Peter: We're back with another client, Gio Logrono, a photographer out of Texas. Gio has made a transformation a lot of people in the industry want to make. He went from a career completely unrelated to photography, to associate shooting, to running his own thriving photography business. Gio, introduce yourself and tell us how long you've been doing this.

Gio: I'm based outside Houston, Texas, and I've been doing photography for about 15 years, but most of that time it was a second gig. I had an IT job, one of those comfortable ones, so I did a lot of editing at work. During the pandemic, in May 2020, I got laid off. I started looking for another IT job, but I decided I wouldn't be happy and I wanted to do photography. So I started trying to run my business, and I started associate shooting for a company. That helped me get a lot more experience and get my methods down, but I wanted to do it for myself. That's where Peter came in.

Peter: How many weddings were you shooting a year for that studio?

Gio: Not many. I picked up probably 8 to 10 weddings from them, over about a year to a year and a half.

Peter: We first got connected about a year ago, right?

Gio: Back in May of last year.

Peter: What was going on in your business in May 2022?

Gio: Nothing. Crickets. I had tried some ads, and I'd gotten leads, but I got a lot of ghosting. The leads didn't really reply.

Peter: And how many weddings of your own did you have booked?

Gio: None.

Peter: For anybody listening, if you haven't seen Gio's work, he's very skilled in the technical side of photography. A lot of people I talk to have the skill but don't know how to monetize it. You had the skill, but none of your own clients. How did you first come across me?

Gio: It was probably a Facebook ad, or a friend invited me to the group. It was one of those two.

Peter: What was the main problem you were trying to solve?

Gio: Getting business. I had no leads, and the few leads I got weren't converting. I needed to get leads and convert them when I did.

Peter: You shared the other day that joining was a big gamble for you.

Gio: I took a leap of faith. I saw the results a lot of people in the group got, and after talking to you, I thought I could do this. I got a 0% credit card and joined the program, and the rest is history.

Peter: Why were you willing to take that risk? I've been in that position in my own life, where I wanted something bigger but didn't really have the money, so I had to bet on myself. A lot of people get stuck there.

Gio: Because I had to make it work. This was my full-time job now. I really felt this was going to put me in a position where I could, and I just did it. You have to spend money to make money.

Peter: A lot of people get stuck: to make more money, they need to invest, but they don't have the money to invest. At some point you have to intervene in your own life and say, "I'm going to find a way." People who go from scratch to success are willing to bet on themselves and do whatever it takes. I really saw that with you.

Gio: When we started, I had a vacation planned. We started in late May, and I was gone most of June. I even took a few calls from leads while I was overseas, but I didn't really get into it until I got back in July. And I'd basically paid off the credit card by late August.

Peter: I remember you were going to Europe with your family. You asked whether you should work on your business while you were away, and I said yes, because of momentum. There's always going to be a reason not to do it. If it's not a vacation, it's a birthday or some other event. But you enjoyed your family and still put in the work.

Gio: Seven hours' difference, but I made it happen.

Peter: So you joined. What happened next?

Gio: I went through the course, and the first thing I did was set a schedule. I went into my calendar and set times for everything: breakfast, working out, starting work on leads. For a while, I'd been waking up, sitting at my computer and asking, "What do I do?" Setting the schedule kept me organized and motivated to get everything done.

Peter: A lot of entrepreneurs can relate. You want to do something but don't know what to do, so you sit there wondering how to get business. Having a routine is massive.

Gio: Then you activated my ads, and leads started coming in like crazy. At first, reaching out to leads and keeping track of everything was overwhelming. But the schedule helped, and so did the systems you taught us for keeping leads organized.

Peter: You started getting leads, but you didn't get bookings right away. What was going on there?

Gio: I'd done about four consults. Then we had our one-on-one, and you asked how I was asking for the sale. And right there, I realized I wasn't. I'd do everything, show them my prices, and then say something like, "I know it's a lot to think about, so let me know. I hope I can work with you."

Peter: Putting that thought in their minds: "I know it's a lot to think about." Sometimes I watch sales call recordings and think, these people would book if you just asked. Why do you think you were doing it that way?

Gio: I didn't know any better. I didn't realize I wasn't asking for the sale. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to do.

Peter: That's very common in our industry. There's an assumption that "I'm an artist, they're coming to me because they want to work with me, so they should just book or not." There's some truth to that, but basic salesmanship makes a huge difference. And I want to acknowledge how hard you worked in those early days. Some people come in already doing $400,000 a year with years of reputation and referrals. It was all new for you, and you persevered.

Gio: When you start to get some success, it snowballs. It feels good, you work harder, and it gets going.

Peter: Use every little win as fuel. Don't look at someone who made $200,000 or $500,000 and feel bad. Say, "If it's possible for them, it's possible for me," and celebrate the smallest booking. You let other people in the group inspire you instead of comparing yourself in a negative way.

Gio: You always see people posting their bookings and think, "That can never be me." But once I joined and started getting a little success, seeing other people in the group really fueled me. If they can do it, you can.

Peter: It's powerful to be around people with the same interests who are a couple of steps ahead of you, especially when you've gone from working with colleagues to working alone at home.

Peter: Let's talk about where you are today. What have your results been?

Gio: Definitely busy. Wedding season is kicking off. My year-to-date revenue is $53,000, which is crazy to say, since it's March. Cash collected is almost $31,000. In 2021, the year before I joined the program, my revenue for the whole year was $14,000.

Peter: When you started, you had no weddings booked, and now you've booked $53,000 in less than three months. You'll easily do $100K this year, and $150K or $200K is well within reach if you stay on track. How many weddings do you have this year?

Gio: I think I have about 10 more weddings this year, and I already have five for 2024.

Peter: What enabled you to go from no weddings and $14,000 a year to more than $50,000 in three months?

Gio: It was a combination. One thing you did differently with my ads was expand them. When I ran ads, I only targeted Houston. You ran ads for almost all of Texas, which I'd never even thought of. As a result, I have weddings all over Texas and beyond. I have weddings in Florida and New York now, and a wedding in Mexico next year. Then there were all the little things about how to talk to clients, how to really listen to what they want and show them how you can give it to them, and how to close. The combination is what did it.

Peter: Most people do need more leads. But it's one thing to get a lead and another to convert it. And you're converting people on big packages and on products afterward.

Gio: I just had a $1,500 engagement session sale a couple of nights ago.

Gio: Another thing I've gotten confidence with is showing my pricing. My pricing is what it is, and it's what I'm worth. Before I sent my pricing, I used to wonder, "Should I change it? This is too much. They won't go for it." I'd end up making a price list for almost every client.

Peter: What changed?

Gio: Seeing that clients will do it. If these two other people did it, I'm sure somebody else will. And I've raised my prices since we started.

Peter: People talk about imposter syndrome and confidence. Confidence comes from evidence. You know couples will do it because other couples have. But there's always that first time when you don't have the evidence yet, and that's where people get stuck. Tell us about your G Label collection. What's included, and what do you charge?

Gio: I've teamed up with a videographer, so I offer video now too. On the photography side, the G Label includes 10 hours of photography, a bridal session, an engagement session and an amazing album. It's $6,800.

Peter: And couples have a call with you after the wedding, where they can invest in upgrading the album.

Gio: Yes, and after the engagement session and the bridal session too.

Peter: What's the most a client has spent?

Gio: $2,000 on a session, separate from their wedding.

Peter: So if someone books the G Label at $6,800 and spends another $2,000, that's an $8,800 client. A lot of people want to make more, but their model doesn't give them a chance to add anything for their clients. What would you say to them?

Gio: You're absolutely leaving money on the table. I've had couples who booked a different wedding photographer come to me for their engagement session and spend $1,300, because that photographer left money on the table.

Peter: How did you get the confidence to do that the first time?

Gio: It's hard, especially with engagement sessions. If you're giving couples all the digitals, there's no reason for them to buy anything. So I built my confidence by including only 15 digitals and making sure they'd fall in love with the whole gallery and have to have it. The confidence came from knowing I could deliver more than those 15 and make them fall in love with all of it through the whole process.

Peter: That's a big key to sales: genuinely believing the thing is so valuable that people need it. And when that first client says, "Okay, we'll take the G Label," without saying anything about the price, something unlocks. When I was new, I had a day where I sold two people a $6,000 offer, and my life was never the same. In the beginning it feels weird because you haven't done it before, and you have to push through.

Gio: I had people tell me nobody would pay that.

Peter: You have to put one foot in front of the other no matter what's going on around you. Why did you?

Gio: Like I said, because I needed to. It had to happen, so I pushed through the discomfort and got it done. Once one person goes for it, it unlocks something.

Peter: You've said that a few times. You're married with two kids, and this is how you're going to support your family, so it's non-negotiable.

Gio: When you have nothing to fall back on, it makes you follow through. When I had the IT job, nothing was pushing me to make photography work. It was a nice side gig. When it's what you have to do, it changes.

Peter: It's a gift, really. It doesn't feel that way at the time, but those are often the times you look back on most proudly.

Peter: Let's get tactical. People are hearing that you sold $1,500 from an engagement session for a couple whose wedding you weren't even shooting. What's the strategy, and how do you price it?

Gio: Couples get 15 digitals included. Then I offer three collections, with engagement guest books, albums and wall art. If they get either of my top two collections, they get all the digitals. So the minimum to get the full gallery of digitals is $800. I price everything so my cost of goods is 20% of the price.

Peter: How many images are in a typical engagement gallery?

Gio: Between 50 and 100.

Peter: So you're trying to make every image count.

Gio: And I try to make it an experience. We do a Zoom call to plan the whole session first, so we both get as much out of it as possible. I want them ready and dressed right, so they'll love every picture. I'm setting everything up for success before we even talk about locations. I pick a really good location for them, and they do different outfits.

Peter: On that call, are you also explaining that they get 15 images and then have options?

Gio: Yes. One of my talking points is what's included and what's not. I explain the reveal: we'll go through the experience of them seeing their pictures for the first time together, look at all of them, and then I'll show them what I have to offer.

Peter: Is the reveal on Zoom or in person?

Gio: Mostly Zoom, pretty much since COVID. I used to rent a conference room, which was nice because they could hold the albums, but Zoom has worked just as well, and I don't have to carry everything around.

Peter: A lot of people think they need a studio to do this, and you really don't. Do you ever get pushback about not getting all the images?

Gio: No, because we go through everything beforehand. And I give them enough that if they walk away with only the 15, they can still do their save-the-dates and maybe a small online album.

Peter: Selling after an engagement session is even more nuanced than the wedding, and most people aren't doing it. They assume their clients won't buy, but they're just not being offered it.

Gio: A lot of people don't know what they're going to do with their pictures, so that's something we talk about. Most haven't thought about it beyond maybe a save-the-date. Showing them what's available helps, and I like to have unique things they can't just get printed at Costco. You have to show it to sell it. You can't just say, "It's a beautiful framed canvas." If you're not showing them, they won't know how beautiful it looks.

Peter: Before the iPhone came out, surveys said people would never spend $1,000 on a phone. Then they saw it. Couples are the same. They think they'll get the digitals because they look at Instagram every day, but once they see physical products they can hold, those become a lot more desirable. You already understood this model when we connected. Why did you decide to build your business that way?

Gio: From friends and other programs I'd been in. I'd been working up to it and trying the sales, but I needed more clients to practice on. I had everything set up, just not enough clients to bring it to.

Peter: More at-bats. Sometimes I tell photographers they need to do this, and they look at me dumbfounded. It's better for the client and for you, and it ties a bow on the experience instead of sending a gallery and never hearing from them again. Why do you think people don't do it?

Gio: I see it all the time. People just offer digitals. I think they don't know better and don't think couples will pay for it. I had that belief too. Every time I sent my prices, I'd change them, because I didn't think there was any way they'd pay that much. I think that doubt happens to all of us.

Peter: And you pushed through it because you had to make it work, and you kept focusing on the people you saw it working for. Why did you decide to sell products, not just give digitals?

Gio: First, I really believe it's better to have the product. Even last year, I was offering a beautiful box with a crystal USB drive. But a lot of new laptops don't even have USB ports, and a lot of people don't have computers anymore, just tablets. And I really believe an album or pictures on the wall is a totally different experience. I've been joking that in 20 years, nobody's going to say, "Get Grandma's USB drive so we can see their pictures." I love looking at albums. Our kids look at our wedding album all the time.

Peter: That's fundamental. On a recent group call, another client told someone new, "The first thing you should do is buy an awesome album with photos of you and your partner." It starts with you being bought in yourself. If you believe in it, you'll talk to your clients about it. Labs will even send you samples. Everyone I know making real money in this business is bought in on this model.

Peter: What's been the most transformational thing since we started working together?

Gio: The mindset piece. Believing you can do it and staying positive, even when you hear no. That's been the biggest thing.

Peter: The more time goes on, the more convinced I am that this is a personal development game. You need skills and leads, but it's always the shift the person makes that leads to results. Say there's an associate shooter listening, getting paid $800 or less, hearing that you're selling $6,800 packages and $2,000 album upgrades and booked $50,000 in about 90 days. What's your number one piece of advice for them?

Gio: Take the time you're spending doing it for somebody else, and do it for you.

Peter: You're spending the time anyway. You might as well spend it on yourself. Make the bet on yourself.

Gio: That's exactly what I did, and it paid off.

Peter: Say a newer client of ours is where you were in July 2022, getting leads but not converting. What's your advice for them?

Gio: Have patience. At first, everything you have to do is definitely overwhelming. Have patience, and get your systems set up to keep everything on track. And ask questions. Everybody might be hesitant to ask, because it feels like something you should already know. Ask anyway. Everybody in the group is awesome, and they'll help you out.

Peter: You come to basically every group call.

Gio: Yes. Even when I don't have questions, something usually comes up that I hadn't thought about, and it's helpful.

Peter: Putting it on your calendar keeps you in rhythm and in momentum. Any last words?

Gio: Stick with it, and you'll grow.

Peter: What's your next milestone?

Gio: I'm working on starting my own associate group, so I can book multiple weddings on the same day.

Peter: I was wondering when that was coming. Now you'll be filling their schedules, and it comes full circle. It's been awesome working with you and seeing your transformation over the last 10 months. Going from a dream to a business you love is why I do this. Thanks for hopping on today.

Gio: Thanks.