Tony Taafe's TNT Method
As photographers it can be really easy to put the business and sales side of our work on the back burner and focus heavily on our creative craft. In my quest to better my business, I stumbled across Tony Taafe’s “TNT Method” tutorial. This tutorial is a blueprint for not only bettering your client interactions but it is also helpful in other parts of your business. The tutorial caters to headshot photographers but it can definitely be related to other photography genres (or in fact any business venture!).
In the first year of his photography business, Scottsdale Arizona based headshot photographer Tony Taafe made $60,000. By his third year in business he was making $250,000. Tony is now looking to help other portrait photographers achieve these numbers through his TNT Method which helps to show them how to get there.
Tony’s strategy is obviously working for him, and working well. He came from a background in car sales in the UK and had worked for companies such as Audi and Bentley. Over those years Tony won several awards and obviously learned a lot about customer service. As he started his photography career these experiences were clearly beneficial to him as he positioned his product as a luxury one.
TNT Method Facebook Group
The tutorial is divided up into digestible bite sized videos to make running through it a breeze. In addition to the over 2 hour tutorial, you also get access to Tony’s private “TNT Method Facebook” group. The participants in this group discuss all things “sales” in their portrait photography businesses. This group is a fantastic way to keep in touch with other photographers who may have similar questions as you.
I have found that it is a very safe environment to learn alongside like-minded individuals. Inside this group you will hear both success and failure stories from other photographers. This can be a huge help and motivation for how you operate your shoots moving forward.
Part of the tutorial also includes commentary from world-renowned headshot photographer Peter Hurley. Peter, who has had no issues creating a successful and lucrative portrait photography business, talks about how the TNT Method changed his sessions for the better, and has made him even more money. Seeing two very successful headshot photographers, Tony and Peter interact and talk business in this one tutorial is truly remarkable and a great pleasure to watch. Having someone like Peter endorse this strategy, made this an easy purchase for me to make.
I went through the tutorial and compiled an overview of some of the main chapters. You can decide whether you think it will help you in taking your business to the next level. I know from personal experience, after applying the tactics he outlines in the tutorial, my individual session sales have grown and my clients are more informed of the session process (more on this later).
Removing Obstacles To Buy:
I am a sucker for comparing the business of photography to the way other businesses are run. I knew I was going to enjoy this section when Tony started out by touching on how easy it is to buy products on Amazon. “Have you ever used Amazon Prime?” Tony says. “What you do is you swipe at the bottom, and a package arrives two days later. It’s easy.” This intro really changed the way I think about selling my photography products.
There is no reason why our products can’t be as easy to buy as the ones that are on Amazon. This is where removing any obstacles to buying our products comes into play! Tony spends the remainder of this video listing ways photographers get in the way of themselves when selling their service. I think there are definitely some things on this list that I hadn’t thought of as hindering my ability to sell before, so it was certainly eye opening.
Decisive vs. Indecisive Buyers
This section covers the different types of clients you will run into during your sessions. Tony talks about both decisive buyers and indecisive buyers and how to handle each. I had never thought about the different characteristics my clients showed throughout my shoots before. He began to list things that decisive and indecisive buyers will say and how you can know who falls into each category.
When the decisive buyer comes in “they will probably have less outfits and they are going to have a purpose for every single outfit.” Whereas the “indecisive buyer will come in with more outfits than they can carry.” This plays into other behaviors as well. Choosing photos, backgrounds etc.
Knowing if I am shooting with a decisive or indecisive buyer is definitely something I will continue to use to my advantage during my sessions. I feel as though I know so much more about the psychology of my clients purchasing decisions and how to communicate with them as individuals.
The Process:
Something that Tony focuses heavily on during the tutorial is the client experience. He mentions simple ways and tips you can use in an effort to improve upon what clients experience. Things like offering your client beverages when they arrive, allowing unlimited time per shoot, and also clearly explaining the shoot process throughout all of your communications with them.
All of these examples add up to show your clients that you really care about them, their experience and they feel that you are taking care of them.
Putting This To Use:
Throughout the beginning stages of this course I felt as though I really wanted to see the tactics Tony talks about in action. All of what he was saying sounded great but I didn’t know how it could be used in the real world. Luckily towards the end of the tutorial Tony and Peter team up to do a “mock shoot”. They show everything, from when Tony (client) first walks into Peter’s (photographer) studio, to the final image selection process. This quickly became my favorite section of the entire tutorial.
Periodically there are also cutaways to Tony discussing what Peter is doing right and (more importantly) wrong throughout the shoot and sales process. I found this section to be so helpful as it showed me direct application for a shoot.
After watching this tutorial series I am better equipped than ever to not only increase my individual shoot sales but also provide my clients with an overall better experience. Since having taken so much of what Tony talks about and applying it to my photography business, I have without a doubt increased my average session sale.
I have also been hearing many positive responses from my recent clients. They love it! Some reviews clients have left online show that they like how clear the shooting process is laid out on my website and how clear and easy I make it for them in person.
Where You Can Buy Access To The TNT Method:
I believe this tutorial can truly be a game changer for you and can also help improve upon any current sales strategies you may be using.
The TNT Method with Tony Taafe can be purchased directly on the Headshot Crew website. Please note, you will need to have or sign up for a free or paid account on the Headshot Crew in order to purchase the tutorial which can be had for $249.
Are you currently using any specific sales strategies for your business? Have you implemented any of the tactics talked about in this article? Let me know in the comments as I would love to talk about what is and is not working for you!
