where you are. If you find yourself getting uncomfortable during
the review, use the feeling. Be present and tell yourself that you
are feeling uncomfortable because you deserve to be successful
and currently your program will not enable you to achieve the
success you deserve. Remind yourself that the review process is
your first effort toward turning the energy around; be happy that
you have chosen to proactively create success. Thank yourself for
acting on your desire to succeed and then begin the review.
As you begin your inventory, start by analyzing your sales
and marketing program. Remember that a healthy sales and
marketing program has the following components.- A vision-based portfolio created and ready to rock
- A database of targeted leads for your target markets
- A minimum of nine direct mail pieces ready to be sent in
the next twelve months - Twelve e-mailers ready to be sent
- A Web site that is visually branded to the portfolio and
listed on at least two to three Web directories
After you have compared your tools to the list above, deter-
mine your starting point. A vision-based portfolio is listed first,
as I believe that this tool is central to every sales and marketing
program. The images in your portfolio are your product. The
book is what clients will eventually call in and is, more often than
not, the final determining factor when assignments are immi-
nent. Web sites are great marketing tools. Do not fall into the
trap of feeling that your Web site will replace your portfolio.
While some clients do buy from Web sites, the majority of buy-
ers are still portfolio based.BREAKING IT DOWNBuilding a new portfolio can seem overwhelming to pho-
tographers, reason enough not to begin the process at all.
In order to avoid getting stuck, choose to break the goal of
building a new book into objectives and tasks.
Each objective is a step along the way toward accomplish-
ing your goal. Each objective is made up of a series of smallerCHAPTER32 / WALKINGYOURTALKChapter 32.qxd 6/25/07 7:28 AM Page 195