BUSINESS ANALYTICS begins with researching your competition.
Use your rival’s success as your master’s degree guidebook for potential improvements – what exactly sets them apart, and what do clients captivated by in their images? What are the high-line business standards seen on the top competitor’s website and Instagram that we need to use as a wake-up call?
Our bid is our last chance of having any control over getting the job. We may assume our numbers will be similar to other bidders, but I’m telling you those bid facts are often different for each bidder. Clients move quickly, speaking to each photographer/rep, sometimes unable to closely monitor the specifics of our bids. It’s our responsibility to call out the details of our pricing, making the particulars crystal clear and spelling out any potentially blurred categories. Don’t leave it to chance!
Don’t be too busy to focus on your long-term career intentions. Our freelance industry is distracting and zooms by quickly; we could wake up and feel shocked that we let time get away from us. Spend at least one-third of daily busyness aiming at the desired career path.
Once your foot is in the triple bidding door, the creative call has the most impact on landing you the job. Listen for the moments to interject, not based on their inviting pause, but because you relate or understand the scene they are describing and know how to make it happen.
Business problems require business responses.
Please do yourself a favor, and cut to the chase by pinpointing the issue you want to solve by addressing the facts, gains, and losses speaking directly to their business sensibility.
Creative calls are the one bidding opportunity to be human to human.
Clients want a sense of you; even if they already know you, they will want a clear grasp of how you perceive this project. An expression is not always through your comments, as you may be listening to the majority of the call. Be the active listener as they will hear your reactions of nodding in agreement and overall upbeat presence.
Photographers don’t have to be loners. Staying active with others in our business can tap into that business place in ourselves we all look to recharge. It’s there, at our fingertips, ready for us to relate to those who get the intricate subtleties that keep our business afloat.
One benefit of having a rep bid on your job is this world of secret handshakes. It requires us to pick up on the right time to indirectly ask about pricing amounts + totals. I’m not sure why it goes down this way, but clients usually do not come out and tell us what needs to be changed to get the job. Reps get used to this negotiation system and can often find out information that is a bit hidden. I call it the “rep’s language.”
You know when your business is not lining up and things are off track. Instead of throwing in the towel, look around for available support options. Reach out to those who can bring in a fresh new perspective, helping you see further beyond what you already know.
Requests for nondescript day rate fees from unknown clients can be tricky. We don’t want to waste our time, but of course, we don’t want to push away potential clients.
My fast and easy way of handling this is to give them an immediate minimum to maximum price range, clarifying this is often our day rate range depending on shot count, usage, and types of shots.
This rate spectrum allows them to continue the conversation if their budget is close to our prices.
