The Daily Mentor Minute Blog | Bruce Hudson

Pleasantly surprised…by Val-Pak salesmen?
Monday, Nov 30, 2009

Last week right before Thanksgiving I was pleasantly surprised when I met with a couple of Val-Pak sales people. I haven’t used this style of marketing in probably 20 years or so. How come? I didn’t want to be perceived on the same level as a pizza parlor or a tanning salon for one. And two, the cost for this kind of universal marketing used to be very expensive. Then why did I meet with these people after 20 years of not using them as part of my marketing mix? Simple, I wanted to reinforce my negative beliefs about them and their product. Well, after the meeting, which was more like a consultation, I have to say that I was impressed with their professionalism and the value of the product. Why the big turnaround? The last time I used Val-Pak I had ZERO success. There’s no guarantee that it will be successful this time either but I am willing to give it a shot. Here are some reasons for trying them out again this time: (1) Cost- 20 years ago they charged $750 per a 10,000 person zone. They quoted me $250 per 10,000 this time! (2) 20 years ago the coupons were 1 color, 4 colors was an extra charge. Today 4 colors are standard on both sides. (3) The type of businesses that are using this service now have changed dramatically. I saw examples of fine dining restaurants (which I frequent), furniture stores, and even cosmetic surgeons. (4) The sales people made an appointment with me to find out if I was a right fit for them. 20 years ago, they came in unannounced and put a hard sell on me. To sum this up, here are my thoughts: I find that the longer I am in business the more I learn that there is not one magic marketing bullet out there. You have to spread yourself out into many different arenas in order to get your name recognized by the community. I’ve been in business for 27 years and I’m considered one of the premiere photography studios in the area, and I still have market and branch out from time to time. Bottom-line, for a $250 investment per 10,000 impressions, I’m willing to give it a try. Did I mention that you get to choose your region and target certain demographics? We will be starting an ad campaign with them this January and February; we’ll keep you updated on the progress! A personal lesson learned from this is to approach things with an open mind; you never know when your own negative attitude can get in the way of a golden opportunity to try something new. Keep that in mind and you too may be pleasantly surprised! –B.H.

A Day of Thanks!
Thursday, Nov 26, 2009

Since Josh and I started MSM, a day doesn’t go by when we don’t get a phone call, email or card from a photographer thanking us for our comments. From the beginning our goal has been to motivate, educate and inspire you everyway we can. Being a photographer can be the most rewarding job in the world. It can also be the most challenging job too especially in the economic climate we are in today. So today during this day of thanks, Josh and I just want to say thanks for following us from day to day and giving us the opportunity to share our ideas with you. We are all in this wonderful business together and any way we can help you achieve your goals we will! Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

“Hello Bombshell!” – Identify YOUR Target Market and Create a Desire!
Monday, Nov 23, 2009

Anyone seen the current Victoria’s Secret “Hello Bombshell” campaign? Not gonna lie, love the commercial! I find myself saying “Hello Bombshell” to my wife all the time now! LOL! Anyway, I like how they target a specific group of woman, much like we should be doing in our studios with every marketing piece. The “Bombshell” campaign isn’t just going after all women, it’s going after women who have smaller…ok, you get the picture. It took me a second to figure out who they were trying to sell too. I asked my wife what she thought of the commercial and she said, “It’s not targeted towards me, I have big boobs already.” God I love her honesty! But seriously, what woman doesn’t want to look like a bombshell? Their research department must have identified some large nitch of woman with a desire for this new bra. How can we as studio owners learn from this? There are millions of different consumer groups out there just waiting to spend their hard earned money, even in this economy. The problem lies in identifying their specific needs and wants, their desires. Then, after you’ve figured out who they are, trying to come up with the right copy and offer that is going to entice them to buy. For us, we are always looking for new opportunities and people to show our products. Here’s an example. Most men have a hard time buying gifts for their wives, that’s a fact. I think I’m a pretty romantic guy and I even have trouble. You can only buy so many things from Victoria’s Secret before it just becomes creepy. So, guys are looking for unique gifts. Plus, men can be a little lazy at times or get busy with work. Whatever the excuse, we like things to be done for us, the more convenient the better. One of our Platinum Members came up with campaign suited to this specific group. He’s developed a in studio session of dad and kids, which includes a wrapped canvas portrait that is gift wrapped and hand delivered to the man’s office on Christmas Eve, all ready to go for Santa’s escapades that night. My point in all this is that you have to try a little harder and search for prospects better. Just sending out a blanket email to your clients that says, “50% off portraits this Christmas” isn’t going to be enough anymore. Try thinking outside box, you never know what your next “Bombshell” idea might be! -Josh

Maximizing Each Client WITHOUT Over Selling!
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009

One of the quickest ways to kill future busy is to oversell a client. If you’re not projecting, you don’t have to worry about this, online proofing is the quickest way to un-maximize a sale. But, for you projection people out there, be sure to build trust with your clients. The more touch points I have with a client the better. Ok, get your mind out of the gutter; I am talking about interacting with them on a personal basis, not via email or phone. Many times the initial trust is built up when they visit my studio. They see actual 40, 50, and 60 inch prints of real family clients and even hear audio testimonials during my slideshow. I always reassure them, especially after they see my prices, that I am not out to sell them the largest thing I have, but I want to make sure they have the correct sizes of portraits to fit their needs. I also let them know that I have been in business for 27 years, 80% of the time dealing with my current clients. “I want to create a client for life here, not sell you anything you don’t need”, I say. Also, during the go-see, I’m giving them size recommendations. If I think a 30x40 is going to be too big, I’ll let them know. I’ve heard from many clients how much they respect that, it shows them that I want the right portrait there, not the one that is too big. Taking this approach is easy for me because I truly care about my clients; I see them as a partner in my business. Without their love and respect for me as an artist, I wouldn’t have a studio. We rarely ever get anyone with buyer’s remorse as a result. Anyway, here are some random thoughts about my sales philosophy. Have a great Sunday everyone, watch for a new image of the week tomorrow! –B.H.

Part Two: “What if I don’t have a studio, what then?” Tips for meeting with your clients off site!
Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009

I hear this excuse a lot now days; everyone has an on-location only studio. Nothing wrong with that, there’s less overhead, but there are also some limitations as well. My suggestion would be to make an area in your home for consultations and projections. Make that your store front studio! Plus, you can right off a portion of the mortgage payment! We’ll be moving to this business model as soon as our commercial building sells- anyone in the market for prime real estate? Another excuse I hear is, “I don’t want people coming to my house!” Fair enough, go to theirs then and bring large framed portraits, easels, lights, your projector, and a screen if needed. I know you’re thinking that this is way too much work, but it is the only way to recreate the ultimate sales environment. This is exactly what we will be brining to our client’s homes once we make the transition to the in home studio. I will have a formal sales office with large canvas portraits and 70 inch plasma for viewings, but my house is kind of “out there” for some of the Seattle people. In that case, I will gladly go to them. Here’s another option, how many of you meet your clients at a coffee shop in your town? Odds are you take clients to that same spot a lot. Develop a relationship with the owner and get some of your portraits on display there. Maybe even offer him or her a free session and print some wall portraits for him. Just make sure to approach the owner with his marketing in mind. Explain how many of your clients you will be bringing in there; make it a win-win for both parties. If he or she doesn’t see the benefit, try his competitor across town! You can also maybe borrow banquet facilities at a local restaurant during mid-week. My point with all this is that you have to get your clients to experience what you can do, not just see it online. Trust me, you can’t sell a 30x40 over the phone, I’ve tried. Meet your clients beforehand, show them the possibilities, develop the relationship, and build artistic trust, this is the name of the game. Your sales will go up and your artistry will be rewarded, I promise! –Josh PS. Had a great day of filming with my dad! We’re re-doing the MSM.com site and adding some killer vids, watch for the new site in December!

Never Assume Anything- Part One: People know what a “wall portrait” is!
Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009

So my daughter Natalie had her first sleepover party last Saturday. Yes, in case you are wondering, I survived 6 6-7 year old girls running around the house all night long! Thanks Heineken! Anyway, the next morning all the moms came to pick up their little “angels” and Melissa and I invited them in for coffee. None of them have been in our house before and they were shocked at the number of wall portraits we have. “Oh my gosh, these are beautiful, they look like paintings,” one mom said. We of course said thank you and explained how important it is to celebrate our family through art. I wasn’t surprised to learn that none of these woman had every seen a portrait larger than an 11x14 before. Mel and I joked with them, “Rather than put up random art on the walls, we choose to showcase our family and passions, it truly makes a house a home, don’t you think”, we asked? I know, I was working it! Never assume that anyone knows what you can create. Most people have never experienced a wall portrait before, let alone an 11x14. And furthermore, consumers can’t get excited about the concept until they physically see it. So much for the cool galleries on websites! If you have a store front studio, get the clients in before the session and only display what you want to sell. In our studio, we have nothing smaller than a 30 inch on the wall. If you work out of your home, I have some great ideas for you. Tune in tomorrow for part two! Hope everyone enjoyed the FB video today, if you didn’t, go to Facebook.com/mystudiomentor and check it out! -Josh

Instant ROI Marketing for your photography studio- Today’s 5 minute case study!
Friday, Nov 13, 2009

I’m a marketing geek, a BIG one! While you guys are Photoshopping, I’m dissecting ROI (Return on investment) numbers, tracking responses, and following up on leads at the studio. I know, I have a sickness! This is Josh by the way and I wanted to share with you a powerful tool in today’s marketing world…email marketing! I know what you are thinking, “Wow Josh, welcome to 1998, email is nothing new!” You’re right, but our email marketing campaigns are amazingly effective. Don’t get me wrong, they’re only one piece of the puzzle, but it’s definitely a corner piece. One of the reasons why these are so effective is the follow-up capabilities. I love seeing what prospects are clicking on; it’s sort of like “digital breadcrumbs” leading them to where I want them to go. I’ve written about this before in the Monthly Mentor, on how to make your email marketing more effective. Tonight I want to briefly tell you about the instant effect these can have. Literally 5 minutes after sending our November issue out today, I received 2 phone calls from past clients. They both called to book their kids for our Santa experience we host every year. One of the clients actually booked her and her business partner a separate Santa session to use for their corporate Christmas card this year. I love the instant ROI! Our email newsletter goes out to about 1200 clients and prospects, or about 1/3 of our total database. We use Marathon Press’s email marketing and have for about 5 years now. Click on their banner to the right for more info, it’s a great service! It costs us 1.5 cents per email. The total cost for this campaign was 18 dollars and it took me about an hour to compose and send it. Our Santa packages start at $100, so three sessions booked would be a profitable marketing campaign in less than 5 minutes. This is just one example. A more lucrative one was a few years ago. It was a week before our Portraits in the Leaves Safari and we had 3 spots left. One on Saturday and two on Sunday. We sent a “last call” email with the specific dates and times available. With in 30 minutes, all three were booked. With the average sale that year around $1500, our $18 investment yielded $4500. Not a bad ROI! If you’re doing enewsletters and are not seeing results like this, start playing around with different stories, offers, and integrating it with your Facebook. I love marketing that is cheap, effective, and gives me a good ROI. If you have any questions about this, post a comment on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks everyone, have a great weekend!

Multiple Streams of Income WITHIN Your Studio!
Thursday, Nov 12, 2009

Last night I did a food shoot for my friend Armondo, check out some of the work I’ve done for him over the years at www.armondos.com and www.themelrosegrill.com. He owns these amazing restaurants but like most people in business today, things are down. He’s been looking for creative ways to generate cash-flow (Something we all should do!). A couple of weeks ago he had a meeting with a new grocery store in our area, they were looking to provide fresh salads and gourmet sandwiches for their deli. Well, he got the gig! The really cool thing about Armondo’s story is that the grocery chain has 4 locations. Business, in a nutshell, is finding a consumer’s need and fulfilling it. Armondo just added who knows how many thousands of dollars to his monthly cash-flow. How can we do this in the photography world? What are some of the needs of our clients? Many of my portrait and wedding clients are in need of commercial images for websites, brochures, and even Facebook pages! A number of my commercial clients have families in need of some beautiful wall portraits. Take a look at your existing database and try to come up with new products to service your client’s needs. For us, we didn’t do commercial photography 5 years ago. Now, about 10-15% of my business is commercial work! Plus, my commercial clients become family clients, then I photograph their HS senior, and so on. Armondo found a need and created a solution to fulfill it. Always be looking for multiple streams of cash-flow in your business! Oh, and guess what Armondo is including in the packaging for his salads and sandwiches? You guessed it, special offers and events at his other restaurants! Try something like this in your own studio and let us know how you do! B.H. –PS. New image of the week is up as well as a new print critique!

Staying focused and getting organized! Some tips from Bruce Hudson on how to get a massive amount of things done in a day!
Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009

“Bruce, how do you get some much done?” This question is asked of me all the time. The answer, I don’t sleep much! LOL! All kidding aside, Josh and I are really busy all the time; I don’t think we know any other way to be. For instance, we’re working 8 different projects right now for 3 different businesses. Are we insane? Yep! But you have to always be thinking 10 steps ahead, especially with today’s current business climate. My good friend and fellow photographer Angela Carson said it best, “The studio’s who are going out of business today had the luxury of coasting before the bottom dropped off the economy. You have to keep your foot on the gas all the time, in good economies and bad.” Angela knows what she’s talking about, she’s outside of Detroit, a city and state that has been in a recession for a decade. So here are some tips from me on how you can get more things done in your studio: (1) Schedule everything! Lunches, meetings, time for checking email, time for working on specific projects, anything that requires your attention should be on the books. (2) Make your action list for the next day at the end of the day while it’s still fresh in your mind. (3) Get out of dodge! Sometimes I have to go to Starbucks or my favorite restaurant in order to write, think, and get projects completed. Photoshop, the phone ringing, and employees (or kids, if you work from home) can be distracting. (4) Hire someone to help! Now days with all the new at home studios popping up, there are a lot of “one man bands” doing everything. This limits the amount of time you have to grow your business. Sometimes you have to let go and have someone else do the work for you. My advice to you is to pick the 2 things that do for the company that make money, and do those. Everything else can be delegated. For instance, if I’m not shooting or selling, we’re not creating cash-flow. So, my main job is to shoot and sell via projection, everything else can be taken care of by Josh, Terri, and Kelly. Don’t get me wrong, I jump on Photoshop, make follow-up calls, and help with day to day operations, but my main focus is producing profit via my strengths. (5) And finally, don’t be afraid to think big! Go for it! Don’t let your exceptions become the rule, sometimes we put up artificial barriers in front of our goals. Have a great Tuesday everyone, we’ll have a new image of the week up shortly! B.H.

Showing ALL the Possibilities to Your Clients and Getting Involved- 2 Things Every Professional Photography Studio Should Do!
Saturday, Nov 07, 2009

Yesterday was a great end to the week. Well, technically not, we have an appointment today and a family session tomorrow. Although with the rain, it looks like both won’t happen, especially the Sunday one. One of my best clients has a new toy he wants me to photograph his family with…a helicopter! If the session happens tomorrow, I’ll have Josh bring the flip camera to document it and post some footage on Facebook.com/mystudiomentor. Ok, back to yesterday! After 2 projections in the morning I had a new client coming in for her first consultation with me. This is usually an eye opening experience and a shocking one too. What do I mean by that? Well, most people have never experienced a wall portrait before, let alone the 40, 50, and 60 inch ones hanging in my lobby. Most people think having their picture taken is like going to Olen Mills or today, having their uncle with the new digital camera snap away with no lighting in the park. So number one, it’s my job to educate them as to what I do, why I am different. And of course, everyone is shocked by the price. Here’s a secret though, no matter what you are charging, you are expensive. Once again, it’s my job to show them the value in what I create. These particular clients came from a gift card referral program we have going one with a cosmetic surgeon client of mine. We dedicated an entire issue to this successful referral campaign this summer in one of our Monthly Mentor issues. For you member’s out there, you have to try this, we’re seeing some great response from it. For you non-members out there…what are you thinking!? LOL just kidding! Basically, the doctor gives her best patients a $350 gift card to Hudson’s as a thank you. Anyway, the lady tells me that all she wants is to spend the gift card, nothing more, which is fine. I tell all my clients, “I’ve been in business for 27 years and have thousands on loyal clients because I don’t over sell. I want you to be happy and comfortable with your investment. But, let me show you the possibilities anyway for something in the future, sound fair?” I think to many times we simply write people off based on assumptions. Look, this lady is a patient of a very expensive cosmetic surgeon; the money and motivation are there. At first, if people don’t experience what you can really create for them, it’s hard to justify spending hundreds let alone thousands of dollars on portraits. Ok, long story short and an hour and a half later, these people are ready to rock! I have a go-see booked for Monday and they are now thinking wall portrait, instead of the session fee and 5x7 they could have got with just the gift card. The client even said as I walked them out, “I never expected this, thanks for your time Bruce, we are both really excited for this now!” You have to show people the possibilities, your website is not a way for people to experience your work, you need to connect on a personal level and then have them experience it, not just look at it online. Ok, that segment went a little long, I’ll move to my second point, getting involved in your community! Last night was Rotary Night at our local minor league hockey team’s game. Just going to events like this and being seen is a great way to grow your business. I had some beers with clients, mingled with other business owners in the community, and made some new friends from other Rotary Clubs. It’s simple, you need to put a face to your business, which is what will help you sustain a healthy reputation and continue to grow your studio for years to come. Have a great Saturday everyone! –B.H.

Taking the day to be mentored!
Thursday, Nov 05, 2009

Yes, even my dad Bruce Hudson needs to be mentored from time to time! LOL! Hey everyone, Josh here with a short blog tonight. Today my dad and I ditched the studio to attend a seminar featuring 2 powerhouse speakers! The first one this morning was Jeffery Gitomer, a rude, crude, “love the attitude”, in your face sales trainer! This guy rocked! He was full of valuable information and had a great sense of humor about life and sales. The second speaker was Brad Sugar, founder and CEO of Action Coach, the world’s largest business coaching firm. This guy knows business management like no one I have ever seen, he was definitely eye opening for everyone on the room. He’s a big proponent of education and always challenging yourself to learn more and do more; much like my father has told me for YEARS! One of my favorite quotes was, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!” Anyway, that’s all for tonight, I’m going to copy and post my notes from this amazing event on Facebook.com/mystudiomentor and even write an article about the key points for our Monthly Mentor Members! The member’s article will be posted tomorrow in the member’s only area. I’ll expand more this weekend, right now I have to get ready for tomorrow. We have a conference call with Sarah Petty in the morning, some projections, filming a video in the afternoon, and then it’s off to a hockey game supporting our local Rotary club! Busy end to a great week! Josh

“You can charge a heck of a lot more for differences than you can similarities!” –David Ziser
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009

The other day we interviewed David Ziser for our Monthly Mentor Program. Many of you saw the video we posted on our fan page. If not, take a sneak peek at Facebook.com/mystudiomentor. One of David’s profound statements was “you can charge a heck of a lot more for differences than you can similarities!” This statement really stuck with me and is the theme of today’s blog. Did you know that one of the top Google searches right now is “How to start a photography business?” This phrase yields over 45 million search results! With more photographers than ever before getting into this business, it’s becoming harder and harder to separate yourself from the competition. And, cheaper competition means fewer clients in the pool for you to catch! What’s the solution then? Move to another pool! You have to find ways to go after untapped markets and provide a product that no one else can, or at least market it as such. For us, one of our major USP’s has always been large wall décor. We create custom works of art for our clients who display them proudly in their homes! It sounds simple, but there are not too many photographers out there selling 30, 40, 50, 60, even 70 inch portraits. Why is that? Here’s my take on why more photographers are not going after this high end market and separating themselves: (1) It requires a lot of planning. In order to sell large you have to educate your clients to the benefits, which means having a pre-portrait consultation. We also travel to our client’s home before the session to get a feel for the colors, mood, and where the portraits are going to hang. (2) You have to project! If you can’t show your clients what size it’s going to be on the wall, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. How many 30x40’s have you sold from online proofing? We also do a lot of final fittings at our client’s homes as well, where we project the image right on the wall! (3) Our images are worthy of wall. I’m not trying to sound pompous here, but the shear quality of the image is seen as “wall portrait” quality by my clients. There are a lot photographers out there who simply can’t produce these kind of images. Case in point, yesterday I was delivering a wall portrait to a new client who we photographed in August. They have a beautiful multi-million dollar home on a lake near Seattle. While photographing this family at their home a few months ago, I noticed they had portraits on their mantle and in the kitchen of their kids. As I delivered their order I asked who did their other portraits, she said it was a friend of a friend she knew. “We needed some new shots of the kids a few years ago. The photographer was nice but all we got was black and white images. I like black and white, but I wanted some color. After the session, I got them all on a disc and had to print them.” So of course I asked, “Why did you decide to use us for your family this time?” She said, “We wanted some special and different. I wanted something that would go on the wall.” I’m not knocking the photo journalistic style here; it has its place in our product line as well. But you have to separate yourself from the growing competition. David said that many of the photographers out there are hungry for basic lighting techniques, which using an off camera flash is essential if you want to take your imagery to the next level. Anyone can buy a camera and put up a website these days, you have to show consumers why you are different and are worth the extra investment. Is marketing, creating, and selling wall portraits a lot of work? Yep! Is it worth it to see your bottom-line grow and your clients respect you as an artist? Yep! But, as we all know, it takes more than just pretty pictures to make a good living in this business, you have market yourself effectively! Try to find something that you do different and market it; it’s all about separating yourself! B.H.

A Day to Recharge the Batteries 2
Sunday, Nov 01, 2009

It’s been a really busy few weeks with the beautiful fall leaves and clients wanting to be photographed in them. Yesterday I had 4 projection appointments! Those were from some of last weekend’s sessions. If you haven’t read the October 27th blog, I recommend that you read it now and then come back to this one. Anyway, today was one of those rare days to do nothing and recharge the batteries. It’s hard for me to do this. In fact I have to force myself to stay off Facebook, check email and keep from doing what I know I should be doing. To solve my workaholic nature I tell myself to spend ½ the time today watching things like the Seahawks lose again, go on a 3 mile walk/run with Terri and make Bruschetta with my talented daughter McKenna! I have to convince myself that I will perform better this week with a little down time today. One of the benefits of taking time to smell the roses once and a while is opening up your eyes to what’s around you. Today it was a spectacular Fall day with an incredible full moon rise over the lake. If I had my head in the stupid computer, I would have missed this. Hope you are having a great day like I did! Sometimes you have to force yourself to take the time to recharge your batteries! Until tomorrow, BH