Yes, you read it right. This is a quick round up of seven surefire ways to lose your clients. Wonder what’s wrong with me or why I’m even talking about losing clients? Well, you might be doing these things without even realizing it. This video by The Slanted Lens is just a light-hearted attempt to put a finger on what you might be doing wrong, so that you can rectify your mistakes:
A lot of times we do things to turn off our clients. They might still be there physically, but believe you me when I say this: they’re already looking for the exit. Once they leave they’re never going to come back. Jay P Morgan takes a sarcastic take at the things some photographers do.
1. Don’t ask what the client wants.
“You’re the photographer. They hired you because of your eye, your great portfolio, your style. You’re just going to give them the image that you want them to have.”
Instead of force feeding your clients with what you want, try to understand what they want. Get together a collection of ideas based on what the client wants and your own suggestions. This will give you a much better idea of what you need to shoot and result in better client satisfaction.
2. Make everyone concentrate on you.
“There’s no reason to worry about your clients, how they are feeling on set or what’s going on in there, because it’s your shoot. You’re the one who’s in charge.”
Instead of micro-managing everything to ensure that everyone gives importance to you, do the opposite. Try hard to make the day all about your client.
3. Obsess over solving every technical problem.
A million different things can go wrong during a shoot. Some photographers do get pretty wound up when they’re faced with challenges. They try to get everything right to get the images they had in mind. They stress everyone else out at the end of the day. Instead of taking this approach and getting into the problem, look outward. Keep a positive outlook, soak up the pressure of the situation, and keep calm on the outside. Eventually you’ll get the images you’re after.
4. Go through the motions.
You already have the images you need in your head. So, just get through the motions, get the images, collect your paycheck, and leave, right? That’s the worst possible approach. The best of photographers will always discuss what the client needs at the very outset. But when they shoot they will always try to get something extra to wow their clients and to exceed their expectations.
5. Refuse to post your images to social media.
How many times have you shared an image you shot for a client on Instagram? Upload, tag, and share. Get your clients to share them, as well. This gets them excited about the shoot and the images you’ve produced. Nothing excites people more than their social media connections appreciating the images.
6. Don’t be proactive.
There is no reason to respond to clients until they have called you like two or three times. Wrong! Be proactive. Be the first to call. Promise that you would deliver the images to them in about a week and then deliver in three days. If your client starts to call you know that you are already behind and that your clients are getting impatient.
“Never make them call you to get their images. Never!”
7. Never follow up.
Once sales are done, that’s it. You don’t have to worry about calling them back or anything. They already know that you do great work. They will call back if they need you to do more work for them. That’s a surefire recipe for losing clients. Good marketing people consider completion of sales as the beginning of a relationship. Send your clients a thank you card or a thank you gift. Connect to them on social media. These efforts may not bear fruit immediately but they could result in referrals or repeat clients.
What else would you add?
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