More than 150 people attended the first annual SPAA Convention, held March 8-9, in Las Vegas, Nev., during PMA 07.
'I thought the attendance was excellent,' said Pat Taylor, president of PTP Sports Photo, Eaton, Ohio, whose session, 'Lead Generation 101,' stressed the need to establish a personal commitment to getting out in the world and generating leads.
Taylor stressed the reality of the sports market as it stands today, with competition swiftly growing. 'I didn't want to sugarcoat the industry,' he said. 'It's a business where you have some very experienced photographers with well-established client lists who are struggling to survive. Advertising is a must.'
Taylor fielded many questions, several of which involved pricing structure, commissions, etc.
'I've found pricing is regional,' said Taylor. 'What a photographer in L.A. County charges for a basic package--$15 to $17--I might be able to get just $12 to $13 for in Eaton, Ohio, a county of 40,000 residents.'
Taylor stressed the need to discover the expectations of potential clients before making any sales presentation. 'You don't want to be blindsided, so ask lots of questions in preparation for the meeting.'
Jay Mired, Marco Photo Service Inc., a small pro lab with a photography component, located in Mansfield, Ohio, used audience participation throughout his session, 'Keeping Your Clients--Developing a Long-Term Business Relationship.'
'I want to make this a meaningful session by helping you know your strengths and weaknesses,' Allred said, adding that audience members represented lots of years of experience to mine for ideas. To emphasize all companies lose clients, Allred began by telling how he lost two of his own. The first was a studio that did schools and sports, and conducted its lab work with Marco from out of state via the Internet.
'This long-term client was so easy to do business with, plus they did a lot of their own marketing in-house and knew what to do to make our end go smoothly. I'd call them a couple times a year; and that was that--an easy client.'
So Allred was surprised, to say the least, to be replaced by another lab. Why did this happen?
'The client felt I had been taking her work for granted. I had fallen short of her expectations,' Mired explained. 'I thought I was handling business in exactly the way she wanted; instead, I learned the hard way I was wrong.'
Allred says keeping a long-term client happy is very similar to keeping a personal relationship healthy. 'I had assumed she was a low-maintenance client, the kind we all want to land because high-maintenance clients take more work and time to keep happy.'
Allred is still trying to win her back and said it costs a whole lot more to win back a client than to give each client extra attention.
On the high-maintenance side, Allred lost a client that was nearby geographically, and a client for which Marco had regularly achieved 98 percent of its commitments on time.
'The client needed more help--and got more help--at a premium price for the added labor. They were paying for that high maintenance, but we lost the client regardless,' Allred said. 'Sometimes, a 2 percent let down is enough to destroy a three-year relationship.'
SPAA Sports Photography Seminars may be coming near you
Photographers seeking to learn the fast-growing business of sports photography should attend one of the tour stops of the SPAA Sports Photography Seminar. This will be the second year SPAA has taken its efforts on the road to educate attendees, including these who have been involved in sports photography for years and those just starting. Attendees will learn techniques to achieve higher gross sales, better net margins, and greater customer satisfaction.
Six summer stops are planned for the seminar. Six more sites are being secured for late October/early November, which will be formally announced soon. Each seminar costs $95 (including lunch). For more information, contact Tom Crawford at (800) 762-9287, or e-mail tcrawford@pmai.org.
City Date Portland, Ore June 25 Orange County, Calif June 27 San Francisco, Calif June 29 Dallas, Texas July 23 Kansas City, Mo July 25 Denver, Colo July 27
