freelancing

Ninety-nine percent chance

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There’s a ninety-nine percent chance that the next potential customer who phones will ask, “How much?”

So how are you going to respond? Just hem and haw? Mumble something like, “It depends”?

Ideally a price should not be given over the phone. It’s always better to use e-mail. When you give a price over the phone, the customer will remember only the price and nothing else you said.

A customer asks “how much” usually because they don’t know what else to ask. While price may be important to them, the true reason they call is that they’re trying to figure out if you’re the right photographer for them. Do you understand their needs? Can you do the work properly? Do they feel reassured by you?

When that inevitable question is asked, you have to be ready without missing a beat. The way to do this is to have a prepared script or checklist which includes a number of questions for the customer, for example:
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Cut out the middleman

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If you’re a photographer who shoots corporate events like conferences and conventions, you may have noticed there are some online businesses that offer to connect you with customers. How nice of them.

Right now, one such European company is sending emails to photographers in Toronto, and apparently also in many other cities around the world, claiming that it has a customer with an urgent need for photo services in the photographer’s area.

If you ignore this email because of its generic nature or because it looks like spam, you’ll get more similar emails in the following weeks and months. The emails have a fake “unsubscribe” link that does nothing.

All these emails claim that this company has yet another customer with an immediate need for photography in your area. Of course, there is no customer. The oddly worded emails are often the same with maybe the name or date of the unidentified event changed.
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Diluting your photography

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A jack of all trades, a master of none.

When a photographer tries to be a jack of all trades, they may actually harm their business.

The Dilution Model [link to PDF] suggests that when a business tries to do too much, customers will have a lower opinion of that business. Or to reverse that, when a business specializes, that business will be considered to be an expert.

Which is the better inkjet printer: a machine that’s only a printer or one that’s a printer, a scanner, a copier and a fax machine?

Which has the best pastry: a bakery that sells only pastry or a store that sells coffee, soup, sandwiches and pastry?

Which is more knowledgeable about bicycles: a department store, a sporting goods store or a bicycle shop?

As a photographer, you have to do multiple types of photography to stay in business. But if you spread yourself too wide or if you’re just vague about what you do, you will reduce the perceived value of your photography.

A customer’s perception of your business directly affects how much they’re willing to pay for your services.

 

Working on Spec

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Working or shooting on spec (speculation) means the photographer does all the work first, and pays all expenses themselves, in the hope that the client will like the finished work and will then pay some sort of fee. Even then, there’s rarely any contract covering the work.

Why would any photographer agree to be exploited like this?

When a potential client asks a photographer to work on spec, it shows that the client doesn’t value the photographer’s time or expertise.

Toronto ad agency Zulu Alpha Kilo (which phonetically spells out its CEO’s first name) this week published a video about working on spec. While not aimed at photographers, it certainly still applies.

 

Story Marketing

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A lot of folks are either having a good laugh or scratching their head over the $500 bridal selfie stick that was shown at a New York fashion show.

The boutique clothing designer said the selfie stick wasn’t just a fashion runway prop but that it’s a real product. She even claimed the product was already out of stock. (Out of stock even before it was in stores?!)

A bride could easily buy a cheaper selfie stick and decorate it themselves but they won’t have a “designer” selfie stick. Of course, no one should have a selfie stick or even a pair of selfie shoes ;-) but that’s another post.

Who would buy a $500 selfie stick? Someone who thinks it’s worth $500.
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You can trust me on this

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Photographers are often told to sell value rather than just pictures. But when it comes to value, there can be a disconnect between photographer and customer.

A photographer generally tries to sell future value: how the photos might be used and enjoyed in the future.

But a customer often sees only the immediate value: the cost of the photography today.

If cost is greater than perceived worth then the customer won’t buy.

It’s difficult for any business to sell the future because we only see the present and we only know how we feel today.

A solution is that you have to realize that it’s not about cost, high or low. It’s really about worth or the lack thereof. If a customer sees little perceived worth today then your only option may be to lower your price and even that may not be enough.

Having to discount your prices is proof that your current marketing has failed.

Once you understand that worth is related to trust, then perhaps you’ll change your marketing to build trust rather than to promote low prices.

Customers can, and want to, feel trust today.

 

Photo Saturation

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There are nine take-out pizza stores within a one-kilometre radius of my home. How did they know I like pizza so much? More importantly, how much pizza do I and my neighbours have to eat to keep all those stores in business?

If you were the only photographer in town, you’d probably be quite busy with work. If a second photographer arrived in town, would the total number of photography customers double or would the existing number of customers be somehow split between you and the other photographer?

What if the number of photographers in your town went up by a factor of ten, fifty, a hundred or more? How would that affect your business?

It’s said that competition is good for business (and good for customers). More competition can increase customer awareness of your products and services which then might increase demand for your business.
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