The other day, I was perusing a photographer's group on Facebook and I came across a conversation that I'm sure we have all seen 100 times, maybe not this exact conversation, but you know, it was a version of a well worn story. So photographer gets an inquiry responds with a price sheet receives a shocked or even angry response from the Inquirer stating that their prices are outrageous. And then the photographer goes and posts about it in this Facebook thread, or whatever, out of
frustration. And there's usually a little bit of self doubt in there. You know, look at my portfolio, they say they'll include some of their pictures. These photos are good, I have kids to feed bills to pay, why do people want their photos for so cheap? I need to charge this much. But then there's like this little bit in there where it's like, but maybe I should charge less? What do you guys think?
And, you know, 300 comments later, there's responses ranging from this solidarity, like No way, you should totally charge that much your photos are amazing. And then there are the people who are giving like gentle or not so gentle suggestions that they should lower their prices until they have more clients or until their work gets better. But it seems the conversation always ends up, sort of wending its way around to what seems like a sensible set of suggestions about
educating clients. Now, you guys know, I am all about educating your clients, right? I talk about it all the time. It's the first step of the simple sales system, right. But I am here to set the record straight, when a potential client tells you that you're charging too much. Now, I want to be clear, I don't mean the person who says they can't afford you right now. I mean, the person who says what you're
charging is unreasonable. So at the point, when that happens, it's pretty much game over with that particular client, there is no amount of education that is going to change where they are or how that relationship has started. So instead, Today, I am going to talk to you about the way that you avoid that scenario in the first place. Welcome to this can't be that hard. My name is Annemie Tonken. And I help photographers run profitable, sustainable businesses that they
love. Each week on the podcast, I cover simple, actionable strategies and systems that photographers at every level of experience can use to earn more money in a more sustainable way. Running a photography business doesn't have to be that hard, you can do it. And I can show you how.
Let me be the first to say that I have absolutely been there, I have gotten an inquiry, gotten excited like pored over crafting just the right email response detailing the benefits of working with me and how excited I am to work with that person. And then I you know, attach my pretty pricing guide, and I send it off, and I cross my fingers only to, you know, receive
nothing back at all. Or worse, the email equivalent of a smack in the face where I'm told that some, you know, they're hiring somebody else who charges a 10th of what I charge, and that I should be ashamed of myself. The good news is I haven't gotten an email like that in a really long time, it is possible to sort of graduate from that stage. And today, I want to share some insights that I have learned over the course of my 11 plus years of experience now that I hope will help you get there.
What I do still get these days are emails from people who say they've decided that they're not yet ready to invest as much as I charge. And, sure that's not my favorite response from a potential client. But nor does it offend me, I don't get my feelings hurt, I in fact, have gone on to work with those people a year or two down the road, when they come back and say now we are ready to invest
that much. So I always comfort myself when I get those emails with the assurance that like that doesn't mean that they're gone for good. But I think that the primary reason that I am getting those kind emails or those sort of honest emails is that most people are sending that to me after talking to me on the phone. So we have a little bit of a rapport or relationship. And that's, you know, because I insist on getting on the phone with people when they reach out to me about
having a session. So my number one tip to avoid haters is to make people get on the phone with you because haters hate getting on the phone. But getting on the phone aside, let's talk about why someone would respond with shock or even anger to something as innocuous as a price sheet? Is it because they think that in response to their mean email, you're going to like drop your prices and run back to them begging for their business? I mean, maybe, but
probably not. I think it's more about venting a bit of frustration. So before a client ever reaches out to you, right, they are forming an impression of your business, that at least in part, creates some level of expectation of what they are going to spend for your services. And the dissonance happens when what they expect is way out of line with what you charge. That's what makes people get offended or angry. Well, just go ahead and call it
cranky. Probably, and I don't really feel like I'm going out on a limb here, probably the people who ghost you, and certainly the people who write snide or rude comments. They were not expecting whatever it was that you sent them. If they were, they wouldn't have reached out in the first place if they weren't willing or able to pay
those prices, right. And I'm not defending anyone, I 100% agree that it is horribly rude to respond to anyone's price sheet, no matter how outrageous they feel like your prices might be by telling you that your prices are too high. That is, you know, kind of beside the fact but their rudeness isn't your issue. I mean, honestly, if someone is that rude, you don't want to work with them in the first place. But you can take something other than frustration from that rudeness, right?
rudeness is an indication that something is off. And my guess is that 95% of the time that something is your messaging. Now, when I say messaging, I mean every public facing web page and social media posts associated with your brand, the platform that you're on the images that you show, the copy
that you write, everything. And if you mix business and personal on the internet, so you know if your business Instagram is mixed in with your personal or if they're linked, and somebody can sort of follow from your business page to see your personal or search your name and see your personal. All of that is fair game too. And it's not
just the internet either. I mean, there are photographers driving around with their business information plastered on their cars, we put items in an auction, and depending on what that auction is raising money for, and you know how your auction display looks, that has an impact on someone's impression of your business. The list goes on and on and on anywhere that someone can form an impression about you or your business. That is part of your
messaging. My point is that all those things serve to create some expectation of one kind or another. If your messaging is all over the place, chances are your inquiries and the expectations of the people who send them are going to be all over the place as well. You're going to get qualified inquiries, you're going to get non qualified inquiries, you're going to have people asking you to do work. That's not anything
like what you do. So the first thing that you need to do is make sure that your images and your words, everywhere they exist all convey a cohesive message. Because when your messaging is cohesive, then you should start getting most of your inquiries from people who are interested in what you're offering. But here's the second part, if you are routinely hearing from your inquiries, that they are shocked by your prices, then your messaging and your pricing may not be aligned.
The goal is that your website and your Instagram feed and your copy and the images and everything else associated with your brand should be intentionally aligned with the kinds of clients that you want to work with, and the amount of money that you charge. So, you know, if you charge the highest prices in your area, your website needs to be custom and beautiful and plastered with images of people who look like they would pay your prices. When your Bluebird client runs across
your website. It should scream you are here in the right place. Ideally, I also would like to see you have basic pricing information either on your web site somewhere or, and this is something I'm seeing more and more these days in your contact
form. So if someone goes to contact you and they enter their name and their email address and what kind of session they're reaching out about, then there's a box before they hit, you know, send, they have to check a box that says, I understand that XYZ photography services start out at $800. And I'm interested in learning more. I mean, I understand that you might feel nervous about doing that, because that may mean that fewer people fill out your contact
form. But it's also going to mean that 99% of the time, the people who do contact, you will actually be qualified buyers. Now, I won't promise that you won't occasionally get some troll who basically ignored everything, but it will be rare. But back to the whole, your clients need to be educated thing. As tempting as it is to respond to those people who send rude emails about your pricing, and tell them you know, this is why I charge what I charge. This is why it's worth every penny.
Doing so is a waste of your time and energy. The person who's reaching out to you about images isn't interested in hearing about the bills you have to pay, they don't care that you calculated your expenses, and you need to charge that much in order to be profitable. They don't want to hear about the cost of insurance or the fact that to photograph their family, you have to leave your family.
And they definitely don't care that like you're passionate about photography, and you really want your business to work out. And that's not because they're bad people. It's because that's not why they reached out to you in the first place. Right? They're reaching out because they have a problem. And they want you to help them solve it, not the other way around. And they're certainly not reaching out to you because they want to be lectured about how to
run a business. harping on how hard it is to run a business or how much time it takes or how expensive it is, is most likely going to come across as whiny, which is definitely not the message that you want associated with your brand no matter what your price point is. So if you do get to that point with a potential client, and they send you some sort of like shocked email. First of all, take a deep
breath and just let it go. And then sit down and write a graceful email where you wish them well and you know, say goodbye, then focus the energy that you would have put into a response on figuring out where your messaging might be taking a wrong turn. You want to educate future clients, not these like non qualified potential clients. You want to educate future clients on why they should want to pay whatever it is that you're charging, what value you
are going to deliver. The goal is to make it obvious to your ideal client at every turn, that you are talking directly to them, that you have a solution to their problem that is so highly desirable, that price becomes entirely secondary. before I sign off, if you are listening today and feeling like I was reading your Facebook post at the beginning, you've been struggling with setting your pricing or communicating the value of what you offer. I want to invite you to sign up for my
simple sales masterclass. Yes, the simple sales system is ultimately about selling. But when you learn more about it, you will find that there is a lot to it. Just like establishing value and educating your clients starts when someone first finds your work, the sale that you make after a session
starts way before that. And the reason the simple sales system is so effective is that it really takes a comprehensive approach to getting the client to a point where they're not just willing to spend money, but excited to spend money with you. I see posts in my facebook group all the time, like this one for my students, Sarah, who posted in the group. I sent out a guide to my first new client since implementing the system and she just texted me quote, my husband and I were just talking about
how professional you are. This feels so much better than when we did our wedding photos and I'm so excited to be working with you. That is what you want clients who trust you every step of the way. Because when they trust you they have a better experience and when they have a better experience, they spend more money and they hire you again and you are well on your way to a thriving business that
you love. So again go sign up for the free masterclass at this can't be that hard calm slash simple and let's get you off the Facebook plane train. Well, that's it for this week's episode of this can't be that hard. I'll be back Same time, same place next week. In the meantime, you can find more information about this episode along with all the relevant links, notes and downloads at this can't be that hard comm slash learn. If you like the podcast, be sure to hit the
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