Budgets

Q:

After putting together a realistic budget, how do you respond respectfully to a client who tells you that your budget is 10 times what they have to spend?

A:

The way to respond is to not take it personally. This is not about you and any value assigned to your talent. Keep it professional and don’t do anything to damage your reputation. If the budget is not feasible then politely explain that you wouldn’t feel comfortable promising them a level of quality that would be required for the job, and wish them well.

Q:

When a client emails and gives you a fee straight away (without asking for your rate), how much room do you think there actually is for negotiating?

A:

When a client tells us their budget up front, most of the time they are telling the truth. If you are ready to potentially risk losing the job then you can test the waters and ask for more.

Q:

What kind of usage are you including as part of the creative fee? Is there any kind of standard usage fee?

A:

I don’t know of a standard usage as it always depends on the duration, the location, and the type of usage. The only standard would be “Unlimited usage for an Unlimited duration,” which is more common these days. The one thing I can say as a rep is our favorite work is “reuse” so avoid that “Unlimited” as much as possible.

Q:

How often do you get an advance? All I hear, over and over again is, “it takes 30 days to get in the system and process payment,” etc, etc.

A:

This does depend on what industry you are in, but for commercial photography, an advance prior to the start of the shoot is especially important if it is with a new client. I would not begin a shoot without an advance for 50% of the total or 75% of the expenses.

Q:

What is your suggestion for how to navigate this world where every client seems to want more and more deliverables? Trying to stand firm on pricing feels hard when many are charging less.

A:

The best way to stand firm on pricing is to become more valuable with a strong style. If your style is unique to you, then they will need to find the budget to hire you.

Q:

How do I know if I am too low on a bid?

A:

If the client responds to your bid by asking if you have enough for certain line items like “location scout” etc, then you can assume you are too low. At that point I’d be direct and explain how you were assuming the budget was low, but you may have been mistaken. This can be turned into a positive to show your excitement for the project. Has anyone had an experience like this you’d like to share?

Q:

How do I know if the client is telling the truth about their budget?

A:

The most common answer will be that they don’t know the budget yet, so if you are actually provided with a budget, then I’d trust that. If you know you are the only photographer up for the job or if you get the sense you are 1st choice you can then expand your budget slightly higher and give that a try. I have a few techniques I use for this, and I’ll explain them in future ASR’s. 

Do you have any techniques for the bidding process you’d want to share with us?

Q:

How do you know if you need a producer or not on your job?

A:

If you foresee the job needing a producer you can always ask the client if they think there is room in the budget for a producer. It’s actually a nice way to try to get more budget info. If the answer is “no” then I would suggest not having a producer do the estimate for you because they usually have higher production costs.

Q:

What do you do if you don’t know how to ask for what you’re worth?

A:

This is common and most freelancers don’t know how to rate themselves fairly while balancing out competition, usage or market prices. My approach is to connect with the client on the phone and listen to what they often want to tell me. My favorite sales approach is honesty. It works wonders. 

What is your favorite sales approach?

Clients can’t usually give you numbers, you have to throw numbers out there for them to bring you up or down.