Raised prices = more clinets

[HotHolly]

OK, I just raised our sitting fee again. I raise it when I have too many clients - ya know trying to get rid of some I dont have time to take. It never fails. When I raise my prices, people call MORE. Weirdest thing ever. Im feelin kinda snarffy. Too much work and not enough time. Back to work...

[MRCPix]

what a great problem to have :)

[Angelo]

Good for you Holly.
Get the business while it's there.

[tc95]

Holly,

My brother had the same situation happen to him....it is the weirdest thing I have every seen...

The only thing he could come up with is that you hit a price point that is both do-able for your current clients and opened the door for clients that were looking for a higher end photographer....I would just roll with it....like he did....

(By the way this happened both times he raised his prices this year...LOL)

[HotHolly]

Yep. Totally weird. Its not like we're cheap or anything...especially for around here. I remember being overwhelmed last Jan wondering where the heck all these people were coming from. To head it off, I decided to just raise my prices and scale back the number of clients. Maybe its the you want what you cant have complex. lol. We be full. Go away!

[Angelo]

Holly, the reason they're banging down your door to have you photograph them, at any cost, is because you do excellent work and they know it. Is most of it through word of mouth or do you advertise?

[JohnT]

So that's how it's done. LOL

Nice problem to have, believe me.

[OTRphoto]

I'm hoping for the same problem!!! I just re-did my wedding packages and upped the prices.

I was getting decent business at the price I was at, but I'm tired of shooting at "less-than-pretty" locations, and brides who book the package and I shoot the wedding and they don't care if they buy any prints - or only buy 1 or 2. So my new package prices make up the difference of them not not buying anything more thats what's included.

[ka5txl]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

Yep. Totally weird. Its not like we're cheap or anything...especially for around here. I remember being overwhelmed last Jan wondering where the heck all these people were coming from. To head it off, I decided to just raise my prices and scale back the number of clients. Maybe its the you want what you cant have complex. lol. We be full. Go away!

Gee if I turn pro can I hire you as my business manager?

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by ka5txl

Gee if I turn pro can I hire you as my business manager?

LOL! Unorthodoxy is hardly reason for flattery. Some people just call it insanity. Mike doesn't even ask me what Im doing anymore. He used to chew off his fingers when I 1st did crap like this. He'd be worried we'd loose all our clients, and Id be thinking - good riddens. I get into people suck attitudes periodically. Introvert thing, I guess.

Angelo, we started ONLY taking new clients with a WOM referral. Mainly b/c they tend to be the kind of clients who are better to work with. I had a couple of people fib and sneak in and I was wondering who well they knew the referrer. Yeah, they didnt. FIBBERS!

I have one WOM that sends me the BEST clients. She tells them to totally shut up and let me do what ever I want, and that they will get stuff beyond fab if they dont interfere with my creative process. Can you ask for a better referral?!?!

[toverman]

That's a problem I wish I had. My problem is getting the word out in the first place.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by toverman

That's a problem I wish I had. My problem is getting the word out in the first place.

And it seems the worse the economy and unemployment rate gets, the more "professional photographers" start materializing out of thin air.

[CaptainTom]

I had a good friend in Massachusetts who rebuilt Steinway Pianos. He had a staff of four, and his prices were pretty high. He also had a three year waiting list of customers.
He decided to nearly double his already lofty price schedule. His waiting list dropped to only a year and a half, and he was making enough more profit to buy himself a very nice yacht.

[HotHolly]

I'll let you know if I ever get my biz to the 'yacht' point. I like insane things to aim for. ;o)

[MikeyG1965]

My brother does high-end cabinet/wood work in the Austin area. He mainly concentrates on high-end homes. He recently had to raise his rates to weed out some clients and business has remained steady. His rates are usually higher than others; however, he does gorgeous work and folks don't mind paying for quality and craftmanship. Most of his work comes via WOM.