Get Pictures of Your Clients

by Ken Hall of OSSN

Sometimes, very low-tech ideas will trump the large companies and all their buying power and massive advertising budgets. Just last month, one of my subscribers sent me a sales tip that is so simple yet so effective it is stunning in its brilliance. And, best of all, the biggies can’t duplicate it!

Several years ago, Mary learned to harness the power of digital cameras to expand her travel business. Now, when clients are leaving for their vacations, she calls them, wishes them well, and asks them to send her a couple of pictures of them on their trip. She tells them she wants to see them having a good time and enjoying their vacation.

Mary said she almost always gets four or five photos, sometimes emailed to her from their destination, sometimes sent to her when they get home. Naturally, she calls them and thanks them for their business and their photos.
Then, she works her magic . . .

Mary calls her clients and confirms they had a great time. Then she says, “I enjoy these photos and I post them by my desk so I can see pictures of you and get to know you better. When I talk with you on the phone, I look at your pictures and I feel I am closer connected to you. We can’t always meet face-to-face, but this keeps me thinking of you as a real person and not just a voice or an email address. Nothing is as good as personal contact, and this is my way of doing it in this high-tech world.”

Do you think she is separating herself from the Expedias, Orbitzs, and the mega-agencies of the world?

Then, to help cement the relationship, she sends her clients a couple of photos of herself – one at her desk and one on a trip. These are candid photos, not professionally shot or poised, just regular prints or emailed copies. She calls to make sure they have been received and asks her clients to post the prints someplace convenient so they can “see” her when they talk on the phone.

By putting faces with names and voices, talking on the phone (or even sending and receiving emails) becomes more of a dialogue and less of a sales transaction. Think of that for a minute. Don’t most people prefer communicating with a real person, someone who knows them, someone who cares about them as individuals? Of course they do.

Second, trust builds when clients can see the person with whom they are dealing. And, if you remember the four key questions that have to be answered on every sales call, “Why should I trust you” is one. (The others are “What are you selling?”, “How much does it cost?”, and “What’s in it for me?”). By having her clients looking at her picture while they are talking on the phone, Mary builds trust, big time!

And, third, during conversations Mary can refer to the clients’ vacation photos she received, which will evoke pleasant memories of those past trips. She knows that when people are in good frames of mind, when they are remembering the fun they had on a past trip she had planned, they are more inclined to buy from her.

It isn’t rocket science and it isn’t manipulative, but it is good salesmanship. It’s low tech and it is inexpensive. Getting pictures of your clients will help you build stronger relationships, enjoy talking with the clients more, and close more sales. Try it – you’ll be surprised how easy it is.