Peter: What's going on, everyone? It's Peter Byram, and today I have Bonnie Kory with us. She's one of our members in the Next Level photography program and the owner of Bonnie Photo in Boulder, Colorado. Bonnie has an awesome success story, and she's been an amazing client to work with. Bonnie, introduce yourself and tell us a little about you and your business.

Bonnie: Hi, everyone. I'm Bonnie. I own Bonnie Photo, based in Boulder, Colorado. I serve the Boulder and Denver area, and I've been in business for about two and a half years. I love working with like-minded, chill, rad fun-seekers in the area. I mostly shoot weddings, but I also do portraits, like high school seniors and families.

Peter: When did we start working together?

Bonnie: December 2019.

Peter: Before we started working together, what was going on in your business? What were you trying to solve?

Bonnie: My main struggle was getting enough clients. Once I had a consultation with a couple, I was fairly successful at converting them into clients. The struggle was, how do I actually get those consultations? How do I get my name and my brand out there? I'd played around with Facebook and Instagram ads, but I didn't know how to do them, so they were a big waste of time and money for me. So it was really about getting more people in the door.

Peter: So you were pretty good once you were talking to people. It was a matter of generating leads and having a system to get people to a consultation predictably. And running ads wasn't totally new to you. You'd dipped your toe in, but you weren't getting the results you wanted.

Bonnie: I had some success with ads for high school seniors, but never for engaged couples.

Peter: How did you first hear about me?

Bonnie: I think you friended me through a mutual photographer friend, who I don't think I even know in real life. So I started seeing your posts, and I thought, he's claiming some pretty amazing results. I really hoped you could deliver what you were claiming, because it sounded fantastic.

Peter: We started working together in December. What did that process look like?

Bonnie: The first few weeks were basically lessons, where you taught me the basics of marketing and sales, focused on wedding photographers. A lot of that was new to me, because I've never taken a marketing or sales class in my life, and I consider that one of my weak points as a business owner. So all the information you gave me in those sessions was super helpful.

Peter: We were talking before the call about how, early on, you were nervous about sales. You didn't want to be overly salesy or annoying to people. But you've gotten awesome results. What do you think allowed that?

Bonnie: I think the program you've come up with just worked with my personal style. I want to be the opposite of the used car salesman. I hate being sold to, and I hate pushy salesmen. So I thought, I'm not going to be like that. I think I asked you during our first phone call, "Are you okay working with me? Because I'm not going to do that." So just getting to be myself and not be pushy and not be salesy, just being my weird self, was really helpful.

Peter: And being yourself has worked great for you. What results have you seen since working with me?

Bonnie: Amazing results that I still can't quite believe are real. We spent $377 on a Facebook ad set that you helped me set up from start to finish. You helped me with the tracking and setting up my pixel, which for some reason took about an hour, because I'd messed it up so thoroughly before. The ad ran for less than a month, about three weeks. I ran three versions of it. Two were duplicates, and the third was a little different, targeted more toward the LGBTQ+ community. That one was actually the most successful, based on percentages. From that $377, I got almost 300 leads. I'm still working on it, but so far I've booked 14 consultations with couples. A couple were in person, and most were video chats. So far I've booked three weddings for a total of $7,600. And I have two more couples who are ready to book. They have their contracts, and when they book, that'll be another $6,700. So that's over $14,000 total.

Peter: That's amazing. And you're still working through that list. Do you feel like you have a process in place now, so you can reliably keep booking and hit your goals?

Bonnie: Absolutely. I feel empowered to run my own version of this ad set in the future and make tweaks to it. I've also gotten way more confident in my communication with potential clients. I've definitely gotten better at selling myself and my work, based on your guidance, like your sample script and the other things we've talked about.

Peter: The sales coaching is big. We're not used car salesmen. It's about meeting people heart to heart, really understanding them, and if we can help them, showing them how. I think that's part of why you've seen these results. You were authentic and made it your own. And that LGBTQ+ ad crushed it. I think it was getting leads for about a dollar each, a much lower cost per conversion. There are principles we follow, but it isn't cookie cutter. We make it fit your brand and your customers. If you had a machine where you put in $377 and got out that kind of return, you'd do that all day.

Peter: When you started, you wanted a system to book clients. Now you feel empowered to do that. But in the beginning, you saw my posts and thought, this guy's making some claims. It almost sounds too good to be true. What made you decide to work together?

Bonnie: We had a couple of phone calls, and you seemed like someone I could get along with, which is the most important thing to me when I'm working with someone. And you sounded really passionate. You clearly love what you're doing, and you clearly know a lot about it. Not just more than me, because I know nothing about marketing and sales, but a lot. And you're fun to chat with. On our call, you told me about some of your results, and I thought, it sounds like he's legit. Let's do this.

Peter: What was the last thing that pushed you to go for it?

Bonnie: Just knowing I needed help. My business had been growing pretty predictably since I started, but not as fast as I wanted. My goal is to make six figures with this business so my husband can quit his job and this can be our business together. At the rate I was going, that would take about 10 years. I don't want it to take 10 years, and clearly the way I was marketing my business wasn't working, because I wasn't seeing the growth I wanted. So I needed to invest in someone who could help me grow my business in a way I couldn't on my own.

Peter: Do you feel like you know what you need to do to get there now?

Bonnie: Yes. It feels way more within reach in a reasonable amount of time now.

Peter: Would you recommend working with me to others?

Bonnie: I would a thousand percent recommend working with Peter. I still can't believe what you've done for my business in the two, now three, months we've been working together. I've learned so much. You're truly interested in helping me. You're not in it just to make money for yourself and build your brand. You're genuinely interested in helping other people grow their brands.

Peter: Say someone listening is on the fence. They want to grow their business, they have a vision for their life and they don't want to work a nine to five. Why should they take action?

Bonnie: Because unless that person is a marketing master, which I'm not, they're not going to get there on their own unless some miracle happens. It's worth investing in people who know more about business than you do. That's my number one piece of advice for other photographers and business owners. Spend money on other people, because you can't be a master of marketing and accounting and all these different things. Spend money on people who know what they're doing, because it's going to help you grow your business.

Peter: That's awesome advice. To wrap up, what's been the most transformational part of working together so far?

Bonnie: The numbers are easy to point to as solid evidence. But I really do feel way more confident in the way I communicate with potential clients and talk about myself and my work in a more marketable way, without sounding salesy or like someone who's overly proud of themselves. I still feel like I'm being really true to who I am, but I'm way better at sales now.

Peter: That's been one of the coolest things for me to see, that transformation. In the beginning, you were a little unsure how that would all fit together. But we figured it out, and you're doing exceptionally well, and you'll only keep getting better. That part is so critical to growing your business. Any concluding thoughts?

Bonnie: Work with Peter. You won't regret it. And you didn't pay me to say that. I've just genuinely enjoyed working with Peter, and you will too.

Peter: It's been a blast, Bonnie. We're going to keep working together and take this thing to the moon. It's my passion to help photographers succeed in business. There's nothing that makes me happier, and you've been an amazing success story. We're locked in on that goal, and we're going to make it happen. Thanks so much for coming on.

Bonnie: Thanks, Peter.