Guest Post by: Marie Vanderpool.
She is an adventure wedding and elopement photographer whose heart lives in the Pacific Northwest, but travels and lives full-time in a Ram ProMaster 2500 to adventurous destinations like National Parks and Forests in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Utah, and Arizona. She's passionate about people, adventure, and love.
Dubsado has been a game changer for my business. I’m an adventure wedding and elopement photographer, so the road is my home. As a full-time nomad, staying organized is imperative. I live in a 2017 Ram ProMaster 2500, so the ability to have a calendar, to-do lists, contracts, and questionnaires that I have the ability to send electronically has been instrumental in my growth as a photographer. As a nomad, I’m often not located in the same areas as my clients, so meeting with them face-to-face is difficult, but Dubsado makes it so easy to send items like questionnaires, which I often have my clients complete so I know that I’m giving them the best experience and I stay organized as to what is important to my clients, pertaining to their special day.
My life is hard to predict with living on the road, having structure is important to not only myself, but my clients. I never want them to feel any of the chaos I may be experiencing in my personal choice of living in a van and traveling full-time.
The automative workflow option is amazing. It keeps you organized and it’s almost like having a digital assistant to assist you with making sure all the mundane tasks that are still important, like sending an invoice and sending you reminders for follow-up and scheduling meetings/appointments/phone calls with clients. As your workload gets bigger, staying organized and on top of everything helps with instilling confidence in clients that you know what you’re doing and you’re an organized professional.
I also love the auto-pay feature that Dubsado rolled out. I haven’t had the opportunity yet, but I’m so excited to use this feature with clients that want a payment plan in installments instead of 50% upfront then 50% 30 days before their wedding.
I love how much you can customize each form or template as well- I’ve looked at other competitor’s options and I’m still thoroughly impressed with what Dubsado offers in aesthetics- just prettier to look at, in my opinion.
In addition, it seems as though Dubsado stays on top of any bugs that occur within their system, as I’ve heard complaints from other photographers who use other CRM systems and I have little to no complaints from my experience with Dubsado.
Using a CRM management system is a lifesaver and a key way to stay organized with dates (Dubsado helps you avoid double-booking), payments, timelines, and details. Having a system in place will help you focus on the more important details for your clients experience like what makes their heart beat vigorously. If you’re going to choose a CRM management system, my experience with Dubsado has been incredible and I recommend them wholeheartedly.
I think that Dubsado would be an amazing feature for hair and makeup artists to use. I can imagine them being able to elevate their client’s experience by sending questionnaires and including the file upload option that Dubsado includes in their template building options. This would be useful so hair and makeup artists understand the expectations that a client may have and even using it to see if a potential client is a good fit depending on the style they’re envisioning and if it matches their creative vision.
The most rewarding part of my work is being able to give my clients experiences and capturing their hearts. I love helping them plan a backpacking elopement in a national park where they have the intimacy and privacy to stay present in the beauty surrounding them and experiencing the weight of the loving vows they’re professing to their significant other. Adventure is a huge part of my life and I value my marriage with my husband, it’s only fitting that my passion revolves around one of the most adventurous commitments we make in life- marriage!
