Bidding a job means accurate prices, but who is to say what is accurate?
Numbers are only accurate if both parties understand the basis of each cost. If one item’s price depends on another item’s cost or a specific aspect of the shoot is changed, make it clear before it screws up your pricing.
Remember, expect clients to make changes after you submit your bid. Define each line item’s price clearly as an estimate cannot have too much information. Cover yourself!
You are up for a job. Bidding and negotiating is the open door opportunity to get the client to understand how you are best for this project based on your approach. Our challenge is to align our ideas to match what they are going for. I see it like a maze of gated doorways as we look to follow the one that opens. Throw out your ideas and see what sticks with a question format allowing them a chance to redirect your ideas toward their goal.
When we get bid requests asking for our price, but they don’t have the project information, I hear, “I don’t do this often, I don’t know how this works, and I expect you to do most of our job – so inform us what our $500-$3000 budget will get us.”
Four ways I respond:
How often are people submitting bids vs estimates? You mentioned not being able to “change” the bid in a post. Why even submit a hard bid if you don’t have all the info?
The title BID or ESTIMATE are interchangeable in our industry. The terms we include state how the bid or estimate “is based on information provided, any changes may incur overages.” Stating this term covers us to make changes, but legally it may be safer to call it an estimate. If a client does not know what they want, we should not submit a bid or estimate as we need to base our numbers on the practical costs of the production.
Knowing the client’s budget, I like to sneak in $500 more to get as much as possible without my response risk being too high. My response is to stay within their playing field but still do my job to get us paid as much as possible.
Bidding can sometimes lead to an intense panic mode like we are in a time pressure machine that feels so real. Last-minute production decisions involving many people can feel like a monumental crisis. I’ve seen it and felt this panic myself as it will rise and then simmer down with a flick of a switch.
Know that this potential frenzy state of emotion could be a regular piece of the bidding puzzle.
Don’t you want to know where your bid total stands with the client?
It can be helpful to have an excuse to check in on your bid after submitting it.
If the client left out some piece of info about the job, I could put in a low price, knowing they may come back to ask for more.
That check-in can allow us to feel out the budget and see if there is room to bump up the price.
I’m putting together an estimate for a corporate shoot. I usually charge for travel days, should I also have a line item for crew travel days, or is that something I should be covering? Any advice?
Bidding is all about finessing what gets you the most gain while still getting the job. Crew costs are within the production expenses, including all their prep, post, and overtime. If being hired as a local helps your odds of getting the job, you can stash a little extra in your equipment instead of calling out “travel” costs.
When asked to bid on a job for Vegas attractions, I was told they want a BUYOUT for billboards, taxis, video walls, and ads for Vegas, but this entire campaign is unexpected and isn’t even in their budget. How in the world do I price something like this when they say something like that?
When I hear this from a potential client, I hear, “We are looking to get a good deal with the lowest bidder.” This is a sales tactic that gives you a sense of what they are looking for. If you have any “down & dirty” ideas that will get them more bang for their buck with less of a production, this is that type of photoshoot. My warning in this situation is to have your estimate terms clearly state what IS and what IS NOT included in your bid. No surprises!
One of the untold languages of our business during triple bidding is when the response to your bid is requesting you to increase a particular line item usually means you are not the first choice. Ouch. I know it’s not easy, but it is best to know where you stand and what you are probably dealing with.
