sboerup Offline Buy and Sell: On
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I agree and disagree with this idea. I think that there are a lot of things that will add the perception of success to a potential client, and usually that perception is ingrained in their mind upon first point of contact.
So, most of my clients first point of contact with me is through my website. That means I need to keep my website up to date, easy to view my portfolio and get the information that they want. So far, all my clients tell me that my website is much better than my competition, so that's a good start.
If I were to talk to a potential client that just called me out of the blue, and had no other contact with me except my business card, or through some type of advertisement, I need to make sure that they would be impressed enough to call me from my advertisement.
I think we dont realize that EVERY point of contact that we have with a client is an advertisement. Client meetings, telephone calls, emails, website viewing, proofing, blog, letters, cards, etc etc etc . . . IS an advertisement whether we like it or not.
I DO NOT agree that your car is going to make/break a deal with a client. I DO agree that it will add some kind of perception to the client, whether it be good or bad. It's just human nature to "classify" people based on appearances. If I were to pull up in a BMW over my Corolla, sure, the client might see that I'm more successful than expected. How much that really matters is really negligible IMO. If I pull up in my Corolla, they might not even think twice. If I were in a 1980 Dodge Caravan, they might think "who the heck is this guy?" and if I were in a 07 Corvette they might think "who the heck is this guy?"
My point is, you will be judged/classified by your appearance whether you like it or not. Whether it matters to the client is your best guess. I think that personal hygiene/dress is MUCH more important to a client than which car you drive. Your clients WILL notice your car, but it probably doesn't really matter.
In response to Gabe's remarks (of which I agree that I could care less about what my photographer should be driving), we need to think about our clients. Most of them don't know the difference between most photographers out there, they don't necessarily know what to look for. Every point of contact you have will effect their decision, period. Your attitude trumps everything about appearance / perception of success. You could drive a really nice car, but if your attitude sucks, goodbye to you sir.
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