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Play It Brave Podcast

IPS: In Person Service NOT Sales

by D'Arcy Benincosa

Does the term In Person Sales make you shutter? What if I told you there’s a way to implement IPS that feels natural and allows you to get to 6-figures and beyond? Today’s guest, Brittany Elise Anderson is a motherhood photographer and In-Person *Service* expert who is pioneering fresh new ways to bring in the extra income from full-service offers and finished products. If you’re even the tiniest bit curious what her secrets to sales are, then hit play!

About Brittany:

Brittany Elise is pioneering the full-service studio movement teaching photographers how to implement services and finished products to build a business that not only serves their clients but fulfills their hearts. While giving the photographers themselves the tools they need to have a steady stream of income consistently booking clients who purchase tangible heirlooms. The key to this, she believes, is understanding just how busy motherhood is, how fast milestones pass by and how clients wish to hold onto every precious memory.

As an educator and co-founder and curator of The Photographers Framer, Brittany’s mission is to help photographers provide high-quality tangible heirlooms for their clients that will keep them coming back year after year.

How to Build a Lucrative 6-Figure Photography Business:

Burn Your Boat – it’s time to make an all-in commitment and quit your 9-5 or whatever’s holding you back.
Implement IPS (in-person service) in your client journey – one common thread Brittany found when looking at 6-figure photography businesses was in-person *sales*
Come from your heart, not your head. When you put what brings you joy first in every decision for your business, you’ll not only be most successful, but you’ll be most fulfilled.

What is IPS?

In Person Sales is a common term used in the portrait photography industry. It is typically when a photographer meets with their clients in-person to deliver their gallery and sell them on other tangible products.

Most people associate negative feelings with selling because of their personal experiences of being sold to. Everyone has had a “slimy car salesman” experience, right? A lot of these sales are rooted in tactics instead of serving.

How is In-Person Service Different?

If you shift your perspective to think about what it is you’re doing for your client by selling to them, then you will realize you’re actually serving them.

Example: Brittany came to realize that by selling her service she was not only documenting memories for her clients, she was taking something off their to-do list and taking care of the moms that she serves who are often burned out from caring for their children.

Once you can have that revelation, your relationship with selling will change dramatically.

Beyond Basic Offers:

Make sure that they are choosing you for a reason beyond just (photos, flowers, insert your surface level offer). Tell them how you’ll serve them to the fullest so that booking you is a no-brainer.

Your service does not start or stop at the delivery of the final product. Brittany shares many examples of some value-adds she includes for her clients like hair & makeup, wardrobe styling, and gallery wall installation. She paints this picture of a full-service experience from the second they land on her Instagram to the consultation call and beyond so they know what to expect.

The client should walk away with exactly what they want and an extraordinary experience that makes them want to keep coming back to you.

What does and In-Person Service session look like?

Ideally you would meet with your clients in-person, but if necessary you can do it via Zoom.
You have a video with the top images synced to music that is special to them. (Brittany asks them their favorite artist or first dance song, etc. during the consultation process)
Guide them through the favoriting process by allowing them to select their favorites.
Then the design process – whether you offer framed prints, albums, birth announcements, holiday cards, etc. You can design these for them on this portion of the call.
Beforehand ask them to take and send photos of certain walls in their home they may want printed and framed photos for so you can mock those up with their favorite images. This allows them to visualize.

Why should you do IPS?

The video allows them to take in and have an emotional connection to each image individually
When sending them a gallery link to look at on their own, people often get overwhelmed and will start to focus on one or two negative elements of themselves.
When you’re in-person you get their initial reaction so you can re-focus them on the positives and even re-assure them of things you might be able to edit.
The in-person process is your opportunity to be the guide in helping them pull the gems out of the big gallery and plan how they’re going to enjoy them.

“You sell what you show.”

Have images of your deliverables on your site & social media.
Brittany took a photo of all of her gallery/framed photo installs so she could market that side of her service and her clients began to EXPECT that sale. The same goes for photos of your albums or other tangible deliverables.
If you don’t have a client’s house to photograph your deliverables in (or maybe from the photos of their home from the design process you can tell it’s not great lighting to get on-brand photos), then stage them! It’s key to have that content to normalize that part of your service.
Some photographers are afraid to ask to take a photo in their client’s homes. The truth is, most clients feel honored to be featured and are happy to let you.