Before we get into today’s episode I want to tell you about something pretty sweet that we put together for you guys. If you’ve ever been stumped for styled shoot ideas, we brainstormed until we couldn’t think anymore to come up with the top 100 styled shoot ideas for your model teams. They’re all broken down by season & by theme. Go download that pdf & let me know which ones you’re going to plan for your team this year. It’s totally free & just something we wanted to surprise you guys with so I hope you enjoy it. I’ll link it in the show notes, but if you want to pause & go grab it now, you can do that at www.seniorstudiosuccess.com/modelteamideas.

Ok, let’s dive into today’s episode. We’ve been talking all about model teams the last few weeks leading up to that free class I taught yesterday about how to charge for your model teams & the release of a brand new item in the shop that I am over the top excited about - the new Model Team Inquiry & Prep Magazine Templates. I can’t wait to see what you guys do with these templates once you get them rebranded for your studios. Please send me screenshots over on insta @seniorstudiosuccess. I want to see them!

I’m going to finish up our model team series today by talking about some of the most common problems we see with actually signing on new models & with our styled shoots. Then I’m going to close with a little bit of how this new tool can help you to avoid them.

Bad Spray Tans + Extra Editing

So how about those spray tans & self tanners y’all? If you have never edited a bad spray tan or washed off self tanner from the wrist down, then you are obviously one of the chosen ones, blessed beyond measure & you should probably go buy a lottery ticket the next time it gets really big.

The same thing goes for thrown-in-a-bag, wrinkled clothes, chipped nail polish, trying to hide bra straps for a strapless dress, showing up on time & adding filters to your beautiful images. I could probably go on for days here. I’ve been working with seniors since 2005 so I think I’ve seen it all, but something does end up surprising me every year. It keeps it interesting for sure.

So how do we avoid all of these things that to them are “no big deal” but to us can cause tons of extra editing and stress that we just don’t need in our lives?

A few ways . . . setting clear expectations, communicating well, and preparing your model team for their styled shoots well in advance. Let’s talk about those just a little bit.

Setting Clear Expectations With Your Senior Model Team

What seems like common sense to us, may not to a teenager. Remember that we live in this world. We live, eat & breathe it every day. They don’t. And we can’t expect them to read our minds. So when we’re working with anyone, especially a group, we need to set very clear expectations about how things should go and how we can all be successful together.

Communicating Well With Your Senior Model Team

There is no such thing as over communicating when it comes to working with your model team. If you have kids, have you ever said “did that just go in one ear & out the other”? I bet you have! And probably more than once! You guys, we are working with teenagers. It’s the same thing. They don’t listen. Haha! Bless them. So we have to communicate well and consistently multiple times to get the message across.

How to Prepare Your Senior Model Team

I think this might be where I have failed the most in the past. With my earlier teams, I would come up with an idea for a shoot, tell them what to wear, where to show up & then be shocked when almost nothing worked out right. They came in odd colors & styles. They completely forgot. They were late or couldn’t find the address. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Well, back to point number one . . . they couldn’t envision what I was seeing & there wasn’t one central place for getting them all the details for our shoots. I was doing them a disservice by not preparing my team in advance. No wonder I was frustrated and wanted to throw in the towel sometimes with my model teams. But it wasn’t their fault. It was mine.

Today is a totally different story. We have it dialed in and I couldn’t be prouder of my team and how successful of a program it is in my studio.

A couple of things have contributed to that success.

I raised my model team participation fee drastically. No more free work. They value it because I value it. It’s completely changed the type of people who are attracted to me and my business.
I have a solid inquiry, consult & booking system. This took a while to put together, but it’s amazing & I book 90% of those model team consults now.
My team is prepared for our entire year together. Everything is planned in advance & they know exactly what to expect. They are so excited about each shoot & getting to spend time together. And things run so smoothly now!

Practice makes perfect

How did that come to be? Well, a lot of trial & error. A lot of falling on my face & picking myself back up. And a whole lot of work to get it just right.

We do a lot of this work inside Studio Secrets, but I realize that it’s not feasible for some of you right now. So I wanted to share with you a tool that will do a lot of this work for you. I hinted at it at the beginning of this episode. It’s my new Model Team Inquiry & Prep Magazine Template that I use in my own studio.

I couldn’t be more excited to introduce this to the industry because I truly believe it is different, well thought out & purposeful for each phase of your model team. Here’s why. The right tool will help you close the sale. The wrong one will help you lose a potential client. My inquiry magazine template is specifically designed to close the deal for you & help you book a client. And then, the prep magazine is for all that communication & prep work we need to do to have a successful model team.

But why do you need two magazines for your senior model team though? Why can’t you just use one?

Well, each magazine serves a different purpose & should be used at specific times. There are different times in a client's journey when they need different pieces of information.

There are a lot of "pretty templates" out there or maybe you’ve even pieced one together on your own. It took me a while to understand that the end result had to be taken into account before putting together a magazine for clients and potential clients.

A magazine that you send to everyone who contacts you so that they have all the information all at one time to make a decision is flawed. Here's the problem with that and why I chose to create different products for you guys . . . ones with the end in mind. Very intentional tools to use in your studio and my own, to do the job they need to do.

When you give anyone and everyone every single piece of information about your company all wrapped up in a pretty pdf, then they have no reason to go any further. No reason to call. No reason to book a consult. They have all of the information they "think" they need.

And that's exactly how you lose a booking.

I have a different philosophy in my studio and in the way I coach other photographers. Give them just enough to peak their interest. Leave them wanting more. This is a very personal business. I believe we need to create connections, build relationships and invite them into a story they can believe in before we can confidently book the session or invite them onto our team.

That’s what the Model Team Inquiry Magazine does. It’s an amazing tool to help you close the deal. But we have to go further than that. Our new models now need to be educated & prepared for what’s to come, just like what we’ve been talking about.

The Model Team Prep Magazine will solidify your brand in their minds, reminding them that they made a wonderful choice hiring you as their photographer. And they will be more than prepared for their styled shoots when they get this beautiful magazine in their inboxes! You see, it’s built with the end result in mind too - organized, well-planned out styled shoots with your team.

Prep work that will lead to payoff

Now what is all that prep work going to do? It’s going to give your model team a better experience. A better client experience means higher sales and that natural word of mouth and those referrals you want so badly from your model teams! We don’t have to bribe them, come up with a crazy points system or beg them for lists. We just have to make sure they have an amazing time.

You know what else it does? That prep work saves you so much time & energy. You make all the plans one time. There’s no endless to-do lists around planning shoots & getting the details out to your team. It keeps you from being in that state of decision fatigue. That’s exhausting to me. And it means fewer questions to answer throughout the entire year - because everyone knows what to expect & what the plans are. Business shouldn’t be a burden you guys. Having a system and tool in place for your model team makes it easy.

There’s a timeline, success & planning tips for your team, hair & makeup tips for if they are doing it themselves and for if you’re providing a professional hair & makeup artist, mood boards & details for each styled shoot, what to expect after each shoot, FAQ & checklists. And all of the text is included. I don’t hold back!

I hope you’ll head over to the shop to check it out whenever you’re ready. If you choose to invest in it for your business, let me know! I fully believe you will get 100% of your investment back & then some from this one tool. It’s both magazine templates in one product. And if it’s not the right time for you, that’s totally cool. It will be there when you need it. But definitely get that freebie - the top 100 styled shoot ideas. That should really help you get your creative wheels turning this year for your model teams!

As always, let’s continue the conversation over on Instagram or in the Senior Studio Success Facebook Group. I’m always up for that. Have a great week y’all!

DOWNLOAD THE TOP 100 STYLED SHOOT IDEAS FOR MODEL TEAMS HERE