The Daily Mentor Minute Blog | Bruce Hudson

SALES ARE SALES!
Sunday, Aug 31, 2008

Hi there! Bruce here in the beautiful little town of St. Maries, Idaho which is located in the Northwest part of Idaho at the south end of Lake Coeur d’Alene. This is where my wife, Terri, grew up and her family still resides. St. Maries annual festival “Paul Bunyan Days” is always Labor Day weekend. Terri’s family has a long history in this area; in fact her Grandpa was a State Senator for almost 30 years! During the festival, her family has a concession stand that sells pizza by the slice, ice cream, and yummy roast beef sandwiches. It’s always fun to come over this weekend to help “man” the booth and hang out with her family and the locals. Part of the proceeds from the concession stand goes to the high school football team. Each hour we get two new football “Dudes” to come in and help—usually scooping extremely hard ice cream. It’s fun trying to give them a short lesson on sales. May it be selling pizza or portraits—Sales are Sales! Here’s my short lesson for them and you… 1. Ask for the Sale (when you see someone approaching the stand, mention how they look hungry for a slice of fresh pizza). 2. Up-sell: “Are you sure one slice is going to be enough?” 3. Its O.K. to assume there will be more to the sale: “What can I get you to drink with that?” 4. Samples lead to sales: “Would you like to try our new Death by Chocolate?” You can’t sale large portraits unless you display (show samples of large portraits). Time to go back to work and have another “carny” corn dog and bloomin’ onion! Terri and I won’t be losing any weight this weekend. Oh! And by the way, I did win Terri two large (medium & small) stuffed animals yesterday. It made me feel like a real Man! Just always remember that my it be pizza or portraits- Sales are Sales…BH

Recession Proof!
Friday, Aug 29, 2008

Today as I was photographing a long time client, Dr. April Ziegle, and I asked her how business was doing. “Business is great! I picked the right profession, there’s no recessions”, April chuckled. One of her longtime friends from dental school was in town and we did some shots of her family as well. Her friend is also a dentist and she echoed the same thing. I guess what I am saying is the excuse of “There’s nobody with money in my town, the economy is too bad” doesn’t fly with me. In every city, town, and region of this great country, there is always someone in need of photography. It is our job and our job alone to find these people, market to them effectively, and educate them about our services and why they should be a priority. Here are a few professions that are pretty much recession proof: (1) Medical Doctors (2) Dentists (3) Lawyers (4) and Chiropractors! Every town in America has these types of people. So get out there, buy a list, and get them in for portraits! B.H. –PS. I hope everyone has a good weekend; I am off to Idaho for a little vacation! Josh will be handling the Mentor Minutes this weekend. Enjoy them and I’ll be back on Tuesday!

Niche That Market!
Thursday, Aug 28, 2008

Just as I was leaving the studio yesterday the phone rang. For some reason, some of my best clients have called us after business hours to inquire about our services. Anyway, Josh was still working (poor guy, he got his dad’s “work-o-holic” genes) and eagerly answered the phone. As I heard Josh’s side of the conversation, it was obvious that the person on the other end of the phone just received one of our Pin-Pointed Targeted Marketing cards. This particular one was for lake front home owners. After a few minutes Josh passed the phone to me. It was a VERY big fish that actually lives across the lake from us. The gentleman said, “Great card, great marketing idea Hudson!” Bottom-line: This “big fish” had used 2 other established photographers for his last 2 family portraits. He didn’t sound dissatisfied with their work but he hadn’t ever heard from either of them ever again! “Anyone that markets exclusively to homes on the lake must know how to photograph families who live on the lake”, he said. This is one of the most powerful things you can do when marketing your studio, niche a SPECIFIC market! For us, right now we are niching families who live on lakes. The key is to find the niche, market the heck out of it, and become the photographer that specializes in that market. This type of next level direct marketing has been EXTREMLY successful for the past 2-3 years and this summer is no exception. I have had multiple sessions and some amazing sales that are a direct result from this type of marketing. Once you have niched the market, done the sessions, now it is time to sell! Speaking of that, are you pricing your work effectively to maximize each sale? If not, I’ll see you tonight at my webinar on Pricing Your Work for Profit…And MORE Profit! It is at 7pm CST and to register go to www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars! Thanks everyone, have a great Thursday! B.H.

5 Tips for Capturing E-mails
Wednesday, Aug 27, 2008

One of our favorite restaurants here in the Seattle is called Dukes Chowder House. Not only is their food great, they are masters at marketing with e-newsletters. They are also masters of capturing e-mails as well! Both Josh and I have been e-mail members of theirs for a few years now. Josh and I get a ton of emails and phone calls from members on this subject a lot. “I have the email marketing set up, but I am having trouble getting emails!” Here are some tips for capturing your clients email addresses: (1) Just ask! There are many times throughout the sales process where all you need to do is to simple ask. Dukes does this by giving you a card with your bill. See their example above. The incentives for signing up are defiantly compelling enough for most people to take advantage. You can see them above on both sides. (2) When people email you, keep their email address and put it into marketing program. (3) Develop and send out a card letting your clients know that you are having a contest for getting emails. Make it a win-win for them! You give us your email, we will be able to stay in touch better, and you will have a chance to win something cool! Make it something other than your product, i.e., a gift certificate to a popular local restaurant! It worked for us! (4) Have a place on your website where people can “opt in” to receive your monthly e-newsletter. (5) Directories! Maybe it’s your church, country club, service club, or chamber of commerce directory; they are all places to get email addresses to market too! I hope these have been helpful! See you tomorrow for my LIVE encore webinar presentation on Pricing Your Work for Profit…And More Profit! It is at 7pm CST! Go to www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars to register!

What’s YOUR Motivation?
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008

I’m writing this in route to a session that was originally planned 2 years ago. The reason it never happened is no ones fault. It’s just human nature to put things off. Maybe the weather wasn’t good, the dog got sick, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I had some extra time a couple of weeks ago and decided to call some of my follow-up files. These are files from people who inquired about portraits but maybe never made it in for the consultation, people who did the consultation but never booked, you get the idea. Always remember it doesn’t hurt to follow-up on old leads, you just never know what can come of them. So I contacted this particular family and they were excited to here from me. But at the same time they were sad. You see two years ago this couple wanted to get some full family portraits. You know the big one with all the siblings, grandparents, the whole family. I had done this particular couple’s wedding 16 years earlier and their core family portrait about 6 years ago. But this session was going to be of the entire clan. Long story short, the session kept getting put off for various reasons and eventually we lost touch. Well come to find out that the grandmother passed away sometime after we had lost touch and the family was devastated. This was the matriarch of the family and they had never done a full family portrait. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes something tragic like a death to truly understand what is important in life. Be subtle, but remind your clients of this fact. Try to find out what their motivation is. Also, look at yourself and what goals you want to accomplish in your lifetime. What excuses are you making? On a lighter note, check out this week’s image for a glimpse from this family’s new portrait! Josh will be posting it tomorrow. B.H. –PS. We are doing an encore presentation of last Thursday’s webinar on Pricing Your Work for Profit…And MORE Profit! It will be at 7pm CST this Thursday. If you missed it, I hope to see you there!

He got it at Jared!
Monday, Aug 25, 2008

One of the topics I discussed at last Thursday’s webinar on pricing for profit was perceived value and how it affects what you can charge for your photography. Having a high level of perceived value can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars and a healthy bottom-line. On that note, let’s look at an example of perceived value in the non-photography world. See if you can come up with some ideas on how you can raise the perceived value of YOUR products. Terri and I dropped off a necklace I bought for her last Christmas to be repaired at one of my favorite jewelry stores, Jared! In my opinion, Jared has an extremely high level of perceived value. Why is that? What goes into creating perceived value? Well, at Jared I feel it’s these reasons: (1) The Atmosphere of the facility. One of the first impressions to me is, “You’re in a special place.” The look, the feel, and an armed guard gives me that feeling, this is not your average shopping mall store. (2) The presentation of the products is done very well. They use the collection method to present the different styles of merchandize and price ranges. Everything is THIS collection or THAT collection. (3) The staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. It goes along way! (4) They create a wonderful buying experience! “Would you like an espresso, soda, or water?” Terri and I both asked for water and when they brought them to us, they were on a silver plate. Nice touch! (5) Jared stands behind their products. They ask you to come in every 6 months to have your settings checked. This is good policy for me, the consumer, because it forces me to be proactive in the care of my investment. It is also a great marketing technique as well! While they are inspecting your jewelry, you have a chance to walk around the store! (6) Their branding and positioning in the market place makes Jared an exciting store to want to visit! “He got it at Jared!” Jared is not the cheapest jeweler in town, nor are they Tiffany’s. You are paying more at Jared than some other jewelers, but it is a place that you go when you want something special. To sum up this Mentor Minute, I’ll leave you with this. To understand the creation of perceived value, I suggest you observe all the examples around you in your everyday life. May it be at McDonalds for breakfast or Ruth Chris Steakhouse for dinner, we can all see and experience examples of products with perceived value. This will help you raise the perceived value of your product, thus, making it easier for someone to gladly invest in it! B.H.

My 20 rules of Sales and Pricing, Part Two!
Sunday, Aug 24, 2008

Here goes the second half! 11) The family portrait is the hardest product to attract, but has the highest potential profit for the time invested! 12) It takes just as much time to order an 8x10 as it does to order a 30x40. Which will build your bank account faster? 13) In order to sell large images, you MUST educate your clients before the session! Insist on consultation! 14) In order to sell large images, you MUST present your images LARGE! Project, Project, PROJECT!!! 15) In regards to our first year baby album, any time you can develop a continuing program, it’s a very good thing! 16) Also in regards to our first year baby plan! Make it easy to invest in your product or service. 17) Any time you bridge a “pricing gap” you will be successful! 18) Its better to “sticker shock” them now (before the session), that at the point of sale! 19) Raising your prices (even slightly) will instantly increase your profits! 20) Make it easy to buy. Offer everything. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AMX, yes AMX! You have the profit margin to handle 1% to 2% more! Hope this was helpful- watch for an Encore presentation of this WEBinar coming soon! Also, be watching for our new Mentor Education on Demand coming soon! Have a good Sunday! B.H.

My 20 Rules of Sales and Pricing! Part one
Saturday, Aug 23, 2008

On Thursday I had a capacity crowd for our Pricing for Profit WEBinar. I’ve had many emails asking for the 20 rules of Pricing and Sales I covered, so I decided to share them for today’s and tomorrow’s Mentor Minute. Here goes! 1) The price you charge doesn’t have to relate to your cost. The most expensive painting in the whole world sold for 140 million! How much was the cost for the canvas and the paint needed to create it? 2) No matter what you charge you will always been seen as “too” expensive. “8x10’s” are $1.99 at Sam’s Club! 3) What its worth may not be what it sells for. 4) Sell the sizzle, not the steak! 5) Each one of your products is a different animal (and should be priced as much)! 6) High school seniors are a lot like farming, you need to plant new marketing seeds each and every year! As if you have never marketed before! 7) If you don’t like photographing a specific aspect of your business, keep raising prices until you do! 8) You MUST add the element of time to your wedding coverage’s! 9) If you sell them the proofs at a reduced cost, they don’t need to buy reprinting. 10) Sometimes you need to price your product or service based on the changing marketplace. There’s the first 10 rules-check out the next 10 tomorrow! Have a good Saturday night! B.H.

Learning Everyday!
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008

What determines a client seeing your photography as a work of art? After 25 years in the business, I’m still trying to figure that out! On Monday I experienced the polar opposite in two sets of clients. Josh wrote about one on Monday’s entry, which was August 18th. Basically, I had a first time client come in for a consultation. They had major sticker shock over my prices (that’s okay) and I was asked some “point blank” questions as to why I’m so expensive. At that point in our young relationship, the couple’s perceived value of my work wasn’t in line with my pricing. They did indeed decide to book a session and I scheduled a “go-see” to meet the rest of the family and see their home before the session. In contrast, Monday evening I met with one of my Cannon Beach Portrait Safari clients, to project their images in their home. In two hours we narrowed the favorites down to 31 images. They were excited with my work and continuously said “what do you think Bruce, you are the professional”. At 9:15pm it was apparent that we weren’t going to finalize sizes and placement of their portraits. As we scheduled our next meeting the mom of the family handed me a $5,000.00 check to show her appreciation for what we had done so far. Nothing had been finalized, but she wanted to let me know that “they will probably be the best clients I’ve ever had!” Sounds good to me, how about you? Tomorrow night I will be presenting one of my most comprehensive programs on pricing I’ve ever done. In this WEBinar I will share my 20 cardinal rules of pricing and show my pricing for Seniors, Weddings, Families, Commercial, and our “First Year” Baby Plan. Every time I teach, I learn. Each time I meet a new client, I get closer to finding the secrets of perceived value and how it relates to me, my photography and my business. I hope you can join me tomorrow (Thursday, august 21st @ 7 central time) as I reveal the secrets I’ve uncovered so far. Go to www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars. Hope to see you there! B.H. PS. Remember, if you are a Monthly Mentor member, you receive a $10.00 off BruceBucks for attending!

The Power of Networking!
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008

I had a wonderful lunch today with my buddy Armondo at one of his restaurants. We do this from time to time and bounce marketing ideas off one another. In fact I featured him in my book The Relationographer. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it! www.relationographer.com. Anyway, over the years we have networked together to drive business each others way. My goal today was to incorporate Armondo and to get some other businesses interested in becoming sponsors (partners) with us for our new 2009 fine art calendar. Basically each business will have a featured month (along with one of my images) and receive X number of calendars to give to their best customers as a thank you for their business in 2008. Ultimately when we have finished this project over 1,000 calendars featuring our fine art work will be in the hands of potential clients. Best of all, the cost will be shared with all our networking partners. Pretty cool, huh? Stay tuned and I’ll let you know how the new marketing project progresses! B.H.

Finding Common Ground
Monday, Aug 18, 2008

Hey everyone, Josh here, my dad a full day of sessions and is currently at a clients home projecting right now. I asked my dad if I could do the Mentor Minute tonight so I could share my experience from today with you. In our studio, my dad is the person that does all the consultations with potential clients. This morning he asked me if I wanted to sit in. I wish I had a camera, talk about going to school. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen my dad sell before, but he was on fire today! Without going into specifics, there was one thing that I walked away with today that can either make or break your potential sale, it’s finding a common ground with people. Within minutes of a sale, you need to find something in common with your client; you need to be able to relate to them. We call this building rapport. Let’s just say that when my dad presented the price list, these people were shocked! This happens every time and that is ok. No matter what you’re charging, people will be shocked. My dad explained to them the reasons why it is so pricey and they decided to move forward with the session. So my dad and I took a few minutes afterwards to go over the consultation and why these people decided to book. Basically what it came down to was the common ground. They had become friends and really built a sense of trust in one another. So next time you are on the phone or in the sales room, take an extra 5 minutes and really get to know your clients. Thanks everyone, Bruce will return tomorrow! Josh

Are YOU Just Coasting?
Sunday, Aug 17, 2008

8 Gold Medals in a single Olympic Games? Impossible? Obviously it was not to Mr. Phelps and his team’s performance yesterday when he beat Mark Spit’s record of 7 Gold’s in 1972. Absolutely amazing! But when you think about, only 1/100th of a second meant the difference between making history and just tying. Michael’s 8th Gold Medal yesterday might have been 7. Earlier this week Phelps barely beat his second place opponent by 1/100th of a second in the 100 Meter Butterfly Stroke event. In those final seconds of the race, it appeared that Phelps was going to lose by a fraction. He didn’t! When Phelps came in first the networks instantly went back the replay so see how he managed to come in first, when it was so apparent that he would finish second. Phelps decided to add an extra half stroke to the end of his swim. This extra, last minute effort, lead to him winning by 1/100th of a second. It was also apparent from the reply that the silver medalist, who had lead the entire race, assumed he had the lead and “coasted” into the wall. How many times have you thought to yourself you’ve “given it your all” to find out after the fact that you could have done more? One of my mentors at an early age always told me, “The difference between the first place horse and the second place horse in a race can be inches, but the degree of prize money is huge!” Moral of this Daily Mentor Minute: In life and business, never assume, never give up until that checkered flag has been raised, and never settle for mediocrity! Life is too short to NOT give it your all! B.H.

Pricing for Profit
Saturday, Aug 16, 2008

Figuring out pricing is one of the hardest tasks we have as studio owners. On Thursday, I am going to be going into great detail about my pricing, at my Pricing for Profit WEBinar. Today though, I want to share with you a senior sale that just took place. Because of the strategy I’m about to tell you, I was able to increase my sale 100% and my client has a much better value for her money! With seniors, we offer A’ La carte pricing and package (collections) pricing. Investing in a collection is a much better value per print but, has a higher dollar minimum to go into the collection. In contrast, our A’ LA carte pricing has a higher per print cost that doesn’t require as high of a minimum to invest. My strategy has always been to have you’re A’ LA carte pricing per print at least double what collection pricing would be. In fact, smaller sizes up to an 11x14 aren’t even available in our A’ LA carte pricing. As $99 scanners are so common, it makes copying our prints even easier. By pointing out to my client today the value of investing in a collection compared to single prints, the sale virtually doubled. But, the best part was that her value also doubled too. My cost only increased by 15%. That is what I mean about Pricing for Profit. If this sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. It works and I cannot wait to share all my pricing strategies with you on Thursday! Go to www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars to register now! See you Thursday!!! BH

Mt. Rainer from 16,000 feet!
Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008

Happy Wednesday everyone, Josh here! My dad is at his bi-monthly marketing mastermind meeting and asked if I would fill in for him. I have the upmost respect for my father. He is a great dad, friend, boss, and probably the most inspirational person I have met! But one thing that amazes me is his willingness and hunger to learn from others. Maybe that is what drives him to want to share his knowledge and experience with other photographers. He loves to get feed back on his ideas and loves to learn from others, even if it is a totally unrelated business. I would argue that my dad and his studio are at the top of the game around here, and have been for 2 decades. But he still wants to learn more! He has always taught me that life and business are like a treadmill, if your not moving forward at all times, you falling back. Doug Box, a well known and successful photographer from Texas, said the same exact thing during his interview for this month’s Monthly Mentor issue. Coincidence…I think not! In order to obtain success and maintain it, you have to evolve. Successful people all have this in common. Whether it is your image creation, marketing plans, sales techniques, management style, whatever, don’t get complacent. Keep moving forward! I would suggest surrounding yourself with like minded people; it will help you keep focused. Join a marketing group…or start your own! Join a service club with the movers and shakers in your community. No matter where you are in life or your career, we can all learn something new! Oh, I almost forgot! You are probably thinking, “Great advice Josh, but what does the image above have to do with it?” This morning, by surrounding ourselves with like minded people, me, my dad, my stepmom, my little sister, and my step brother, were invited flying on one of my dad’s Rotary buddy’s planes over Mt. Rainer! You are looking at one of the images taken from 16,000 feet! What a fun morning! Have a good rest of the week everyone! J.H.

Helping your clients out!
Monday, Aug 11, 2008

A lot of times my clients will ask me to help them market certain events, mainly charity ones. This is a great way to demonstrate to your clients that “Yes, you do care about them, their lives, and their interests!” Whether it is a charity auction donation to a private school or actually marketing an event to your client database, it is a no brainer, win-win marketing opportunity. I just did an e-blast today for one of my clients, friends, and business partners for www.brucetunz.com, Mr. Jeremy Ryan! Above is an event that he is hosting to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Below is the actual copy from the e-blast I just sent out. Enjoy and get out there are get involved! B.H. -“Jazz Concert TONIGHT at Jazz Alley…See You There! One of my friends and client’s, accomplished musician Jeremy Ryan, is hosting a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims tonight at Jazz Alley in Downtown Seattle! For many of you, the beautiful piano ballads that you heard while viewing your images in my projection room were songs written and played by Jeremy. What an amazing talent! Jeremy recorded his latest album in New Orleans just two days before Katrina hit. Jeremy has teamed up with many of New Orleans local (and famous) musicians to help the city recover. For more information about this amazing concert and what YOU can do to contribute, please go to www.jazzrelief08.com/ Please join me tomorrow for some Jazz, Wine, and to help a great cause! Bruce”

Encore! Encore!
Friday, Aug 08, 2008

To all of you who attended last night’s webinar- THANK YOU! Also, a special thanks for all the comments last night during the Q and A, plus all the emails this morning! My goal was to share some amazing ways to market your studio and get a huge return on your marketing investment. We call it Pin-Point Targeted Marketing. For most direct marketing pieces to be successful, you have to have effective copy. The best formula I have found for copywriting is this book by Dan Kennedy, one of the highest paid copywriters in the world. He is one of my marketing mentors and I highly recommend you invest in this book TODAY! We are actually featuring this book for the August Studio Success Guide. Watch for it! Because of the response from last night’s event that both I and Marathon Press received, we have agreed to do an ENCORE and live presentation this Monday evening! It will be at 7pm CST. I look forward to once again sharing how Pin-Point Target Marketing works and how we use it every day in the studio! Hope to see you there! Well, it’s off to a wedding for me, nice little 7 hour coverage! Wish me luck! B.H.

It is coming back!
Thursday, Aug 07, 2008

On August 2nd I wrote about a young lady that had come in my studio with her friend over 15 years ago. Her friend was getting some Soft Touch portraiture done for her husband’s birthday. Long story short, now, after 15 years of having my business card in her purse, she finally came in for herself! The session went great and today she came in to view her images. This is where the story goes in a complete 180 from what I discussed today at my webinar on Pin-Point Target Marketing. During the webinar I talked about buying lists of potential clients in your area based on certain criteria. Usually one of the first things we set is the median income level. This of course is different in every area, but can serve as a good starting off point. Or is it? I have found in the business that it doesn’t just come down to who has the money, it is just one component in many when it comes to finding the right type of clientele. I have been subbed by the mega rich and rewarded by people that on the outside didn’t look like they had the money to truly invest. Bottom-line; NEVER judge a book by its cover. You just never know! Plus, it is simply the right thing to do in life, treat everyone with respect. So, to get back on track, today my soft touch session came in to view and order. She is a very sweet lady but to tell you the truth, I wasn’t expecting a huge sale, maybe an 11x14 and a few smaller ones. The images were going to be an anniversary gift for her husband and she drove an older car that hadn’t been washed in a while. Plus she has two kids in college (one on scholarship to Harvard). I wasn’t being negative; I just didn’t see the potential. Well, she loved the images and decided to purchase a 20x24 and an album. Boom, $2900 sale. You just never know guys and gals. The more I am in the business the more I truly think it comes down to attitude, not affluence, that makes a perfect client. Be mindful of that. Till tomorrow, B.H.

What do YOU do with your junk mail?
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008

Greetings from the road! My family and I are traveling back from our Portrait Safari in Cannon Beach, OR. What a great week! We had some awesome sessions, got to bond with our clients even more, and had some time to relax and play golf. This Mentor Minute will be quick tonight because I am putting the finishing touches on my webinar for tomorrow night: Pin-Point Target Marketing- Getting a HUGE Return on YOUR Marketing Investment! In today’s market you HAVE to stand out with your marketing message. More importantly, your message needs to find its way into the right people’s hands. How do you do this? Simple, Pin-Point Target Marketing! Just sending a cold prospect a general marketing piece is not going to make you stand out. Just picture them standing over their garbage can going through their mail. You have a split second to make an impression and cause them to set YOUR piece a side. How many direct mailing pieces do you throw out every day? Why? Here are a 3 tips that will be discussed in tomorrow’s webinar that will help your direct mail pieces stay out of the trash: (1) Purchase lists that pertain to your campaign. For instance, the card above was mailed to a male high school senior. Notice how the card is geared towards males. (2) Set your family income levels accordingly! Sending your mailing pieces to people that do not fit your perfect client profile nor can afford you is a waste of time. (3) Personalize your mailing piece. We use Marathon Press’s variable data technology to accomplish this. Not only is the front personalized but the back copy as well. For more ideas and concrete examples from some of my successful Pin-Pointed Campaigns, register at www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars. See you tomorrow! B.H.

The Cannon Beach Experience- Part Two
Tuesday, Aug 05, 2008

The relationship continues! Yesterday I shared with you the Richards family, one of my newest clients. Check out this week’s image for one of their images. Today I did a family session for the Wilson family. Above is one of their images from a beach just North of Cannon Beach. It is actually 2 blocks from their summer home, so this is a beach that they really hang out at all the time. What better way to personalize the session and the experience…right in their own back yard! I did the dad’s senior portraits 15 years ago, their wedding 9 years ago, family portraits for his parents, and now just like clockwork, his family’s portrait! As you can see, we got some great stuff, but the experience is what this family will remember. Towards the end of the session the mom wanted some images of the kids playing, so we sent them running down the beach hand in hand. Very cute stuff! On the way back to two little ones tripped and took a face plant in the wet sand. The poor things were covered literally head to toe with wet sand! The dad looked at me and said, “Did you get that?” They are now talking about purchasing a sequence of the images. They said, “Those are our kids and this is what we will always look back on and laugh about!” My point is (and yesterday’s blog was about this too) that the actual images you create for your clients are a small part of the experience. If you’re just pulling down the background, shooting for 20 minutes, and putting them online, where’s the experience? There isn’t one, and that is what the higher-end clients are willing to pay for. I hope you have enjoyed the images and my thoughts these past few days from Cannon Beach. Tomorrow we drive home and Thursday is back to the studio. See you tomorrow! B.H.

The Cannon Beach Experience- Part One
Monday, Aug 04, 2008

Notice something difference about The Daily Mentor Minute? We now have the capability of posting images! Very cool! Anyway, the image above was taken in Cannon Beach, OR, the location of our longest running portrait safari. We have been coming to Cannon Beach on vacation and to do sessions for over 20 years now! In fact, I am writing this from Cannon Beach right now! What a magical place. We had an incredible session last night with the Richards family. They are new clients that have recently come into our lives. They first saw my work on a marketing card we sent to them. They live on Lake Sammamish (just east of Seattle) and have received some pin-pointed lake cards, our newsletters, and most recently this summer’s portrait safari card. On the cover of the safari card was an image taken at Cannon Beach. Mike, the dad, just loved it! It was something different and something unique. But it wasn’t just the image that attracted this family to me. Yes pretty pictures help, but it is the experience that will sell your clients. The consultation, the go-see at their home, then meeting them in Cannon Beach, it’s all part of the portrait experience. We went to three different locations, ending up at our favorite beach called Arcadia. There, while we waited for the sunset, we brought out some cheese, crackers, salami, and some wine for our clients (and us) to enjoy while we waited. What a great time! They were very impressed, even their 19 and 22 year olds had fun. It is doing these little things that will set you apart from every other photographer out there. Our clients told us that they haven’t had this much together in a long time and THANKED US for taking the time to capture their family. Did you get that? Clients as thankful as YOU are to do the session. It really is all about the experience, the Cannon Beach Experience! Tomorrow we have another session; I’ll post an image from it as well as Part Two. See you tomorrow, B.H.

Is it Coming Back?
Saturday, Aug 02, 2008

Yesterday was a mixed bag of fun. The day started with an 8am session that was for a dental office theme portrait. I create a new one for them annually and this year’s theme was Gone with the Wind. Dr. Ingles was the guy, his wife Julie was Scarlett, and the rest of the staff was southern bells! We staged the shot at an old mansion and even included a horse for some ambiance. Josh filmed the whole session and it will be featured in an up-coming “Day in the Life” video series on the new Mentor Education On-Demand section of the site. Watch for that in the near future. My next session was at the studio and it was kind of a blast from the past- a soft touch session. This particular client had a friend who came in 15 years ago to do a soft touch session (which we used to own the market for in Seattle) and she had always wanted to eventually do the same. Well, after 15 years of keeping my card in her wallet, she finally pulled the trigger! We are starting to see more inquiries for this style of intimate photography again. Could it be coming back into style? Colors and fashions eventually cycle through the decades, why not photography styles? Is anyone else seeing this out there in your area? Let me know at brucehudson@earthlink.net. Sometimes markets come and go, listen to your clients and your prospects when they call in, they will give you insights on what you should marketing and offering in your studio. Tomorrow we are off to one of our favorite portrait safari locations, Cannon Beach, OR. I’ll be sharing some of those images with you on Monday for our new Image of the Week! Have a great rest of the weekend everyone! B.H.