What do you say when they tell you "I can't afford that..." (Holly, I'm listening) :D

[S-Man]

So, some people want me to shoot an anniversary party for them. I give them my rate, cutting them a little break since they are some friends of friends.
The response I get is "I can't afford that...Can you offer something else?"

Now, I kind of quoted about as low as I want to go for ~4 hours of shooting then PP and an online gallery.
What do you tell them?

I want to be nice and sound appealing, but what I want to say is "Do you have any idea how much time I have to invest in this job, post processing, dealing with you, and so on?
Do you have any idea how much time I have invested studying this art?
Do you have any idea how much money I have invested in my gear?"

Perhaps I should have quoted really high at first and then come down to a 'real' price so that they think they took advantage of me? But then that makes it seem like I lower my rates at any sign of complaint.

Grr...
Sales, Customer service and PR are not my strong points. Holly on the other hand...

While I put Holly in the title, I'm all ears to what anyone has to say regarding this issue.

Brian Tracy says "When they tell you "I can't afford that" tell them "That's exactly why you should purchase it!" You just have to find a reason".

Sorry for the long post/vent, and thanks in advance for your insight.

[bondarnes]

This used to be a problem for me, until a mentor pointed out that many people just do not value photography as much as we do.

First, I'm going to guess that the client was male. If so you should be talking to the female involved. Most guys just don't get the whole photography thing.

Second, you need to know that if at least a third your clients are not complaining about your price, then you are too low. And complaining about the price is an indication that they want to buy. So try to help them a little bit.

In this situation I would probably ask, "May I ask how much were you planning to spend on photography?" If it's low and you still think you might move them up say something like, "For that price I could come and photograph for only an hour." Now the ball is in their court. If you think the job is lost anyway you can just laugh out loud at their price and say, "You're kidding, right?" At least that will make you feel better.

[ChristopherCoy]

Someone said something profound to me the other day... ask your client this...

"after the guests go home, the dj quits playing, and all the food is eaten.... what is left?" If their answer is anything other than 'the pictures' then its a lost cause to begin with.

[S-Man]

Thanks. Actually, Don, I got this from the woman.
Looks like they budgeted around 1/3 of what I can charge.

I may pass on it. Its just difficult for me to respond without sounding abrasive. I often unintentionally come off like that and I'm working on it.

I know some people have a way of wording things so by the end of the discussion, the customer feels bad for offering so little, and want's to give the photog MORE money than originally quoted.

[Flea77]

I have the same problem except at my day job, computers. It seems that some people who can read an online forum, read some reviews and turn a screwdriver/press a shutter think they can do what the pros do. This makes it hard to justify in their minds why they should pay the money. Even many many years ago as a mechanic I had a customer complain that I spent five minutes working on their car and they did not want to pay $65 for that little time. I had quite a bit less tact back then and simply told them, "OK, you buy the $80,000 Sun machine I needed for this and I will only charge you for the five minutes". They did not find that nearly as amusing as I did.

Now I take a different approach. I calmly explain my minimum rates and then go into great detail what they get for that minimum rate, making sure to cover how I secure what they need in the face of peril (lost data on the drive, infected data, possible further hardware damage from failed or failing components, etc) and then ask them which part of that they would like me to not do. For example, "Would you like me to not make an image of your drive before I begin work? This would save you $10 but run the risk of losing not backed up data should it be infected or the system cause damage to the drive." Then I move to the next item, "Would you like me to not run a hardware diagnostic scan before I start the virus removal? This would save you $10 but run the risk of it not really being a virus problem and your hardware fails before I can get the data off" Etc etc etc.

Maybe you could try that? "Would you like me to arrive later and only shoot two hours? This would save you $xxx but run the risk of missing some incredible shots." Etc.

Good luck!

Allan

[Howard Barlow]

Originally Posted by S-Man

... I give them my rate, cutting them a little break since they are some friends of friends.
..."I can't afford that...Can you offer something else?"

Sam,
I know it is oft times repeated, but, I will repeat it again. Don't discount. It does not help you. This is a perfect example. You give more than you want and it is not enough to suit them.

I don't mind people asking for a discount, but, neither do I mind saying no. The fact is, some people simply can't/won't afford you. You have no duty to find their comfort level.

I want to be nice and sound appealing, but what I want to say is "Do you have any idea how much time I have to invest in this job, post processing, dealing with you, and so on?
Do you have any idea how much time I have invested studying this art?
Do you have any idea how much money I have invested in my gear?"

No, do not ever try to explain it. It does not matter to people. Period. That's your problem, as far as they are concerned.

Originally Posted by S-Man

Looks like they budgeted around 1/3 of what I can charge.

That is my point. Do you expect the doctor/car dealer/jeweler/other luxury item business to accept 1/3 of their price? Personally, especially if it it someone I know, it offends me that people have so little respect for me, as to make such a request. My name may be Daddy, but I ain't their Daddy.

I always chuckle and say, "I have to make my living off my friends. People who don't like me, don't shop with me. So, nope, do big discounts."

[CaptainTom]

If they say they can't afford my price, I'll react like Don recommends.
If they still say they can't afford my price I'll ask them what they are paying the caterer, the liquor, the flowers, the venue, the DJ.
That's when you get them to realize what will be left after all those other things are gone.
Maybe they can cut back the flowers, etc. and add to the photo budget.

If they still can't afford me. They can't afford me !! And my pricing is low enough that I know I am not gauging them or overcharging.

They just won't have pictures of their wedding. Maybe they'll do differently in four years when they marry somebody else ( statistics don't lie ).

[S-Man]

^Who else but Tom?




S-Man added 12 Minutes and 14 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

It's hilarious too, because I quoted a price, detailed what that included (in this case a photo-booth type setup for guests, 4 hours of shooting, online gallery etc.) and they were like "well maybe you could cut something back".
They then proceed to explain what they'd like to see, and included everything I just listed!
Not only that, I gave them some links to past galleries for examples. They were like "Yeah, looks like what you did at (gallery 3) is what we want."
IT'S THE EXACT THING I JUST QUOTED YOU!

People make me laugh.

[L Stegall]

Sometimes you reach a point at which you just have to say, I'm sorry, but I'm probably not the right person for this job, wish them the best and move on. If you don't want to take less than x, then don't. They'll either find a way to get to x or get someone else who will do it for y.

[S-Man]

Yeah. Because their target price was so low, I was going to suggest having friends take photos with their cameras, then compile them. I still might do this if this last try doesn't budge them.

[ChristopherCoy]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

If they still say they can't afford my price I'll ask them what they are paying the caterer, the liquor, the flowers, the venue, the DJ.
That's when you get them to realize what will be left after all those other things are gone.

oh yeah... it was Tom! LOL

[Mindy H]

I always just tell them that I have some friends just starting out that would love the experience and would probably work for the money they are wanting to pay. It helps to get the point across that what they are offering is 'beginner' money and that's the quality that they should be expecting for that money.

It also gives the impression that you are still willing to help out....even though it's helping to find someone else.

[HotHolly]

Im on location at a gig in FL. Will comment when I get back to TX...will be a few days. ;o)

[Kalrog]

Originally Posted by Mindy H

I always just tell them that I have some friends just starting out that would love the experience and would probably work for the money they are wanting to pay. It helps to get the point across that what they are offering is 'beginner' money and that's the quality that they should be expecting for that money.

Well that's me right now. So if they are Austin based and too cheap for you - I would love the experience.

[SCone]

I've been taught, if you consistantly get the same objection, it's the objection you have yourself. Do you think they can't afford your services or do you feel your prices are too high? You are offering the client the opportunity to re-live the moment far beyond anything they can remember. A chance to share their experience for generations. What is a fair price to make that happen for them?