Lessons

Lesson Info

Make it Personal in Your Marketing

Talking decision makers send a thank you note make it personal hand write this note don't let the computer do it hand write the note again I know it sounds basic but it's needed handwriting oh, and all those details in that database that you collected you put in that note makes sense presentation always began with a thank you remember you're in their world your you have to be polite develop a proposal book that will leave behind over your presentation we talked on that a little bit but us having a folder with our flyers but you can develop whatever you want do not ever mention the name of your competitors or speak derogatory of them tell what you do well and what they do not what they do bad never mentioned your competitors if they bring him up you know I'm just tired of sewing those photos hey I get it you know use the same company all the time it happens they're great people you know always positive we have little time I have a local photographer we hear it all the time and I guarant...

ee they hear that about us too so you always stay positive cause I promise you you say one bad thing about one person and it gets out and then by the time it gets to those people it's ten times worse than you ever said that's human nature so never say anything derogatory one you're going to sleep a lot better at night and everything does come up negative that you said you know you didn't do it and you can't control it you could maybe try to put up the wildfire but at least you know you didn't do it and you will have a stronger business for mike you just kind of hit the nail on the head here we have a question from land randy li photography who says what if you live in a very small community with only one main photographer in the whole area who does all of the volume work and how do you get in without making him feel is that you pushing him out so you kind of touched absolute same way he's been there for years for multiple reasons one most likely he's made the relationships with the community and they've always gone with him the people again this coming that photograph me and little league when I was a child they're still around that gentleman's obviously passed on their other employees they know everybody everybody brings their name up their wonderful group of people but I could do better in my world and that's what you have to do and I would tell this guy not to go after a ton of schools go after one if you can if they have if the contract allows him to go after the one and just keep knocking the door and just keep being there because I promise you he's there for two reasons like I said if he knows everybody and to hell with road that's easy travelled he's the smooth road and it's tough to go with the bumpy road the unknown road unless you constantly just maggot in a polite way and that because that's kind of the way we were we were literally there was there was two photographers ahead everything in our in our area and we've got one of them we've taken the national company out of the out of the photograph with the high schools were still working on the lower schools, so so I think that's great I also I just feel a little bit of like guilt from this person do you know what I'm saying like did you ever feel is there any place for that sort of feeling? Absolutely I think that's human nature and you need to it's your community you don't want to run him out of business but I have to make a living as well too and you need to also understand you stay ethical every step of the way I'm a big personal that I've screwed up on the first one to stand up and say yes I messed up that's that's part of being and you just going to stay the line but as I said earlier if it's a local competitors I always never attacked it because we had the the national company there, and so I chose to go after that first, but if the school came to me or someone came to me and it was a local competitive, photographed it, and they want me to put in a bid, I'm gonna put in a bid that's business, and so I can sleep well at night with this I mean, it's, just a matter of friend, that person too don't most people think photographers in your area or your enemies when reality, they're your allies, and you need to you need to be their friends because they're going to help you. There's plenty of business, I promise you there's plenty of business around, especially in the violent world, because only a few of us have the gear to get into it, so I would ally that photographer and let him know it least be a friend and yeah, I can understand there's some guilt, but competitiveness makes everything better. We have several photographers that always like their packages. We used the same lab miller's, and maybe they'll draw that fedex will drop off the packages in our office, and we're just opening the boxes we haven't been a ton of when we open it up more like, well, these are really good. And it's not us it's from the other is from the other photographer like okay, you know it's a night I love when we do that they're sweet people they're wonderful tigers and it's a good kick in the swift backside to let us know that we step down they're ready to step in and so I think it's I think it's healthy so well I can see he's going or she's gonna have some issues do it ethically every step of the way and if that person loses contracts because they failed to do their part that's part of business I mean you have to just keep it up and then hopefully next year that they'll step it up and maybe they'll get it back maybe not, but so often thank you all right, so again I can't tell you enough tell them what you do well not what you do bad use four skill steps probing, supporting, closing and follow up that's kind of what I'm developing my presentation that's what I'm going for probing supporting, closing and follow up we're going to talk about those real quick and here towards the end of the segment all right probing opening state the agenda tell the purpose so when you first start off you say thank you and just like any newspaper article when you read it the first paragraph is going to tell you where that writer stands on that article four against whatever this title of the paragraph of the article is exactly what you wanted to right here you want to tell exactly what you're here for? Straight for meat, potatoes people are busy, they don't have time to mess around with all the little scratches sniff paper that we talked about asked him describe the current program how things have gone both good and bad, asking those probing questions listen carefully to identify the customers wants and needs brought this up earlier about the teachers ieds it talked about, we need a better security in the school. We had no way to do this. We couldn't get the photographs from the national company well enough in time to get things done before school, so the kids don't have ideas for a month before school started. I need these kids that have ideas, but for the first day of school can you help me? Absolutely I can help you. I'm gonna help you secure the school up better. What principal doesn't want to hear that those little things come out in these conversations, something with sports leagues. I couldn't get the guy that didn't use a tent, my kid kids eyes were squinting, it was horrible, I have the trash in the background, people playing soccer in the background are baseball photo, I'll make sure we have a clean background for you. I promise you I'll go out there right now to the field and we'll talk about where we can lay it out and we'll make sure you have good clean photographs. I'll put a tent overall and I'll make sure there's nothing in the background you're just telling there, right there, you just won the conversation in the first sentence because you listen to what they need, and I'm saying that because we've gotten sports leagues by state saying that exact same issue reporting, react and understand the needs expressed describe the feature and benefits of what you can offer to solve their problems, show competitive and weaknesses by highlighting the good things you do. So you're bringing out the weaknesses of the computer by doing your research that we talked about earlier, but you're never bringing up those people's names you don't want to it's not needed the old saying, if you have anything good to say, don't say it is true you say what's good about you and then sell need build trust in a relationship. So you're selling your stuff by racking and understanding to the needs expressed by them. And then you described what you can do to solve their problems, just like I said with sports league right hander of the ieds and that builds a trusting relationship when our principle, which actually moved on this year to administration told me this last year when we talked about doing photographs for next year that we saw problems for him that were more than this school's photographer not only did it make me know that I was doing my business right with that school but it made me feel good because I was doing business right within myself for my community that was a huge advantage for me it made me want to help the school out more closing briefly review key points describe the next step for you and your client never allow them to get back to you even if they say they will ask if you can follow it up and remember to make it personal so even if they say they're going to get back to you don't give them that chance you get back to them and written thank you note every step of the way so many of these things are so basic so many people don't use them they'll do for their wedding to do for their child graduation will do it for their kids birthday they won't do it for their own business they don't think that this is how you gained business because it's just not his volume seems so non personal bond is extremely personal follow up take thank you notes remember make it personal follow up material highlighting how you can help meet their needs again through your conversation if it's idle cards online ordering yearbook design administration cds adams, you learned during the presentation, even the smallest thing will make a difference, so hit those up. Those are extremely important makes sense. All right, perfect day for the numbers that we threw out. These might not work for you, but you'll have a numbers, and when you make your goals, you want to have a perfect bagel. You want to set forth and have a perfect bagel, because when you meet that perfect bagel, much like they say in a wedding business, if you're waiting for, however, you have that big jumbo package and a someone buys it, then you need to make a bigger jumbo package and that's exactly what I do with these perfect bagels. If I meet my perfect a goal one time, I'm gonna make him bigger because that's my perfect day again, it's a little bigger, perfect day, so like one or two presentation five to seven cold calls in four to six drop in on current customers that didn't necessarily mean dropping in personally, that means phone calls, emails, something to stay in contact with, you're giving presentations, even making a contact calling someone, giving those presentations some way some form and then calling up a bunch of people that you have on your list. Remember I said keep the bear full so if you start knocking him down it could be a list of daycares that air in the next community could be listening schools it could be a list of sports leagues and there's never a wrong time to do this they're always going to say now you're gonna wait till summer to do the school's no by that time they've already a year contract for five years you're history don't worry about the time of year start making the contacts if you make that say I'm not going to do because it's not the right time of year that's an excuse and then you're going to set it off and then when is the right time of year when the right time of year comes by you're going to be busy doing other stuff and you don't ever make that call in the business never grows there's never a wrong time to do this always contact your people that are in your barrel everyday contact someone every day at least once a week someone new make sense do the process make your own goals for a perfect plan when you reach them less actually what I said make new ones make the plan if you do the process make yourself visible get your name out sounds logical but we just don't do it we had would be honest used me and excuse our business trepkos was cut out photographer toe watch in the early two thousand's well weddings all of the world for vice presidents and all this other stuff and when it came to volume it took me a while to realize that I might be something in my mind and weddings but I'm nothing in volume I mean nobody and I'm nobody to my community you have to throw away your ego or whatever you think you're doing well, odds are you if you're doing it well, you could do with a whole heck of a lot better you could always do it better so throw away the ego and really get your name out again it's starting completely over it's completely starting over from your regular business because even if you do have a high end business, they're going think you too expensive there's always something that you have to take away and changed the perception in your community on your business so never stop getting yourself visible keep great notes and information again this is the review process set up appointments presentation and follow up if it's not just you you do what you can if you have other people you can even hire someone to do all this for you or in your case is probably you since heidi seems to be taking all the notes and you're doing nothing you're just like yeah I like this this is good everyone needs a heidi service's existing cover customers and always follow up on their needs and I mentioned that earlier always always always contactar your current customers and you don't have to go and see them all the time. It's always great if you can but you're busy but least in an email if something funny happens on facebook because a lot of people on facebook since something let him know you're out there you're watching you care because that's friendship to me that's not that is business but it's friendship I have tons of people back home that I love him in the principal secretary her her son I mean they're like family to me and I enjoy talking to them on a personal level and it has nothing to do with our businesses if business is related that's a bonus but I enjoy them as people and that's because we were always there and we learned things about each other and you only do that by building that trust building that relationship continue to build a relationship they're the key that's one of the most important parts of this entire process once you have a job and you're going to lose them we're gonna lose some this year you're gonna lose him all the time don't his cody mentioned in earlier segments don't let it kill you it needs to upset it needs t burn it needs to staying because if it didn't you don't care but you need to use it to your advantage much like when we lost our our building our studio originally if I wouldn't mississippi and burn their building down I don't think I would've gotten my studio I think they would probably a little mad at me so your initial reaction generally is not always the best ifyou're mad calm down rethink and say okay did they have a legitimate reason to drop me? The odds are if you really look at it, you're gonna have to be honest yourself would probably say yes what is it for? Even if it's not a yes why did they drop you analyze it and then you make it better and then you constantly send those follow up e mails constitution this follow up thank you cards handwritten cards and then you put in another bid next year the year after and you bring it up you don't hide it you don't just like put another bid and quietly say, look, we messed up I get it we've learned from it we corrected that and I promise you it's not gonna happen again and lots of time's gonna go because of the other companies probably still they don't realize the customers you know, there's gonna be there's gonna be problems that cos well too, so don't give up on that and then finally people like to work with those they like and those they trust. That's, human nature, it's basic it's, understandable, it's simple but it's true. And so when it all comes down all things equal, people want to do business with their friends all things unequal people want to do things with their friends. You make it personal, you will get these jobs each and every one of you can figure out how to be personal on your own, right? I can't really help you that way. That's your own path that your own goal you're gonna have to set for your own community beat if you're going to go into the church based if you're going to go to the public base, you're gonna go. It doesn't matter it's all the same, but I suggest when you start doing this one, like I said, the hiding, I'm giving you a hard time. Don't go for the gusto on everything. Go for the gusto on one or two, narrow your your find territory to begin with, go after extremely hard and heavy and a very political correct and ethical way gets to know these people. It might not happen overnight, but it will happen if you become their friend and when you screw up and I keep saying that over and over again because we do it all the time. You will when you become their friends they're going to come to you and say all right, we have an issue with these photos why has it taken so long? Don't lie to him flat out telling the truth lad out tell him either we ordered a wrong whatever but I'm making it right you know, that was what was so hard about that package taken off our front porch stone on her front porch we did nothing wrong but yet where the bad guy and I get that and sometimes it's gonna happen but if you mess up, you still get even in that case I said no my fault I'm gonna take care of it and you just do it you're gonna lose some customers, you're gonna loosen people and if it's the rock it was the wrong customer you make upset you might lose the league, you might lose the school because of just that little bit, can you? It and it's horrible but don't let it kill you analyze it, figure out where you went wrong, correct it and come back that's the difference between a volume photographer and a weekend warrior photographer in the ball in business the von photographer knows they're going to lose jobs, analyze it knows they're going to get roadblocks and use it to their favor and it makes you stronger in the long run