We strive to be unique in all aspects of our work, different from our competition, separating ourselves from the mundane… and yet so many of us forget the most unique part of their business… THEMSELVES!
Stop being the person you think your clients want, and find the clients who want YOU.
Take a moment for me, and think about your top 5 photographers, or businesses you follow on ‘the book’. Think about how they interact with their audience, their fans, their clients. They draw you in. Some do this with wit, others with sarcasm, others with a bit of controversy, and still others with genuine loving charm. But every one of them comes across as 100% authentic.
No one wants to interact with a visage. You fool no one when you butter up, sugar coat and lather your posts with disingenuous charm.
Being YOU will always be your best bet, and take you farther than any mask you don.
Yes, even if you are AWKWARD. Roll with it, if it’s genuine I guarantee it’s also endearing. Furthermore, the moment you embrace yourself, is the moment all those once awkward traits of yours will be your best features, and even you will find them endearing. This goes both ways of course; if you aren’t naturally witty, sarcastic or controversial, don’t attempt to be because you think it will get you further. It won’t. You need to capitalize on the real you! If you really truly are the Pollyanna of our generation… run with it!
Not sure what kind of a person you are?
Let me give you a hint, the way you talk to your best friend… that’s you.
If you have to think long about what to write, or say, or worse how to say it… you’re on the disingenuous train, get off.
Not sure how to comingle ‘you’ with the business you? Let me help… THEY ARE ONE AND THE SAME. Yes, that’s right, you do NOT need to be a different person in front of your clients than you are in front of your friends. You are not Clark Kent my loves, you don’t run into a phone booth, strap on your camera gear and come out Shutterman.
This is a service industry, one which we spend a great deal of time with our clients. We capture their memories, we learn their biggest insecurities and we make sure that when they see their photos- all of those insecurities melt away. I like to think we make friends, not acquire clients. Treat them like your friend, interact with them like you do your friends. The more comfortable you make your clients, the more natural their smiles become and the more trust you will instill. With trust their nerves will calm and photos will look 100 times better.
You can only truly do this by being authentically YOU.
Take myself for instance, as you can tell I am a bit sarcastic, and humor is at the heart of me. I don’t say things like oh darn, gee, or golly… And I make no apologies for it. That being said, I, like everyone else in this awesome world of ours, am multifaceted. Be genuine, but don’t be a caricature of yourself.
Still unsure of how this is done?
Stop thinking about it. That’s how it’s done. Stop second guessing what you should and shouldn’t say; how you should say things…. Stop stop stop.