Lost Clients, How to Respond?

[banannarama]

Hello everyone. I am a lurker here and I've managed to gather the courage and post away.

I've recently put up my own photography & design website and is still currently working to add in the recent shoots I've done.

I've gotten 2 inquiries but after getting back to them with what my services cover and what the "investment" is, I didn't get replies. This is a tad disheartening for recently finding myself without my full time job, hoping that I could possibly spend my time focusing on my services.

I used to charge $150 for 2 hours for family portraits and babies. I have recently gotten a referral with that rate and they said that they will return for their christmas family photos.

I do weddings too, but I do that with a group since I'm nervous to work on a wedding by myself!

Recently, after launching my website, I had set my prices to match what I believe is a standard industry rate for those in my level.

Is $100/hour, minimum of 2 hours too much to ask for?

That already includes:
Studio set up or on site set up - I prefer to use strobes
Guaranteed 100 photos to choose from
Private online album photo storage and a DVD to be mailed to dropped off if necessary
HIRES files for copies they wish to enlarge and print
post-processing time
whatever expenses (transportation included if within the tri-cities)
Quality photos
and a maximum of 6 faces for that price (it is difficult to capture a large group of faces for a portrait, so more energy is involved)

I also advise them that I do not recommend going over the 2 hours for those with kids, as it gets tiring.

After not hearing back from those clients, I am tempted to get back to them and notify them of a promo rate starting today until December 18?

Am i missing out on anything? Are times really hard now? Or is my work not enough for that range?

--
I am currently in British Columbia, near Vancouver

Sample from recent shoot I took, TF with Model, MUA and Stylist

[gturner]

Does not sound at all expensive, perhaps cheap.
The hard part is getting those first clients, because once you do the confidence and word of mouth starts to work.
You have lovely images and certainly look more than professional. Stick with it and DO NOT drop prices. There is such a thing as bad business.

[banannarama]

Originally Posted by gturner

Does not sound at all expensive, perhaps cheap.
The hard part is getting those first clients, because once you do the confidence and word of mouth starts to work.
You have lovely images and certainly look more than professional. Stick with it and DO NOT drop prices. There is such a thing as bad business.

Thank you, that is quite comforting, especially after "losing" those 2 inquiries in 1 day. What happens when people request for things like "oh, I only need 50 photos" or "we don't need a studio set up".. Should I adjust my prices or stick with MY standards?

Yes, it seems difficult to get those first clients. When advertising, should I already include *standard rate is at blah blah.. ?

Would that help?

[gturner]

I am not a fan of calling it an "investment" - but thats just me.

The time and price is not going to change, studio or not. You still need to feed yourself and deliver a top quality product.
Price yourself fairly, produce top quality and offer good value and then you have a benchmark for yourself and your clients. You look like you want a serious business, so stick with that mindset.

[IABoomer]

My family's business involves selling a measuring device to industrial manufacturers. Some people will contact us with the expectation that they can get a system for 1/10 of what we charge, and are just stunned when we quote them a price.

However, others see the value in our product and are repeat customers who buy some of the largest and most expensive machines we build.

Be confident that you've priced your product appropriately and accept that some people want the world for nearly nothing. The ones who value what you do will buy from you, often multiple times.

[Niresangwa]

It's easy to panic when you 'lose' clients... but remember you didn't 'have' them to begin with. they're just inquiries. Think of how many people walk into Macy's every day and leave without buying anything... if Macy's dropped their prices every time that happened it wouldn't have any sort of reputation, and would quickly be out of business.

If you've taken the time to figure out your cost of doing business as you should when establishing your charges, you should know that accepting less is going to cripple you. Work on your marketing and advertising and move on.

I know it's easy for us to say 'stick to your guns' and much harder to do it when you perceive that you're failing, but its no time to ring the panic bell just yet. If this turns into a repeating pattern, ie you're barely managing to book and close any deals at all, then you have to evaluate your prices again and also your product... but give it time.

I read a quotation here on these forums sometime ago, and I can't remember who it was by, who posted it or exactly hat it was but it was something tot he effect that 'if you're closing on more than a third of all inquiries, your prices are too cheap'

[filemanager]

What you're offering sounds underpriced to me!

[LMAshton]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

I read a quotation here on these forums sometime ago, and I can't remember who it was by, who posted it or exactly hat it was but it was something tot he effect that 'if you're closing on more than a third of all inquiries, your prices are too cheap'

I've been told that if 10% of my clients are complaining about my prices being too high, then my price is about right.

[digirebelva]

Originally Posted by IABoomer

My family's business involves selling a measuring device to industrial manufacturers. Some people will contact us with the expectation that they can get a system for 1/10 of what we charge, and are just stunned when we quote them a price.

However, others see the value in our product and are repeat customers who buy some of the largest and most expensive machines we build..

Yep, sounds like they were price shopping, havent you ever done that for something you want...

[nokiN]

You didn't lose any clients.

You failed to convert a couple of prospects into clients.

Business, marketing, sales, and people (BMSP) skills are as important as photographic skill.

You will need to get face-to-face with prospects, and I agree drop the term "investment".

I think a minimum of 2 hours is to much to ask for just portrait clients, and I think it is a mistake to include a hi-res disc before the client has attained a significanrt minimum purchase of printed products.

I also do not recommend guaranteeing a specific number of photos to choose from and even at that, 100 is to many except for wedding clients.

I don't think you can offer portrait and wedding clients the same package.