By Megan DiPiero  

Frustrated with this situation?

You’re talking with a hot lead. Conversation is going smoothly. She loves your work! She’s excited about the possibilities for her shoot! And then her biggest question arrives: “How much will this cost?” You tell her your “starting at” prices and then… crickets.

Hmmmm… maybe she didn’t love your work as much as she thought. The convo quickly wraps up and you have this pit in your stomach knowing that another one just bit the dust. : (

What to do?

Here’s a sales adage for ya. “If clients are balking at your prices, raise 'em.”

Say what? Read that one again. “If clients are balking at your prices, raise 'em.”

I know. It sounds counterintuitive, right? You were thinking it was time to drop your prices 'cause you’re sick of clients walking away when they hear prices they deem too high. And here I am suggesting you do the opposite. What’s up with that?

Before answering, we need to take a little detour…

In the consumer market there are three big spending arenas—Value Shopping, Mid-market, and Luxury shopping.

In the good old days when we were kids, and when our parents were kids, shoppers tended to stay predictably in their shopping arena. Value shoppers bought back-to-school clothes at Kmart. Middle Class America visited places like Aeropostale at the mall. And rich kids got their clothes from fancy boutiques.

I remember when people started calling Target “Tar-zhay.” Target (like Kmart) had always been considered the home for value shopping and yet something was changing there. People were discovering fancy finds at this retailer. Wealthy and middle-class consumers were unabashedly shopping for posh stuff in a Value chain! They jokingly changed the pronunciation to go with the fancy air Target was taking on.

Shopping at Target (a Value Shopper brand, remember) no longer has a stigma. All the cool kids are doing it. But ya know which brands ARE hurting? Those mall shops that used to be the Middle Shopper favorites. Shops like Aeropostale (for example) are filing for loans while Value brands (Internet and brick and mortar) are hitting big sales gains.

The middle market is dying a slow and painful death as shoppers trade up or trade down to achieve their needs and aspirations.

Think of it this way… you’ll save your pennies for an iPhone, right? But you shop for groceries at Walmart. You’re proud to have a Coach handbag and you wear it with matching DSW shoes. Or take me for example… I have a used car, shop for clothes only at the heavily discounted outlet stores, and yet my kids attend a private school that racks up tuition of $26,000 a year.

Private schools aren’t just for the wealthy and neither are iPhone or Coach bags. Consumers are no longer locked into one shopping arena. They have the freedom to trade down in certain areas so that they can trade up for big and little luxuries.

Which brings us back to photography.

Whenever I encounter mentor students who express the problem of clients walking when they hear the pricetag, I ALWAYS discover they are priced in the middle.

The middle is a no man’s land. Run, don’t walk, out of this spending arena.

The heavy hitters in the photography world (that is, the ones who are getting the most consistent bookings) are those at the Value end and the Luxury end.

I’m sure you all have some choice words for the photographers who shoot and burn for under $300, and yet you’re green with envy when you see that their pages have 3000 fans MORE than yours, and they’re raving on Facebook about another satisfied client, and another, and another.

Shoot and burners are always busy because they are the ultimate trading down thrill. Just like Target shoppers can find adorable, designer dresses for unbelievably low prices, so too can consumers find a custom photography experience at a can’t-resist price. These photographers never have clients walk away at the price tag because the price tag is so low as to be non-offensive.

“OMG! You’re right, Megan! I SHOULD just drop my prices! Time to go with the shoot and burn biz model. Then I’ll be busy! That’s the ticket!” But wait, before you run in that direction, let’s talk about some real bummers with this model.

We all know Facebook likes to put on a pretty face. When your shoot-and-burn friends post new sessions on the daily, you see busy, successful photogs. What you don’t see is that gal hopped up on coffee at 1am to get her sessions edited. You’re also not seeing that guy wringing his hands at night as he wonders if it’s all worth it. You’re also not at the accounting table with the photography couple when they realize they made more money per hour as teachers/nurses/clerks/managers/etc. than they are now. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that. And I’ll bet you have too.

The problem with the Value end of photography is that this world shouldn’t even exist (at least not as we’re currently seeing it delivered).

In order to be low price AND profitable, you must also be high volume, low customer service. And high volume in the portrait world, ain’t one client a day. It’s more like EIGHT clients a day! Think: Sears Portrait Studio. High volume in the wedding world, ain’t one client a week. It’s more like THREE (or more!) clients a week. When you’re serving so many clients, you aren’t helping them choose clothes for their session, you aren’t hand-editing each image, you aren’t writing them birthday cards, and you aren’t meeting for coffee to coo over Pinterest boards. All the little touches that we soulful, well-meaning artists love, must be thrown out the window in the name of efficiency. The experience is rather cookie-cutter and makes us cringe a bit.

What shoot-and-burners don’t see is that, while that $300 check looks nice, it’s not going to pay the costs of running a business. Unless they can get to a truly high volume (eight portrait clients a day, not one a day), they are going to fail. And if they manage to achieve that volume, they will be a lot like Sears. Spoiler alert: Sears Portrait Studio is bankrupt. This business model really isn’t as fun as it looks.

And in the meantime, all the price-sensitive shoppers who are calling on you with your sensible pricing and good service, are sticker-shocked. Why would they pay $600 when they can pay $300 (half-price) and get practically the same thing? (Back to our example: why would anyone shop at Aeropostale, when Target is cheaper?) These clients see photography as a status quo need. They want custom portraits but they aren’t ready to spend big. You will lose this client more times than not because she doesn’t see the value in what you are offering.

Before you all go curl up under your covers and cry, take heart. There’s a silver lining to this raincloud.

Enter Luxury Boutique Sales. The perfect business model for photographers who value offering high customer service, exquisite products, and great art!

Contrary to what you might think, this market is not just for the wealthy. Remember, Walmart shoppers have the newest iPhone too. This market IS for people who value service and quality. In this market, you’re not just filling a need (“I need boudoir portraits 'cause all my girlfriends are doing it.”) This market is filling a want (“I want the BEST boudoir photographer. The one who is doing things differently. The one who will give me exceptional service.”)

Ever notice how sometimes you walk into a store and the environment is so clean, so cared for, so perfectly furnished that you just KNOW it has to be expensive? I don’t get that feeling at all when I walk into Target. I know what I can expect to pay based on the way the brand makes me feel.

When you have beautiful marketing pieces, when you answer the phone on the second ring with an air of “I’m dropping everything to be with you now,” when you put an artisan-quality, handcrafted portfolio box or album into your clients hands, you are saying without words, “I’m going to spoil you!”

The experience, even more so than the images, is what makes Luxury brands worthy of luxury price tags. Read that sentence again. It’s super important.

I have no qualms saying to my clients: “My portrait collections start at $1500.”

START… AT… $1500. (Not… start at $400, $600 or even start at $800. Take the leap and jump over $1,000 for the greatest success with luxury sales.) If you’re a wedding photographer, you may want to be so bold as to say “My wedding collections start at $3,000.”

Do clients walk away? Yes. Some do. But the confidence in my voice and the promise of luxury keep the overwhelming majority of them committed to invest.

Offer luxury. Charge for luxury. Market for luxury. You’ll be happy you did and so will your clients.

Take yourself out of the no-man’s land of the middle market and price yourself for the type of experience you would like to deliver. Prepare the way for clients to TRADE UP to work with you and I’ll bet you’ll be seeing much more commitment and far fewer clients running for the hills when you introduce your prices.

Megan DiPiero is an award winning Beauty and Family Portrait Photographer in sunny SWFL Florida. She also has earned the title of Pricing, Sales and Encouragement Guru from her mentor students across the globe. You can find her in the brand new Facebook group: "Rise to the Top! With Megan DiPiero" In a past life (before her photography obsession took over) Megan sold everything from cars to bras to books. Her favorite pastime includes devouring business books and spending time (NOT EDITING!) with her family of four.