Procrastination...

I have had this thought in the back of my mind for weeks now and it is this, “Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.”   -Victor Kiam

Procrastination results in the LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT, which says: “the longer you wait to do something you should do now, the greater the odds that you will NEVER actually do it.”

Personally, I compare this to times I have gone shopping and looked at a beautiful blouse that I really wanted…BUT…if I didn’t purchase it at that moment and told the clerk that I would be back, guess what happened?

I NEVER went back! 

According to John Maxwell, who popularized the Law of Diminishing Intent: “If we don’t make some move towards doing something within 48 hours, we’re very unlikely to do it at all.”

This applies to many areas of a photography studio including a client booking an appointment or making final decisions in the sales appointment to name just a couple problem areas.

A client may mean to take action to book a session or purchase a wall portrait, but the longer you let them delay (or the more complicated you make it), the less likely it is that they will commit.

Think about what you can do in your business to encourage potential clients to act.

One thing you might try...

is to encourage people to make a small commitment such as purchasing a session on your website. Our Store is open 24/7 so our clients can purchase a Session at midnight, 6am or at lunch.

Now that you can purchase a car online, it is much less of a stretch to purchase a Session from a photographer through their website...right?

A small, concrete commitment like this makes it more likely that a client will follow through. They’ve engaged with you through this action, put some "skin in the game" and therefore,  the law of diminishing intent is reduced.

And be sure to keep everything very SIMPLE! Make it easy to do business with you!

Another issue with procrastination is the REGRET that follows when action isn't taken. It could be regret that a child's school years are not reflected in any professional portraiture and now, they are all grown up.

One of the saddest things we've experienced lately is not having a beautiful image to display at a funeral, which just happened to a friend of ours who unexpectedly lost their son. And it was sad.