If, after meeting with a potential bride, you get a polite email stating that they have decided to go with another photog. Do you think it would it be out of line to ask why? I am curious as to why some brides book and others don't. I would really like to know if it was anything I have the power to change. My prices are mid level, but I do not have a studio. I'm very not "hard sell" at the meetings and only offer two packages. Since you will never see this person again, what do you think of simply asking, very politely and with the promise to not reply to their answer, why the chose one photog over another. Your thoughts?
Not an issue in my mind. I would frame it in the form of a "thank you for considering my services" type letter, hoping if the need arises that you might be considered in the future. In closing request a moment of their time to assist you in better servicing potential clients and politely ask the question. Absolutely no harm in that, most professional and leaves the door open for future business.
I asked why not in a reply email after the bride let me know she chose someone else. I never got a reply. Chances are, it will be the same thing with most brides if you ask them. No reply. Y
If I call them for a follow up after a couple of weeks, usually I will generously thank them for the consideration. Often I will ask 'just out of curiosity, was there one reason you picked XYZ over me?'
Usually they'll respond very straightforward, and I wish them well.
I do agree with you all. I am wondering if there's anything I can change in my delivery. They usually have my basic prices and have seen my work online. I am not pushy, my wife says I'm not hard to look at, ha, and I'm pretty laid back at the meetings. But, since I've never seen anyone do a meeting before I am just winging it. I would expect the "no reply" most of the time, but if I could get some feedback it can only help. I'm running about 50:50 and I'm always in the middle of when they are interviewing other photogs. Thanks for the input. I do agree it does sound like the GF-BF break up, like why oh why don't you like me. But, hey I may learn something about myself in the process.
If it's going to be done, do it like davefl suggests. He offered a professional approach that doesn't come off like you are a just-dumped boyfriend having a meltdown. Wording will make the biggest difference:
"Why didn't you book with us? Why did you choose ______ over us? Why can't you just LOVE me?!?!"
vs.
"We would appreciate it if you would take a minute out of your time to let us know how we could better serve our clients in the future". "Is there a specific area of our business that could be improved to better meet your photographic needs".
When I'm told that I have not been chosen, I always write a very gracious and heartfelt thank you note and wish them all the best. If my email gets a response of any kind, I ask them what I could have done better to earn their business.... I write from a very humble viewpoint and I've truly valued the honest feedback that I've gotten. You have to play this carefully, though, IMO.
Thanks everyone. I just sent a short, but to the point email and will let you know how it goes. This is an area that I really do need feedback on. I'm booking about half of those that I actually meet with. Even when I give them my prices before we meet, I still get the "we went with someone cheaper" response. But, hey you can't win (book) em all, but it would be nice to know if there are areas for improvement. Thanks for the suggestions. Tom
Tom, I hope this isn't too blunt for you, but here's my assessment. Keep in mind I'm doing this blind.
If people know your prices before you meet, than the issue is not that they can't afford you. The issue is that they're finding the same (or better) quality at a lesser price. I would imagine that you need to work on one of two things 1) Convincing people that you're worth it or 2) Improving your product or lowering your price.
Tony, Thanks, blunt is welcome here, very welcome. One can always improve their photo skills, but I'm not sure what I might be, if anything, doing wrong during the meeting. If no one booked me I'd say I'm just an a**hole and leave it at that, but brides do book and in the end, from what they say, they love me and my work and I've gotten referral work.
I may be reading way too much into all this, but if there are areas for improvement I'd be crazy not to want know what they are. This could all be in the delivery, maybe, as you say, I need to be more convincing that I am worth it. Funny, that there is always the classes, seminars, books, DVD on how to become a better photographer. And then there's the how to build a better website, how and where to advertise etc., but how to learn to be the better at that last step, that's what I'd like to know. Thanks.
If you don't mind, I'm going to reply from a different perspective. Not certain of your sale experience, but I offer this [if already known, disregard]--
When you get a "no" it could be from several things.
Your presentation should be about the bride and groom. Most of the words from you should be asking about them. Most [salespeople] spend their available time talking about their product or service. You want to ask them many questions because you are looking to "qualify" you prospective customer and to identify their "hot" buttons [what excites them?]
Qualifying [basically] means to find out if they have the budget to afford you and are they the final decision makers [many have to consult a parent]. If they have the money and can make the decision on their own...and they are in fact getting married and not just fishing photogs for info [yes, it happens]-- then they are qualified. If the answers to either of these is "no" you can have the best meetings of your life and they could love your images, but in the end you'll probably loose. This is why many good photographers insist on meeting with both B&G [and the bank].
"Hot-buttons" are those things that will motivate the prospects to buy. What do they like? Get them to tell you. You showing them your images and them saying "that's nice" is not a hot button. "I really like those B&W pictures with some color a lot" is a hot button. But, hot-buttons can be about anything from products, service, personality, etc. Your job, in your presentation, is to find out what they are...then give it to them.
Understand the difference between an "objection" and a "condition." Objections are those things you can overcome-- "I would like two photographers. You don't offer that" That is simple to overcome by getting an assistant. "We don't have enough money in our budget to pay for your service and cannot get any." That is a condition that you can do nothing about. Get all the objections out of the way with your questions.
At this point, you don't know if there was "objection" you didn't overcome, a "condition" you couldn't change, or they just didn't like you Though you can certainly ask at this point, if you did the presentation correctly, you would already know why they didn't choose you.
Remember that they may have set up meetings with six other photographers too. Many people will be doing this to get the 'best' (ie cheapest) deal so it is nothing to worry about that you're one of the six they didnt choose. No amount of sales skills will win that one.
I've been left wondering why some people dont book us - but usually the people that dont are comparison shopping and couldnt care less about your humble request for feedback, so you'll get no reply anyway.
Lucky_Dog wrote:
When I'm told that I have not been chosen, I always write a very gracious and heartfelt thank you note and wish them all the best. If my email gets a response of any kind, I ask them what I could have done better to earn their business.... I write from a very humble viewpoint and I've truly valued the honest feedback that I've gotten. You have to play this carefully, though, IMO.
Lord Fluff wrote:
Remember that they may have set up meetings with six other photographers too. Many people will be doing this to get the 'best' (ie cheapest) deal so it is nothing to worry about that you're one of the six they didnt choose. No amount of sales skills will win that one.
I've been left wondering why some people dont book us - but usually the people that dont are comparison shopping and couldnt care less about your humble request for feedback, so you'll get no reply anyway.
You can't ask unless you've established the proper dialogue/rapport... I agree, most will not tell you. Actually, there was only once for me that it worked, I tried a few more times and got no response to my email... it wasn't sent looking for a response, that's my point. You may, with the proper tone of your response, be able to open a dialogue that will enable you to ask the question and get an honest answer.
I figure that if someone is decent enough to actually tell you that they’ve selected someone else, they probably are the kind of person that you can approach if you do it properly. I’ll always try, the information I got back was invaluable.
I ask whenever I can. This is one of the replies I received - quite interesting I think:
" I think your work is very high quality. I spent countless hours looking at sample work from every photographer in the area that had an internet presence. From that huge list, I chose 7 or 8 photographers whose work I liked (based solely on my subjective evaluation of quality). I did not have a set formula, but I considered how much I liked the sample pictures (gut reaction), how well individual photographers captured the ratio of posed/candid shots we wanted, how well the sample subjects looked (realizing that a photographer can't make an ugly girl pretty!), and how good of a job the photographer did in choosing random still-life photo ops.
I then contacted those 7 or 8 about their pricing and other arrangements (some photographers raised specific questions). Finally, I matched my subjective quality ratings (yours was among the highest) to the prices I collected.
While your prices were very reasonable compared to most others (I guess I have expensive taste), my fiancé and I selected a photographer who received an equally-high subjective rating but whose price was approximately $600 less than yours (for the same coverage).
Frankly, I have no complaints with your work. Your website is easy to use (not true for all photographers), and I landed at your website relatively early on in the process (no need to contact the search engines).
While we did not begin the search process with any set budget (I had no idea what wedding photography in Florida would cost, high or low), we selected the most affordable photographer among those receiving the highest of my subjective ratings. My fiancé and I feel that we are getting a great deal for the high quality of work we anticipate receiving."
I don't think asking comes across desperate but I would agree that a lot depends on the delivery. As long as your professional vs. needy what a great way to pin point why your losing clients and what you should work on (as long as brides are truthful).
Though you can certainly ask at this point, if you did the presentation correctly, you would already know why they didn't choose you.