"Drilling Down" - Is it Time to Fine-tune Your Listening Skills?

You've got two ears and one mouth. So listen twice as much as you talk!
Epictetus

by Skip Cohen

​This might be one of our shortest and easiest suggestions for your business. And it's perfect for Marketing Monday and drilling down on how to be more effective and build a stronger brand. It's also not exclusive to professional photographers; it's for every business owner. However, since most of you are in the imaging world, we're going to focus on photographic customers.

One of the top complaints of new couples after the wedding is that the photographer didn't meet their expectations with the finished photographs, video, and album. And the reason most often relates to listening skills. So, here are a few suggestions:

• Learning to listen is hardly a new topic! The quote above is from the Greek philosopher Epictetus, who died almost 2,000 years ago.
• Ask questions with multiple purposes. For example, Bambi Cantrell will always ask the bride who made her gown. The answer gives her an idea of what she's spending, together with her style - more contemporary or traditional.
• Build the relationship. We live in a texting-and-email world, and I often feel like the art of conversation has been lost. Ask the couple how they met. Encourage them to share some of the funny experiences they've had together. Find out what they love about each other, their families, and friends.
• Show them samples of your work. I'm always surprised when I hear about a photographer who doesn't have sample albums to share. All it takes is a call to your lab to make a duplicate album from a previous wedding or two.
• Whenever possible, do an engagement session. While it provides additional value to your pricing, the real benefit is getting to know the couple. A good engagement shoot helps establish your credibility so that on the day of the wedding, you're recognized as a friend when "logic doesn't reign as king!"​

Your strongest marketing tool, which I've written about before, is building relationships and trust. It applies to every specialty within photography, including commercial, boudoir, family, children, maternity, and more!

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Do not listen with the intent to reply, but with the intent to understand.
Anonymous