What to Say to Clients Who Ask . .
.
WHY ARE YOUR PRICES
SO HIGH?
Recently I heard from one of my
Studio Management Services clients who was really down because some of
her
original clients were upset that her prices are now much higher than
they were when she first opened her business. Mind you, her start-up
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 just getting started, it is normal for every
criticism
to be hurtful. When you are trying so hard to please clients and to do the
right thing, any little negative comment can seem like a failure,
so it's easy
to become defensive. Defensiveness about pricing, however, never works.
The real issue 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 concern 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. Instead, meet their concern
with a big smile and a lot of confidence, as this approach will help to disarm them.
One other thought: You can soften clients' attitudes
toward higher prices by giving them something extra or something
unexpected
when they pick up their finished orders. This, combined with treating clients like they are gold when you are dealing with them, 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 performed better than they can remember the business occasion during which they occurred. So as you become more skilled in handling clients,
you are less likely to be bothered by price objections.
