I recently bought general liability insurance. I figure it would be a good idea to mention this to clients because many photographers out there aren't insured. However, the pessimist in me feels like this is an open invitation for clients to make a big deal about anything. This would be my first year with weddings booked that aren't friends/family. So I definitely want to make a good impression to potential future clients.
Concentrate on your photography, not on running down competition on non photographic issues.
Conversation in car after the meeting:
Bride: I liked bmphoto's pics better
Groom: yeah but Nguyence was insured, is bmphoto?
I doubt this conversation ever happens.
This is worse than trying to sell based on shooting raw as opposed to jpg.
I'm so pissed off. I had a good 2 paragraph response to this and lost it. here goes attempt two...
I disagree with what's been said. I always mention that I have insurance, back up hard drives, and cameras with dual slots. I don't do it in a way to justify my prices. It comes out something like this:
"You can trust us with your wedding day images. We pay extra for cameras with dual-memory cards. We have backup cameras and lenses so that if something happens we can keep rolling and you'll never know. We have hard drives that store your images in multiple places. And God forbid, if someone gets injured, you don't have to worry about that either, because we have insurance."
Sorry boys, but if you're paying what I pay to have D3's instead of D700's, multiple hard drives instead of just my iMac's, and insurance instead of just "winging it", why the hell wouldn't you find a way to mention it? I do these things because I believe they add value, and security, and protection, etc. to my company. My clients are essentially investing in that company.
If it came down to it, would I as a customer pay more for a photographer that had all these than a photographer that was identical artistically but didn't? You bet your ass I would. We sell on the premise that a wedding day is a "once in a lifetime" event. Start telling people how you strive (and pay) to respect that!
If you don't have backup bodies, drives, or insurance, hahaha. It's only a matter of time. Happened to an acquaintance of mine this week. Engagement session- RUINED. Client's confidence- GONE. Reputation- DAMAGED. Only a matter of time folks.
I educate them all the time. I tell them, (and this may be dumb of me) that even if they don't hire me, they should make sure their photographer they hire is insured. And give them reasons why. I tell them I'm fully insured....
jneilosu wrote:
Sorry boys, but if you're paying what I pay to have D3's instead of D700's, multiple hard drives instead of just my iMac's, and insurance instead of just "winging it", why the hell wouldn't you find a way to mention it? I do these things because I believe they add value, and security, and protection, etc. to my company. My clients are essentially investing in that company.
While this certainly might add value in a clients mind, I feel that this is selling with analytical & technical information, rather than presenting your value through emotional connections. Emotion > Analytical every time.
It also depends on your brand though. Emotional connections are made for luxury purchases, the purely want-to-have items. Analytical/technical connections tend to be in the what-is-the-better-deal thinking.
If a client is comparing you against another photographer purely based these technicalities, then they are really shopping on price, not necessarily on value. Just my .02
sboerup wrote:
While this certainly might add value in a clients mind, I feel that this is selling with analytical & technical information, rather than presenting your value through emotional connections. Emotion > Analytical every time.
It also depends on your brand though. Emotional connections are made for luxury purchases, the purely want-to-have items. Analytical/technical connections tend to be in the what-is-the-better-deal thinking. Just my .02
I completely agree that emotional connections are essential in luxury purchases. And I don't try to sell myself as a "good deal". I literally tell every single client I meet with "I don't want anyone to hire me just because I fall in their budget."
But at the same time, clients have mostly never shopped for a tog before. If they had, they would know to ask about insurance and backup equipment. I feel that by mentioning these things subtly, it summons the realization of "oh, man, I never thought of that. Whoever we hire should probably have backup gear and insurance."
And this thought process can only help the industry.
TTLKurtis wrote:
I don't think insurance is a selling point. That is one of those bare minimum things you're expected to have as a professional in any industry.
Sadly, if we could take an honest poll of who has insurance and who doesn't, you'd likely be surprised. Same for back ups. It shouldn't be used as a selling point, but encouraging clients to seek only photographers that have secured these "minimal" things seems good for the industry. It should be expected. I just don't know that it is on average.
I think it's worth mentioning in an age where anyone with a camera and a website can lay claim to being a photographer and a lot of venue's require that the photographer be insured so it's another consideration for the client.
I duno... I just would hate to be selling myself by saying oh hey look I pay money to make sure if your grandma breaks her hip tripping over my light stand she'll be covered! Sure, that's nice and all, but that's one of those things where once you're at a certain level people just expect of you. (and I'm not saying that level is very high or anything)
That's like me going to a fancy restaurant, and them telling me that their employees all wash their hands. Well good for you... now where's my damn steak.
TTLKurtis wrote:
That's like me going to a fancy restaurant, and them telling me that their employees all wash their hands. Well good for you... now where's my damn steak.
I'd think it would be better to push the things that are "exclusive" to you, your vision and style, your taste and skill. Not things that everyone with a checkbook or a credit card can have. More cameras and a bigger nicer luxury SUV are nice but are they really a good selling point? Someone else will always have more nicer shinier stuff.
We are based in the UK. Not sure how the following compares for our US colleagues:
If you're a full-time wedding photographer, you should have insurance period.
Equipment insurance, public liability insurance in case your equipment trips someone up or falls on their head and injures them, and Professional Indemnity insurance to protect you, your business and your home/life from 'professional mistakes' and more importantly from unsubstantiated, malicious legal action.
In today's increasingly litigious society, if you step out of the door to work without these three insurances in place, you're on a hiding to nothing!
Do I talk about my insurance coverage to wedding clients? No, not unless they ask , and then my answer reassures them. FYI I always follow this question up with the following question for my couples..."Can I ask if you have wedding insurance?"
When they answer and ask why I asked, I reply that it will allow me to recover my lost income from their insurance company (and not them personally,) if they decide to cancel their wedding at short notice for some reason. If they answer No, I always suggest that because of the high level of investment they are making in a single day, that they would best advised to seek out wedding insurance to protect their investment.
Also from a UK perspective I would advise clients that taking out their own wedding insurance is a no-brainer. Apart from protecting them from venues going bust or the cake being dropped the photography perspective is this. Ultimately the photographers insurance is there to protect him/her. If a photographer is rushed into hospital with a ruptured appendix who is going to be rummaging in the filing cabinet to find his insurance policy? If the couple have the policy they call the shots over arranging a replacement photographer, (which at the last moment may well cost them more than their original budget). Their policy will also insure the photographer against issues caused by "stumbling" guests.
