A
good client of ours, Sue Elam,
of On Location, in Corinth, MS recently shared a success story with us about a
Portrait Party that she held in Memphis. A former client of hers that
had moved to Memphis, had many friends comment on her portraits done by
Sue and expressed a desire to have Sue photograph their own families. In
return for her client gathering names and numbers of interested
prospects, Sue gave her 50% off her own order. The Portrait Party host
also selected a home with a yard that she felt would make a good
location. The host photographed the yard and sent Sue the images so she
could determine if the location would be suitable.Sue called the prospects, set up an appointment with them and collected a minimum order in advance, so she knew that they were qualified and committed. She photographed 3-4 families in the morning and 3-4 in the afternoon. Sue set-up a “sales room” in the host’s garage. She brought her projector, a white sheet to project on, folding chairs, and even balloons for the kids to keep them entertained. All sales were done that day, immediately after the portrait session. Sue’s sales were over $4000- not bad
for one days work!
The benefits of putting together a Portrait Party are clear:
- Having a client scouting out prospective portrait buyers for you is not only highly efficient, but also very economical as well.
- Being able to photograph that many sessions in one day is virtually impossible to do with individual families in different locations.
- Doing the sales sessions the same day eliminates that extra appointment for you.
- You can expand your market beyond your geographical area. If you have a friend or former client that lives in another city, your market base automatically increases.
Thank you Sue for sharing this with us, and good luck on your next event!