently featured at Inside the Locker and Senior Portraits 101

When it comes to establishing your senior program, one of the first things you need to think about is the questions that parents and seniors will ask you -- and all of the other photographers they call -- to book their session. It's a little about what they do ask, and also what they don't.

Almost always, they will ask you how much you cost. Like, you know, for an 8x10?

They don't necessarily want to know this. What they want to know is HOW are you different, WHY should they hire you and WHAT makes other people choose you. But they don't know what to ask. It'd be like calling an author about writing your life story and asking "how much is it for a page?"

As a photographer, it's your job to educate your clients on not only your value, but the value of photography in general. As a start, this is something I'd written for a website a couple of years ago, and it's a tool for parents and photographers alike. Parents, to get an idea what to ask. Photographers, it can be so much more.

As a photographer, this is a good place to start thinking about what makes you different. How would you answer these questions? If you have employees, how would they answer them? Are you all on the same page? What would your other clients say ABOUT YOU if they were asked these questions? What about your Senior Reps?  I encourage you, take a few minutes to think about these things ... and feel free to add anything else you think is important to think about in the comment section below.

The biggest thing that will show a quality photographer is expression. It has to be authentic. Whether serious or smiling, there needs to be the twinkle in the eye that so many miss. The color and quality should be true to life. It shouldn’t need a ton of editing to look amazing, and there should be a wide variety of options available.

A portrait photographer should guarantee their work, 100%. That means reshooting or fixing a finished print with no additional cost to the client. It’s their work — not your problem. What is their guarantee?

Are the photographers professionally trained, or just someone who bought a nice camera and took a few quick classes? How does their studio look? How many seniors have they photographed in the last year? How long have they been in business?

What types of sessions do they offer? Do they have the ability to take outdoor portraits? Where, and how will your child change outfits while they’re there? How many outfit changes can they have? Are they allowed to bring props?

How long will it take to see your images? When should you expect to place your order, and then receive it? What is the process you will go through?

What about yearbook portrait? Do they get it to the school for you, or is that your responsibility?

Look at the lighting in their finished prints, not only in their studio, but on their webpage. When you call them, ask them how they choose the images they put on their website.

Make sure you give them plenty of information about your child. Most professional studios will have time that they can consult with you and your senior about what you’re looking for and what their personality is like, but it makes it a lot easier for the studio to make recommendations if we know that the senior is shy, loves pictures taken, is involved in sports, has certain important hobbies, etc. The more information you can give us, the better.

If you have a daughter, do they provide makeup? How long has their artist worked with them? What products do they use? How do they usually apply the makeup? Is mom allowed to watch? If they don’t provide it, can they recommend an artist, or tips on how to apply makeup for photography?

What about hair? How long as the stylist worked with them? Can you see some of their work? If they don’t have one, who do they recommend?

Look at photographs from last year’s seniors – on their ads, in their studios, and in person. Ask your friends with past seniors if you can look at their portraits. The way you see other kids in their work should make them look natural, not overly posed.

While your photographer should be on the “same page” as you and your child, most photographers won’t have a complete vision until they’re in the session, working one on one with the senior, alone. That’s when real personality and real involvement comes out. If the photographer is good at what they do, they will be very personable and someone you feel at ease with quickly… and that will translate to real expressions.

Pricing shouldn’t be the deciding factor, because you get what you pay for. Yes, in this digital age, its easy to get things quickly and cheaply, but that’s exactly what you’ll be getting — quick cheap work. A real artist knows the value of their skill, and their prices will reflect that. And yes, really, most families can plan on spending at least $1000 on senior portraits ... most spend more.

This is one of the only times your child will have special portraits made of just them – its worth every cent you put into it, because you will never have this time back and you will always want to remember it.