Do you want to start booking weddings in the luxury market? Are you feeling stuck in a rut when it comes to booking the type of weddings you want? It's time for you to learn how to elevate your photography business and start working with premium clients! In this episode of the Take Your Shot podcast, we're joined by Rachel Traxler, a seasoned wedding photographer and business coach, who shares her expert insights on attracting and booking high-end clients. Rachel discusses the common pitfalls photographers face and introduces her innovative "Premium Client Pyramid" strategy. If you're looking to enhance your client roster and push your services into the luxury market, this episode is packed with actionable advice tailored just for you.

After listening to this episode, you will walk away with:

• Understanding the top mistakes photographers make when trying to attract premium clients.
• Steps to effectively use your social media, website, and portfolio to appeal to high-end clients.
• Insights into creating compelling copy that speaks directly to premium clients.
• Rachel's unique approach to enhancing client experience and fostering meaningful connections.

Episode Show Notes: https://takeyourshotcollective.com/booking-premium-clients-with-rachel-traxler/

Additional Resources:

• More from Rachel Traxler: https://racheltraxler.com/
• More resources: https://takeyourshotcollective.com/links
• Join the FREE online community: https://takeyourshotcollective.com/community

Descript - Rachel Traxler Premium client interview

And so this is an episode you're not going to want to miss. And Rachel, welcome aboard. So happy to have you. Do you want to introduce yourself and tell people a little bit about like who you are and what you do? Oh my goodness. Well, I'm so excited to be on. So thank you for having me. , yeah, my name is Rachel Traxler.

I am a wedding photographer based in Wisconsin, but also a photography business coach. I've been in the industry for 11 years and I've just loved it. It's been so much fun of getting to, you know, just expand and grow with myself and the industry. And yeah, I actually, when I first started my business, I did not want to go full time photography.

And that's just something I've always felt called to do. So I've loved that I've been able to like switch gears, still do wedding photography and serve my wedding clients, but then also serve other photographers. It's been, it's been really fun. So that's just kind of a quick little rundown. I love it. I love it so much.

And I think just like, it comes back to like, how are you serving people and how do you feel called to that? You know, like trying to figure out your specific space in that, and it can look so many different ways. , so I just love that you're finding your way of using your gifts and talents and the best way to serve not just you, but also your clients.

So I think that's so awesome. , and today we're talking all about specifically client, and like booking premium clients. And so I think to just like kick things off, just jump right in. I would love to hear,

Like there's a lot of things that can be going on and going wrong and it's all about , trial and failure, all of that. But I like to think of premium clients when you're booking premium clients. As a pyramid. So I created this method, the premium client pyramid. So if you envision a pyramid, there's four tiers in that pyramid.

And the very bottom one is social media. And I think a lot of people, a lot of photographers and business owners really kind of stop their marketing efforts at social media and they don't go beyond that. And so that's what keeps people in that bottom level thinking of just social media. And then they're wondering.

Because what happens when, , when people stop at that bottom level thinking of that social media, it's like. You have to think premium clients, they might not even be on social media. So you're wondering why am I not booking premium clients where, like, where are they? They might not be on social media. So if you just are only doing your marketing efforts into there, you're not speaking to them.

So then it comes to a step deeper of that website and portfolio and your SEO and building that all around that. , does your website, does your portfolio communicate premium to premium clients? Does it communicate the style that you do? Does it all make sense together? Is it clearly communicating who you work with and who you are for?

, does the copy that you're using match the portfolio that you're saying? Does it match your websites? Does it match your marketing the way that you are portraying yourself on social media? Does all of that tie together? , and then the very top one is client connection. So I'm a big fan of client experience.

That's kind of like my jam and everything you do in your business is actually client experience. Like everything circles back to it. Even the nitty gritty of like sending contracts and invoices and all these things, it's all client experience. So I'm a big fan of that. So that top one is client connection.

So when looking at that premium client pyramid, I think mistakes that I see people like you are asking is stopping at that lower level of stopping at just social media and not tying all of these things together. And then also realizing that maybe their copy doesn't make a sense. Cause I think as a photographer, especially we're visual artists.

Like if you can create that brand promise, your unique approach, that's different. We all do the same thing. We all photograph weddings or we all, we think we do the same thing as people in our industry. But we do it so differently. So how do you approach it? How do you view it? What's your editing style?

What's your photography style? What's your posing approach? How does your editing style match your brand promise and how you make people feel and how do you make people feel? What are you going to deliver them during their experience that literally they can't get anywhere else but from you? I think when you can have those things that make you stand apart.

Whereas low budget clients, typically they want to know the deliverables. They want to know the pricing. They want to know like more of the facts. And so when you can differentiate that in your copy, you're going to start speaking to more premium clients. Could you actually give a couple examples of like copy for whether we want to call it low or middle market to premium, like what are, what would the copy look like in terms of that?

It's 3, 000, but a more premium client, they don't care as much about the deliverables as they want to know of how are you going to change my life? And how are you going to make me feel during this experience? So some copy and verbiage for that of like packages on our website would be like taking all the stress away from you on your wedding day.

To make you feel beautiful and give you photos that you're going to look back at and remember, like, obviously more luxury than that. This is very basic verbiage. Um, and not even going in depth on the deliverables, not even going into depth of what they're getting or how much it costs because the copy you're using, they like, They don't care.

Yeah. That's such a good question too. So it kind of goes back to that brand promise, that bold brand promise, , and kind of your elevator pitch too, but the promise of what is every single client going to walk away from your experience with that, like you confidently can say, yeah, like I make clients feel this way and you can get this from testimonials.

People say from you start to pick up on the verbiage that they use about you and your experience. Also know yourself and how you like to serve people. Like At the end of my sessions, I want my couples to like leave their sessions, like feeling more in love with each other than they came. Like I want them to feel so connected and so deeply rooted with like within each other and excited and just feel like they're leaving on a high and like, you know, and you just feel like a little bit more in love that way.

And because I customize that, that allows them to fall more in love. Okay. So this is my posing approach and how I do it. Okay. And my editing style is more warm because I like to make people feel warm and invited and joyful. And my warm editing style matches that desired outcome. And it also matches the approach that I have.

So it literally all ties together and makes sense. That way, when someone is coming across your work, they can feel that and it's clearly communicated, but then when they go through the experience and they have that with you, it's also going to click because if it doesn't click, you immediately break their trust and you don't have that trust with them.

Yeah. Social media or even like that website portfolio piece so as you're working with people and as you're trying to encourage people to kind of go a step further and like work on their branding and copy and work on their client experience, what are some like tangible first steps you have them take?

Whether it's like mapping everything out or like figuring out the pain points, like what is it that you recommend them doing to kind of like. Break out of that, like staying towards the bottom of that pyramid. Yeah, that's also a really good question. I feel like I could go so many different directions with this.

I feel like the first step, but I know I already talked about it, which I want to give more than what I just talked about, but honestly, like my first step is to figure out your bold brand promise, your unique approach, your elevator bridge. Those things, absolute first foundation to figure that out. Cause then you're going to know who you're speaking to and then you can build off of your marketing from there and just your.

And so something I see a lot of people not do, I guess, and something that would be a good first step is to. Market to all three different buyer types. So if you think about like everyone purchases and makes purchasing decisions from different places. And so if you can figure out what type of buyer someone is, you can then like analyze their inquiry form, figure out what buyer type they are, and then customize the response to them to have a deeper connection.

And then to also in return, have like a higher conversion rate and a higher booking rate, because you are making that connection and serving them. Meeting them where they need to be at. So when it comes to your marketing strategy, figuring out and mapping out and speaking out and creating content to all three different buyer types.

Because everyone's still unique within that. So I think that's really cool that you just kind of like laid that out a little bit. Now. Do you mind actually to just like defining a little bit more like, okay, what are the different types of buyers?

Yes, of course. It's such a good question too. So I kind of outlined. Because I like the psychology of things behind it and, and all of that, I kind of picked up on certain things and qualities and traits that people were coming to me with, with their inquiries and figuring out how can I define who these people are and like where they're at in their buyer journey.

They might be more left brain thinking, more analytical thinking. , and. That's the first one of the realist. The second one is the connector buyer. This is someone that might know of you, but maybe they're not a hundred percent sold on like hiring you yet. , and they tend to purchase from a place of connection.

So after you get them on the phone or after you connect with them or after you showcase the value, That you can build off of that connection. Then they want to, then they're more invested and they're more interested in you. And then number three, the, , dreamer buyer, it's someone who comes to you saying like, I've had you picked out as my wedding photographer since I was 16.

And so I also think that ties back into like premium clients or low to mid market clients of Am I actually serving and meeting them where they're at, or am I able to actually convert into a higher, like, premium client or not, basically, based on figuring out their biotypes. That's seriously so good. And I love what you were saying about how, like, you can kind of figure out in that initial inquiry form, , kind of which biotype they might be.

Do you mind expanding on that a little bit and talking about, like, maybe what some of the differences would maybe look like? Yes. So to start back from the beginning, the realist buyer, again, they're analytical thinking, they maybe are more left brain thinking, they want the facts, they're price shopping.

They literally just want to know the basics. And I think a lot of people write off these realist buyers as like non ideal clients because for some reason in our industry as creative entrepreneurs, we want clients who are obsessed with us. Like we want clients who are like really value our work and we'll pay what we're worth.

But if we're not communicating what we're worth. Why should they, why should they like invest these higher payments into us too? So I think a lot of people write these people off as non ideal clients, which I think is just so wrong. I think that we've missed the mark on that because some of my favorite clients and even like premium clients have been more left brain thinkers and more analytical thinking.

Here's what you get from me. They maybe want to see the deliverables. Here's what, , Average photographer deliverables in the area get here's how I deliver it so they can literally see a graph so because that's the way their brain thinks, , it also might be just a good indicator that if you do get them on the phone that you just have to do more belief shifting to get them into right brain thinking because.

They are, if they are, if they are more left brain thinking, we as wedding photographers, we're more right brained, emotional, connective thinkers. So it's just how much belief shifting you then have to get them over into that right brain thinking. So that would just kind of be an example of the realist buyer.

Yeah. So that's good. So, like I said, it's, it's, are you price shopping? Are you just looking for the facts? Are you just wanting to know? Are you unsure of, you know, you're not sure what your budget is. We're just price shopping. And when they fill out, because sometimes my questions will say, tell me more about yourself and your day.

Okay. And their answers are just looking for packages, you know, just looking for prices and then my very end. My last question on my contact form, is there anything else that you want to ask or anything else you want to know? And sometimes they just say, um, like, what are your prices? You know, so it's, it's stuff like that where they're just being super direct and they're not giving a lot of information and they want to know the facts and they're just price shopping.

Those are the things that I can pick up on. Totally. And I think that's really good to kind of, you know, determine. So then buyer type number two, which is the connector buyer. , what would that look like for them? If you don't mind like walking through the same experience, but for like the connector buyer.

They know who you are. Um, they know of you. They're not sure that they want to go with you yet. A connector buyer is someone that in their inquiry form, they maybe value love and connection as one of their basic human needs, meaning they're going to go into detail about how they met their, like what they envision on their wedding day.

Maybe the things that are most important to them on their wedding day is their family and friends. Like that's more of their values of versus like a detail oriented person. Yeah. Not saying that a detail oriented person can't be a connector buyer. They just, they value love and connection more. They maybe are unsure that they think they want you.

Like you can see. That they value quality time as a basic, as like a love language with their loved ones. , and so they're kind of, and they're kind of open to, they might be someone who values love and connection, but possibly uncertainty too, they want some help in that creativity. They want to be showcased some variety and they want to know that you can, , like create and craft this experience together.

So have, like, so that we can like build a relationship and have like specific touch points and connection points, have personalized emails, , have more one on one conversations that way. And they also might want to see the offer value. Before purchasing. So they might be someone who like, they really want to hear and see and Val and see the value.

, so they might value content. They also might value something like resources or tips or guides, , blog posts, things like that, testimonials, things that help establish trust and credibility. So that they can connect those two things to have more trust with you. So I would also respond with blog posts, resources, and let them know also that I help what I said, like guide them through and give them resources through their entire experience with me.

So say it's someone who is like. They come to you and they're like, yeah, our, our families are just a lot and the family photo portion of the day is really going to, it's really driving, like giving me anxiety. Like I don't know. I'm scared for that. Then I can speak into them that way into their concerns and say, I actually have you fill out a family shot list before the wedding day.

And then on the wedding day during the family portion, I'm the one that's calling all the So you can just stand there and enjoy, and if anyone asks any questions, I can just say, I have the shot list and you can, and we're going to follow the shot list and I can kind of take control over there. And then you can kind of feel like their shoulders kind of release of like, Oh, okay, cool.

That's seriously so good. And I think that really speaks to just how different everyone is. And this has a middle one, right? So, so we just went over the connector, but now I'd love to hear, just give it a quick walkthrough of what would it look like to go through the same process with the dreamer? Yeah.

So the dreamer, again, it's someone who comes to you and says, Hey, I know you've you I've had you picked out as my wedding photographer forever. I know I want you here's, here's our details, or I'm not even engaged yet. Or we don't even have our venue yet. We want you whatever you charge, like whatever your prices are.

So, but in terms of analyzing an inquiry, it would be maybe they don't have a budget because they just will pay you whatever it is. And in there, tell me about you. It's just, they tell you a little bit about your day and then they just say, we know we want you, whatever, you know, it is. Or they just have these big elaborate dreams for.

What they want for their wedding. And then therefore, when you respond to that inquiry, you can highlight the desires. So again, those premium clients, probably a dreamer buyer, they really value and desire the outcome. And so if you can showcase that in your language by emotions, , testimonials, and just talking about how you're making them feel, like They are already kind of sold on that, um, premium and they oftentimes are streamer buyers are more so premium clients.

So again, you can share success stories and testimonials from past clients who really are aligned with them and are aligned with dream buyers and let them envision themselves in that situation and in that experience too. Okay, I really loved what you were talking about, how you kind of do like these custom proposals and it seems like there's a, it really seems like you really do a good job of tailoring that experience.

Yeah. So, I guess I have a question on, how do you know when you need to customize it? How do you know when you need to send it up front or get them on a call? Like at what point are you making that decision and how do you kind of still keep consistency within your brand, even though your process switches?

Their budget is like within what I have to offer. , it makes sense. I'm going to send them my standard pricing cause that's what they want upfront. But my only call to action in my initial inquiry is ever is only ever to get them on the phone. , Because that's my next step of my process. So I am going to send the pricing with that with like realist buyers or left brain thinkers or analytical people.

Um, they want to do it at separate locations, or maybe they talked about eloping here or something like that. Work. I know I'm going to need to customize this. And also if they're just unsure of their budget, then I know I need to talk to you more about what you're even wanting and what you're needing from me to know what prices that I can do, or like what packages I can create for you and whether they know their budget or not, sometimes they have a budget, but I still need to know more details.

A part of this process with you, a part of the creative process and have some control. And I also do feel like just the way the industry has shifted and just like the way that it is now, people do want a little bit more control over that. Um, and also it's just helped my conversion and booking rate be higher as well, just to be like, okay, let's just meet you where you're at and what are you looking for and what are you needing and how can we tailor this together?

And therefore they really appreciate that because not a lot of people are doing that. , and it's just helped my booking rates be higher too by doing those custom proposals. And I think that totally makes sense because you're customizing it to them. Now, quick question. Do you mind walking through just, like, really getting into the meat of this, but like, The custom proposal process.

Like if they don't know that's okay. Like, I don't want them to, To think that a budget is going to make or break my thoughts towards them. And also just, a lot of people just have no clue. A lot of people have no idea how much our services cost, especially if you don't have it on your website, because I, because I do a lot of custom proposals.

If they say 5, 000, then I know I can create some packages. I'm going to do some like an all in package. That's maybe a little bit higher than that. My base, like that middle package to be that or a little higher, and then one to be slightly lower, but to maybe not, you know, just to, to meet their, their needs of what they want.

But then also just kind of know to gauge that that's kind of around the budget that they're thinking and what they're looking for, depending on what they're A lot of it just depends on what they want in their packages and what their budget is that can allow for that. And then what I do is I actually have hidden pages on my website.

So I go in and I create like a website page for them and that is their custom proposal.. . My standard pricing guide is a PDF. My custom proposals are hidden website page links. And so I will go into a custom proposal. I will change all the portfolio to match them and what they Want for their day.

And then I'm going in and I'm adding packages that are just specifically for them. And then my only call to action from a pricing guide or a customer proposal is for them to email me back, which package feels most aligned for them and which one they want to book. I see a lot of photographers like, and their pricing guide with like, here's my Instagram, here's, uh, my Facebook, my Pinterest, all this stuff, email me back, or like, let me know, like, You know, thanks for watching the guide or like consuming the guide and all that stuff.

Um, context, . Do you actually have like you're starting out on your website or is there nothing there and they're just kind of going off on a whim for weddings? There's nothing there. Okay. , but there's no right or wrong, they absolutely is not. It's just because I do a lot of custom proposals and I do weddings.

It's kind of like local and afar cross country. So it's like, I don't want to say this is my starting price or this is my average price when maybe it's just completely not what they're needing, not what they're looking for. And I also do offer an associate team of associate photographers.

I have been able to like my whole inquiry to income process that I do, I've been able to take someone that has come to me with like a 1, 500 budget, and then they end up booking me for a 6, 000 elopement just because of the process I took them through of this whole inquiry to income process. So it's like, You can't write that off.

It's up to you to, to communicate that value and in your branding and messaging and copy and all of that stuff. So I do think that that's important to highlight as well. Perfect. Awesome. I feel like I could continue asking a million questions, but you've left us with such great information.

I do have a lot of episodes there. Otherwise you can find me at Rachel Traxler on Instagram. I offer tons of free education and resources through Instagram and freebies and my podcast. So that would be a good base place to find me as well. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time today. Everyone listening, take a look at all the resources, everything linked in the show notes because Rachel's great and you should definitely connect with her.

So have a great day and we'll see you guys next week