Wednesday Wisdoms

Negotiation can be tricky, especially in unknown scenarios with no previous relationship with a client. My goal is to figure out what the client has for a budget, even though they usually won’t offer that info. I like to begin with a higher $ than I’m assuming the budget will be. That higher starting point approach depends on creating an honest two-way discussion from the start to achieve truthful negotiation.

If you are saying, “I CAN DO THAT” when you see ads, that tells me you are on the side of being a “generalist,” which waters down the impact of your specific style. I call that my RED FLAG as those are the photographers who usually don’t receive the national attention for a specialized branded look.

What became clear to you as your reset from this unstable last year of our lives? 

Happy Thanksgiving 2021!

The creative call is your place to shine! Be prepared, ready with all the resources you can gather to come across as clearly qualified to take on this project. Have a plan to share as you are actually the information provider vs. just gathering their information. Be the contributor of great insight as that is who they are looking to hire. Be ready!

On every creative call, you want to be extremely prepared. Do your research, check out their website, and have something to say during the call. This might lead to a question or a comment that relates back to the creative deck. Be thoroughly familiar with the creative deck and brief before the call—review it, have your ideas, questions, and thoughts ready. Relate your points to what they’re looking for, and mention anything you noticed about their website. Conduct thorough research, including a Google search, to find out where they’ve been and where they’re going. Gather as much information as possible before the call.

The final stage of the treatment is where I find it easy to add in spots, sneaking in and dropping descriptive adjectives to modify our point wherever we can use an adjective to ‘bring it home.’

Example to show AUTHENTICITY:

“We will be using natural light to bring about the real-life/pure/true/convincing feeling that these are actual people and not models.”

I want to share what I do when I receive a treatment from a photographer before we send it in. I review it carefully to find places where they describe the location, casting, and talent. I look for opportunities to enhance these descriptions by using specific adjectives and words that align with the client’s preferences. For example, if the client wants an authentic shoot with the talent in real moments, I consult a thesaurus for synonyms of “authentic,” such as “pure,” “reliable,” “true,” “trustworthy,” “credible,” and “convincing.” These words help describe how we will find the perfect location, even if it’s not perfect but rather credible or convincing. Pay attention to the words used on the call and in the creative deck. Use those terms specifically and reflect back what the client wants to hear.

Every bid inquiry requires its own fine-tuned strategy + gameplan. 

The question is, which response will align with the client’s goals to get us the job while clearing up any potential usage terms that don’t protect you. We usually have to think quickly and make fast decisions following our instincts. Sometimes it’s in our best interest to wait for the details to be ironed out after the creative call. Strengthening our position first can allow us to make the changes we ultimately need to make.

When we are asked to bid on a job, especially client-direct jobs, they often request usage terms that we may disagree with, such as copyright issues or work-for-hire clauses that restrict us from showing the images. These terms often need education because, unlike ad agencies, client-direct clients may not fully understand what they’re asking for.

What I like to do is take a strategic approach: I first suggest having a creative call where we sell them on our ideas using catchphrases that will make them think, “This is the person we must work with.” During this call, we showcase the images and have the producer on the call to really hook them. Only after this is it time to negotiate the usage terms.

Assess whether you need to address these terms upfront before you bid on the job or wait until after the creative call to use the opportunity to get them hooked.

What is your sales tool component that stands out to separate you from your competition?

Is it your personality, a production capability, or your skillset?

What do you offer that helps your marketing/sales approach push you to be 1st choice for projects?

This specific something about you can shape your entire direction.

Follow it, know it, explore it and grow from this specialty to keep yourself on top of the pack.

Think about the sales of what you do. You need to be competitive with many others, so how do you make the numbers work in your favor? Rely on something very specific to you that limits your competition. Your approach can focus on this unique skill set, something you’ve done in the past, your reputation, your history, or your interests.

For example, I represent a duo with a very specific niche. They should leverage that uniqueness every time we bid on a job. They should highlight it in their treatment and discuss it during the call. It should be a major focus because it sets them apart.

Use what you have and rely on it. If you’re unsure what that unique aspect is, take the time to discover it. This can become your best marketing tool, sales approach, focus, and direction for your website, images, or testing. Think about it, use it, and remember it can evolve over time, but make sure to use it effectively.

A business “slump” happens when work is slow, but why is it slow? Of course, that can be for many reasons, but the one concrete response needs to understand WHY. The key to substantial business growth vs a temporary distraction is to take a straightforward look at the situation by analyzing the facts instead of reacting emotionally. What is working for you and what is not. Be the CEO you need to be.

Protect yourself on bids by preparing for the client to respond by handling some of the line items themselves. 

For example, if they had contemplated supplying the props, expect your prop cost to eventually be removed from your total. If you know their budget or have one in mind, place those prop costs over the final amount you want to come in at. You cannot add to your bid once you submit it, so strategically place your numbers with this in mind.

There’s a way to protect yourself on bids that I keep learning about—I just experienced it yesterday. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to emphasize it again.

There are line items on your bid, such as overtime, retouching, consulting on post-work, or food, that the client might later say they will cover. Be cautious with these items because once they are removed from your budget, you’re stuck with the remaining amount. Even if the client initially said they have a budget of $20,000, if your bid now comes in at $15,000 after these items are removed, they’ve already seen the original bid. You can’t change it at that point.

So, be careful with these items. It’s better to come in over budget and discuss potential removals with the client rather than adjusting your bid after submission.

Just like companies cannot make money off of photographer’s art without their permission, the same goes for any recognizable art that we may not even realize has copyright ownership. I was on a call discussing casting, and we were warned against using talent with tattoos because we would need permission from the artist. Recognizable public artwork on buildings or bodies without usage agreements has caused legal problems that we don’t want to get entangled with.

There’s something you need to be careful about that you might not know. I was on a call about a job, and they discussed an important issue to be extremely aware of: graffiti, tattoos, and wall art of any kind. As an artist, you have policies for your own images, and so do other artists. It’s not easy to find these artists to pay them or get an agreement from them, so be very cautious.

You might be able to alter these elements in your retouching and post-work to make them non-recognizable, but beware—there could be legal issues and potential costs if you don’t handle this correctly. It could become problematic, so stay aware of this.