From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 1594:
Juliet - What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
What matters is what something/someone is, and not what they are called. Burrell Colour Imaging was the very first lab to have staff members go out into the field and assist customers with establishing a successful studio. The portrait photography industry has changed over the course of the last 50 years that Burrell has been a part of and so has the field staff’s role. Through time they have held the titles of:
Outside Salesman
Studio Marketing Consultant
Marketing Sales Representative…
…and Now, Business Consultant
That’s correct; what customers knew just a few weeks ago as their MSR or Marketing Sales Representative is now officially their Business Consultant. These staff are critical and unique members of our company that continue in the role of helping customers to become and remain successful.
In the beginning, it was merely the selling of the services of the lab. This effort proved to be so successful during the initial phase that Burrell Colour Imaging Founder and CEO, Don Burrell had to “slow them down” so the lab could catch-up on orders. Their role progressed to providing customers help with their pricing, marketing and advertising. When the digital age arrived, the Business Consultants embraced the technology by becoming experts in all aspects of this era.
I’ll never forget meeting a camera store owner and photography consultant at a Midwest seminar and trade show a few years ago. He described to me his role in helping studios make the transition to a digital environment to remain successful. It all sounded fairly straightforward and interesting to me from assisting in the set-up of computer workstations, servers, monitor calibration, DSLR help, lighting, digital workflow strategies, image file back-up and archiving, software tutorials, etc.. He then gave me his card and shared his daily rate of $1,000 + expenses. Wow, I should be a consultant I thought dreamily… and also wondered if anyone hired his services… they do indeed.
I’ve heard firsthand from our Business Consultants that on a occasion they get stuck with the stereotypical label of ‘just a sales rep’ . Too bad some studios can’t see them for their true worth, because they are missing out on quite a deal. The Business Consultants assist studios with nearly every aspect of today’s studio - film or digital. They assist with on location photo shoots, help sort an underclass or sports job, pick-up and drop off orders too. With some studios, they are Family. Their technical knowledge includes Computers, Monitor Calibration, DSLR settings, Lighting, Posing, Digital Workflow, and Software.
So the ‘just a sales rep’ title couldn’t be more inaccurate.
Those studios who know and understand this are benefiting from their consultations… and all of this assistance provided by just being a Burrell Colour Imaging Customer… what a bargain !
posted @ Thursday, May 07, 2009 5:30 AM