What's Your Reseller Mannequin?

I've a friend who's become a bit of a vintage resale maven.

Never missing a chance to parade his array of boxfresh high-end trainers and luxury golf tops bought at bargain rates.

Turns out there's a whole trade in this. I knew of the sort who lurk around charity shops in well-heeled towns. What I hadn't appreciated were their special lengths to snare that sale.

I read experience of one such seller who consciously tried to maximise her chance of selling out, at a decent price.

Yes, as you might expect, paying attention to the full customer contact cycle was paramount.

And also the photography. Lighting, setting, angles.

In particular though, she felt her difference maker was having a mannequin on which to place clothing.

I realised I'd seen this myself. With judicious use of a tailor's dummy. Even more pro.

That's signalling. She's not just selling a top. She's selling 'I know what I'm doing, and this is worth your money'. Likewise when videoing we ought signal.

Same game, different racks. We too are pros. Know what we're doing. Worthwhile investing belief in.

There's a fair few of our own such props we can deploy. Here's a quick trio for starters.

The backdrop. You needn't go full hog like I have. But create a space where, behind you, sits a whiteboard. Or, more likely, a sheet of plastic board you can write on and wipe clean like one. Sketch on it mid-call and you've said "I think on my feet" without saying it.

The second screen. You can screenshare in the trad manner. Or you can swing a spare monitor round and show the slide, doc or site live. And that counts double. Most people have a second, larger screen extending their workview already. Re-stack it, and you've one-upped the competition before they've noticed there was a competition.

The digital tablet. Prices have dropped, use hasn't caught up. I still find it rare. Scrawl live on a screenshare once, though, and you've earned the "wow" of stickability. Remembered long after the call ends.

Plenty more of such by the way, is noted in my lockdown-inspired tome, Video Calls That Sell.

And you likely have at least one of your own, right?