How to Deal with Losing Clients to Cheaper Prices in Your Photography or Creative Business
How to Deal with Losing Clients to Cheaper Prices in Your Photography or Creative Business
- High-End Sales Expert for Unconventional Photographers and Creative Entrepreneurs.
Some of you might find this particular topic to be a little spicy, but, hopefully, It's a good spicy for you, and a good reminder, of where to keep your focus and maybe a good, little wrangle of your thoughts. If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you will know I'm a mindset wizard, so I believe that everything that we do comes from our thoughts first. Do you ever find yourself wondering if others charging less are ruining the industry or taking away work from you? Do you ever wonder if you're losing out on clients because others around you are way undercharging what you think they should be charging?
If your answer is yes, then this is hopefully gonna help you!
Please believe me when I say that what other people in your industry charge for their services has no impact on you. Absolutely none at all. you are not losing clients to cheaper prices.
Really take that in! Whether you have a photography or creative business, what somebody else is doing or charging has no impact on you whatsoever.
Your brain might want to resist that statement right now with, “No, somebody charging $120 for Photography is the reason nobody will pay my high-end prices because they say they're too high.” Or maybe your thoughts are saying, “No, these people undercutting industry prices are the ones who ruin the industry, people expect to pay those cheaper prices”. Or maybe your brain is saying, “No, they are the reason why I'm afraid to raise my prices because then I'll get no bookings at all”.
The truth is other people's undercharging does not impact you or prevent you from raising prices unless you choose to let it.
I'm gonna say that again. What other people charge doesn't impact you unless you choose to let it!
So whether it’s $99, $150, or $250, whatever price you’re charging is not the reason why people are saying no to you. Neither is it the reason why they are going with the cheaper option. What others decide to charge in their business, even if you think they are undercharging and can't profit is none of your business. You can't possibly know what somebody else's cost of doing business is, what their financials are, or what other support they actually have when it comes to finances and money and their lifestyle. If they aren't profiting, again, it's not your business. And it's also none of our concern what other people do. If they want to make no profit, that really is their prerogative.
In telling people that they need to raise prices in order for you to make more money, thinking that if they raise them, you'll stop losing clients to cheaper prices, that is not actually how it works.
That's not showing you why your leads are going with other people. And let’s remember, telling others to raise their prices is not your business. There's nothing more harmful for business owners to raise their prices before they can offer an equal or higher value client experience for that pricing. In my honest opinion, it’s best to start out with lower pricing whilst gaining experience and perfecting skills to build the back end of their business, leaving plenty of room to make mistakes and learn from them. We all make mistakes as business owners, and you'll more than likely make more mistakes in your first few years than those afterward. When you're first starting out, you're supposed to make mistakes. It's how you learn.
An example of why I recommend starting out with lower pricing is this, a $150 mistake is considerably different to a $3,000 mistake. If raising prices before you can back up the increase with a high-end client experience, you’re really going to piss people off and this of course is not good at all for your business. Your prices always need to be a reflection of the value and skills that you're offering, not a reflection of your ego.
I might be one of the few to say to you, “When starting out in any business, although your worth is invaluable because you are invaluable, you should ‘not’ be charging your worth. In those early learning days/weeks/months, given my years as a successful sales expert, you should absolutely be charging low. Most people won't tell you this, but, honestly, this is what I would be suggesting to you. I know this isn’t the typical message others are offering when they're trying to sell you a dream in the form of for example a 12-month-long course but taking this advice will help give you the confidence to raise your prices so that they reflect the service you offer, and in doing so, avoiding potentially creating a lot of very angry clients.
It's always far better for the longevity of your photography or creative business to start out with those cheaper prices and as you learn and grow, later raise your prices in tandem with the building of your actual business, client experience, and everything that you offer your aligned clients.
The reason I say this is because having only angry clients when you first start out building your business is not the best way to succeed. This in effect gives others the power that will leave you feeling affected by their response to you and your sales methods. For every minute you feel annoyed that they are angry at you, you are using up your incredibly precious energy and of course invaluable time that you can never get back from growing your own business. And if you're a creative with ADHD like me or are affected by other neurodivergents, your energy is a very valuable resource! You don't want to have that affect your business growth. Remaining mad at someone and trying to convince them to change is an absolute waste of time and energy that could be going into your business. Instead of being mad at other people, use your time and energy to really have a look at your brand and ask:
Is it unique
Does it really stand out and represent you fully?
Does it have something to say?
Is it absolutely clear who your aligned clients are with absolutely no doubts?
Is your copy generic?
Are your packages basic?
Is the back end of your company running smoothly enough that it can be 90% automated?
Are your workflows airtight?
Is your client experience the literal best you could possibly offer?
Are you marketing daily and saying what you should be saying for your aligned clients to know without a doubt that they want to hire you?
Are you even talking to your aligned clients in your marketing, or are you just talking at them on a platform?
These are all things that you creative business owners could be doing in your photography or creative businesses to refine and make better and better for your aligned clients as opposed to wasting valuable time and energy being mad about losing clients to cheaper prices and what other people are doing.
Remember, it is irrelevant what other people are doing, always and if you think for one moment that they are taking your clients, then firstly my friend, you're going after the wrong clients. Secondly, you need to work on getting out of limiting thinking patterns. If you need help with having your business be 100% you and totally unique in the market, getting over your thought errors, and limiting thinking patterns, you know where to find me.
As an experienced high-end sales expert, I can 100% help you with all of that!
So I'll leave you with this little reminder!
