The team here at Zookbinders makes a great effort learn from leaders in the industry and we love attending educational forums. Several of us attended Shutter Magazine’s  Shoot To Print Tour in Chicago last week. The presenters covered advanced editing, challenging lighting, sales and marketing. Makayla Jade of The Harris Company  gave a great presentation on connecting with your ideal client. Makayla together with her husband David set themselves apart in the sea of professional wedding photographers through their beautiful imagery and genuine approach. Their brand message focuses on the full client experience and they tug on your heartstrings! “We believe in heirlooms, in built to last, and unparalleled personal experience that begins at the moment we meet. “

Swoon! Right?

How this?  “Tangible items evoke emotion. Our most cherished possessions are those that come with meaningful memorable moments.”  

Grab a tissue!

Skip the album specs and start talking about the FEEL-S!

When you start gearing up to chat with your couples albums, do you talk about spread count and end sheets? Sorry – Yawn. It’s true, sometimes we get super clinical when describing professional albums. Vocabulary like  flush mount, folded panos, glove leather and dual cameos, can all translate to blah, blah, blah … are we talking about parts of a car, or the inside of a vacuum cleaner? In our previous blog Establishing Value we made suggestion for adding albums to collections to create monetary value. You know the value of albums – not just financially but emotionally. So why not go on about that? Educating your clients about emotional value will ultimately equal a better sale.

Get yourself in the practice of being able to connect albums with emotions. Here are some examples on how to to that.

Tell them how you really feel.

This is your perspective as the storyteller, the artist.

The legacy of the images that we have created and printed in this a beautiful leather-bound album will  become truly priceless as the years go by.

It’s not just leather and paper. The value of a wedding album is so much more than the materials used to make it.

We can love on all the digital files in the world, but nothing compares with tactile sensory experience of turning the pages of a handcrafted wedding album.  

You didn’t hear it from me…

A great way to tell an emotional story is through the experiences of others.

One of my recent brides told me, “It was so amazing to see the wedding day through another set of eyes. The details and emotions that we may have missed are preserved for us to enjoy again and again over the years.  I have a perfect keepsake – the story of the whole day.” When I showed my clients Kelli and Steve their professional album, all Steve could say was, “Wow…just wow. The album is stunning! Not just on the outside but inside.” With tears in his eyes he looked his new wife and said, “It’s now one of my most prized possessions – the story of one of the most wonderful days of my life!”

From the past to present.

More testimonials. Share your clients experiences looking back. These are great for you website too.  

“It’s fun looking through the album as the years go by – how young we were, how good-looking we were – Ha! These images are even more precious now. I look forward to sharing them with my children.” – Jon and Jen Walters “As I paged through the wedding album with my dad we came to the image of him seeing me for the first time in my wedding dress. On that day he was able to hold it together but now, sitting on the couch with me, hand on my shoulder his eyes welling up he whispered, “you’ll always be my baby girl.”  – Ashley Sommers

Albums has a remarkable way of capturing precious moments.

Makayla closed her presentation by playing a voicemail left by one of her recent clients. It was a bride fighting back tears as she told her story.. Her grandmother was not able to attend the wedding due to poor health which was heartbreaking for the bride. When the bride received her album, she visited her grandmother and together, they excitedly paged through the album. The bride said her grandmother was SO joyful to have had the experience. “She said to me, ‘Honey, it was just like being there!’ She was beaming!” said the bride. “ I just can’t thank you enough for this beautiful album and the precious memories.” What a remarkable and authentic way to share the importance, the legacy and the value of albums.