Why Your Best Salesperson Doesn’t Work for You
I was sitting down with a landscaper in Chermside last month. He’s brilliant at what he does—his retaining walls are straight as a die and his turfing looks like a golf course. But his phone wasn't ringing as much as it should have been.
He told me, "I’m spending a fortune on these fancy professional photos, but people keep asking me if they’re just stock images from Google."
That’s the problem right there. In Brisbane, people have a high 'rubbish' detector. They don't want to see a polished, airbrushed photo of a kitchen that looks like it belongs in a Hollywood mansion. They want to see a kitchen you actually installed in a Queenslander in Paddington. Better yet, they want to see the homeowner standing in that kitchen with a big grin on their face.
This is what the marketing types call "User Generated Content." But let’s call it what it actually is: Proof. It’s your customers telling their mates (and the rest of the internet) that you aren't a cowboy and that you actually deliver what you promise.
In this guide, I’m going to show you how to get your customers to do your marketing for you. It’s cheaper than ads, it works better than fancy brochures, and it’s the fastest way to get people to trust you before they even pick up the phone.
The Shift: Why People Stop To Look at "Real" Photos
Think about how you use your phone. When you’re scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, do you stop for the glossy ad that looks like a billboard? Probably not. You skip right past it. But you do stop when you see a photo a mate posted of a great steak they had at a local pub, or a video of a messy backyard being transformed into an oasis.
We’ve entered an era where "perfect" is boring. Perfect looks expensive and fake. Real looks trustworthy.
I’ve seen this work for dozens of Brisbane businesses, from pest controllers to boutique hair salons. When a real person shares a photo of your work, it carries ten times the weight of anything you could say about yourself.
Prediction: The End of the "Pro" Photo Shoot
For most small businesses, I’m predicting that big, expensive professional photo shoots are becoming a waste of money. Unless you’re selling $5 million penthouses, you’re better off with twenty raw, honest photos taken on an iPhone by your customers than one perfect shot from a professional photographer.How to Get Your Customers to Actually Help You
You can’t just sit back and hope people will post about you. Most people are busy. Even if they love your work, they’ll forget to tell anyone once you drive out of the driveway. You need a system to collect this proof.
1. The "In-the-Moment" Ask
This is the most effective way to get results, and it costs $0.Let’s say you’re a tiler. You’ve just finished a bathroom in Indooroopilly. The client walks in, their eyes light up, and they say, "Oh wow, it looks amazing!"
That is the moment.
Don't just say "thanks" and hand over the invoice. Say: "I’m so glad you love it! Would you mind if I took a quick photo of you in the new space? Or even better, if you take a photo and tag us on Facebook, I’ll knock $20 off the bill or send you a $20 Bunnings voucher."
Most people will say yes. Why? Because they’re happy. If you wait three days to send an email, the excitement has faded, the kids have already made a mess in the bathroom, and the moment is gone.
2. Make it a Competition
One of our clients, a gym owner on the Southside, started a "Member of the Month" photo contest. All members had to do was post a workout selfie and tag the gym to go into a draw for a free month of membership.Cost to the owner? One membership per month (which costs him almost nothing in real terms).
Result? His gym was all over the local community feeds every single day. He stopped wasting time on social media trying to come up with clever posts and let his members do the talking. His enquiries doubled in three months.
What Kind of Content Should You Be Looking For?
Not all customer photos are created equal. If you want to actually make money from this, you need to guide your customers on what to capture.
The "Before and After"
This is gold for tradies. People love a transformation. If you can get a customer to film a 10-second video saying, "This was my cracked driveway, and look what the boys from [Your Company] did in just two days," you’ve got a salesperson for life.The "Unboxing" or "First Look"
If you run a shop or a professional service, capture the reaction. If you’re a florist, ask the person receiving the flowers if you can snap a quick photo of their reaction. It’s raw, it’s emotional, and it sells.The Video Review
A written review on Google is great, but a video review is a powerhouse. It doesn't need to be fancy. A customer holding their phone, talking into the camera for 30 seconds about how you showed up on time and cleaned up after yourself is worth more than $5,000 in Google Ads.Where to Use This Stuff to Get More Enquiries
Once you’ve got these photos and videos, don't just let them sit on your phone. You need to put them where they will get your business in front of people who are ready to buy.
Your Website Homepage: Put a section called "What our local customers are saying" and fill it with real photos, not just text. Your Quote Follow-ups: When you send a quote to a new lead, include a link to a few videos of happy customers. It makes it very hard for them to choose a cheaper, unproven competitor. Google Business Profile: This is the most important one. When someone searches for "Plumber Brisbane," Google shows your business profile. If yours is full of real customer photos and the guy next to you only has a logo, you’re getting the call every time.
The "Waste of Money" Warning
I see a lot of small business owners get sucked into buying expensive software that promises to "automate" your review collection or create "AI-generated" customer stories.
Don't do it.
Most of these platforms cost $200+ a month and they send out cold, robotic emails that your customers will ignore. People can smell a template from a mile away. A personal text message from you, the business owner, will get a better response than any automated software ever will.
Also, stop paying for "influencers" unless you are a massive fashion brand. Paying some person with 10,000 followers to hold your product looks fake because it is fake. Your actual customers are your real influencers. Their 200 local friends and family members are your target market.
How Long Until You See Results?
This isn't a "get rich quick" scheme. It takes a bit of effort to build the habit of asking for photos.
Week 1-4: You’ll feel a bit awkward asking. You might get 2 or 3 photos. Month 2-3: You’ll start to have a small library of proof. You’ll notice that when you send these to potential customers, they stop haggling as much on price. They trust you more. Month 6+: You’ll have a "moat" around your business. Your competitors can copy your prices, but they can't copy 50 videos of real Brisbane locals raving about your service.
This is how you get enquiries without paying ads constantly. You’re building an asset that works for you 24/7.
The "Brisbane Local" Factor
We live in a big city that acts like a small town. People in the Western Suburbs want to see work you’ve done in Kenmore or Brookfield. People in the Bayside want to see you’ve worked in Wynnum.
When you collect this content, always mention the suburb. "Another happy customer in Coorparoo!" This signals to Google and to other locals that you are the go-to expert in that area. It creates a level of familiarity that a big national franchise can never match.
What Should You Do First?
If you’re ready to start, don't overcomplicate it. Here is your plan for Monday morning:
1. Look at your last 5 happy customers. Send them a personal text. Say: "Hey [Name], it was great working with you on [Project]. I’m trying to show more people what we do—would you mind sending me a quick photo of the finished result? I’d love to share it on our page." 2. Buy five $20 gift cards. Keep them in your glove box or desk. The next time a customer says they love your work, hand them one in exchange for a quick photo or a video testimonial on the spot. 3. Update your Google profile. Take the best photo you get this week and upload it to your Google Business Profile immediately.
Look, I get it. You’re busy running the business. You’re on the tools, you’re managing staff, and you’re trying to keep the books straight. But if you don't show people that you’re the real deal, you’re always going to be fighting for the lowest price.
Genuine customer proof is the only way to break out of that cycle. It’s honest, it’s local, and it works better than any fancy marketing jargon ever could.
At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane businesses build systems that bring in more calls and more profit without the headache. If you’re tired of trying to figure out the technical stuff and just want a phone that rings with qualified leads, let’s have a chat.
Ready to grow your business? Contact us at Local Marketing Group and let’s get to work.