35. Do you need a sales system?

Imagine it’s breakfast time.

You wake up starving and head to the kitchen to make some eggs and toast, but you’re sleep deprived and forget to turn on the burner. The eggs don’t cook.

When you finally realize, you turn on the burner and after an extra long time, the eggs are ready…not awesome, but edible. And the toast is cold.

Think of a sales system as a pre-heated pan, with the burner on just the right temperature. 
Drop an egg (or in this case, your lead) onto that sizzling surface, and it cooks up perfectly every time. 

A sales system heats things up before clients even walk in, showing off your value and building desire in a clear, repeatable way.

I share the story of how focusing on my sales system—without changing my website, portfolio, or client experience—brought me an additional $38,000 in one year! I also unpack why every business needs this setup first. From standing out in a sea of ads to raising perceived expertise, a good sales system builds desire and guides clients smoothly to a ‘yes’ without discounts or endless persuasion.

Tune in to learn how this approach shifts your business from struggling over every price point to confidently showcasing your worth. And if you’re ready to set up this sales system shortcut and skyrocket your results, Super Attractor Academy is open for you! Doors are open, but only until 11/16!

Successful Creatives make the world brighter. Follow @theewingsstudio on instagram for weekly tips and tricks to uplevel your bookings and increase profits so that you can accomplish all of the goals on your heart.

Transcript

I hope that you had a great weekend. Uh, when I'm recording this, it is the day after Veterans Day. So we enjoyed a long weekend and we were actually up at the coast of Maine with some friends who have a beach house up there, and it was such a, just really beautiful weekend away in the middle of our busy season.

We like the stars aligned, the kids didn't have sports. We didn't have a wedding. There were no portraits or mini sessions or anything going on. And we got a last minute invite that we jumped at. Uh, and it was just. Like it was just a beautiful time away. Do you ever get that feeling when you're working so hard and then all of a sudden you just, you just shut everything down and you come back to work, just feelings like that much more inspired.

I always, always try to take a break, especially when things get really busy. It's so counterintuitive to take a break and go away or. You know, do something for yourself or your family when you're extremely busy, but it is so good in terms of increasing productivity and [00:01:00] inspiration and everything when you get back to work.

But that is not even what we're talking about today. Today we are going to talk about Um, you're like creating a sales system and I want to just back up because the last few episodes have really been more specifically about creating a sales system, the benefits of a sales system. But I wanted to take a step back and really explore when you know you should create one, what exactly it is and the impact that you can expect to see on your business when you have one.

Let's dive in.[00:02:00] 

I almost called this episode how to earn an additional 38, 000 in the next 12 months as a wedding photographer without taking more weddings. Um, because that is honestly the power of a sales system. And But I decided to go with something more direct because I really just want you to like fully understand what I mean when I'm talking about a sales system so that you can see if you need one for your own business.

Right now, I think so many people focus really on two things. There's leads, you know, getting more inquiries, marketing, posting to social media, blogging, however you get your inquiries. There's on one hand, that's like half of your business, right? Is getting leads. And the other half of your business is serving your clients.

So once you actually have somebody sign on the dotted line, everything that happens after that process, but there is that sweet spot in the middle, which is where [00:03:00] your sales system goes. That can really shift everything in your business. And when I say shift everything, I mean, it can control, it gives you control, okay?

So you take control over your booking process, your sales process, and you're able to dictate more with a sales system, the types of clients that you want, the types of bookings that you're willing to accept, and the ability to charge higher prices for the same work that you're already doing, okay?

Because you're bridging the gap from Marketing, all of the hard work that you put in to generate your leads, your inquiries, you're bridging the gap from marketing and leads to client service. You're like helping to walk people across your value bridge so that they become not just booked clients, but really, [00:04:00] really raving fans.

Okay. Now let me take, take a step back because I feel like I just. Totally like threw open the pool cover and jumped all the way in. What is a sales system? Let's start there. Well, a sales system is, is. The same thing is your booking process. Okay? A lot of times I, I feel like people are more comfortable with the term booking process because we never wanna feel salesy, right?

I think as creatives, we just, I say this all the time, we don't ever wanna feel salesy. We just want someone, you know, people, our ideal clients to come find us, love us, book us. That is the ideal world, right? And that is what a sales system does for your business. It is a streamlined way to show your value.

That's really it. A sales system is a streamlined way to show your value. It is repeatable. It is tested and proven. So when I [00:05:00] first created my sales system in 2019, There was a little bit of testing that happened. You kind of have to step back and be a curious scientist to really get into the mind of your ideal client and know what they're looking for, know what their desires are, know what their goals are, know what they're afraid of.

Like when it comes to the service that you provide, um, your specialty, what are some of the fears that pop up around that and then taking all of that information and putting it into. a repeatable sales system that really shows your value for you. Okay. It's kind of like think about it's like your booking processes.

Sophisticated older sister. So right now, if your booking process is really simple, basically you do what you do to get your inquiries. Once they come in, they get an email with more information. You hope they book a consultation. And then from [00:06:00] there, you hope that they like you during the consultation and they book their wedding.

Well, this is that booking processes, older, sophisticated, older sister. Okay. Now, why do you need one? Now that you know what a sales system is, it's literally just a streamlined way to show your value. It is repeatable. It is tested and proven. Why do you need one? Well, if you joined me on the raise master class that I ran last week, then, you know, just the overwhelming amount of information and data that is available out there right now to everyone.

But we're thinking specifically about your ideal client. They are bombarded, same as you, with between 4, 000 and 10, 000 ads per day on average. Isn't that insane? 4, 000 to 10, 000 ads per day, okay? Everybody is overwhelmed. If you felt like decision [00:07:00] fatigue or, you know, you get to the end of the day and you just feel like you can't make simple decisions anymore, that's decision fatigue at, like, in action.

And this is exactly what's happening to your ideal client. Okay. They're living their life with all of these ads that are hitting them in a day. Plus then on top of that, they are, you know, taking on this new task of planning a wedding, which I'm sure all of your clients are saying that they're totally overwhelmed.

They have no idea what they're doing. It's one of those things where you go into it like a complete new, like a newbie, no idea what you're doing. And by the time you're done, you're an expert. But, you know, hopefully you only do it once too, uh, and, and so it's a ton of learning. It's a ton of work. And that's all on top of their existing life, their existing, you know, day job, family, friends, life, travel.

Wedding activities, right? So as [00:08:00] creatives, whether you're in the wedding industry or not, I talk a lot about the wedding industry, but this really goes for any industry that you're in. It's our job to stand out. How can you stand out from those 4, 000 to 10, 000 ads per day? And a huge piece of this is Your sales system, that is how you level up your expertise and not even the, like your expertise, because for me, when I implemented my sales system, my expertise had not changed.

Okay, well, you know, let's say I implemented my sales system on a Tuesday and was able to raise my prices by almost 2, 000. My expertise had not changed. The quality of my work had not changed. My client experience had not changed. But what did change was the perception of my expertise, because I was leveling up how I show my value.

And by doing this in a really crowded market, in a competitive area, [00:09:00] When you start to show up differently with your ideal client in their needs, like front and center. So really, how can you step up and be a guide, step up and show that your expertise is aligned with what they're looking for? Then this is how you start to stand out in a really crowded market.

This is how you get basically someone else. I mean, it's something else. It's your sales system. It's how you get something else to sell for you so that you never have to feel salesy. You never have to feel called to, you know, settle for a wedding or booking that you don't want or discount your prices or just ever feel that desperation for booking.

If you've ever felt like that, where Inquiry comes across your desk and it's not even an ideal client and you're like, Oh my gosh, if only I could just please book this wedding. Please. I just want to book this wedding. If you're ever feeling like that. [00:10:00] Or maybe a magical inquiry comes across your desk and it is exact your perfect client is a venue that you've been.

It's been on your wish list for a couple of years. You kind of feel like it's always been slightly out of reach. And then all of a sudden this beautiful, beautiful, magical unicorn of an inquiry pops into your inbox. She's saying all of the things that light you up. She's getting married at a venue that you love.

She has all of the same priorities. And you just think, I hope I booked, I hope I booked this one. I really, really want this wedding. How do I book this wedding? This is way why you need a sales system because your sales system is going to cut through all of the noise. It is going to level up your expertise in the industry.

It's going to set you apart and it's going to sell for you. And when you get back to what I was first talking about, about having this [00:11:00] tested proven system, once you know you have a sales system that works. So my sales system books nearly 100 percent of my rate fit clients. It's very rare that I have a consultation with someone that I truly adore and want to work with and they don't book.

Like it's happened once out of the last three years. I literally told her that she was the one that got away because there was one. If you want that level of consistency in your business and trust in the process, then build out a sales system. And I'll get into, you know, like what you should consider and how did it go about doing this for yourself a little bit later, but the other thing that I just really want to emphasize is that.

This is something that I put off in my business for a very long time. I didn't realize that I needed it and I didn't realize now in hindsight, I can see how much waiting on this, like set me back, but [00:12:00] the sale, your sales system, you should focus your attention on this first before you do more marketing, you know, take another course on client experience, anything like that.

Buy new gifts for your clients. Buy new presets, like focus on your sales system first. And here's why. So think about when you're baking a cake, okay. You pre preheat the oven first, right? You're going to turn on the oven, turn it to three 50 or whatever temperature, 400, maybe degrees for a cake. I'm not a baker.

We can use like an example for eggs. If you're going to make eggs in the morning, you have to turn on the heat, right? Turn on the heat, get the oil in the pan. And so that way, when you drop the egg in the pan, it sizzles up right away, right? You have a quickly cooked egg. And that is exactly what a sales system does for you.

It's basically turning on the heat so that when [00:13:00] an inquiry, which in this case would be the egg, drops into your sales system, into the pan, It sizzles up quickly and easily so that you have a hot breakfast ready to go in under a minute, right? That's basically, that is a sales system in a nutshell. You think about it a more traditional way when you know, like in the corporate world, there's this idea of a sales funnel.

And the goal of the funnel is to nurture people along your, along your like buying journey. Basically it's a buying journey. So there's a whole, like the whole market of cold leads to people who don't know you at all. They find out about you. They get a little bit warm there. They ask for more information.

They drop in the top of your funnel. And then from there, you, it's, you know, you want to be nurturing them so that. As they get to know your business more. They get more interested and more excited to speak with you. And so they, it's [00:14:00] called warming them up. It's nurturing your inquiries. They go from cold, they enter your system, warm, and then by the end, they're hot in their book, right?

That is the, the whole premise of having a sales system that really sales funnel that nurtures people through the flow of working with you, but when you think about on the flip side, let's say you have, you know, like a spaghetti, like a drainer, like a colander. And you pour water into the colander, well obviously it's going to go out all of the different holes and all of the different sides, nothing goes out the bottom, because there's so many holes in it, right?

But when you pour water in a funnel, it just all streams right through. And that is what your sales system should do for you when you plug the leaks before you pour the water in, then the bookings come out the bottom. So if you're having any inquiries that you feel are aligned and they're not booking with you, that's an [00:15:00] indication that you've got some holes in your funnel and an opportunity to plug them and dramatically improve your bookings.

Thanks. Okay, so in my own business, so why do this first? Well, in my own business, Let's see. I started my business part time in about 2010. Okay. And then 2019 was the first year that I really had huge struggles with bookings. So I had been in business for 9 years. So almost a decade in business. And that's the first time I actually started to have some real difficulty with my bookings.

Now there's, it's been, it was an evolution over those first nine years. It's been an evolution ever since, but I know for a fact that I was undercharging for years. And there's a bell curve when you look at pricing and what collections, like what prices cost for any particular service. There's a bell curve where [00:16:00] your price, the lower your price, the easier it is to book, right?

And that is true on the low end. If your prices are really low, you're going to have a super easy time booking because you're likely undercharging. So your client is getting an insane deal. So obviously they're going to buy. I remember, so I started my business with trade shows. That's really how I got up and running very quickly.

I booked 10 weddings at my first trade show. Now I was very underpriced at this point. I had no idea what I should even be charging. I was just all of a sudden a wedding photographer, right? There's no school for wedding photographers. Um, and so I knew I wanted to get bookings. And so I went in with insanely low prices and one of my first bookings ever asked me, she ended up booking the top package.

We had a great relationship. She was lovely, but she literally said to me, Why are you so cheap? And there was like a panic in her voice when she realized that I was just kind of an [00:17:00] idiot and I was wicked underpriced. Then, you know, she booked right away and she was thrilled, but you don't want to stay at that low price point.

You don't want to stay in a place where you're undercharging. That is how. Burnout happens and client resentment happens and you don't uplevel your work. You don't call yourself to a higher standard. You stay underpaid, you stay struggling. So you don't want to ever stay at that side of the bell curve.

Okay. So naturally as people gain experience, as they improve their skillset, as their work improves, As their client experience improves all of it. There's a, just a natural draw to raise your price, right? The two ways to raise, to add more money to your business. The two simple ways are to raise your prices or book more bookings, take more bookings, right?

So you want to raise your prices. Now, when you get into the mid range pricing, that is when there is so much competition. The majority of people out there are [00:18:00] in this mid range. Range price where you know that your prices in comparison to the value that you deliver the quality that you deliver are so low, but you're stuck right in the middle with everybody else.

And so your ideal client doesn't understand that you are still underpriced. They see that you are priced with the market. And that is where bookings get really, really hard. When you're looking at a bell curve, that's really the top of the curve where prices are in the middle, but bookings are really, really hard.

And this is exactly where I was back in 2019. My prices were 4, 600 for my base package. I'm in the Boston area. This was, I'm going to say, even at that point, probably low, a little bit lower than last year. The average, okay, and I struggled to book a wedding for six months. I [00:19:00] booked Either two or three weddings over a span of six months I have to go back and look at my numbers because I keep forgetting it's been a while But I booked two or three weddings over a span of six months They all booked my base package and I just at that point.

I knew I was undercharging I knew I was devaluing myself You I knew I was settling. I knew I was not fully pursuing my passion in terms of the clients in the weddings that I really wanted. I, at that point, I was, my marketing system had already been set up. That was, you know, I have a marketing background.

So that was what felt natural to me. So I had leads coming in like all of the time. I wasn't booking for six months, not for, you know, not having the inquiries. They were there. But it was because the sales piece was so hard for me. I felt so stuck when it come came to sales. I never wanted to sell [00:20:00] anybody almost to the point where I just wasn't even really showing my value.

I was Relying on my like price guide, which had my pricing in it. It had more of my work. I was relying on that to sell for me. And I just really had plateaued. I struggled with price shopping. I struggled with people clearly not seeing my difference. I that's when competition felt high. My price point felt low.

I was like agonizing over raising my prices by a couple hundred dollars, wondering if that was why, you know, someone didn't book, I was throwing in extras, like Free engagement sessions, or, you know, and knowing like how much work goes into that. There's the travel, there's the session, there's the editing, the planning, and just totally devaluing my own work.

So that's where I was before I implemented my sales system. Now, it took, like I said, I had run my business like this for nine years and it took a really, really hard year in order to [00:21:00] like, wake me up to shake me and to say, Hey, Hey, This isn't working and you got to do something different. So when I flipped the script, when I really started focusing on my value, not my prices, but my value and how I can show the value that I create for my clients in a repeatable, effective, efficient way, because like at my core, my Virgo, I always want to be super efficient.

When I started focusing on my value and how I can show it in a repeatable, effective, efficient way. Everything changed, and in hindsight, looking back, this is when I wish I had done it years ago, instead of feeling like I had to struggle, instead of feeling like I wasn't worth more, instead of feeling like, why can't people just see that I'm the right choice for them, or that I, you know, see what my skills are, what my value is.

I wish I had known what was possible [00:22:00] simply by shifting my focus. Once I shifted my focus to value, that's when I was able to shift my ideal client's focus, to show them my value, and to show them how aligned it was with their desires, their goals, solving, overcoming their fears. Okay. So if you've been following along, you know, that once I got my sales system structured and set up and selling for me in a very repeatable manner.

So I was at a hundred percent bookings, which is kind of, it's kind of crazy to think about the fact that I booked no weddings in the months of January, February, March, I booked, I think one wedding in April, I created my sales system over April and May. And then the next month booked five weddings, every single, I booked [00:23:00] 100 percent of my consultations.

I had five consultations and five weddings booked. I wish I had known what was possible. And so if you, so what I was saying was like, if you have been following me and you know that once I had my proven system, once I knew it worked. I took my base package from 4, 600 and I just said what the hell I'm going to charge what I know I should be charging my base price is 6, 500 now, and this is based on I have a whole pricing system that helped me get to the 6, 500.

I didn't just make it up, but when I look back. At that year, when I made that transition, assuming that everybody only booked base package, which was not the case, once I increased my prices, based on the higher level of value that I was showing, most people booked the middle or the top package, okay? Very few booked base.

But let's just assume base an increase of from 4, 600 to 6, [00:24:00] 500. I had 20 weddings that year. That would be 38, 000 in additional revenue just by having a sales system. That's it. Like I said, my work stayed the same. My client experience stayed the same. My approach stayed the same, what I was including in the collections stayed the same.

The only thing that changed was the implementation of a sales system. And I made an extra 38, 000, I mean I made more than that probably because like I said, That's assuming base package. Okay. And beyond that, we were really able to take control of our bookings. So instead of feeling like you get what you get and you don't get upset when it comes to inquiries, we were vetting the clients.

We were vetting the weddings that we wanted. We started refusing certain venues. If there were venues, we had a do not shoot at list that we like. We just didn't if we didn't like how we were treated at a venue, [00:25:00] or we didn't particularly feel inspired at a venue. Um, We would pass those referrals on to other photographers who appreciated them.

They weren't our client. And we were in a position now where we could be choosy about who we worked with. And then once we had our system set, we had our higher prices in place. We decided that we only wanted to serve clients who wanted both photo and video. And we've been running our business like that for the past four years.

So 20, I think 2020. Is when we made that switch and that allowed us to really make twice the amount on a single day so that we can be home with our kids. Like, obviously we're doing so much more work, but it is so worth it. And like the video piece lights me up to be able to provide both of those services to our clients just is really incredible.

And it's funny because like I've had planners say to me, my [00:26:00] clients are like, they typically add video, but it's usually not until later. You know, you're doing yourself a disservice by, you know, only working with people who offer both. And that's what we decided we wanted to do. And because we show our value, our clients book both with us, photo and video.

And then for my clients, they enter our world as clients with more excitement. They finally got to see crystal clear that we're the solution for them. And it's funny because I posted something. Um, On Instagram over the weekend about, you know, really stepping into the role of being a guide and understanding that your client is overwhelmed.

They have all of these decisions on their plate. They have all of these ads and information and running across, you know, their consciousness every single day. They want someone to help them like hold their hand and say like, Hey, you're looking for this. That's exactly what I do. Come on over here. So are my clients, we were making things easier for them.

[00:27:00] They're able to crystal clear. See that we're the solution for them. So they're fully bought into the way that we do things. This is how you get those really loyal clients who fully trust you with everything that you do. They're so excited with all of the things that you create for them because they know that you get them right.

They know that you are here for them. You're here for the same reason. You value the same things and they're all in on it. They understand your process and how you get there because you've explained it to them. You're not just leaving your work or your price guide to do the explaining for you. Because then in that case, they have to do interpretations and their interpretation could be totally different from, you know, the way that you actually do things.

So you really want to control the narrative there. It's an easy decision. It provides relief to them. They still feel like they're getting a ton of value, even at the higher price point. Because I really spelled out what that value is in the sales system. And it's so aligned, okay? The wedding day [00:28:00] runs smoothly, photo delivery is easy, clients are happy, they knew exactly what to expect, it's exactly what they wanted, now we simply just have to show up and deliver on what we promised, which is the stuff that they love.

So a sales system not only serves you, but it really serves your ideal client too. So, if this resonated in your thinking that you need a sales system in your business, think first about your ideal client. What situation are they in right now, that overwhelm, that information just overload? How can you show up and create a process that feels easy for them?

How can you stand up as the guide, as the expert, and help them see the value that you provide? And not only that, but help them see the value that you [00:29:00] provide in a way that's different from everybody else around you. If you want my help on this, I'm so excited to say that the Super Attractor Academy doors are open right now.

For the next week, they will be open. If you want my help, um, I'll drop the link below in the show notes. So you can get in, you can ask your questions if you want to book a quick call with me to see if it's the right fit for you. I'm here to help you. I know firsthand how much a sales system changed everything in my business for me, for my clients, for my family, and I want to see you thrive.

So if you're looking for more support, reach out to me, join the Super Tractor Academy, send me an email. I'm here to help.