Ok this episode was hard to do... why? Well, we were stuck in a studio on a rainy day while our interview-ee was hanging out on a freaking beach in Mexico!! MAN! We were so jealous. Isn't technology awesome?? Anyway, our lucky guest this week is Adam Fried from Simply Color Lab & ShootQ! He came on the show to chat about tools for automation, and we definitely had some questions about how to make the most out of client management software. ^^ Ashley and Julie had the chance to hang out with Adam in Las Vegas last week at WPPI! Key Takeaways

1. Why should we use automation software? Photographers are super creative, but oftentimes that makes running a business a little difficult for us. These days, it's not just about who can take the best photo, it's also about who's the most organized, who can respond back to a lead faster, etc. Using tools for automation helps us rise above the rest of the pack, because we look more professional, stay more organized, and thus book more shoots. Ashley has mentioned that clients constantly tell her how easy the booking process was from start to finish. They've even mentioned that in Yelp reviews. ShootQ's client management software makes for a great customer experience!
2. What are some "out of the box" ways to make your client management software work for you? Once your business is organized and you're using tools for automation, there are a number of ways to use it to your advantage. For example, Adam mentions you can single out certain families according to information from your client questionnaires... so if you wanted to do a sibling shoot, you could set up your ShootQ to find families with over 2 kids and create an email list from that information. Having all that info in the software saves a TON of time!
3. Get excited for the "new" ShootQ! We didn't intend this episode to be a ShootQ commercial, haha, but it's hard to not get excited about all of the changes coming to ShootQ VERY soon! Adam talked a bit about the new systems, and they sound fantastic. First off, they're taking their time on launching it because they want to make sure it's perfect. Secondly, they aren't forcing users to switch over, but if a user decides to switch, ShootQ will help them transfer everything over to the new system. There aren't plans to turn the old system off anytime soon, which is AWESOME. There are updates to make client pages more mobile friendly, email templates easier, improvements to the app, and so much more!

It was great to chat with Adam about tools for automation & ShootQ. We will probably have him back on the show once the next-gen ShootQ is launched to give us updates & chat about any questions we have about the new software, so stay tuned for that! Relavent Links:

• ShootQ
• Simply Color Lab
• PhotoSpark on Facebook

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