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Originally Published in The Village Square newsletter - April 2012 We recently took our son in to get pictures taken at a photography studio. When we picked up the pictures, much to our surprise, they printed too many. What a great windfall! The extra prints were really cheap compared to what we already bought. So we shelled out the extra cash and now have even more pictures to share with our friends and family. Do we honestly believe they printed too many pictures? Of course not. This is called an up-sell. Once they have you in checkout, they offer additional goods/services at a reduced price. Its a way to make an additional sale with minimal risk of investment. I'm much more inclined to buy those extra prints as I have an vested interest in them. As scrollers, I think we can learn something from this practice by up-selling our services at checkout. How? By making additional copies with stack cutting. Stack Cutting is the process of making multiple copies of a cutting at once. You simply stack several pieces of plywood and secure them with tape around the edges. The tape holds the stack together and prevents the plywood from shifting. As you cut the portrait, you're cutting through several layers at once. When your finished, remove the tape along the edges to release the stack. Just like that, you have multiple copies of a project without any extra work. If you are doing a custom portrait, instead of cutting one copy, try stack cutting 2 or 3 extras. There's always somebody who will want one after seeing the original; mother, sibling, grandparent, etc. It doesn't take any extra time. Material cost is minimal. And quite honestly, its easier to cut a stack 1/2" thick than it is to cut something 1/8" thick. So lets say you were commissioned to do a custom portrait. You charge $60 for the work. When they pick up their custom cutting, mention that you made some extra copies "just in case" and show them. They can have the extras at $20 a piece if they're interested. This is a great deal compared to the initial $60 portrait! Plus, they have a vested interest because those cuttings are unique to them. They get a great deal and you walk away with an extra $40 with very little additional effort. You'd be surprised how often your extra copies will be purchased. But what if they don't want it? So what? It hardly cost you anything. Keep it for your portfolio and turn it into a sales tool. Print out the picture you used to make the portrait and tuck it into the corner of the frame. That way you can show people exactly what a custom portrait entails and what they can expect. You'll be able to sell your services a whole lot easier if the customer can see examples.