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Informing of Prices


farceur_coince

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<p>I normally put my prices up on the website. It would be irritating for the client to have to contact me -- and yet, it is a good thing to have the client to meet you face to face.<br>

Clearly, a client can be convinced by meeting you face by face.<br>

However, weighing it up... is the 'risk' taken by not posting prices worth it?<br /> <br /> I'm thinking of saying on the website:<br>

- prices from $1000 - $4200<br /> - four standard packages, easily customisable...<br>

 

etc. instead of what I've been doing for some time now, which is have the prices (packages) up on the website.<br>

If they email/call for a quote, I can easily stall until a meeting, and discuss price then.<br>

So, what do you currently doing?</p>

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<p>i have my base price on the website simply because i don't want to deal with the multitude of people asking "how much do you cost" if they can't afford it.<br>

let's face it, if someone is looking for $1000 photographers and my services cost $3000, no amount of face to face time is going to get that bride interested in booking me.<br>

By listing the base price, I can at least know that those who contact me can afford my base services and getting a booking from them is more pheasible.</p>

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<p>IMO, this is one of the most difficult questions to answer when it comes to cold call type inquiries and depends on your location and what range of coverage/prices you offer Personally, I've been back and forth on this subject myself.</p>

<p>When you only put your base price on the website it's usually for a package that won't cover what a majority of the inquiries are looking for in terms of time and materials. So you end up luring in potential clients and wasting time answering e-mails from Brides that want Champagne coverage on a Beer budget. There is a big difference between a $1,000. shoot and burn package for 4-5 hours coverage and $4,000 or $5,000. for full coverage package with materials. </p>

<p>Basically, with this approach the first inquiry questions are: are you available on (wedding date), and how much do you charge? ... and half the time they don't tell you much about their expectations, length of wedding coverage needed, how many locations, etc. so you can quote properly ... which continues the waste of time when they find out your base price won't cover their needs. </p>

<p>One top shooter in this area refuses to put any pricing on his web site, and will not quote over the phone. His rationale' is either they want him or not, and "no pricing" usually means "not bargain basement" to most potential clients ... which is called "self selection" in marketing terms. If he can get them to his presentation he has a much better chance of closing the deal ... which is born out in that he is very successful in this market.</p>

<p>In the end, I think if you have carefully worked out your business plan, you know what you have to charge for what you provide and the talent/experience level you are at. So the question is do you publish that or not?</p>

<p> </p>

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<p>The thing is, meeting the client face to face can mean convincing them that prints from a photographer are worth it. It would be much easier (possible) to show them differences in prints, the products, albums, etc. in a meeting.<br>

A non-obligation meeting is what I offer, but I don't know how many I'm missing by not making them come to me for prices.</p>

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<p><strong><em>"So, what do you currently doing?"</em></strong><br>

<br>

I do work for a W&P studio. It has a website, but all the Wedding Prices are on the menu, inside, and it is very, very, very rare to give any prices over a telephone conversation. . . <br>

<br>

Over the telephone: "I believe every Client is unique - every job is unique, if you want tailor-made come in for a chat . . . Oh, you can't make it during business hours, no problem we are here late on Monday Nights . . . what Monday would be suitable for you?"<br>

<br>

I agree - there are two schools of thought - and it is a difficult to decide how the business will be run - I look at all cold calls this way: it is our (the vendor's) job to establish that we do business in a certain manner and that there are great advantages in doing business our way – and also to convey there is no pre-supposition that our way is the most expensive way - it just a more personal way, than many others - “so if you want Personal . . . then make a time . . . and come in and have a chat"<br>

<br>

My comments are biased though (whose are not?): I don't place much weight on Web Pages as a major <em><strong>Selling</strong></em> Tool. <br>

<br>

WW</p>

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<p>I never used to have prices on my website, but I used to get calls/emails from people who could not afford my sevices.<br>

So, I now put a couple of sample packages, just 2 popular ones. Just to give an indication of price.</p>

<p>I don't bother with my whole price list as I do completely custom packages and my price list is pretty long (I did try this onece, but brides found it too confusing).</p>

<p>I normally get customers in the correct price range for me, so it seems to work.</p>

<p>I prefer putting the sample packages instead of saying I have packages from £xxx to £xxx - because I can show what is in the package, if you put from £xxx, they don't know what the package has in it.</p>

<p>My sample package will say some thing like 4 hours photography, plus hi-res CD of all edited images: £xxx</p>

<p>You could always try a couple of different ways, see how people respond. I'm always altering my website. Do it one way for a few months then change it to another way and see what works best.</p>

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<p>I personally list all my pricing on my website, but I do things <em>a la carte</em> so it's not too complicated (I think).</p>

<p>I have found that posting my prices weeds out the clients that absolutely cannot afford me (usually). I look at it from the point of view that if my prices are so far out of their budget, even if I did book them through a consultation that they will end up having buyer's remorse, will not feel comfortable and then we're not in a good place.</p>

<p>On this same note, if you post your pricing and packages, brides who are maybe just slightly out of your price range will be able to compare and contrast and see the "Ok, this photographer is $300 more than my budget and I don't get all the extra prints that this other photographer gives me for the same price, but their work is so amazing." It's all about allowing the bride to sell-herself that you are a better value/quality before she even calls.</p>

<p>Personally, I don't want a bride to hire me unless she's 100% comfortable and enthusiastic doing so. This goes for both style of photography and price.</p>

<p> </p>

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<p>When I look at a menu without prices - or I'm in a shop looking at items that are not priced and you have to ask what the price is - I know I'm shopping high end. <br>

I think people who approach you to meet you regardless of the fact that no prices are listed - are prepared for a high ticket photographer.</p>

<p>So my answer is that it depends on what market you are going after. If your clientele is price driven - and you know the range of prices that you book on a regular basis - I'd publish the "from _____ to ______. But I might say from _______ for a basic 4 hour package w/no frills to __________ for an 8 hour wedding with album and reprint rights w/disc etc. etc.</p>

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<p>We list our basic packages, and then put contact us about upgrades and extras. I know our price page gets more visits than any other page on our website, so all I can assume is people look at price first and ask questions later. lol</p>

<p>I was a bride just a little over a month ago, and when talking with other brides on theknot.com etc, It seemed like the majority of them were annoyed when a vendor only said contact me about pricing, and didn't at least hint at their cost. </p>

<p>If you don't want to give it all away, I like everyones idea of at least giving them a base price.</p>

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<p>I list my base price, but that is all. I am currently working the "a la carte" angle, but will be restructuring to add packages this year. When I do, I'll add the packages to the site as well.<br>

When I didn't have my base price listed and just had "contact me to discuss prices" I was getting a fair amount of inquiries from people who could not afford me and were expecting much lower rates.<br>

When I was personally shopping for a wedding photographer, my first click was to the pricing page to see if I could afford them. If they didn't list a price, unless I really really liked them I skipped right over them. It should be noted that the area I was looking for was pretty competitive and had a multitude of photographers. There were so many that it was a way for me cull them down.</p>

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<p>I have personally found a nice in-the-middle method that seems to answer questions, discourage those who cannot afford me, and give lots of options for the bride to upgrade. I do <em>a la carte</em> for everything but some basic items that are included in all packages and are listed at the start. Then the packages simply list the hours, the number of photographers, some have an Engagement Session included, and finally the travel distance included for that package. The highest package is the very very high end one with lots of stuff added in, but the rest just have that basic info. No prints, no albums, no other items - all of those are easily found in the <em>a la carte</em> menu. </p>

<p>So far this has worked exceptionally well, plus the new brides with fresh wedding gift money in their pockets already know they can go "shopping" with me for prints and other fun stuff. </p>

<p>Oh, and I also offer a wedding photography "registry" for brides who are on the low end of things. : )</p>

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<p>I have a very simple "basic photographic coverage of your special day starts at....." and also "full photographic coverage of your special day starts at...." and it works well for me. <br>

There is no answer to this question that works for everyone. If you're booking because of your low prices, then you should probably list them in detail. If you a good salesperson offering a quality service, then you should welcome a face-to-face consultation and you should have a reasonable base price to weed out those who are looking for a low-priced photographer....-Aimee</p>

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<p>I have sold brides on buying more than they initially wanted to purchase, so I prefer getting them into the studio. For ME, I would rather have someone contact me as opposed to automatically moving on without me getting the chance to sell to them face to face.</p>
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