What if price shoppers were a thing of the past?
What if the people who inquired, were already pre-sold on the value of what YOU do, and the only reason they ask you for your pricing, is to genuinely see if they can afford you?
That’s what happens when you start becoming a Desire Director instead of an Avatar Chaser (chasing the same small group of target market as everyone else)
Let me ask you…does this sound familiar?
Let me introduce you to the concept I call “The Avatar Chaser.”
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that much (if not all) of this is going to sound very, very familiar:
The Avatar Chaser:
-
Targeting/chasing after a customer avatar/target market (income level, age, marital status)
-
Knows what they do is valuable, but has a hard time believing people will pay that
-
Constantly reinvents pricing
-
Gets “ghosted” when sends pricing via email/message
-
Most inquiries are price shoppers
-
Gets rave compliments from people, but they never book
-
Seeks the next big marketing idea for their business – the “magic pill” which may work for a little bit, but then bounces back to the “sameness” of prior
-
Works hard to 1-up the competition with baking cookies, giving clients gifts, etc.
-
Wonders if they should throw in the towel, even though it’s what they’re meant to do
-
Puts off raising prices, even when they’ve done the math and know what they need to be charging
-
Feels like they can’t compete with the lower priced photographers
I’ll be the first to say that I used to be an Avatar Chaser.
I was overwhelmed, unfulfilled, and underpaid.
All doing a job that was supposed to be fun and fulfilling!
I was “following my bliss” as they say.
But the more and more photographers that entered the market, the harder and harder it got.
Here’s why…
When we create and target a customer avatar, we’re all basically chasing the same small group of potential clients.
We’re taught to target a specific age, gender, income level, and “where people hang out.”
Often for portraits it’s “Sally, a mother of 2.5 kids, who’s married, is above the average income level, and shops at local expensive boutiques.”
But simple math tells us that if most of us are marketing to that small group of our community, there just won’t be enough to go around.
It’s just simple supply and demand.
It’s oversaturation.
And when there’s oversaturation in a market (too much supply, not enough demant), simple economics say that prices drop.
Sound familiar?
And here’s the REAL kicker:
We’re told that all we need to do is get in front of MORE people.
While also raising our prices.
Grab MORE attention.
Post MORE often.
Create MORE of a perfectly color-coordinated Instagram grid.
Do MORE Seo.
Create MORE blog posts.
So you can get (really TAKE AWAY) MORE clients!
It’s the MORE frenzy.
And there isn’t a big enough piece of the pie for everyone to even GET more.
Everyone’s vying for more, and usually getting a slight bump in business which eventually levels back out to where they were before.
It’s a dangerous game – because when you get a slight bump in business from playing the more game, you see that as positive results.
And so the More Frenzy addiction perpetuates.
And gets taught.
And people see slight bumps and see it as positive results.
And that perpetuates it more.
And where the more frenzy leads us to?
Is overwhelm, and ultimately, “the rat race.”
Doing more of every type of marketing imaginable is completely unrealistic, and only makes us feel worse about ourselves while not even having time to eat lunch unless it’s while editing.
Now I don’t know about you, but I started my business so THAT I could stop the never-ending rat race.
By killing the customer avatar, we’re able to start marketing to something NEW.
We must instead target a deep desire that people are already spending money on.
When we do that, things start to flip around.
Do a 180.
The first time I did this was honestly by accident.
And a single blog post that I emailed to a small list of a few hundred people got me 12 inquiries…overnight.
I was flabbergasted!
I’ll share more of my results as well as my past students results a little further down….
First I want to explain to you what being a Desire Director means…
And trust me, when I transformed from an Avatar Chaser to a Desire Director, EVERYTHING changed…
Eliminate price shoppers and Presell people on the value of your photography, before they even inquire.
When you start becoming a Desire Director, everything becomes easy.
You’re basically linking your photography session and products to the deep desire they already have.
The desire they’re already spending money on.
And showing them how you can give them the result they want, better.
Here’s what happens when you become a Desire Director:
The Desire Director:
-
Directs desire rather than chasing the same target market/avatar as everyone else
-
Becomes a market of one with little to know competition
-
Is seen as unique and different than the rest
-
Has constant word of mouth without even trying
-
Is thanked for their marketing, because it leaves their potential clients better off
-
Gets inquiries who are pre-sold on the services and products and don’t need to be convinced
-
Most inquiries about pricing aren’t from “price shoppers,” but from people who genuinely want to see if they can afford the session, and see how long they may need to save up prior to booking
Think about this – how much per year do you think women spend on the DESIRE to feel confident and good about themselves?
I couldn’t find the exact data on EVERYTHING.
But a study of 3,000 US based woman ages 16-75 by beauty retailer SkinStore did find that the average American woman spends $8 per day on JUST HER FACE.
That’s $2,920 per year on skin cream, face wash, foundation, concealer, eyeliner, eyebrow products, the list goes ON!
Honestly to me that sounds a bit high, but maybe I just don’t buy as much of that type of product…
STILL, even at HALF that at $4/day on a womans face, not including clothing, hair dye, nail polish, etc?
That’s still $1,460/year if I did my math right.
Now what about the mom who just wants to feel appreciated…and maybe also wants to feel like she’s being a good mom?
Can we say overspending on Pinterest-worthy birthday parties, paying for every single sport and activity imaginable while also buying them the most expensive cleats, and…and….the list goes on!
There are so many deep desires our photography can help bring our clients closer to…
… and it doesn’t wash off like facial products or get thrown away like over-priced birthday party invitations and favors.
The key is in becoming a Desire Director, instead of being an Avatar Chaser.
I was telling you earlier about the first time I used Desire Directing…it was by accident, honestly.
I sent out a single email and got 12 inquiries.
INSANE…at least to me.’
Now the “email” part doesn’t matter. Whether you have no email list, a big email list, or an email list that’s “dead” with no response doesn’t matter…
That’s the “tactics” part…
That’s the CHANNEL in which you are doing your desire directing, so don’t get caught up on that right now…I’ve gotten similar and even better results with posting a blog to social media, and even a single facebook ad.
So anyways…
It was my first ever tween marketing effort…but it doesn’t stop there.
2015 was the first time I marketed boudoir…I had only done around 4 or 5 boudoir sessions prior to that, and I had been in business since 2007….
That same night, I had 8 inquiries with name, email and phone number in my inbox for a paid session offer.
I created a single blog post using Desire Directing that I linked to on social media – on a completely new website I named Montana Glamour Photography (shut down now, as I don’t do Boudoir anymore).
I put it up FAST, with only those 4 or 5 sessions of images, and just a contact page, about page, around 20 images, and a blog with this ONE post.
Again, the TACTIC doesn’t matter (email vs. facebook vs. blog post vs. facebook ad)
It’s the DESIRE LINKING.
I’ve been doing this every year since, with different campaigns for different types of sessions…family photos, moms with children, tweens, boudoir, seniors (targeting moms).
And if you’re wondering if it STILL works?
The answer is YES!
Look at the results from 2018:
That’s 38 inquiries in around 2 weeks from just two tactics that took less than 3 hours to create.
22 of those ended up booking 🙂
The tactics aren’t important – YES we must get our marketing seen…YES, we must do the desire directing THROUGH tactics.
But the important thing here is that ALL…
and I do mean ALL…
Marketing tactics are MUCH MUCH more effective when you are being a DESIRE DIRECTOR instead of being an Avatar Chaser.
Become a Desire Director…
Introducing The Invisible Client Attraction Protocol
Start linking your photography sessions and products to what people deeply desire, and are ALREADY spending money to attain.
The result?
No more competing for the same scraps as the rest….no more marketing to the same group of people…
Become a market of one, where people already believe in the value of your photography BEFORE they inquire.
Be seen as unique and different than the rest of the photographers, and gain constant word of mouth because of it.
Get BETTER inquiries, and BETTER clients that know the value of what you do, without feeling like you have to convince people that what you do is priceless.
What’s included in this SPECIAL Early Bird Offer
***Since this is the first group we’re taking through the program, there’s a great early adopter price, as WELL as bonus Qu0026amp;A’s that are ONLY included for this first group.
-
5 Video Modules with complete instructions
-
Worksheets for each module so you can implement quickly, without having to keep re-watching.
-
Marketing Templates With a Simple Structure to Follow
-
Weekly Group Qu0026amp;A Calls [This is ONLY for the first group!]
Step 1 is creating a NEW venn diagram.
-
Understanding what your potential client truly has a deep desire for.
-
And targeting Hot Buyers with Desires…those that are already buying products and services to get them closer to their desire, but don’t yet know that you can give them a better result.
Step 2 is creating a roadmap to link your products and services to their desire.
-
You gather evidence that your products and services actually DO link to their desire.
-
You gather stories – your own, past clients, or even celebrities.
-
You gather data – scientific studies, newspaper or magazine articles, quotes from historical figures.
-
You can even get more creative – gathering song lyrics, poems, brain science studies.
Step 3: You create experiences for your Hot Buyers with Desires.
-
Using your roadmap to craft your web pages, social media posts, email newsletters, even your voicemail message.
-
This is where tactics come into play.
-
But everything is crafted in a way to do less – but be more effective.
-
“Do less better.”
Step 4: Your potential clients now have the belief that your products and services will bring them closer to their desire.
-
They think “I need that…it’s totally worth it!”
-
This conclusion is what happened to my husband and I, the “We’ll never buy a camper” to “We need it now!”
Step 5: You amplify your business, and create a BIGGER RESULT that gets them closer to their desire
-
You’re getting more of the right clients, with less competition.
-
Your clients value what you do more.
-
You’re creating raving fans.
-
This is when you start to add MORE of what people desire into your business.
-
You’re giving them a bigger, better result.
-
No “experience” for experience sake…no freshly baked cookies at ordering sessions and random gifts.
-
Everything you add into your business does one thing only: gives them MORE of the result they desire.
-
It gets them CLOSER to what they desire.
-
It’s not just an empty “lets do more” for more customer service sake.
-
It’s directed, laser focused.
What’s included?
-
5 Video Modules with complete instructions
-
Worksheets for each module so you can implement quickly, without having to keep re-watching.
-
Marketing Templates With a Simple Structure to Follow
-
Fast Action Price: $498 (EXPIRES while webinar is LIVE!)