Pictures Say 1,000 Words: by Tina Skinner

The best way to communicate about a design project is using pictures. Words just don't cut it.As a "former writer who now authors books," this is a lesson I emphasize time and again. Gone are my God-given skills for putting words together into lovely, coherent sentences. In fact, maybe I'm wasting my time right now. The point I've learned, as someone who has authored dozens of books on home design and landscaping, is that the pictures sell the book. Too many words simply mean smaller pictures. And nobody wants to read them.

People buy my books for the ideas.

What does this have to do with you? If you are going out to talk to clients about jobs, you need to have images to look at. If you want to talk color, texture, and shapes, you need samples, and short of that, good images. Otherwise, you're just waving your hands and blowing hot air. Maybe you're drawing pictures, dragging around heavy samples, or driving clients around to similar sites.
Say, for instance, you want to sit down and discuss a new patio job. The best-case scenario is when a customer comes to you with pictures clipped from magazines or books. The problem is, their yard and home in no way resemble the image they've fallen in love with. So you need to be able to pull out some images that illustrate how the slope of their lawn needs to be negotiated, or how the scale of their home is simply too large or too small to compliment the project they have in mind.
Moreover, your great library of images in going to aid you in up-selling these clients from the simple concrete slab they have in mind. Hopefully, by using imagery, you're going to be able to show them features they'd never even thought of - inset lighting, mixed media, hand-cut details - anything you want to sell that will add to the appeal of their project, and the value to your company when the work is finished.

Make sure that you take good pictures of any work you do, and get the property owner to sign a friendly release granting you permission to use the image in promoting your company. The release can state that the house and homeowners will not be kept confidential, and your good word will reassure them.

Before you snap that shot, move the tools out of the way, sweep and mop, and make everything look as wonderful as possible. Look at how the pros do it - adding a little bit of garnish in the form of furnishings, some fresh fruit, pillows, and other accent items. This small amount of care is going to add to your chances of getting these images published in the future. And getting your images published in local magazines and newspapers, (or in my books) helps spread the word that you are out there doing fine work.

Moreover, it's important that you display them. Get a couple of photo albums, copy all of your images, and make sure you create duplicate albums to carry around and keep in the office. Images or your work, built up over time and displayed in a portfolio, are the best recommendation you can give yourself when meeting with new clients.

It doesn't hurt to display other people's work, though. A library of image-filled books (like the ones I write) serve you in many ways as a professional. For one thing, simply by having books in your office, you show that you are serious about what you do. Books are also something you can put in front of clients if you are busy with other tasks - it keeps them busy, and keeps them shopping. It's like the books illustrating hairstyles at the hairdresser's shop.Finally, having lots of pictures around creates an atmosphere of ideas. There are ideas to mine when you are working with a customer, or before you make a presentation to them, or when times are slow and you want to come up with inspiration for new displays for your showroom or yard.
Finally, pictures create a common language that bridge gender and nationality. You're your workers, and your clients can point to aspects of images, illustrating what you are talking about.

Tina Skinner is a professional editor and author of approximately 100 books on architecture, design, and landscaping. She has written numerous books on concrete, including collaborations with the Interlocking Concrete Paving Institute, the Portland Cement Association, and the National Concrete and Masonry Association. Her books can be found in fine stores everywhere. Her publisher's website is www.schifferbooks.com .