Categories: Podcasts

#109: Helping Clients Finalize Decisions

EPISODE #109

Helping Clients Finalize Decisions

Guest: Kathryn Langsford

Owner of Photos by Kathryn
Vancouver, Canada
photosbykathryn.com

DATE: February 15, 2024

Have you ever been stuck in a sales meeting with a client and wondered how it all went so wrong? And by, “wrong” I mean something like:

🤯You are SURE that you quoted pricing in the consultation, but somehow, amnesia has set in and your client is having hardcore sticker shock.

🙄Your client seems determined to NEVER make a final decision and instead

wants to:

Talk to her husband
Go home and measure
Think about it

You might not think about it exactly this way but selling is simply guiding clients through the decision-making process–but if you don’t HAVE a decision-making process, you might find yourself stuck along the way.

We’ve been there. Maybe the consultation wasn’t clear enough. Maybe we have a hard time saying no to clients that weren’t the right fit to begin with. Or maybe we are overwhelming the client with too many images/decisions/options.

Whatever the reason, we might find ourselves with clients who just can’t seem to make a final decision.

The amazing Kathryn Langsford joins me for this discussion about helping our clients NAIL IT DOWN and finalize their orders. From running around like a chicken with her head cut off to now dedicating time to the right-fit clients, Kathryn has been through it all. She is here to share her insights on how to help clients seal the deal while ensuring they feel confident in their choices.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How to achieve success with fewer clients
Ways to smoothly guide clients to finalize decisions
How to put aside “being busy” to focus on serving the right-fit client

Here’s a glance at this episode:

[3:34] – A great and absolutely attainable goal is to make more money with fewer clients.
[4:36] – Kathryn and Allison both recommend The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz to take the first step.
[7:08] – For a long time, Kathryn felt that she had to give all her attention to her big spenders, but that isn’t always the case.
[9:10] – Be clear about the clients you need to let go.
[10:53] – The best use of your time is to create art for your clients. Not run around like a chicken with its head cut off.
[12:34] – We don’t say no to small prints and holiday cards, but they are not the purpose for booking a session.
[14:32] – How do we share changes with existing clients? They might not be the right fit anymore, but you won’t know that until you share what you do.
[17:18] – Allison prints a large version of a portrait to show after a session to give clients the feel of having an art piece on their wall.
[20:03] – There are going to be clients that don’t understand what you’re doing and that’s okay.
[21:49] – There is a glorification of being really busy.
[23:14] – The way you spend your time with clients is different when you are less busy. The way you serve your clients will be more meaningful.
[26:09] – To help clients make a final decision, you have to be organized.
[27:23] – All the steps to the process are easier to execute if you’ve got the time to think about them.
[29:42] – For the health of your business, you have to consider what decisions your clients are making and what they’re asking of you.
[32:36] – Clients are thrilled with how easy a new method is. The view and order session is so much easier to make final decisions than sifting through 40 prints.
[36:07] – When you change the way you do the view and order sessions, you help clients make a final decision.
[39:21] – When you are spread thin, you won’t have the bandwidth to serve your best clients.