Photography requires pursuit of zero-tolerance

Team RV performing at the Peachtree Dekalb Airport's Good Neighbor Day Airshow

Core essentials to success:

1. Be honest and truthful
2. Deliver on your promises
3. Stay customer focused

Most people dislike salespeople who waste their time. Not being prepared with something of value and a purpose can make it more and more difficult for you to get appointments.

If you have done your homework you will be able to leverage the customers resources from within their organization.  To do this you must know their goals and objectives.

Just imagine starting your meeting with after studying your website and some of your companies materials I understand your purpose to be ...  You can ask them if this is a good assessment. If you have done your homework you know you are on target.

I want to propose something today that will help you achieve this goal.  What I am proposing will help you and this is how it will benefit you.

If the customer decides to do business with you and you deliver as you have promised, you will be able to leverage this experience to get more business.  You are proving your trustworthiness.

Overtime you will build a reputation to get more customers, but also raise your awareness with your competition.

Zero-Tolerance

Every year 32 NFL teams compete for the Super Bowl Championship. All of these teams have the best football players they could find.

Last year the NY Giants did something different than other teams had done in the past. They brought in consultants who were not football players to help them win.

Team RV, the world's largest air show team, provides an exciting and memorable performance that combines precision formation flying and formation aerobatics.

Afterburner the global leader in Flawless Execution℠, offers three strategic quality management solutions – Equip, Embed, and Empower, a set of business process improvement principles inspired by elite military professionals and military fighter pilots that revolutionize the way you look at and do business in today’s fast-paced environment. They took their fighter pilot training and helped the NY Giants understand it isn’t about trick plays or new plays, it is about executing the plays flawlessly that will set you apart.

Many photographers I know are very much like their NFL counterparts.  They continuously are working on their skills to improve them. Just like some of the NFL teams that never are making it to the Super Bowl are photographers who are a struggling franchise.

Last year’s Super Bowl Champions are put under the microscope of all the other teams. They look for things to copy and look for weaknesses to exploit.

When you do things right it doesn’t become easier, sometimes it becomes harder.

Very Old Example

Many years ago there was this guy that rose to be one of the greatest leaders of all time.

Here are some of the things he did:

1. Healthy Diet—As a very young boy he was eating very healthy and avoiding junk food.
2. Remained pure and spotless—He was a gentleman all his life
3. Knowledgeable and easy to understand—he was well educated and also was an excellent communicator
4. Servant’s Heart—lifted up others around him

The political leaders of the day found out about his skills and had him as part of their leadership team.

He rose to such prominence that it infuriated many who wanted that power. These people spread rumors. They told lies about him in order to tear him down so they could get his job.

He was fired and thrown in jail for things he never did.

He would get out of this situation and rise again to the leadership teams only to have this happen again and again.

The reason he continued to rise is he didn’t become vengeful.  He continued to be honest and truthful. He delivered on his promises and he was focused on being a servant.

By the way the name of this guy was Daniel and you can find him in the Bible.
The men chosen to serve the king were …

"in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace." (Daniel 1:4)

The US Army Silver Wings from Fort Benning.

Grow your business

Remember that to grow your business is not just about finding the newest thing, however this is important to know, it is your flawless execution of doing the small things right every time.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. WOW them by giving them something more. Be careful not to tell them everything you are going to do. Be sure you can go above and beyond their expectations.

Ask good questions and do all you can to get to know your customer. When you do this you will be thinking of ways to help them even when you are not technically working on their account.

Are you overestimating your trustworthiness with your customers? Research shows that customers don’t trust their vendors as much as vendors think they do.

While you may do everything perfectly, many other vendors will not. Because you are a vendor you are often tarnished by their performance. They don’t want to get burned.

Be sure you help your client know your value. You need to find ways to show them how you are helping them. Sometimes this is entering your work into competitions and showing them it is winning awards. Sometimes it as simple as asking them if their sales went up after the campaign you helped them with.

If sales went up compare this to past campaigns.  Let them know you care about results as well as they do.

Words and visual triggers

Showing your colors

Making a statement by wearing your team colors and even painting your body is what a Raving Fan does for their sports team. However, at most venues derogatory or profane signs, banners, clothing items and language are prohibited along with signs attached to sticks.

Why can't you just wear what you want to wear at a public event? You might be thinking I paid for the event and I am not hurting anyone.

It is a violation of federal law to air obscene programming at any time. It is also a violation of federal law to air indecent programming or profane language during certain hours. Congress has given the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the responsibility for administratively enforcing these laws.

Bottom line: Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and cannot be broadcast at any time.

Due to this law having any fan at a venue can jeopardize a broadcast of a game.

Connecting the dots

What surprises me on a regular basis is how crude many people are in work situations. They like telling off color jokes that adolescents would do in boys locker rooms.

First of all how something is deemed offensive is different from person to person. Often those around you will say nothing even if they are offended. You need to know that the minute you use profanity in the work place you are running the risk of being offensive to someone.

Second many see the use of profanity when someone is frustrated or disappointed as lacking character or being crude.

Lastly, profanity taken to the extreme a person can be fired or even worse sued.

Counterculture

In the rebellious counterculture you will see a lot of profanity worn on clothing and used in speaking. Even in this environment the improper use of profanity can cost you.

One great example I just experienced last week was a pop-punk band playing in a local dive. We took our daughter to the event and were talking with the dad of one of band players. He is a clean cut guy just trying to support the kids. They are promoting themselves and hoping to book bigger venues.

The problem one of the band members created was wearing a shirt with profanity. Many of the big venues want to promote their venue and if they see photos of the band wearing profanity it might cost them bookings in the future.

Paying your bills and having a career

Once you start realizing how much things cost you learn very quickly to fit into the work culture. You buy a new wardrobe than what you wore in school. You are on your best behavior while you are at work.

Today with social media what you do in your off time is no longer off limits for your employer. How you conduct yourself out of work can get you fired from your job.

If you want to have a family and provide for them you soon realize you need a way to continue to get promotions and climb the success ladder so you can afford to feed those extra mouths and maybe even provide more things that you want them to have.

So, if you wonder why you haven't been getting jobs or have lost some jobs in the past can you rule out your use of profanity in your life as a culprit? Is it really worth the cost to speak your mind?

Making choices today in business

I just got a copy of Truett Cathy's book Wealth is it Worth it?

The forward was written by Ken Blanchard and the introduction by Dave Ramsey.

Shortly after getting the book I ran across Damon Horowitz TED Talks presentation on YouTube on "moral operating system."

Horowitz does a live crowd source and asks the audience to raise their hands if they use iPhone or an Android.  After he does this then he asks them when trying to evaluate a situation using kantian ethics or Consequentialism.  Almost no hands go up in the audience.

What Horowitz extrapolates from this is we have stronger opinions about our handheld devices than the moral framework we should use.

On the back of Truett Cathy's book is a quote from Warren Buffett that he said to Cathy, "I can't remember exactly what I paid for the last Chick-fil-A I had or the last shirt I bought. But the one thing I do remember is how I got treated. You forget the price, but nobody forgets how they're treated."






Why am I writing about this on this blog?  I believe this is the key to being successful in business. You need to have a moral compass in life. By having ethics and values that you understand will help you build your brand and the trust of people.

Chick-fil-A took off in 1982 in sales.  This is when the executive team established the corporate purpose:

To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.

If you don't have a personal mission statement for you and your company this is the time to form one. It will help you guide the rest of your life.