When Clients Question Your Prices . . .
July/10/2007 Selling
Recently I heard from one of my Studio Management Services clients who was really down about some of her original clients who are upset that her prices are now much higher than they were when she first opened her business. Mind you, her original prices were absolutely rock-bottom and could not sustain a business.
I believe that everyone faces this problem during the development of a business. And when you are new in business, it is normal for every criticism to be hurtful. You are trying so hard to please clients and to do the right thing, that any little comment can seem like a failure, and it's so easy to become defensive. Defensiveness about pricing, however, never works. Your issue really isn't about your pricing, it's about learning the proper sales technique to handle this "Objection."
Good sales people love objections, because they enjoy the challenge of turning objections into assets. In this case the objection is about price, so just confront the issue directly. With a pleasant smile on your face, and with confidence you can gain from practicing this little "choices" speech over and over, say the following:
Joan, I can certainly understand your concern about my prices, as setting a value on my work is something I don't take lightly. When I started my business I had a lot of learning to do: about photography and about how to operate a business. Yes, my prices were lower then. But what I have learned as my skills have grown, is that every business reaches a turning point in which the owner has to decide whether to stress low price or high quality. I knew that the only way I could be happy and my clients would be satisfied is to choose the quality route. It's a harder type of business to run, because you have to earn the trust of your clients with every single session, but I believe I've made the right choice. I hope you will agree that I have.
Remember this: When a client comes at you with a complaint, they are pushing on you. They expect you to push them back. When you come back at them with a big smile and a lot of confidence, it helps to disarm them.
One other thought: I believe it helps to soften clients' attitudes toward higher prices when you give them something extra or something unexpected when they pick up their finished order. This, combined with treating them like they are gold when they are with you in the studio, will help them focus on the experience as well as the quality of your photography. It's strange but true that clients can sometimes remember the little kindnesses that you do better than they can remember which portrait session it was.
I believe that everyone faces this problem during the development of a business. And when you are new in business, it is normal for every criticism to be hurtful. You are trying so hard to please clients and to do the right thing, that any little comment can seem like a failure, and it's so easy to become defensive. Defensiveness about pricing, however, never works. Your issue really isn't about your pricing, it's about learning the proper sales technique to handle this "Objection."
Good sales people love objections, because they enjoy the challenge of turning objections into assets. In this case the objection is about price, so just confront the issue directly. With a pleasant smile on your face, and with confidence you can gain from practicing this little "choices" speech over and over, say the following:
Joan, I can certainly understand your concern about my prices, as setting a value on my work is something I don't take lightly. When I started my business I had a lot of learning to do: about photography and about how to operate a business. Yes, my prices were lower then. But what I have learned as my skills have grown, is that every business reaches a turning point in which the owner has to decide whether to stress low price or high quality. I knew that the only way I could be happy and my clients would be satisfied is to choose the quality route. It's a harder type of business to run, because you have to earn the trust of your clients with every single session, but I believe I've made the right choice. I hope you will agree that I have.
Remember this: When a client comes at you with a complaint, they are pushing on you. They expect you to push them back. When you come back at them with a big smile and a lot of confidence, it helps to disarm them.
One other thought: I believe it helps to soften clients' attitudes toward higher prices when you give them something extra or something unexpected when they pick up their finished order. This, combined with treating them like they are gold when they are with you in the studio, will help them focus on the experience as well as the quality of your photography. It's strange but true that clients can sometimes remember the little kindnesses that you do better than they can remember which portrait session it was.