January 15th - WE HAVE GUEST SPEAKERS!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

It has been too long since we have met and I am super excited because not only do I get to spend this coming Tuesday with my good friends and fellow photographers Justin and Mary Marantz... you do too! Justin and Mary are driving in from Connecticut on a mini PUG tour and they are going to be joining us on Tuesday, January 15th at Hi-5 in downtown Raleigh at 6:30pm. Everyone try to bring out a friend to enjoy their company and wisdom. Remember, you do not have to be a Pictage photographer to come out!

These are some of the sweetest and most down to earth people I know. I had the chance to speak to their PUG group in mid 2007 and their PUG is awesome not to mention the LARGEST PUG group at Pictage.Below is a little more info on Justin & Mary as well as a bit about what they will be speaking on...

Mary & Justin Marantz own one of the fastest growing studios on the East Coast. In the past year their business has exploded, going from shooting local weddings averaging $3,000 to booking events upwards of $10,000, taking them all over the world in 2008. Ultimately, the reason for this breakout success comes down to one basic principle that has become the very foundation of their business: they view their clients and other photographers as friends.
Breaking the bounds of conventional professionalism, Mary & Justin have built a sales force based entirely around their “clients & competition turned friends.” They’ll take you through the entire experience- from the very first meeting to long after the wedding- showing you exactly how to create an ongoing “loyalty beyond reason” with your clients. In turn, this particular brand of loyalty translates into the kind of super-referrals that take all of the work out of future bookings.
Combined with the power of repeat-referrals from a strong network of photographer friends, you will be able to shift the dynamic and actually pick and choose the clients you want to work with…and there is no better place to start building this kind of community than with your own local PUG.

BIO:
Justin graduated from the highly-acclaimed Rochester Institute of Technology in 2003, and was the featured winner of the 2006 PDN Top Knots Photography Contest. Mary is a 2006 graduate of the Yale Law School, and brings with her a sharp business sense and a high-end take on marketing & branding. Their work has been featured in Brides magazine, Grace Ormonde and La Bella Bride. In 2007 Mary & Justin formed a non-profit called “The Portrait House,” and their “Million Faces Campaign” has taken off nationally on its mission to raise a million dollars for Habitat for Humanity.