Pixtus - Photography Forum, Photographers, Photo Tips

abril1127 · **Hand our a price menu at a Bridal fair? -** 01-14-2010, 02:59 PM

Doing my first bridal fair on Sunday. Signed up yesterday!

Nothing like jumping in last minute.

Wondering if I should hand out a price menu with all my services/packages on it or maybe just hand out a card of Bridal Show Specials? I have taken my prices down off my website.

...what should my specials be? What's a good incentive to get them to book soon?

Thanks
April

CaptainTom · 01-14-2010, 03:09 PM

My advice.
No price sheets handed out. They will just take these and show them to the guy next door who will cut your price by 10%.
Each wedding is a unique event at least to the client.
Explain your range of pricing and that you need to sit down with them and
build the perfect package for their needs and their budget.

Specials are OK. XX% off if booked before Valentines day, or in 60 days, if you pay in full at the consult, or whatever you think of.

tukaniray · 01-14-2010, 03:13 PM

I agree ... I would just pass out cards for a way for those interested to contact you and then let them know you need to sit with them like CaptainTom said.

That's how I do it and it works out really well.

Good luck with your 1st bridal gig.

-Ray-

CaptainTom · 01-14-2010, 03:23 PM

Have them sign up for a "free bridal giveaway". Free engagement pictures, or something free.
They just need to give you their name, number, and email address to qualify.

You can then follow up with them until they call the police on you.

Angelo · 01-14-2010, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

...You can then follow up with them until they call the police on you.

Tom, you must get a lot of business because of your humor....

ronocnikral · 01-14-2010, 03:55 PM

i would suggest not doing the free engagement session/bridal session etc. if your goal is to book weddings, you will end up with a ton of inquiries, basically, everyone signs up. when you do a drawing for something if they book, you are able to weed some people out that aren't really interested, which makes who to focus your efforts on easier in the back end. your goals may be different and you may be able to make some money on the backend...all depends.

we've done shows where we haven't handed out pricing and where we have. the shows we do, it is better to hand out pricing. if they take it down the road and tries to get them to lower their prices, that's the other guys problem, not ours. we don't play that game. and neither should they.

book in two weeks, lock in 2009 pricing!!

don't book at the show. if someone shows interest, setup a consult appt then and there. the more consults you get...the better you are doing. some may bail or flake, but it makes who to focus your efforts on afterwards much easier.

again, ymmv, this is what works for us.

J Eddington · 01-14-2010, 04:33 PM

I would not give out a price sheet, but if you wanted to do something like prices starting at ?????.?? that would be OK. They don't know what they get, but that they can or cannot afford you. It helps weed out those that can't afford you.
We have a sheet that we will be handing out at an upcoming show that talks about the experience and has starting prices.

I would offer a gift, if they book a consultation today. They do not get the gift if they do not show up for the consultation.

ronocnikral · 01-14-2010, 05:26 PM

yeah, what janice says. we only put our base package (which is what we want to shoot) on there and the bridal show special. prices only go up from there. don't write a novel on your handout. it gives people a feel of where we are.

a funny thing about drawings is there are brides there that are just there for the giveaways. we had one last weekend fill out our thing and her 3 friends...we didn't even tell them what it was for. it's kind of funny...

the idea of the gift for a consultation is a good one. dvd slideshow seems to be a big thing these days, they would have to book of course...

CaptainTom · 01-14-2010, 11:30 PM

I'm still in favor of getting them to sign up for something. If they're just there for the freebies then so be it. I gather all the freebies I can at shows.
I want to get their email addresses so I can add them to my constant contact campaigns and maybe get them as maternity clients, or family photos, or photograph their husband cheating for the divorce court.

csa · 01-15-2010, 09:06 AM

Tom, at least you make me smile.

Howard Barlow · 01-15-2010, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csa

Tom, at least you make me smile.

If that is all you get from Tom's posts, you might want to reread them.

csa · 01-15-2010, 10:56 AM

Oh, no. I know that Captain Tom offers serious reality checks with insightful, sometimes hard to hear info. But the ironic twist of discussing wedding photography in the same breath as proof of cheating for divorce just gave me a twisted morning giggle.