As I sat and listened to Matthew Jordan Smith’s presentation the other night, it dawned on me that relationship building is relationship building, no matter what your business focus might be.  Matthew had some great stories about how he’s built relationships over the years.  All of us are pretty typical of being star-struck when it comes to celebrities and as Matthew told a story about Aretha Franklin, I could see everybody wondering if something like this will ever happen in their life time.

But the best part of the story, a few people, so wrapped up in the celebrity world, might have missed.  Matthew talked about how he researches his clients.  In this case he found out that Aretha liked yellow roses.  He’d already been hired for the shoot, but the day before he sent her yellow roses!  She called him personally to thank him and the doors to her heart were open from that point on!

Now, apply Matthew’s philosophy to your own customers.  What if you sent them something special before you photographed their family?  What if you sent the bride’s mother flowers before the wedding?  What if you sent flowers, candy, etc. to any vendor who referred a customer to you?  It’s not what you send, but how it’s going to be interpreted, a stronger way of saying, “I appreciate your business!”

We all have so many choices in everything we do.  A customer making the decision to hire you had plenty of other photographers to choose from, but they chose you.  They’ve put their trust in you and here’s a great way to set the stage before you even walk through the door!

“It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.”  Zig Ziglar