The Q4 Money Rush: book more corporate headshots this year

Q4 is the most important time of the year for photographers who work with large companies and organizations. If you do some legwork and get proactive, you can generate some incredible income for your business.

I first wrote about this for PetaPixel in 2022, but a few things have changed since then, and there are some new ideas worth considering. Read on to find out how to take advantage of the Q4 spend!

The short version

• ✓Q4 is corporate headshot season. Leftover budgets, year-end tax planning, and the federal fiscal year all push spending into October through December.
• ✓Call your past clients. The fastest Q4 bookings come from companies that already know you.
• ✓Show up where they search. Raise your ad budget on October 1st and make sure AI search tools can find you.
• ✓Get out and network. Holiday season means more local events with business owners in the room.
• ✓Ask about prepaying. Some clients would rather spend this year's budget on next year's headshots.

Why corporate money moves in Q4

It comes down to how corporate budgets work.

Use it or lose it. Department budgets are set based partly on what was spent the year before. If a marketing team has $20,000 and only spends $10,000, they're probably looking at a smaller budget next year. So unspent money tends to get spent in the last few months.

Year-end taxes. For companies on a calendar year, December 31st is the last day to spend money against this year's taxes. That makes Q4 spending matter more.

The federal fiscal year. The federal government's fiscal year ends September 30th. Companies with government contracts often see new projects and spending kick off in October.

When that money starts moving, the photographers who are ready get the calls. In our studio, 40% of our annual gross in 2019 came in between October 15th and December 15th.

Where to focus: teams, not individuals

One thing before the tips. We're focused on corporate teams over individual headshots, because the return is better and the repeat business is more consistent.

A good individual client might be worth $500 to $3,000 a year, depending on how you sell. A good corporate client that sends you their whole team and every new hire can be worth $10,000 to $20,000 a year, every year. Twenty individual clients won't feed your family. Twenty good-sized companies will.

If team work is new for you, here's how I approach bidding on big headshot jobs.

3 things to do starting October 1st (plus a bonus)

Tip 1

Shop Your Closet

Dig through your client list the way you'd dig through your closet. You'll find things you forgot you had.

• •List every client from the last four years, with an emphasis on corporate teams and event headshots.
• •Re-familiarize yourself with each company and what they needed.
• •Make friendly customer service calls. Remind them who you are, ask questions, and see what they need.

Tip 2

Show Up Where They Search

When a manager tells someone on their team to find a headshot photographer and spend the leftover budget, that person is going to search. More and more, that search starts in Google's AI Mode or ChatGPT instead of a list of links.

• •If you run Google Ads, raise your budget on October 1st. Don't miss a team booking because you hit a $10 daily limit.
• •Make sure your Google Business Profile is accurate. AI tools pull from it, along with your reviews and your site.
• •Give each corporate service its own page. When we rebuilt our team and conference headshot pages, we came up first for "conference headshot photographer Orlando."

If ads aren't your thing, hire a good local agency. We tell clients to hire a professional photographer. Same logic.

Tip 3

Get Out and Network

There's no better way to build a reputation in your community than showing up in person. Holiday season means the number of local events is about to jump, and a camera in your hand is a pretty good conversation starter.

We make a point of showing up to library openings, Chamber of Commerce socials, art festivals, and charity events. That involvement is how we became the official headshot photographer for our city, plus a dozen local businesses that send us every new hire.

• •Look up your local chamber of commerce and business groups.
• •Pick a few events where community and business leaders will actually be in the room.
• •Go to be known as the photographer, not to hand out business cards to everyone.

Q4 is also when companies throw holiday parties and plan their January kickoffs. If you cover events too, that's a natural place to add headshots to the event.

Bonus Tip

Let Them Book Next Year's Work Now

Some clients will be glad to prepay for work that won't happen until next year. Their budget gets spent before December 31st, and you have the work locked in before the year even starts.

This isn't something we typically offer, but it comes up. We recently sold $15,000 worth of headshots in advance, to be shot over the next year. When you make those check-in calls from Tip 1, it's worth asking whether there's budget they need to use before year end.

What happened when we shopped our closet

The first year we started these calls at the end of September, a company we hadn't worked with since 2019 booked with us for $12,000. One phone call.

Keeping existing clients matters more to a small business than finding new ones. They take less effort to book, so the profit on every job is better. That's why we call every client every 90 days just to say hi and check in. You'd be surprised how often that turns into paid work.

I've put our full system for keeping corporate clients into a free guide, How to Turn Corporate Clients Into Repeat Clients. Sign up for Photographers Only, my weekly newsletter, and I'll send it over.

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Key takeaways

• ✓Corporate budgets, year-end taxes, and the federal fiscal year make Q4 a busy season for headshot photographers.
• ✓Corporate teams are worth far more per year than individual clients. Focus your Q4 effort there.
• ✓Start with past clients. They're the easiest bookings and the most profitable ones.
• ✓Raise your ad budget on October 1st, keep your Business Profile and service pages current, and get out to local events.
• ✓Clients with budget left in December may prepay for next year's work. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Common questions

When is the busy season for corporate headshot photographers?

For us, it's October through mid-December. In 2019, 40% of our annual gross came in between October 15th and December 15th. Corporate budget deadlines, year-end tax planning, and the start of the federal fiscal year all push spending into Q4.

Why do companies spend more on headshots in Q4?

Department budgets are often based on what was spent the previous year, so unused money tends to get spent before it's lost. Companies on a calendar year also have until December 31st to spend against this year's taxes. And companies with government contracts often see new work start in October, after the federal fiscal year ends on September 30th.

Should I focus on corporate teams or individual headshot clients?

Teams. A good individual client might be worth $500 to $3,000 a year. A corporate client that sends you their whole team and every new hire can be worth $10,000 to $20,000 a year, and they come back every year.

What if I don't have many past corporate clients to call?

Lean harder on the other two. Make sure your ads are running with enough budget to show up when people search, and get out to local business events. Every corporate client you book this quarter becomes someone you can call next October.

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The Business of Headshots covers pricing, bidding on corporate jobs, marketing, and the systems that keep clients booking again.

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