This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
You don’t know what’s going to happen next week, let alone two months from now. Plus, you had counted on the income from that wedding as well as all the other weddings you have next month.
So – what do you do? And what about the wedding you have in 6 months?
The answer is simple – be proactive!
Reach out to your couples.
And – reach out to them 1-on-1. Don’t do it through a Facebook status, a post on your Instagram or a generic blog post. Remember, you’re in the business of serving people. Your business revolves around relationships.
This is a time, more than ever, to focus on relationships. This is a time, more than ever, to connect and to have a genuine conversation with your clients. They need this. You need this.
Plus, when you reach out to your clients 1-on-1:
It ensures that the message is heard and received. We all know what percentage of our audience actually sees our social media posts.
It shows you care about them. Empathy and compassion through these times are some of the most important characteristics you can exhibit.
It gives you an opportunity to discuss their individual situation and handle questions in a safe and private 1-on-1 atmosphere.
By Pretty Lightroom Presets @prettypresets
When you reach out to your couples, be mindful that you are:
Empathetic
Understanding
Comforting
Reassuring
Clarifying
You need to be a guide for your clients. Avoid panic. Don’t add to their stress. Be a voice of reason for them during a time when everyone else seems to be doing nothing but freaking out.
There’ll be two groups of couples you should reach out to. There’ll be those whose wedding is in the short-term (i.e. the next three months or less) and those whose wedding in the short-long-term (i.e. those with weddings between 3 and 9 months from now).
Reach out to both groups, but reach out with a slightly different message.
How to reach out to your couples and what to say
By Nikkolas Nguyen @nikknguyenphoto
Your couples whose wedding is in the short-term (i.e. the next three months or less) are going to be the most stressed. The reality of their wedding taking place as planned is threatened more and more each day. There’s a lot of uncertainty for them, which brings on higher levels of stress.
Here’s the truth – you won’t be able to reassure them that everything will be alright and go as planned, because you don’t know if that’s going to be the case. Don’t mislead them. What you can do is comfort them, though. Be understanding and make sure they are clear on the next steps. You can guide them and give them suggestions.
Here are the three options they have:
Go ahead as planned.
Reschedule the wedding.
Cancel the wedding.
If things are going to end up going ahead as planned, then there’s nothing else to talk about, but at least you’ve been proactive in showing that you care by reaching out. That’s the message you should be sending to those couples whose weddings are further out (i.e. 6-9 months away). For them, they should be ok, but the fact that you reached out and touched base shows that you care and that you’re thinking of them.
If your couple needs to reschedule, there are a few things you should make sure are made clear for them:
There is no rebooking fee if they need to reschedule.
Dates will be limited for rescheduling – both for you and their other wedding vendors. I’m sure they know, but it needs to be explicitly said – the industry will be flooded with dates being rescheduled, so every couple is not only competing for dates with other couples who are rescheduling, but also with couples who had already booked their wedding for the following year.
There is no cancellation fee if they need to cancel (or if they pick a new date you’re not available for), but they will forfeit their deposit. Check this in your contract, first, though – don’t just take my word for it!
You could suggest that if they’re looking to reschedule, they may want to consider a weekday wedding. Honestly, it may be something they had never considered, and it would make having “the same” wedding – with the same vendors they already chose – a lot easier for them.
Otherwise, you should suggest that they check with you before booking a new date to make sure you are available for the new date. This is a great time to remind them of your value as a photographer and why they booked you in the first place. Most likely, they want to keep you as their photographer, so make it easy for them to check.
Bonus – if you’re a Sprout Studio user, use an invitation to let them quickly check your availability!
What to do about the lost (or deferred) revenue?
Let’s be honest – no matter what, this crisis is going to leave you with either lost revenue or deferred revenue at the very best. Sure, you may still keep your weddings when they reschedule, but if you had relied on that income from this year, you’d now have to defer that revenue until next year. That could be a significant hit on your cashflow.
(But at the same time – if you can get through it, it’ll also mean an influx on your cashflow for next year if you do things right!)
By Ramiz Dedakovic @ramche
We’re running a 14-day marketing challenge right now where you’ll learn ideas for a whole bunch of ways you can use your off time right now to generate some revenue and ramp up some new marketing programs when the dust settles. Come join us!
New marketing ideas aside – how can you lessen the burden of this crisis on your business with all of these weddings being rescheduled?
Here are five ideas.
Idea #1 – Offer a monthly payment plan
By Nathan Dumlao @nate_dumlao
For those couples who rescheduled, offer them a payment plan that spreads out their remaining payments instead of just deferring them by a year.
Perhaps you have a typical wedding payment plan:
$1500 deposit 50% due one month before the wedding Remaining balance due one month after the wedding
You could suggest to your couple that you switch it to:
$1500 deposit (already paid) 75% paid in monthly installments between now and the wedding 25% due one month after the wedding
You can explain that you’re a small business and that this crisis, with all of the cancellations and rescheduled dates, has had a massive impact on your business. If they are comfortable making a few smaller payments between now and their wedding date instead of deferring it all until next year, that’d be helpful for you and your business.
We – as humans – have come together during this crisis, and empathy is at an all-time high. I think your clients would be understanding with you, especially because you’ve gone out of your way to be understanding and empathetic with them through this.
Idea #2 – Offer a restructured payment plan
By Samantha Gades @srosinger3997
Similar to the first idea – you can see if your couple would be comfortable shifting their payment plan around so that there is still an installment due now.
For example – again, perhaps you have a typical wedding payment plan:
$1500 deposit 50% due one month before the wedding Remaining balance one month after the wedding
You could suggest to your couple that you switch it to:
$1500 deposit (already paid) 30% due now 30% due one month before the wedding Remaining balance due one month after the wedding
If you need to, you could always offer something as an incentive, too. Perhaps you could offer an additional two hours of wedding day coverage in exchange for them being flexible with you and their payments. You win, they win, it’s a win all around!
Idea #3 – Build a new monthly payment plan for new weddings
By Alekon Pictures @alekonpictures
For all new weddings you book, you could switch your payment schedule around a bit to collect more money sooner. For example, instead of your typical wedding payment plan, which might be something like:
$1500 deposit 50% due one month before the wedding Remaining balance one month after the wedding
You could switch your standard payment plan to:
$1000 deposit 75% in monthly payments between now and their wedding Remaining balance one month after the wedding
You could – again – explain that your business was hit hard by this crisis and that this was a cashflow decision you had to make to keep your business afloat.
You could also pitch the benefit of this to new couples and explain that this is better for them because they don’t need to have a large chunk of money come out all at once. Instead, they can just plan to pay down their wedding collection slowly. This may also end up benefiting you and enabling your clients to book a higher package because the payments are more manageable and split up.
By PopTop UK @poptop_events
Idea #4 – Offer an album add-on promotion
Offer an album add-on promotion. If your couple chooses and pays for a wedding album now, they’ll receive five additional spreads at no extra cost, which usually would cost $625.
Obviously – plug in your numbers there and structure the deal in a way that makes sense for you. But the idea is to offer them great value and savings (benefit) by making a decision now on their wedding album, and it is a nice way to get some new cash in the door for you.
Idea #5 – Offer a wall portrait add-on promotion
Similar to idea #4, you could offer a wall portrait promotion to your couples. A lot of the time, the focus of weddings is the wedding album, and couples completely forget about getting prints done.
What if you – similarly – offered them a great value right now and allowed them to pre-purchase wall portraits.
For example, you could give them the option of pre-purchasing as many wall prints as they’d like, and for every print they pre-purchase, you’ll double it.
So if they’d like to get a beautifully framed 12×18 wall portrait for one of their parents (maybe for the Christmas that follows the wedding), you’ll add a second 12×18 framed wall portrait so that they can give one to their other set of parents.
It’s a great way for them to think-ahead and lock-in some deliverables, a great way to save some money and a great way for you to add some additional, unexpected income during a time where your cashflow is being negatively affected by the circumstances.
By The Wedding Chicks @weddingchicks
The importance of connection
No matter how you reach out to your clients – the phone is going to be king right now, by the way – just make sure you touch base. Show empathy, be understanding and remember that you are the professional here. You are the guide. Focus on these relationships, focus on being caring and focus on being empathetic.
Not only does that make you a kind human being, but it’s what separates the businesses that are acting out of greed and those who are acting out of empathy. And in the end, your business will be able to weather this storm because you showed up for your clients when they needed you the most.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
Photographer Swipe Copy: Taking preventative measures with rescheduling clients
Mar 13, 2020
Show notes
This is a time of crisis.
Not to be overly dramatic, but the next few months are not going to be easy. I don’t think that comes as a surprise to you.
We want to be here for you.
We are committed to helping you weather this storm. We want to make sure you stay safe and healthy. We are committed to giving you the strategies to keep your business afloat, and we want to help you recover from this once it’s all done.
Let’s cut right to it.
In times of crisis, businesses (both big and small) are bound to be affected. It’s just the reality of the situation.
That’s why you must be prepared.
⚠️ How to be proactive about the coronavirus in your photography business
In the absence of a vaccine, it’s been shown that social distancing and self-isolation are the best ways we can slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
If you have meetings, previous engagements, bookings or photo-shoots, the ideal solution, right now, would be to reschedule them.
Now – I acknowledge that you may feel differently.
But either way, you need to do what feels right for you. If that means carrying on as normal, then you do what you think is right. This isn’t an opinion piece on what you should ethically do or what is the most socially conscious thing to do. We want to give you the strategies, whatever you decide is the best direction for you and your business.
If you decide that rescheduling is the best option, then you must reach out to your clients promptly and let them know.
Here is an email script for RESCHEDULING you can use.
</p>
<p>Hi, CLIENT NAME</p>
<p>I was looking forward to our upcoming MEETING on DATE. However, for the sake of public health and safety, I am postponing all of my upcoming engagements.</p>
<p>As we approach the end of the month, I will re-evaluate and look into rescheduling our MEETING or touch base if a further delay is necessary or advised.</p>
<p>Your health and safety, ours, and that of all our loved ones is the top priority right now. Thanks for your understanding.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of health in the coming weeks. Please stay safe and be well.</p>
<p>
**PS – we’ve already added this as an email template in Sprout Studio so that you can copy it into your account:
Go to Settings > Communications > Email Templates.
Click the Sprout Library button.
Search for “Business First Aid” in the top-right corner.
Click “Copy to Account,” and you’ll have it in!
COMING SOON – a special report in Sprout Studio that will show you all of your dates coming up and let you quickly open up the date and reschedule it.
FirstAid
Business (and legal) best practice suggests that if you’re going to reschedule a booking where there was a contract involved, you need to amend that contract with these changes.
Quite simply – you need only to amend what is changing.
Here is an AMENDMENT template that you can use.
</p>
<p>This amendment (the “Amendment”) is made by PHOTOGRAPHER NAME and CLIENT NAME, parties to the agreement ORIGINAL CONTRACT dated ORIGINAL CONTRACT DATE (the “Agreement”).</p>
<p>The Agreement is amended as follows:</p>
<p>The session date will be rescheduled for a mutually convenient date and time. Any previously agreed upon session date and time is hereinafter cancelled without penalty.</p>
<p>Except as set forth in this Amendment, the Agreement is unaffected and shall continue in full force and effect in accordance with its terms. If there is a conflict between this amendment and the Agreement or any earlier amendment, the terms of this amendment will prevail.</p>
<p>
**PS – We’ve also made this available in Sprout Library for a one-click install into your account.
You can find it in the Booking & Legal section and add it from the Sprout Library button. Search for “Business First Aid – Rescheduling”
If it is just a meeting you’re moving where there was no contract involved, then merely emailing to reschedule is the only thing you have to do. If you’re a Sprout Studio user, using an invitation will be helpful because it will automate a lot of the back-and-forth. I would suggest setting the “From” window (for when a date can be booked) to be a few weeks from now, once things have (hopefully) calmed down.
Firstaid
This is the first of several articles on “First aid for your photography business” and how not to sink your business in times of crisis.
Please share this with your fellow photographers and visit this page for our index of articles, podcasts, links and resources that we’ve curated to help you get through this.
Again – you need to do what’s right for you and what you believe in; this is not an opinion piece on what you should do.
But what happens if you end up contracting the coronavirus and become ill? Or what happens if your client does?
⚠️ What happens to your meetings and bookings if you (or your clients) get coronavirus?
Here’s a flow-chart for how to deal with it.
If you can reschedule the engagement, do it. Follow the steps above.
If you cannot reschedule the engagement, can you get a backup photographer? If so, let your client know and send them an amendment.
Here is a template for USING A BACKUP PHOTOGRAPHER you can use.
Hi, CLIENT NAME</p>
<p>I was looking forward to our upcoming SESSION on DATE. However, unfortunately, I have tested positive for coronavirus and am forced to self-isolate.</p>
<p>Not to worry – I have arranged for PHOTOGRAPHER NAME to photograph your SESSION in my place. They know my style and will approach your SESSION with a similar vision as I would. I trust them.</p>
<p>Afterwards, once the dust settles, we can discuss a partial refund. My #1 priority was making sure that you had a photographer at your SESSION; we can clean everything else up afterwards if that is agreeable by you.</p>
<p>Your health and safety, ours, and that of all our loved ones is the top priority right now. Thanks for your understanding. I wish you the best of health in the coming weeks. Please stay safe and be well.<br />
**PS – we’ve already added this as an email template in Sprout Studio so that you can copy it into your account.
You can find it in the Email Templates section and add it from the Sprout Library button. Search for “Business First Aid – Backup Photographer.”
SIDENOTE – now is the time to reach out to photographers in your community and create a contingency plan for this. I would suggest contacting 3-5 photographers that you trust. Create an alliance in which you can help each other out should one of you should become sick.
Here is a template for REACHING OUT TO OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS that you can use.
</p>
<p>Hi, PHOTOGRAPHER NAME</p>
<p>In light of the recent pandemic and for the sake of public health and safety, I am creating a contingency plan for upcoming sessions.</p>
<p>If I become sick, am forced to self-isolate, and, therefore, cannot make a session, if my client cannot reschedule, I would like to have a backup plan.</p>
<p>Are you available and interested?</p>
<p>Here are my upcoming sessions:</p>
<p>LIST OF SESSIONS AND DATES</p>
<p>You included, I’ll be contacting several photographers, so I have more than one backup if something happens.</p>
<p>I’d be happy to offer the same for you if you’d like.</p>
<p>Let me know if any of the above dates and times work for you that I can tentatively call on you as a backup photographer in case I need to.</p>
<p>Thanks, I wish you the best of health in the coming weeks. Please stay safe and be well.
Firstaid
If you cannot reschedule and cannot get a backup photographer, then you’ll have to cancel the engagement. In that case, you’ll need to send a cancellation agreement. Here is a template that you can use.
Here’s a template for CANCELLATION AGREEMENT CONTRACT you can use.
</div>
<div></div>
<div class="p-rich_text_section"><b data-stringify-type="bold">Today’s Date:</b> [[todays_date]]<br />
<b data-stringify-type="bold">Photographer’s Name:</b> [[photographer_name]]<br />
<b data-stringify-type="bold">Client’s Name:</b> [[client_name]]Event Details<br />
<b data-stringify-type="bold">Event Type:</b> [[shoot_type]]<br />
<b data-stringify-type="bold">Event Date:</b> [[shoot_date]]<br />
<b data-stringify-type="bold"></b></div>
<div class="p-rich_text_section"><b data-stringify-type="bold">Event Time:</b> [[shoot_time]]Package Details</div>
<div></div>
<div class="p-rich_text_section">
<p>[[package]]</p>
<p>[[payment_schedule]]</p>
<p>Terms and Conditions<br />
This cancellation agreement made this [[todays_date]] by and between [[photographer_name]] (PHOTOGRAPHER), and [[client_name]] (CLIENT), contains the entire understanding between PHOTOGRAPHER and the CLIENT. There is no understanding between the parties verbal or otherwise than contained in this agreement. It supersedes all prior and simultaneous agreements between the parties. The only way to add or change this agreement is to do so in writing, signed by all the parties. If the parties want to waive one provision of this agreement, that does not mean that any other provision is also waived. The party against whom a waiver is sought must have signed the waiver in writing.In the event any term or provision of this Agreement shall be found invalid or unenforceable due to applicable law, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby.</p>
</div>
<ol class="p-rich_text_list p-rich_text_list__ordered" data-stringify-type="ordered-list" data-indent="0">
<li>The CLIENTs have certified that they have read and understand the entire cancellation agreement between PHOTOGRAPHER and CLIENTs. The CLIENTs have had the opportunity to review this agreement that the terms and conditions have been explained and the CLIENTs fully understand them.</li>
<li>THE CLIENTs no longer require nor desire the photography services of PHOTOGRAPHER on [[shoot_date]] and fully release PHOTOGRAPHER from all obligations set forth in the prior agreement.</li>
<li>THE CLIENTs are released from any further obligations to make payments as previously agreed.</li>
<li>ALL PAYMENTS previously made by CLIENTs to PHOTOGRAPHER are liquidated damages, non-refundable and/or non-transferable as previously agreed to by both parties.</li>
<li>A PARTIAL REFUND MAY BE granted at the sole discretion of PHOTOGRAPHER should PHOTOGRAPHER rebook the date for which the CLIENT originally retained the services of PHOTOGRAPHER.</li>
</ol>
<p>
In addition to canceling the engagement, you’ll also have to refund any payments, if applicable. And yes, yes, that means you could be losing money here. It’s, unfortunately, the reality of a crisis like this. But don’t fret – we’ll help you make that money back and give you a variety of strategies to increase cash flow once the dust all settles.
We are committed to helping you weather this storm. We want to make sure you stay safe and healthy, we want to make sure your business stays afloat and that you can recover from this once it’s all done.
Firstaid
Please share this with your fellow photographers and visit this page for our index of articles, podcasts, links and resources that we’ve curated to help you get through this.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
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