Are You Ready For Your Close-up?

My last post unleashed some angst about capturing the perfect business photo. Let’s face it—for most of us, having our picture taken is right up there with having a root canal or an IRS audit. So I consulted with Harvey Lewis, producer of over 1,000 commercials and films globally, to bring you 5 tips for staging a great photo shoot:

#1. Choose wisely.
Your best bet to engaging a great photographer is through referral. Who do you know with a great photo? Lacking that, google portrait photographers in your area. Peruse their sites and see whose shots you like best. Pick at least two favorites and interview them to test your comfort and chemistry.

#2. Ask some key questions.
How will you work with me to get the best shot? How will you ensure my photos will be current and relevant? Can you show me examples of other business photos you’ve taken? Will you arrange hair and/or make-up artists for me and how much will it cost? Relax gentlemen, I suggest this for women only. Ladies, investing in professional help will ensure your photo looks natural, like the best version of you.

#3. Share yourself.
Before the session—articulate 3-5 key words that you’d like your photo to evoke. Smart? Warm? Energetic? The more specific, the better. Tell them about your work and how/where you’ll use the photos. Discuss your usual business attire and listen carefully for their suggestions on which colors, patterns, items will photograph well or should be avoided (vertical stripes, for example, are usually a no-no).

#4. Find your inner supermodel.
Really. Bring several changes of clothes AND accessories. You and your photographer can experiment with various combinations. Be creative—bold jewelry for women and striking ties for men can photograph well. Trust your photographer and try different positions—sometimes the best shots come from what feels unnatural. There’s always the delete option.

#5. Learn from actors.
Ever wonder how actors can laugh and cry on command? Try using their sense memory technique during your shoot. To keep a genuine smile, think about a time, a place, a sound/song when you were truly happy and imagine yourself there. Don’t believe it? Try it in the mirror and see the difference.


Remember, the goal is an authentic photo, capturing what’s unique and engaging about you. Do your homework, then relax and trust your photographer. You might actually enjoy it!

Picture This: What Does Your Photo Say About You?

Consultants and advisors are used to building gravitas—showing their smarts to the right buyers. But posting a snazzy photo? Not so much…

Social media is changing how people meet and engage their advisors. If a client (or referral source) meets you on-line first, they will make a snap judgment from your photo.

The old headshot just doesn’t cut it anymore. The right photo is the one that gives the viewer an authentic preview of the real you. A few things to consider:

Stuffy is out. That highly posed studio shot where you look exceedingly awkward, and anxious to be anywhere else? Ditch that. You can look smart without looking stiff.

Lose the yearbook shot. You know the one. You haven’t looked like that in, oh, about ten years. Be sure you look relevant. And current.

Multiples don’t make you more captivating. Yes, your wife, husband, son, daughter, dog, cat are incredible but they don’t belong in your professional profile photo. Save those for your friends.

The bottom line is this. Spend the extra dough to get a great photographer who will work with you to bring out what’s real and fabulous about you. You won’t regret it.

How To WIN A Client In 10 Days

After my last somewhat tongue-in-cheek post, I received one recurring response: tell us how to WIN new clients in 10 days. So here you go.

The fastest way to win a client—hands down—is by referral. Powerful stuff, referrals—you walk highly recommended into that first meeting with a client who has already decided they need help. Sounds good, yes? Consider these three keys to increasing your referrals:

BE KNOWN
Before someone can even think about a referral, they must “know” you. But don’t limit yourself to those you know from in-person experience. A referral source might “know” you from reading an insightful article you’ve written or a social media post (think LinkedIn group discussions). You might have only chatted by phone—but if it was positively memorable, it has the ability to spark a referral.

BE LIKED
No shortcuts here. Your referral sources need to connect with you personally and genuinely like who you are. They will look to your willingness to share information and help others, especially them. Do they like interacting with you? Do they learn something or feel better about themselves and their work after speaking with you? Kindness counts, just like your mother said.

BE RESPECTED
This points to your values and your point of view. You can be provocative—ideas are after all an advisor’s stock in trade—but you must also be respectful. Offering your wisdom or insight in a consistently authentic way helps to build respect and trust. Reliability—when combined with talent and likeability—will generate referrals.

The 10-day advice is this: make a list of those who know, like and respect you and ask them to consider referring you. Listen carefully—their responses will tell you if you have work to do. Not a big enough list? Then it’s time to start putting yourself and your ideas out there and connecting with like-minded folks.

How To Lose A Client In 10 Days

Being in the advice business, I’m always interested in hearing hall of fame/wall of shame stories about professional advisors. This time, the story is mine: meet my soon-to-be ex-insurance agent and learn how to lose a client (me) in 10 days.

1. Spend several hours of valuable time listening to your client. And then slap something together that meets 70% of her needs—that’s better than nothing, right? (If you can’t help me, don’t waste my time. Refer me to someone who can.)

2. When your client asks how you how to fix this, don’t return her call. And then, when your client calls you again to follow-up, lose her number. (Make me feel important to you.)

3. Spell her name wrong on key documents. And her address. And then, when you’ve been corrected, invent another creative spelling. (Yes, the little things matter.)

4. When you need additional information, arrange a robo call instead of calling her yourself. (Are you kidding me? Talk to me. Win me over after your mistakes.)

We all have these stories—and I’d love to hear yours. You can post them here or drop me a note and I’ll share the best ones in a future post.

Finding a Good Mentor

The recent public rash of incivility reminds me how important it is to find good mentors—people who will guide you when you make a mistake and, better still, help you avoid some!

Consultants and advisors—especially those running busy practices— sometimes have difficulty finding and nurturing good mentors. Being “the expert” may make it hard for you to put yourself in learning mode. And time is precious.

But there are still ways to connect with—or serve as—a mentor. Some ideas:

➢ Identify a few people who resonate with you and with whom you feel mutual admiration and respect. Discount age as a factor—you can learn from and teach to folks of any age.

➢ Reach out to them. Invite them to coffee if they are close, conversation (yes, a real live phone call!) if they are not. Don’t worry—you don’t have to ask them to be your mentor—this is about results, not titles.

➢ Make a commitment to developing a relationship. That means it’s not all about you, but about how you can help each other. For some special mentors, their joy will be in watching you succeed.

➢ Pay it forward. There is someone out there who will treasure your mentorship and support. Seek them out—I’ll bet you’ve already got some ideas who they are.

Ever Watch an Ant Farm?

I just spent one of the more interesting days of my career. Not with a client, but on a movie set. An alliance partner—Bruce Caulk, a talented director who makes corporate videos—is filming an indy feature and invited me to spend the day on-set as an extra.

While I could wax poetic about the experience (Armand Assante was a joy to watch), it was something more basic that captured my imagination: the symphony of multiple experts perfecting their craft in tandem.

All the crew—plus the actors—were focused on doing their own job well, but seemed to keep the bigger vision firmly in mind. The expert who donned a wetsuit to rig the pool lighting. The “Best Boy” on the roof slinging cable. The costumer making sure an extra (me) had just the right jewelry. It was a bit like watching an ant farm in action.

Confined in a small space, there was little room for error or ego. It was quite refreshing (and entertaining) to watch them deal with the inevitable technical frustrations with good-natured ribbing and quick wit.

How many times have you been part of a team like that? What do you most fondly remember? Are those your favorite stories to tell?

I know this will be one of mine—I would have done anything to help that team make it work. But I won’t be quitting my day job.

To Niche or Not To Niche?

That is the question many consultants and professional advisors wrestle with. Truly it’s an easy answer—to rise above everyone else, you MUST have a niche.

Take this example from a recent event where I met two tax attorneys. One introduced himself with “I’m a tax attorney” while the second countered with “I’m an ex-IRS attorney who founded a firm of former IRS attorneys. We help people solve big IRS issues.” Who do you think I remembered longer?

Ready to make yourself unforgettable? Some tips:

➢ Define yourself uniquely based on who you are and how you serve clients. Be specific, real and memorable.

➢ Don’t make it all about you or your process—make it about results. Real, measurable outcomes. Tell stories that show how you’ve helped others in similar situations. Clients love stories when they are short, on-point and compelling.

➢ Clients choose their advisors because they like them. So don’t waste time with people who don’t seem to resonate with you—they won’t hire or refer you and you’ll waste valuable time.

➢ With those who do strike a chord, be the first to give. Helping someone get what they want makes them want to know you and work with you. It also let’s them see you in action, in service mode.

➢ Align the externals—your website, blog, social media pages, leave-behinds, even your person—with your overall message, your niche.

In the end, it’s all about being real and naturally drawing the right clients, prospects and referral sources to you.