From the outside looking in, it would be easy to think that I have it all together. I’ve been honored to write an several guest posts, including one here on The Modern Tog, so people sometimes assume I’ve got everything figured out. Let me tell you, that can not be farther from the truth!

I’m just like you. I struggle with business decisions, second guess my work, design and redesign my website and then I head to my favorite photography group (Have you joined yet? Because it’s awesome!) to get reassurance from others that I’m not totally screwing things up.

Sound familiar?

I’ve been accepting paying clients for two years now. This week I had my first in-person sales appointment. And not only that, it was the first time I actually offered products to my portrait clients rather than just handing over a disc of images and calling it a day.

We all hear about in-person sales being the way to go so why didn’t I make the leap sooner? Simple. I was delusional. I really convinced myself that higher prices and in-person sales may work for some people, but not for me. I was sure that no one in my area would pay $500 for something that cost me only $100 to order for them. And you know what? I underestimated how much people value a quality product and excellent customer service – and I underestimated myself in the process. Does that sound familiar too?

Consider this your smack upside the head! You can do it! Everything I learned about how to do in-person sales was through The Modern Tog’s articles and advice from other photographers who were doing it right. So here’s how it went.  [Click to read more]