Best Business Practices for Photographers [59]
Nelson DeMille, one of my favorite fiction authors, wrote a line for one of his characters in his book Plum Island, and it has remained with me for at least a decade. He wrote (for his character), "The problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you're finished." I have endeavored, as I recall that sentiment, to always try to do something.
When you are making the strategically smart decision to decline assignments that are below your threshold where you can earn a profit, you must maximize that time "doing nothing" by doing something. Go out and search for new clients, whether by doing research at the magazine stand for prospective editorial clients or online for prospective corporate clients, or even by cold-calling prospects in the marketing or corporate communications offices of businesses that are located in and around where you live.
Taking the approach that being the lowest-priced photographer will earn you all the work you need is a failing goal. The commoditized photographer promotes himself first on price, then on service or style of photography, and then finally on himself.
The best photographer is one who promotes and markets first himself, second his services and style, and finally, his price. Recently, I was CC'd on the following dialogue between one of my existing clients and someone who had sought a recommendation for a photographer from him:
Here's the response from the recipient of that e-mail:
Here is a clear and concise indication of this point. How does the party receiving the recommendation gauge me? "Great guy." This, in my opinion, is a successful referral (and my ongoing goal to receive). I am not going to be compared on price—in fact, I am the top choice before a quote is provided.
Here's another example, where we had already provided the estimate, and the client balked.
Here's the response they got from their client:
My client backed me up and wrote:
Then, as a courtesy, the client e-mailed me that back and forth with this message:
In this example, you have the client going to bat for you. They did not solicit another (expectedly lower-priced) photographer. Earning clients like this takes time, and yes, when I get this type of client going to bat for me, I will be sure to go above and beyond in my efforts to do a great job for them, and, as they requested, "make [them] proud."
Valuing Your Work
The aforementioned client clearly subscribes to the Warren Buffett position that "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." We deliver valuable photography, and this client knows it.
During the last political season, I received a solicitation from a political candidate with an opportunity to attend this candidate's "summit" (another word for a campaign stop that makes the event seem more important than it really is).
The e-mail listed the following:
Ticket Prices:
$2,300 VIP
Includes full-day Summit, premium Summit seating, and a photograph with
$1,000 Guest
Includes full-day Summit
The e-mail invite makes it clear that you will get your photo taken with and an actual photograph if you pay an additional $1,300. About those "premium seats?" Since the photo will, most likely, take place just prior to the candidate taking the stage, they will hold the front-row seats for those who are backstage getting their photos taken, so you can be front and center, rather than getting the back-of-house seats because you're entering the room moments before the candidate begins his or her remarks. Okay, again, no problem with the seating.
What I find most remarkable is the value that is placed upon the 8×10 glossy you'll get. Assume a fair figure of 100 posed photos, which will take about 15 minutes