How to Run In-Person Sales Without a Studio

Plenty of portrait photographers skip in-person sales because they assume it needs a dedicated sales room with a big screen and sample frames on the wall. It doesn't. Some of the best sessions happen on a client's sofa.

Here's how to run an IPS session without a studio, and what to do differently when the room isn't yours.

Where you can hold the session

• The client's home. The strongest option, because they can look at the actual wall the piece will hang on. You also skip the cost of a venue.
• A quiet cafe or shared space. Fine if you choose the time well. Avoid anywhere noisy enough that you can't hear the silences, which matter more than you'd think.
• Your own home office or a borrowed room. Perfectly workable with a decent screen and a tidy background.
• A video call. A good fit for clients who live far away or have small children. We cover it step by step in how to run a portrait sales session over a video call.

What to bring

• A laptop or iPad. If your software runs in a browser, you can use whatever you carry, and the client can follow along on their own device. Desktop-only software ties you to one machine, which is one reason some photographers look at a ProSelect alternative once they start selling away from the office.
• A second screen, if you can. A small portable monitor or the client's TV lets them see the wall art while you design on your own screen.
• Charger and a backup connection. Phone hotspot at the ready, in case the venue's wifi fails.
• Your price list, already built. Decide your collections before you arrive.

Before the session: get the wall photos

Ask the client to send a photo of each wall they're considering, taken straight on and in daylight. If you're holding the session at their home you can take it yourself on arrival, but it's far better to have it a few days ahead so you can set up the designs in advance. If they can't, stock wall photos work as a fallback.

A running order that works anywhere

1. Set up first. Arrive ten minutes early, check the screen and the connection, and settle the client where they can see clearly.
2. Play the slideshow with no talking and no prices. Let them feel it. This is the moment the whole session depends on. Our guide to the reveal session has the details.
3. Ask where it belongs. "Which wall in your home does this go on?" moves them from judging the photos to planning the room.
4. Show it on that wall. Put two or three collections on their actual wall so they can compare sizes.
5. Give the price plainly, then stop talking.
6. Close on placement. Agree which collection goes where, then take the order.

Taking payment when you're not in the studio

An invoice sent three days later meets a different person from the one who was excited in the room. If your software lets the client pay straight away, or sends them home with a private link where they can pay when they've talked it over with a partner, you keep the sale alive without chasing.

Follow up the same day

Whatever happens in the room, send the client their private gallery link that evening. Some will order from the sofa, and the rest will have something to look at when they talk it over. If a few weeks pass quietly, a short note works better than a discount.

Choosing software for sessions away from the office

The questions that matter for studio-free selling are:

• Does it run in a browser, so any device works?
• Can the client reopen the gallery from a link afterwards?
• Does it take payment, or only record an order?
• Does it show wall art on the client's own wall?

Our guide to IPS software compares the main options on those points, and what is IPS photography is the place to start if the terminology is new.

Portrait Reveal was built for exactly this kind of session: it runs in any browser, shows collections on the client's own wall at true size and sends a private link home. US$14.99/month, 14 days free, no credit card.