What do you say to a client on a budget?

[Kren Barnes]

How would you guys respond to convince her that a wedding video is a great investment..our fee is $1499 for what she wants.. your feedbacks are much appreciated!

"I'm really on a budget here....how much do you charge for ceremony coverage and some reception coverage ?"

[Chris Harding]

Hi Kren

It depends on how badly you need the business. For budget stricken clients I will ask them the maximum allowable and then work out what coverage I can offer based on my hourly rate. There is no way I would give them want they want for half the price. If you need $1499 regardless then you need to do some smooth talking and convince them how important a wedding video really is.

I'm sure there was a thread here on the importance of a wedding video???? http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...important.html

There were some ideas there too that were good and you contributed!!!

Chris

[Robert Turchick]

Well, there's only two answers (in my head)...let me summarize!

a) hold your ground...risk losing the job...keep your sanity.

b) determine your bottom line for exactly what she wants. draw up an iron-clad contract...
hold your ground.

Third scenario is what generally happens as an addendum to option b...

after the wedding, she will try to get more than what was originally agreed upon...end up losing sleep over the fact that she talked you down once and you will probably give in to her again as to not risk a negative review. Lose money but keep client happy.

[Kren Barnes]

Thanks Chris! you offer a great point...also found the thread you indicated..

[Travis Cossel]

Kren | That's a tough situation. How to handle it really depends on how badly you 'need' the business. There's I 'need' the business because I'm struggling, and there's I 'need' the business because I don't have the money to feed myself, keep myself in business, pay the rent, etc.

If you're the latter position, work with the bride and get the job.

If you're not in that position, and you don't 'need' the income, then I would strongly consider standing your ground on your advertised price. Cutting a discount usually just brings problems down the road. People who get a discount are generally not appreciative and will become more demanding. If she just can't afford your price, lower it and remove something from the package or reduce the coverage hours or something. Just don't cut the price without some consequence to the couple.

That's my advice anyways. d;-)

[Stephen J. Williams]

Hey Kren....


I only take two weddings a month, so It makes it very easy for me to tell someone that I can't offer them a discount. If I was to take their wedding for anything under my original price then I would be potentially losing out on business in the future if someone else had decided to go with me.

At the same time I have given discounts to couples that I have met and generally liked. The amount of business that I made off of them from recommendations ended up making it a good business decision.

Steve

[Kren Barnes]

Thank y'all for your advice..they are much appreciated.
As an FYI, I've provided the bride our full price, i doubt she will call us back but we've learned our lesson from discounted weddings giving us more headaches (and demands) than regular paying gigs..

Cheers!

[Michael Simons]

Unfortunately, the brides on a budget usually hire a really bad videographer. Then they never watch their video and tell their friends they don't watch it. Then their friends don't hire a videographer. Videographers as a group need to band together and advertise how important a video can be and educate these brides.

[Jacques E. Bouchard]

Don't know what the situation is like over there, but here in Montreal the market is flooded. I mean the Moses-has-his-inflatable-wings-on-and-is-building-an-ark-as-we-speak kind of oversaturation.

Cameramen work $20-40/hour on weddings, and the day rate is $300 or less. Volume hacks post the same ad on Craigslist a dozen times a day. I see people giving the "We don't have the budget" whine every day and asking for free service and free equipment - and they get it!!! Every runt with a Circuit City camcorder is looking to pad his portfolio and will do the crappiest event for free before they even know what end of the camera to point forward, and they end up producing pure sh*t that no one can show - including the client.

Problem is, the averagre person thinks you make a movie by pressing a magic button on a camcorder and voilà! Fairies bring out a professional-looking DVD. But by the time harsh reality sets in, it's too late: the newlyweds f*cked up the one chance they had, the camcorder jockey is back flipping burgers and the pros are still broke.

I am desperately trying to break out of dealing with Joe Sixpack in favour of corporate clients who know the value of a professional service - but even that's proving to be a trial.

So, um, to answer your question (sorry for my rant), I'd say get a few crappy videos on YouTube (God knows there's an inexhaustible supply) and scare your potential clients by telling them that's what they could end up with.


J.

[Kren Barnes]

I hear you Jacques..with the advent of $300 HD camcorders, we are competing with knobs who charges $99
to shoot the entire wedding...sad because they'll get more clients, their awful work will be seen by more people and those same people will be talking and spreading the word about how bad the video is making them as skeptical as ever on hiring videographers for weddings...

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Jacques E. Bouchard

Problem is, the averagre person thinks you make a movie by pressing a magic button on a camcorder and voilà! Fairies bring out a professional-looking DVD.

Too funny. I used to say that clients thought you pressed the record button, and the camera would crap out a finished DVD from the back end.

It's hard to get a good shooting rate for events in Montreal, because there are too many people willing to shoot for less. But then it turns around to bite them in the a$$. I've edited several projects brought to me specifically by people unhappy with the footage given them by a cheap videographer.

You get what you pay for.

Oops. Veered off topic here. In response to the original question, I agree with the advice given. If you want to take the job at her price, then offer them less. Such as, "I can do it for your lower budget, but then I can only cover the ceremony and reception, not the pre-wedding prep."

[Noel Lising]

I think the client is not really Low balling as they were being honest they can't afford the $ 1400 package. They were asking how much Kren will charge for Ceremony/Reception ( no Bride prep,no Park). I prefer clients like this who are being honest, I hate it when they think they can get the same hours of service at a low price.There has to be a compromise, and I think they are open to that.

My 2 cents.

[Bruce Patterson]

Originally Posted by Kren Barnes

How would you guys respond to convince her that a wedding video is a great investment..our fee is $1499 for what she wants.. your feedbacks are much appreciated!

"I'm really on a budget here....how much do you charge for ceremony coverage and some reception coverage ?"

Some great responses here and I would agree that it depends on how badly you want/need the business. Her email just sounds like she wants to see if you have any cheaper options vs grinding you on price so if you don't have anything that fits her budget, I'd just be completely honest and make sure you don't take it too personally. If she's a price grinder then I'd really suggest steering clear because they are a nightmare later - trust your gut!!! I can't emphasize this enough.

You're bang on about brides needing to be more educated on the importance of video, but some of them just won't get it. We can't win them all over but we can get better at sensing those who are open to learning more (hint: they dont ask as many price-related questions) and to seize those opportunities and convert those people to clients.

Let us know how it turns out!

[Hameed Aabid]

Originally Posted by Jacques E. Bouchard

Problem is, the averagre person thinks you make a movie by pressing a magic button on a camcorder and voilà! Fairies bring out a professional-looking DVD.
J.

I did a video of an event for a non profit organisation. I gave them a big discount because they do good by the community. So at the end, I asked him if he was in a hurry to get the video. He was like, "Oh not really. I am not in a hurry but can you finalize it by next week."

Now, imagine if he was in a hurry.

[Chris Davis]

Everybody is "on a budget". That's not a synonym for "cheap", it simply means they have a specific amount allocated for each element of their wedding (or project.)

So when a prospective customer tells me they're "on a budget", I immediately ask "what is your budgeted amount for video?" At that point, the prospect will name a price. Then it's an easy decision: can I do a job for that amount or can't I?

If the prospect says they have budgeted $750, are you willing to take on a smaller project for $750 knowing it's possible you'll have to refuse a $1499 project later?