A Picture Is Worth Thousands Of Dollars
You’ve heard the saying, “A picture’s worth a thousand words.”
Here’s a new one for you, “A picture is worth thousands of dollars.” Or at least it has been in my business, and there’s a good chance it can be in yours as well.
Do you already have a professional picture of yourself depicting the image you want to convey to your clients? For those who answered, “No,” it’s time to get one. For those who answered, “Yes,” great. Are you using it as a tool to build rapport with clients? You’ll find 4 tips on how to use your photo to build rapport in this post.
Recently, I was emailing back and forth with a client and in one of her emails she wrote, “I love seeing your picture on every email, it’s like you’re smiling at me.”
Of course, her kind words are flattering and having my picture in my email signature is intended to build rapport. It’s a simple, yet powerful sales technique. Any opportunity where a client or potential client feels connected with me is a good thing.
Often when I attend events, people come up to chat with me and start off by saying, “I recognize you from your picture…” It’s a great conversation starter.
Your Savvy Sales Tip this week: Use your picture to build virtual rapport with clients.
Are you wondering how this translates into thousands of dollars in business? Keep reading as I’m going to share 2 specific opportunities where I’ve made thousands of dollars, and both conversations started with a discussion about my picture.
An important part of the story is knowing how these pictures originated and how I use them in my business.
A few years ago I had my first professional headshot taken (first image below with the blue top). Up until then, I avoided posting my picture anywhere. To say I’m not photogenic is an understatement. Getting my picture taken makes me feel sick to my stomach and yet, I understand the importance of having a professional photo for my website and social media. Any chance you’ve ever felt the same way? My first headshot was fine, not exactly the image I’d hoped for but at the time, I didn’t think it was possible for someone to take a good picture of me.
In the spring of 2014, I met an amazing photographer (Nikki Closser of Nikki Closser Photography), and she invited me to schedule a personal branding session with her. We talked about the image I wanted to convey when people visit my website and view my profiles on social media.
Nikki assured me it wasn’t my job to be photogenic; it was her job to put me at ease and capture a beautiful picture. The photoshoot turned out to be one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in years, and the results were beautiful pictures I could use in multiple ways to market myself and my business (second image above with the green scarf).
After updating my photos on my website and social media, these 2 opportunities came my way resulting in thousands of dollars in business.
Opportunity 1: My business coach shared a picture of me on Facebook saying what a great day we’d had together. Someone else then shared her post with a nice compliment about my work. A woman commented on the photo saying, “Maybe we should hire her.” I contacted the woman and ended up getting hired to do a training for her company. This was more than a thousand dollar gig. It all started with a picture.
Opportunity 2: After updating my website with 3 of these new photos, I was contacted by someone I’ve worked with in the past. He commented on how well my business was doing after seeing I’d had a professional photo shoot done. Note, the only thing I’d changed on my website was the photos. His impression was my business was doing well as a result of the new pictures.
We discussed an opportunity to become the sales trainer for his company, a multi-million dollar company with offices across the United States. This opportunity has already generated over 10K in business for Sales Maven within the first few months. Again, this conversation started with a discussion about my updated pictures.
In business, it’s not always easy to decide where to spend money and know if it’ll get you a good return on your investment. For me, a professional picture has opened doors for some amazing opportunities. Of course, there’s still work involved to close these deals, and you have to be able to deliver what the client expects. A professional photo may be the first step in starting a discussion.
When I recommend to people to spend money to have a personal branding session, many people say, “When my business is more established, and I’m making more money, I’ll consider it.” You have to spend money to make money. Spending money to get professional photos and using them strategically to build rapport with people has been one of the best investments I’ve made in my business.
Here are a few suggestions on how to use your photos to build rapport:
- Put your picture on your business card – it’s easier for people to remember you when they look at your card later.
- Include your picture in your email signature – allows clients and potential clients to feel more connected to you as a person instead of just another email to get through
- Update your picture on your social media profiles – it’s not acceptable to use a wedding photo on your business page or LinkedIn profile
- Insert your photo on your marketing materials – people buy from people they know, like and trust, make it easy for people to decide to become a paying client
You may have some additional suggestions on how to use your photo to build rapport. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
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