Best Business Practices for Photographers [234]
Nadia Vallam, photo editor for W magazine, in a summer 2006 interview in Picture magazine, had this to say when asked what it takes for a photographer to get repeat business from them: "First the film. But I think beyond their eye, they must be good socially, because dealing with publicists, editors, and subjects can be tricky. And they must be confident, not cocky. In the photography world, everyone is vying for the same jobs, and while we hire for talent, it's very important that they're likeable."
In the restaurant business, less than stellar food can be offset by exceptional service, but even the best meal can be ruined by an unpleasant or unfriendly waiter. The general manager of the renowned Prime Rib restaurant serving the lobbyists and power brokers along the venerable K Street corridor summed it up this way when I asked him about it: "I can hire anyone and train them to take and deliver your order as well the details and the nuances of doing that properly. What I can't do is teach someone to be kind, courteous, warm, and friendly. We cannot hire a waiter and train him to be a gentleman, but we can and do hire gentlemen and teach them to be waiters."
The X Factor
I can't tell you the number of times that I got the job because I am easygoing and friendly, I deliver all the time on time, or some other reason totally unrelated to my creative vision, talent, technical expertise, and so forth. In other words, all those things that we worry about—prime lens or zoom, ISO 100 or 400 to get a smidge more depth of field, 3200k or 2900k—had little or no weight on the decision to hire me. There are those times when you just don't know what helped the client decide to hire you, and asking at an appropriate time can be useful.
More than once, I won a client that someone else lost because they failed to deliver when they said they would. Further, there's the client who came to you and then left for someone else, only to return. I call them the prodigal client.
In case you're not familiar with the parable, I shall paraphrase it here. In the gospel of best business practices, there is a tale of two clients. One is the faithful client, who never gives the photographer any trouble. The other is the client who demands more and more services and is critical when costs rise. Eventually, this client goes off to some other photographer, who will appease his demands at a pittance.
So goes that for a few years—until this former client finally realizes that he is accepting lesser and lesser quality services. Then he comes to his senses and returns "home."
The client is received with open arms, with nary a whisper across one's lips of the past or to whom the client fell prey. Instead, the photographer seeks to meet and exceed the expectations set by this prodigal client's previous experience—even though rates have increased since he last called.
While there is no jealous other client here, had there been, the photographer's response to them might have been to make merry, because the prodigal client who had been "dead" to him was alive again.
When a client returns, all I want to do is ask, "So, why have me back? What was wrong with photographer X?" Yet, I don't. It's just not very professional.
However, occasionally a comment gets made that "the previous photographer, among other things, was skittish and didn't want to get in to make the good pictures, but I know you can, so make sure you do that." I so want to ask more. Yet, again, I don't. I am simply happy to have an old client back.
I knew the level of service and