When bidding on a job, clients may ask us to dive deeper into the basis of the costs. Put your business mind to work by understanding what the client needs to hear from you.
Our estimates cover us for unexpected real-life additions like grip truck availability, insurance changes, crew covid testing results, overtime, etc.
Our bids are not as black and white as clients would assume, so get ready to explain the gray areas in ways that speak their language.
How do I know what to charge for interior shoots? The scaling of projects is all over the place.
We are in an industry with no set rate structure. It’s a bit of a guessing game based mainly on usage licensing terms, the size of the company hiring us, and our experience in the different types of photography.
Each photographer has to come up with their midline rates based on previous jobs, the word from others, and where they are in their career and go from there. It will always fluctuate, but the one solid component of negotiation skills is asking for a higher rate than you expect, which can work in your favor.
What is the importance of a “one-sheet” attachment promo in an email sent to a potential client? How many images and should this promo include any descriptive text about the images, background/bio, pitch, etc., or should all of the text be in the body of the email?
When saying hello in an email, it can be good to have a fast visual sampling looking like it belongs in that email. The key to a one-sheet promo is that it’s a quick relatable read of a small number of images only, not needing that extra step of being clicked to open.
Are elaborate/over the top promos worth the money to get a client’s attention? If so, should more simple promos be sent first so you are potentially already on the client’s radar?
Depending on your budget, I like to stick with consistent, well-designed promos with a quick, concise message. The expensive promos we can send or hand to clients could be a striking piece that ends up on their wall, getting the attention of a long-standing art piece. I’ve seen this happen, but it’s like going to Vegas and playing the High Roller risky games.
What do we do with our email promo “clicked” lists?
To know who CLICKS from our email promo to our website supplies valuable feedback shaping our marketing direction. Analyzing this relevant resource can be what you need to know.
How do I leverage this abundance of accolades and high end client work to get more exposure? My past mailers and hand curated Do you always expect clients to negotiate? Or do they just walk away sometimes if the price is automatically too high?
Unfortunately, clients walk away for so many reasons beyond our control. I like to feel out the situation to hear the temperature of their response before fully committing to a price. Odds are more in our favor if we can create a human connection off the bat, helping us open the doors of communication. The conversation can include the openness to flexibility by discussing a price range before we officially submit an estimate. If clients know we are willing to bridge, they may be more apt to negotiate.
BID PREP STEP ONE:
Being ready to go with a solid inventory of crew + producers based on different bidding scenarios and locations can help you (me) avoid the regretful danger zone of losing a job we didn’t need to lose. Be ready to reach out without relying on only a few contacts because it could be too late by the time we hear back. Some jobs are pressure-cookers where the fastest one wins! Building a comprehensive crew and producer list has to happen way before the bid requests come in.
How do I leverage this abundance of accolades and high end client work to get more exposure? My past mailers and hand curated marketing promos have yielded a 3% response rate, and I must say I’m a bit frustrated.
Emails, in general, seem to be a dying breed pushing us to figure out new ways to be in touch. They are no longer the one dependable marketing tool as they now serve one piece of the promotional pie.
You know I’m all about Instagram, so that is my first suggestion, but of course, we still need to push those promos out.
Email promo material should go out in two separate ways, which will, in turn, support each other:
Why can the best cinematographers serve the story and change their look for each script, depending on the requirements of the script, but if a photographer does that, they are condemned, overlooked and discarded for being a “generalist?”
We get to choose two types of paths: technically savvy with a lot of variety or those who provide a more specific curated style, look and feel. Both options can work, giving you a long-lasting accomplished career, usually depending on your situation, the size of your market, and your skillset. I’ve repped both of these and found the careers of generalists depend on the relationships they build, and the specialists get jobs for their portfolios.
I was invited to bid for what developed into branding services for a white-labeling startup company. The company to whom I was “bidding” did not actually provide a specific scope, brief or RFP. Such is how it grew into a “branding” project. Their communication with me wasn’t very responsive. I interpreted it being more like an RFI, providing them with the following:
What is your opinion on my approach on the above mentioned project?
This request sounds like the massive amount of undeveloped clients using social media mass photographer reachability to save them money. You’ll need to quickly assess if this is a reliable potential client or an “info for free” mass request.
They are asking you to be their creative development ad agency so you can:
