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, overtime, etc.
Our bids are not as black and white as a client would assume, so get ready to explain the gray areas in ways that speak their language.
What steps should you take if you failed to fully deliver on a client project, and how do you bounce back?
I assume an issue arose, and communication had not relayed the proper message. What caused this? How could you have handled this differently? The real fix to this situation is understanding and learning from the experience. React to this client in the manner you wish you had done initially, address this with expertise and professional know-how. Any time we mess up, it can work in your favor by shedding light on an area of our business that needs our attention.
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 that looks 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, and does not need that extra step of being clicked to open.
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 budge, they may be more apt to negotiate.
TO SUCCESS WITH @ASKSTERNREP
I wanted to know how I can get good feedback from a company that didn’t hire me. I just lost a bid, and that’s fine, but I’d love to know if it was more than not being the lowest cost.
In our freelance business, we should learn how our bidding affects us. Take on the challenge to kindly ask the right questions to the right client after a job is awarded or lost. I’ve gathered the best info from clients by pinpointing specific closed-ended questions, hoping for a quick and easy answer. Example: Did I lose this because I was too high, or was this a creative decision, or both?
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 promotion 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:
1. Mass email lists will have a lower response rate because they are a larger list of unknown clients, but provide us with solid marketing open/click data.
2. Smaller fine-tuned lists built around those we know, and those who open/click the larger mass emails will get better traction.
If I email my website or image links to clients who don’t know me, should they be specific to a project or the home page of my website?
Always do what will help a client save time. Think FAST as the goal: what will help them see what you prefer them to see? Choose one image, one project, or your website landing page, depending on what they look for. If you are expecting potential clients to click through, it’s a lose-lose situation.
Do you suggest always requesting a 50% advance? If so, what’s the best way to ask for it?
Yes. Always include a request for an advance in your estimate, so it’s in writing once the estimate is approved. I use simple language like, “50% of total due prior to beginning of shoot.” If they ask for a different amount and it’s reasonable, that’s fine with me. I just need a legal guarantee that my photographers will be paid. I’d be scared to work without that reassurance.
I have received a lot of “work for hire” requests this year, giving me no rights to self-promote the images. I wonder if it’s AI-related from legal teams.
Work for hire and not being able to show images from certain types of clients have been around for quite a while. It may happen more nowadays because of AI-related requests, but overall, it’s a topic that should affect your fees. The more usage they are asking for, the higher your rates.
