Bookings have started, questions on some biz practices

[gina_marie1]

Hello,

 

We have started getting our first several bookings and now we're trying to

iron out some kinks in the business side of things.

 

1)We plan to raise our rates slowly, every 3 or 4 months. Not huge increases,

just a couple hundred or so. Heard this advice from a workshop and felt it was

good for a starting business. My question is, of course if someone books for

a wedding in November now, we will give them the current price, but what about

when someone wants to book a wedding for Nov 2008? We know our prices will be

at least $500+ more. Do most of you offer a price list by year or give the

client the current price, no matter how many years away they are getting

married?

 

2)Based on what I've read on the forum, we have decided our final payment is

due 3 weeks before the wedding. No problems for most, but 2 out of 10 or so

have requested to pay the day of (one asked to pay after the images were

processed-no way). Do many of you get similar requests? How do you respond?

I'm curious why they request that in the first place as with my wedding last

year...we had to pay everything a few weeks before except for the officiant

and entertainment.

 

3)We had 4 requests for the same weekend which happened to be a 3 day holiday

weekend. We could do 2 weddings with one day off. One of the brides who

requested this weekend has expressed interest for a long time, we finally met

and I sent her a contract as she said she definitely wanted to use us. Well I

have yet to receive the contract, she did reconfirm again via email but we

already turned away one of these other inquiries that would have been for a

few hundred dollars more. How much time do you allow clients to return

contracts? I don't want to have to *pester* them but at the same time I don't

want to lose out on other bookings waiting for them.

 

Any advice and experience is requested and appreciated!

Thanks!

[sfdgs]

1) I give them the price based upon when the contract is signed.

 

2) 3 weeks before the wedding for the final payment is the normal from what I've experienced and been told. Make sure your contract is clear from the beginning and make sure the bride and groom are aware of the payment schedule. I always take 50% to reserve the date and let them know that the remainder of the balance is due no later than 3 weeks before the wedding day. No matter how frustrating, be firm and pleasant, but remember that this is your business and livelihood.

 

3) Let the bride know that it is first come, first serve when it comes to reserving wedding dates, that you would be honored to shoot her wedding, but you have other inquiries that you can't turn down while she waits around.

 

The most important thing in my experience is to always be polite, firm, understanding, but still firm, and open. There may be financial reasons why they can't pay within the time of the contract, but with the upcoming wedding, is it feasible to believe that they will suddenly come up with the money? They must obviously like you and your work to have signed a contract in the first place, but you can't lose out on your income because somebody didn't want to fulfill their obligations to you.

[ian_cooke1]

To some extent, I am sorting through some of these issues now as well.<p>

1) You can't really tell someone..."well, six months from now my portfolio will be stronger and I'll be able to charge more, so since your wedding is 8 months from now I'm going to charge you $500 more." Book them at your current prices when they sign the contract.

<p>

2) Just be firm and tell them when it's due. It really shouldn't be an issue unless they are really on a tight budget. If you are professional in all things, then they should respect the way you are conducting your business. Just act like this is how you always do it, even though you are new.

<p>

3) Don't hold a date for anyone until you get a signed contract and retainer. If you get multiple inquiries for a date, you might want to let each couple know, but you shouldn't be turning away potential business because of a verbal commitment.

[annealmasy]

In regards to the due date: people are less likely to balk at paying up front if they can use

a credit card. If they give you a check and you skip town, then they have no recourse. But

if they pay you by credit card and you skip town, they can charge back.

 

Just be sure that you have a solid contract if you decide to accept credit cards. There *are*

people who will try charge back for no apparent reason, causing a lot of trouble for you.

 

As for holding dates: if you get another inquiry, go with it. Let the first bride know that

you've had another inquiry, and if she seriously wants you she needs to drive over with the

contract and retainer right away. It's first-come, first-serve - and by "first-come" I mean

"first-pay"! :)

 

Lastly, some photographers have policies about booking no more than a year in advance.

This helps out with the price-increase issue. But really? It's just a part of doing business.

If you're booking so much that you're already filling up '08, then forget the thing about

"raising our rates $200 at a time." Instead just raise them to a level where you can make a

decent living. If you're not careful, you'll be shooting 50 weddings a year AND working a

full-time job. You won't have time to properly deal with your clients, but you won't be

making enough money to quit your other job. Avoid this problem by only booking what

you can handle, and charging a solid rate from the get-go.

[gina_marie1]

Thanks for all the great advice so far. I definitely will stick to the due date I have established. Though we have recently gotten quite a few bookings in short period of time, I think we are getting interest from 2008 brides a year and half away because they know we are new and so are our prices and they know enough to figure out we will not be at this price very long. One inquiry for a Fall wedding in 2008 pretty much said so this morning. So I guess in a few months after we have done a number of spring/summer weddings we have scheduled, we will re-evaluate our prices.

 

Anne, I will definitely heed your recommendations. Luckily my husband works full time and I am working at home running this business. He shoots and attends some meetings with me but I handle most of the rest so the balance is okay for now, but we are quickly finding that we will be having less family/personal time if we take on too much too soon so we will be pacing ourselves.

 

And, I guess from now on I will state somewhere 'first come, first served' regarding reservation fees and dates.

[William Michael]

1) > Do most of you offer a price list by year or give the client the current price, no matter how many years away they are getting married? <

 

Our contract is signed for the price at the time of signatures; the farthest contracted booking date (over the last ten years) has been 26 months, over that period were two price increases, amounting to about 12%

 

2) > Do many of you get similar requests? <

 

Yes sometimes.

 

> How do you respond? <

 

`This is a standard contract, which calls for 75% of the total payment at the time of booking and signing; there is a further 15% payable one month before the event. This leaves 10% of the total contract price payable upon receipt of your album or any other photographs as stipulated in the contract. Please note carefully the cancellation clause, which in Plain English, states that the 75% payment is non-refundable if the contract is broken by you with one month or less notice, and, there is a sliding scale outlined in the contract regarding how much of the 75% payment will be refunded if you break the contract giving more than one months notice. Please note the contact states that payment of these monies on or before time is necessary to ensure your contract remains valid.`

 

3) > One of the brides who requested this weekend has expressed interest for a long time <

 

We arrange a personal meeting with any prospective client at the earliest: until that meeting, except in only exceptional circumstances, would we consider that prosect `expressing interest`, if they did not sign the contract at that meeting, their name would be pencilled in our diary (which see below) and our normal business practice would ensue. In the (exceptionally few) cases where clients have been sent the physical contract to sign and return, there would be a clause in the contract stipulating the date by which it must be received by us to be valid, and other clauses regarding witnessing and identification of the signatories.

 

Prospects sometimes ask to take the contract away to consider it and perhaps sign it and send it back to us: we offer them a copy for their consideration, the actual contract signed by the client and us is done at the same time, with the same pen and also both signatures are witnessed with the same pen.

 

Our Diary Booking System:

 

We have an open diary policy, like at a doctor or dentist or other professional. One day per page in 15minute slots.

 

The potential client is free to view the diary, which has client booking numbers (No Personal Details) in BLUE PEN when confirmed, PENCIL Pending or RED PEN CROSSED LINES for a cancellation. If the potential client has not viewed the diary during the normal course of the personal interview, then the diary is opened and their enquiry number is allocated in front of them; thus they are free to see what other jobs have been allocated or pending for that day.

 

This open diary approach worked for me as a sole trader and it works for any sized studio; I do not have an issue with potential clients knowing what their options are and what the likelihood of a full diary might be. We do not and will not `HOLD` dates or times, and do not commit to `get back to prospective clients should there be other enquiries for a specific date` nor do we pencil in any `telephone` inquires. We would not necessarily mention what personal enquiries we have for a date or time to a telephone enquiry, unless specifically asked about availability, but we do however say; `any date, time and photographer will only be confirmed as yours, upon your signature on the contract and payment of the 75% of the total contract fee.`

 

However, NEVER is a very big word and we are running a business so, obviously, we would consider a very special case on its merits: eg In the case of a Sister telephoning and asking us if `Joe Smith` could photograph her Wedding in March because he was so wonderful at her Sister`s Wedding last November, we would pencil in the new booking number and allocate Joe; but also inform the client that the booking required confirmation and invite her to allocate the deposit immediately, over the phone with a credit card and invite her to sign the contract within a few days. A contract with a return date clause, would be posted that day, ONLY if she could not visit the office, or, for me to meet her personally, which is always our first option.

 

Personally, I believe an `open diary` it is the only professional way to behave. It is up front and every client knows where they stand from the outset. In this business one cannot print up multiples of shooting time, if the money is paid the booking is made.

 

WW

 

 

[kiva]

<<<<she said she definitely wanted to use us. Well I have yet to receive the contract, she did reconfirm again via email but we already turned away one of these other inquiries that would have been for a few hundred dollars more. >>>>

 

I hear of this more and more from photographers and a recent experience with it myself.

 

I am wondering if this is a growing trend and that brides are merely reserving a date with us and not sending the check which is always "in the mail" while they finish last minute "shopping". ?

[edna_eudave]

girl, your work is beautiful charge for it, right off the bat. You are way too cheap, where the hell are you located that you are so inexpensive, is that normal for your area. Seriously girl, you need to charge more.

[edna_eudave]

another thing...didn't you go to the LA show, not even to most Ghetto photographer charges so little, trust me I have a data base I can email you. You need to be at least another 700 more per package.. at least! you should give me a call girl i'm in OC. www.squareeyephoto.com