No Package Rates into Website
 

Today I have decided that I will not be placing my prices into my website. I would like the brides to contact me and and give me more informations regarding their wedding and from there I can give them a price. If I place a price on a certain package ex. bride, ceremony, park, to reception 8-12 hours. $1800(usually for average weddings). Some weddings may take longer than usual and you think that what you charge may not be enough. On the other hand, you might have a wedding with a similar coverage requiremet but with a shorter than average hours-They might find the price too steep. Maybe I would like to charge this couple 6k while I charge the other couple 2k. I could make more financially and even select brides that shop for quality.

On the other hand, I might lose some potential clients if I don't see any prices in the website.

I noticed that some high-end videographers dont' place their prices. Does it work?

I guess what you need to do is do little research. Look at the videographer's and photographer's websites in your area. Do they all list thier prices. I know that's probably not the best reason, but I use to not list my prices and I would get a lot of price inquiries. When they're just number hunting, trust me, they it's rare that I could get them to make an appointment.

I guess if you list a standard price with the understanding that that price can change they want more copies, hours, etc, then that's fair.

I've done both, I've listed my prices and not listed my prices. I can say that listing prices will atleast get you calls from people who believe they can already afford you.

works for me

I include each package contents and upgrades, but there is no mention of dollars anywhere... (apart from "packages starting from XYZ)

I used to, but i didnt get half as many queries coming through (give people too mcuh info and theres no potential to sweetalk them.. ).

In addition, many people who see the prices want to see what a 6k wedding looks like so they can compare and see if they got a bargain from joe bloggs down the road.

To this, i dont show demos or send out dvd's. I do lose afew potentials that way, but those that are serious about sepnding cash and who are looking for quality perservere with teh query

Usualy after 3 or 4 emails, a meeting is arrangeed where they either come here to the theatre, or i go see them. 99% of the time they book.

I dont have time for tyre kickers

i hear what steve is saying, but id rather the client have my brochure in their posession as opposed to passing me by simply because im 'expensive" (im not though.. so thats another thing...)

Ive also had people pass me by because i didnt have web demos on my site, but to be honest, if a client is that serious about wanting a good service, theyd read my content and then decide to either email me for prices or ask for a demo...

because its not jstu the finsihed product yoru tryin to sell, your also tryin to sell a service. This is a BIG investment for some people, so they want to know that you know what youre doing..

Yeah Peter, I'm good with that. I can see both sides of the coin. I'd trust your experience over mine anywhoo.

I could probably experiment more. Peter I like what you said about packages starting from...

I'll give that some thought.

Hi Billy,

My prices are listed. No matter how much I wish I was I am not a salesman. I just don't want to persuade people in person. Prices are listed, demo DVD is available, if they like what they see they hire me. I don't get any tire-kicking calls unless they didn't find me on the web, which is rare. I've found that setting your pricing to make sure you're getting what you're worth and the client isn't paying for stuff they don't want is important. But thats not as easy as it sounds. If your packages are bloated they'll start asking if the package price can be lowered if they leave stuff out. If the difference is too great between ala carte and package deals ala carte becomes superfluous. If you come up with the perfect solution for both you and the couple let me know - I still haven't found it.

I just list Peter's prices.

Seriously though, I don't think there is a perfect solution, I would imagine that a large part depends on your geographical location and what is the standard for those that are most successful. Then you have to take into account what all these wedding help sites tell brides. I've had them come in with a list of questions and expectations that came straight from a website.

I am by no means an expert as I still have yet to complete my website. I do, however, know that the average web viewer has an incredibly small attention span. The fact that you don't have any web demos might be the deciding factor for many to move onto other sites that do. Granted, I don't know about putting ALL your web demos up, as you'll soon find the majority of bandwidth being eaten is by fellow videographers rather than potential clients. I like Dave William's approach to putting up a single clip and having a client access area that requires a password. That way they see the work get interested- call to gain access, all the while they have already made connection with you and you can start selling them on your services.

As with everything there are exceptions. Like Joel described, he doesn't feel comfortable filling the role of a salesman and would rather the bookings come on the merit of the work alone. That may or may not work for you- as for me I'm generally a people person. I don't think of it as "selling" per say, but making them feel comfortable and confident in you rather. Often times good people skills and sales ability are more important than raw artistic talent.

THis is the problem
 

Most of the videographers here in Toronto charge starting from 1000. These videographers of course shoot with only one camera. I on the otherhand shoots with 2 manned cameras. I don't think I ever want to shoot with a single cam. Of course most couples who browse over the internet don't know the difference between single cam shoot against a multi-cam shoot. Of course a multi-cam shoot I believe should be at least 2k. In the back of their mind Id' rather set an appointment with this guy who charges 1k rather than the other guy who charges 2k.

I guess what I would like to do is same as Peter's. Have them come in, show them the work and see what I can offer. It's just that these high -end brides are so hard to find.

I post samples and prices on our website without any password required. The cost for bandwidth these days really isn't a factor relatively speaking, and I have heard from many brides that they like to look through many websites before contacting anybody. If you make them contact you to view your samples or to get your prices, there is a good chance they will just keep looking. They may come back if they don't find what they want, but I have found that by showing our prices and showing our work and making it easily accessible, we get many couples who end up going well above what they originally wanted to because they want the quality. We also do photo only packages so we meet with many couples who aren't considering video and get to explore why that is. Most don't know what artistic or creative videography can offer and I think that making it tough to get information from you means they may see the next website and settle for something less because they don't know what is out there. Contacting you to get prices or see clips definately is not a hard thing to do, but in our area (Ontario, Canada) with the couples we have talked to, most would continue looking for a while before contacting anybody.

If your posting both your prices and samples and nobody is contacting you, then I would say that one of the two need to be improved. We've had $8k packages booked through our website without meeting us because we have enough information available online and they really like what they see, and like Bill said, there are a lot of very cheap videographers in our area.

"I just don't want to persuade people in person"

heres the good bit..
You dont have to...
if you create a series of packages which cater for most clients needs and "throw in" the extras (like slideshows staying til the end of the reception <doesnt mean u have to film ALL of the reception... ;) ) as opposed to charging for them, you are in fact charging them for it, but if they want it removed, their doesnt need to be a change in price.
When i see a client, dont talk about package and what this one has over the other.
I say.. heres my work. youve got my prices on email, but heres a booklet of teh printed version of what u have.
I explain the service, show them the work, and if they have questions about packages, i tell them its all in the book. They get teh contract at that time, so they can browse through the details at their leisure.

Im not a sales guy.. i a tech nerd.. lol

"I do, however, know that the average web viewer has an incredibly small attention span. "
THis is VERY true.. however.. one important factor here is that with the amounts of money were dealing with, poeple want to know as much as they can before they make a decision. Its a big investment, and not many are willing to jsut fork over the money and say "do your thing" Some DO .. but most of my clients dont.
So for me to have a website FULL of info, not only saves me time, but taht time is money. It answers many questions people mayu have and t saves me from having to deal with the same questions from different people.
Before i did this, i kid u not, i spent more hours on email than i did actually edits...
Since ive put this info up, there are no questions. And with teh contract basically reiterating what the website says, people are given peace of mind in teh service and product.

"The fact that you don't have any web demos might be the deciding factor for many to move onto other sites that do. "

This again is very true.. and i agree.. however i am loathe to put things online for the simple reason that ive had my work leached (liek afew others here)
Also it limits your ability to research the clients needs and tastes so as to show them an example closer to what theyre looking for

In the end though, to save time, having clips online DOES help sometimes... im yet to work out my strategy for this though.. im thinking maybe a short brief on how the footage was taken... ?? who knows..

Hey Patrick

I see you are a fellow Ontarian. Just out of curiosity, how many bookings (video) do you get a year with your prices? I would like to raise my prices to the 2k mark but because of the price wars I may not get any bookings especially in our area.

We do both photo and video so it is very hard to compare. We also do quite a few love stories that we present at reception, which when done right, almost always gets a couple bookings shortly thereafter. Keeping those things in mind, I think we shot about 40 total this year and out of that probably half had photo & video and a quarter were just video. There were quite a few photography only couples who ended up adding video after seeing what we offer despite it being not in the budget and not something they initially wanted and I think that really shows how the quality can sell itself despite seeing a higher price than expected.