Wow Me, Impress Me, Dazzle Me

“Hi how are you?”

“Fine thank you and how are you?”

“Fine thanks.”

Have you ever thought about most of the short conversations you have during the course of a day?

Most of them have very little meaning. Or relevance.

Do we honestly care how someone is doing when we’re standing in line at the coffee house picking up coffee for the day? Nope not really. Just small talk.

I mean, what if someone actually said “lousy” instead of fine. Would they even hear that? Would they pay attention?

We tend to walk around on autopilot, moving from one task to another with little thought to how we’re doing it. Task one, check. Task two, check.

Customer service skills for photographers

Which is also how most customer service relationships work as well.

“Debit or credit?”

“Paper or plastic.“

“Have a nice day.”

Think automation. Think robotics. Very little is happening between the sales team and the customer. It’s all automated. A smile is simply out of training.

Which is why you take notice if someone does something different. (And trust me, in this world, very few people do.)

Want to stand out above your competition? Simply upgrade your customer service process. Here are a few questions that can help you look at things differently.

1. Look at your sales process, beginning through end, through the eyes of your customer. How are you different than your competition?

2. What do you like most about the businesses you shop at or use?

3. What annoys you at your favorite stores? At the places you spend the most time?

4. How would you change your favorite businesses customer service? (Sometimes it’s easier to tell someone else how to improve – then take those same suggestions yourself.)

5. How could you improve the first contact you ever make with a potential customer?

6. How could you improve the last meeting you have with your clients?

7. How could you connect with your past clients six months after your final meeting?

8. What would make your photography look better when a client picks it up?

9. What could you tell people about your photography that would make them love it even more?

10. What don’t people know about you (or your business) that if they did would completely change their perspective?

11. How much do you listen to what your clients are saying?

12. What do you do to stay in contact week after week?

13. Do you offer little surprises that aren’t expected?

14. Do you go above your promises and always offer more than you state?

15. Do you talk about your customer service?

16. Do you learn more about customer service and discover ways to make it better?

17. Do you find yourself on autopilot every day or do you pay attention to how to improve?

18. Have you asked your past clients what they like most about you?

19. What can you do to add excitement into every day?

20. How can you motivate yourself before every conversation with your customer?