Working With CEO’s
Advance Notes: Sometimes it’s easier for a single photographer to gain access to a venue than a company group of photographers. It’s “knowing the right way” to do this.
This is not to say that he developed his marketing techniques in an overnight dream, or that photographers don’t have to put effort into discovering their own pathways to marketing success. “But I’m still puzzled,” says Tom, “to see that many photographers are willing to spend endless hours, even weeks, developing clients that will lead nowhere. Once they reach a dead-end, they employ the same marketing procedure again, and go down the same road with another client that leads nowhere.”
COMMERCIAL ASSIGNMENTS
“Do your homework,” advises Tom. “Work from the top down to art directors and middle-management. These middle-managers don’t have the authority to say, ‘Yes.’ Committee meetings’ll only hold you up. Instead, go right to the top.”
That’s easily expressed, but how do you actually do it? I asked Tom what his method is to successfully reach the top person in a company. (This is when your pathway is corporate commercial work.) “Obviously you have to have a portfolio to start out. But since everyone has one, the next step is to get your foot in the CEO’s door, or better still, his ear on the phone, or his attention on the Internet.
“You have to have quality pictures, but the CEO is not really interested in your portfolio; he/she just checks it to see that you are qualified. He’s interested mainly in your access.”
Access? I asked. What’s that and how so?
“Fortune 500 companies, and other major corporations, would love to have photos of their products in use, in foreign countries, in inaccessible places, such as the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York, or on a military training maneuver in Kuwait. The problem is, try as they might, they are usually refused permission to send one of their staff photographers.”
“You mean you have a way of getting access to those kind of places, and a Fortune 500 company cannot?” I asked.
“Yes,” says Tom. “Take the case of a mining operation in Chile. There are probably five or six or more various products (heavy equipment, computers, helicopters, earth movers, etc.) to be photographed. If I get an assignment from all of the companies that manufacture those products, I have some leverage when I go to a foreign government official to get permission to access the area. They’d much prefer to make arrangements with one photographer (my company) than five or six unrelated photographic companies. And presto! They throw out the red carpet for me, even suggest other related sites and products I should photograph.
“When I complete the multiple assignment, I reward the mining company’s CEO and government officials with complimentary images (paid for by the companies). This is beneficial to me in two ways. I get paid for the extra prints (usually a
Tom has over 100 ‘access’ places around the world, and more work than he can handle. He has a crew of a half dozen photographers who are constantly on the move worldwide.
Amazingly, Tom finds most of his jobs on the Internet. He surfs the net to find information about, say, a NATO project going on in Turkey. He finds seven companies that have products being utilized there. They might be a new all-weather bivouac tent, or a ground-level radar device. Without leaving the comforts of his Capastrano Beach home, he assembles a plan and sends queries out -- to whom? That's right, to each CEO. The CEO knows he/she can always use a photo of their product, in use, in an exotic location – and makes the assignment to Tom, who in turn schedules one of his joint venture photographers to complete the assignment.
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Tom’s creative approach to marketing doesn’t end with his effortless marketing approach. He also creatively uses the Internet to locate free public domain photos that he turns around and “sells” for $875. He actually gives the photo away free, but bills the client $875 for his time and expertise in locating and refining (digitally) the photo for publication use. The photos are usually 72dpi and he has figured out a way to enlarge them to 300 dpi corporate quality, a method he calls “Reverse Fractal Compression.”
Remember that Tom Carroll is not a newly discovered Nintendo-fed hot shot on the photo scene; he’s been in the business fifty years. He’s an inspiration to silver-haired seniors out there who say the new digital age is too much for them. He’s proving that the Digital Age is for the ageless.
Rohn Engh, veteran stock photographer and best-selling author of “Sell & ReSell Your Photos” and “sellphotos.com,” has helped scores of photographers launch their careers. For access to great information on making money from pictures you like to take, and to receive this free report: “8 Steps to Becoming a Published Photographer,” visit http://www.sellphotos.com
 Tommy Thompson |
 Kerry Kolb |
 Jon Saban |
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