Converting leads to customers

Hi guys, welcome to the show, my name is Toba. I'm your host and with me today in the studio is someone who is a cinematographer, a photographer, she's absolutely amazing at what she does.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mohini.

Hi Toba, thank you so much for the kind introduction. I’m happy to be here.

All righty. Awesome! Today on the show, we're going to be talking about client communication, which is basically how you interact with a client in such a way that you’re a memorable person, and every single person they know, you are the one that they’ll refer to those people, because of how great an experience they had with you.

And of course, to help me with that is Mohini, and she is fantastic at this. She has worked with multiple companies as a communications expert and has been a communicator all her life and she’s going to share some of that knowledge with us today.

Mohini, right off the bat, first thing's first, how do you approach communication?

Alright, so I like what you said earlier when you referred to it as an experience. I definitely find myself thinking, what is the experience that I want this person to have as they're talking to me?

For instance, say somebody reaches out to you and is like, “Hi, what are your rates?” There are a number of ways that you can respond to that. You could go “My rates are X, Y, Z.” And that's meaningful, it’s straight to the point and you're giving them the information that they’re asking for. But on the spectrum of responses, that's just one end. You could take it a step further and be like, “Hi, thank you for reaching out. If you'd like to find out about wedding photography specifically, here is a link that outlines everything.”

If you were to break that down into the different components, there's just even the acknowledgment of the person's presence and the expression of gratitude that they have taken time out of their day to solicit your business. So saying “Hi, thank you” is the first basic layer. The next layer is you providing them an overview of things, or you could try to take it to the next level and present them with the options that are available that they might not know that you have.

When you're interacting with clients, really think of it as “What is the impression that I want this person to have, you know, what is the packaging that I want them to see” and let that guide the fidelity of your communication.

I'm assuming that you're not seeing packaging as a negative in this instance, it's not like you are trying to be something that you're not. You're just trying to present the best possible version of yourself.

Absolutely. And it's absolutely not a negative. You should package yourself, please. It's not enough to provide a good service, because you know how they say, “people will not remember what you said” or something like that, but they remember how they felt based on the thing that you said or did. I may not remember the details or that the person said X, Y, Z, but I remember, like was I offended? Was I excited to work with them?

What would you say is the best way to engage with a client? What is the best flow of conversation or engagement with a client, from when they first interact with you, or when they first engage with you, up until when you deliver the final piece of work to them?

All right. Let's say a client reaches out and says, “Hi, I'm looking for a wedding photographer, what are your rates?” And assuming we have a back and forth from there clarifying details, if it gets too long, then at some point you can be like, “Hi, would you like to hop on a call? I think it'd be great if we could, clarify some points or whatever.” And after that point is probably a good time to summarize everything that you have said and send it back to them. “Based on our conversation, you would like this, or I'm able to provide you X, Y, and Z at this cost.” And then the person can confirm, “Yes, that is indeed the case.” After which, you can then provide a contract. If it’s a wedding, you’re definitely providing a contract that outlines all the terms that both of you have agreed on, your responsibilities, their responsibilities, and any necessary timelines, then you both sign and this is a document that is tenable in a court of law.

Again, I just want to state, that documentation is very important. And a lot of us have been in situations where because we didn't clarify the number of pictures, or when we would deliver the final images, or what copyrights are attached to the thing, it comes back to bite us in the behind later. Ideally, have everything documented for each stage, so that there's never any question as to what was agreed on. Very important.

I'm curious, are there principles or rules or guidelines, to client communication? Are there things that you should do, and things that you shouldn't do?

There are definitely some guiding principles. For one, as much as you might want to be warm and welcoming, there are still boundaries to be had. And I know that — especially in Nigeria — there is a culture of informality, and everybody's your aunty and uncle and family, and co. Please keep that out of business, so none of the “Hi dear” and co, that we have seen that people think is acceptable, it’s really not. I'm not your relative, I'm not your boo, don't you ’dear’ me. So yes, be warm and welcoming, but find that balance with keeping things professional.

As much as possible, over-communicate. Don't ghost your client. They shouldn't have reason to be wondering, where the photos are. And I’m admittedly, occasionally guilty of this thing that we’re talking about. It's kind of cringe, but it's better all around if before this deadline approaches, this deadline that you know you're not going to meet, you just drop a heads-up “Hi, I know you're really excited to see these photos, and I apologize, but I'm going to have to ask for an extension because I'm still working on them.” And they know to adjust their expectations, you know that you can also breathe a little easier and take your time, and do a real quality job. So definitely over-communicate.

But just to reiterate a few from earlier that are still super important, Just like, documenting things is an absolute must, because you will find clients that want to take advantage of your ability to not remember the finer details, to demand more work than, you know, you'd agreed on. They’d be like ”but didn’t we?” “can’t you?” and you’re like nope.

The reason I'm sensitive to the nuances of how some things might sound, is because, like my parents, are speech consultants, this is their job. And so I grew up, from an early age, just understanding that you say things a certain way, they land a certain way. And what are some of those certain ways? Now, you can definitely attend courses for this.

And if you want to go the self-taught route, you know, just pay attention in the movies. Like there are lots of...It's a very simple, more fun way to do things. Like if you watch Suits, watch the interactions between people, you know, observe the dialogue. Ask yourself, “whoa, if that sounds cool, why does it sound cool?” And then actually pause and slow down and break it down for yourself. I think there are definitely examples left and right. I feel like it is in these, you know, intentional observations, that you learn the difference between "what do you want" and "how may I help you."

This was really great. Thank you very much Mo for joining us today. How can people reach you if they want to book you for jobs or just chat?

Wow, thanks Toba. I feel like we barely scratched the surface of communication possibilities.

But if people want to reach me, I am available mostly on Instagram @Mohiniufeli. So stop by, say hi, check out my work, and ask me some questions. I love connecting with people.

Thank you very much, guys. That's all we have for you today. It was such a fun time talking about communicating with clients. And I had such a great time.

Until next time, take care and bye bye.