Value defined.
I just learned today that I did NOT get a job for a 20 person corporate headshot shoot. Am I disappointed? Yes, of course. Did I do the right thing in valuing my time, my work, my product and services fairly? Yes, I believe I did. But I didn’t get the job. Why?
After learning the news, I asked the contact for more feedback as to why a different photographer was chosen in this case, and she reported to me a few things. She reported she was really surprised at the variance in pricing and fees that “were all over the place.” She said that she thought that most quotes would come in around the same levels, and then they could choose based upon portfolio and specialization. This sounds most reasonable, but again it’s not what happened.
The company (a large multi-national) went with a cheaper alternative sadly. It’s funny, too, because when the initial call came in and the quote was given over the phone, I was told I should be charging more. I told her this is what I charge currently for this work. It is a fair price for a great quality product and service and not in anyway taking advantage of the potential large budgets typically associated with large companies. She said ok and I sent the written quote off only to hear later than I was too high. Was I really too expensive? I don’t think so at all. Like I said, I charge a very fair rate for a great product and service. So what did happen?
Well, a few things happened. The gatekeeper tasked with organizing the effort gathered her options and presented them to the decision maker. The decision maker made a choice based upon price it was reported, but there could be other considerations of which I will never know. Did they already have someone in mind prior to putting out bids? Do they care about great, well lit, flattering, consistent imagery, or is just good enough "good enough?" Did the decision maker actually visit my website to see my work? I encouraged this, but I don’t know in the end if he/she did. Maybe it would have made a difference perhaps? I explain the process, have great imagery to highlight the finished product, and it is easy to understand why and how we do things our way. The gatekeeper did, but she isn’t the decision maker. My written quote fully explained the details of my product and service as well, and again was fair.
That said, photographs of the executives will be taken (at a lower price than I charge) not by me, and they will probably be “fine,” or maybe not, so we will see. I’m not into “fine” as we do “WoW, that’s awesome!” So, I will be watching. In closing to her, I offered my services again if the quality and consistency is not where they would like them to be after all is said and done. Stay tuned.
At the end of the day, your product and/or services may not be the right fit for everyone and that’s okay. People make purchasing decisions for all types of reasons not just price. All you can do though as a provider is offer the best product/service you can offer at a fair price and let the people who understand what you are actually providing seek you out and buy from you. This doesn’t at all speak to the hard work to actually build your product/service and messaging to educate to put you into this position in the first place, but just to the point of decision to purchase. If someone, a competitor, wants to offer a similar quality product/service for less money, that’s fine. It’s their choice, their value… not mine.