Initial Contact with Potential Clients

I am curious what other wedding photographers send to potential

clients who request more information. I am a member of wedj.com and

usually get several requests for info. a day and when they leave a

mailing address I usually send them a packet of information which

includes rates, a planner, my agreement and a cd slide show, but I'm

wondering if I'm sending (and spending) too much and a simple

brochure might be better. Any thoughts/opinons on this or how you

make the intitial contact?

 

On a side note does everyone else get the non responsive people who

contact you and then don't return phone calls, or meet with you and

who seem to love your work, but then never get back to you even when

you follow up with them, etc. I guess that's part of sales...sigh.

I only send package info through email and write would you like to set up a consolation to discuss the details of your wedding. I used to send everything I had. By doing this I found I hardly met with any clients. By getting them to talk with you and bringing it to a personal level I have gotten every job from the last 4 inquiries(since I have changed this). Less is better. I also don't have prices listed on my website. So I get more inquaries Hope this helps!

I too get alot of email enqueeries, I try to get them to make an appointment to see prices because there are so many options/choices but will send a pricelist if they are out of town or really press for it...I don't send a CD....they have plenty of samples including several full weddings on my website so they have more than enuff info. Yea, alot of people don't bother to reply to emails, calls, etc.....since it's bussiness you frequently get treated like a spammer. You'll also get other photographers who just want to see your pricelist so that they can guage their competition, (a practice sometimes referred to as being "shopped"). Be extra careful with the people that sound extra thoughtful and ask you to hold their date, or some other consideration, because they just "love your work".

I have all of my information (packages, prices, and portfolio) available to potential clients

online. When I am contacted by someone, I refer them to the site, but most of the time

they have already been there. From there I meet with all of the contacts and then I get

bookings from 90%. I find that having the information available online helps me to find the

right clients for my services. Anyone I meet with knows what my prices are and usually

have a good idea what they want to book. Perhaps you are getting those non-responsive

people because they cannot budget your services after you send out your prices.

There are lots of photographers who don't want to list their pricing options. I can

understand this, but it means a lot more meetings with potential clients who won't book. I

met with some clients this week and the bride told me that she judged her potential

photographers first by the design of the website, she felt this was the best way to judge

the photographers style (aside from the actual pictures). Secondly, if they didn't have

packages listed online, she wouldn't even contact them.

I hope this has helped a bit. As far as your question about making the initial contact, I

don't send anything. I meet with them. My website is enough of a visual stimulation to

collect the interest from potential clients. Twice, I have sent out CD's with more of my

work, but this was for clients out of the country who were in the process of booking, and

couldn't meet with me.

Thanks for your responses! I guess I am sending people too much info...I do what you used to do Shannon, send them everything I have and I am getting the same results you did (which is what got me thinking). I like both of your approaches and I think they will cut down on the number of "false" leads and cut down on my costs as well.

 

I had wondered if other photographers "shop" other photographers and even thought about checking out my competition this way, but it seemed wrong somehow. Is this typical practice to do this?

 

I never "hold a date" unless a client says I'm putting the check and contract in the mail right now and then I only let them have a certain amount of time to get it to me in the mail. I was referring more to the couple that you meet with and they say they will be making a decision within the next week and then you never hear from them.

 

I also recently updated my web site and decided not to put my prices on it.

 

Thanks again:)

We contact via telepone 98% ...nothing is mailed ---prior to receiving a deposit. After a initial email ...everyone is directed to the website and then >> direct phone.

I had wondered if other photographers "shop" other photographers and even thought about checking out my competition this way, but it seemed wrong somehow. Is this typical practice to do this?

 

 

Very common and typical, altho probably not the best model to use to find your place in the pricing arena. Not really anything wrong with finding out what area photographers are charging unless you are doing it under the guise of shopping for your own make-believe wedding. Contacting photographers and requesting they send literature or enter a bidding war for your benifit would be wrong, unethical, and sleezy. I don't see anything wrong in looking at their websites and finding price information that way tho.

Jennifer, I do just as Shannon does with my web site.

 

Yeah we get some of the same reaction of people being wild about our work and going into the witness protection program. There are lots of dynamics at work we don't get to see. They could still love your work but not contact you for 100 reasons including broken engagements!

 

We try not to worry about it.

I do check out other photographers web sites, sometimes for inspiration, sometimes to see what their rates are. Pretending to be a bride and getting pricing information was what I was referring to when I felt it was wrong, so we're on the same page:)

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets non responsive people...since I work by myself I started to question if I was doing something wrong, but you're right there could be a lot of other reasons!

 

Thanks again for your responses!

and send out a simple brochure that we print out ourself. We don't waste a lot of money on mailings and have gotten very positive reviews on our self-printed and designed brochures (which in turn direct potential clients back to our website). If they are serious and not just entertaining themselves, they call us and set up an appointment.

I know that there are others who will think this is a kind of haphazard way to do things, but it has worked quite sucessfully on a national level for us.

I don't feel that sending out a cd with images is benificial because I can set the same images up on my webfolio and arrange and change them several times a day if I choose. And it's one cost and not sending out hundreds of cds a year...face it, as cheap as a cd is now, it's still cheaper to direct someone to one central location on their own time.

MC