Dear Jenna:
I’m over here hustling so hard to get inquiries and then when I do, I blow it. I send out my prices and I never hear back from the clients (and if I do, it’s to tell me they chose someone else, drat.) I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I feel like I am priced well, I feel like I should be booking more clients (and not hearing so many crickets.) Do you have any tips/tricks to help me seal the deal with my dream clients? I’m over here floating in no-mans land and something needs to change!
Sincerely,
Tired of Crickets
Dear Friend, I feel you hard. I get it, I remember the thrill (and feeling like I was going to throw up) when you hit “send” to that new lead. You might cross your fingers, do some sort of dancing ritual, or rub your lucky rabbits foot (I sincerely hope you don’t actually have a rabbit’s foot in your possession.) Either way, I have a feeling that you’re missing a few critical things in your response.
So what do most people do? Well, they just include a little .pdf that says, “Hey, here are my prices, let me know if you want to book me.” But what they are forgetting is that every other photographer is probably doing the same exact thing! How are you going to stand out? Well, it should never start with your prices, it should start with an experience.
When you respond, how are you starting the experience? How are you guiding them out of the email and into your work? How are you saying, “Hey, I’m different and if you work with me, you’ll get your story told in a magical way?” These are all important – because it’s far too easy to lead with price, but you know what happens when you do that? You get price shopped, you get crickets, or you simply never hear back. Why? Because their only differentiating factor between you and Photographers A, B, and C are your prices – and you are SO much more than what you charge.
How do you fix this?
1.) “HELLO” EMAIL:
Make sure you have an AWESOME opening email to send to them, make it impactful, tell them who you are, ask them engaging questions, and share what your unique style is! The real winners will take the time to respond back to you!
2.) AN AWESOME PRICING GUIDE:
Your pricing guide needs to be more than one page with packages and numbers, it should be an actual guide that shows your work, helps clients imagine themselves in your images, and it should also include more information that sets you apart as an expert in the industry.
3.) START AN EXPERIENCE:
Create an experience for your clients: what can they expect if they want to work with you? How will you walk them through the process? You need to show that the experience is worth every penny and ensure that every touchpoint you have with a client is exemplary of what the experience of working with you is!
So you see, it isn’t just about your prices, it’s about creating feeling, emotion. You want people to hear from you and really hear you – not just see your prices on a page and judge your work based on the number attached to it. And trust me, if you aren’t really sure that you’re charging the right prices, let me help you!
I’ve got a totally free profitable pricing guide that will walk you through the equations so you know exactly what to charge and what your time is worth! You’ve got this friend, say “no” to the crickets, create a memorable experience that makes you rise to the top!
Get your pricing guide: HERE!
Thank you so much for all of your amazing posts Jenna! I have spent the past two days soaking in all of your insight and it has me feeling more confident that a midwestern mom of two can totally make my dreams a reality. T h a n k y o u! xoxo