Licensing + Options = Happy Client
[by Kevin Lock]
Would you eat at a place that only served one menu item? I am not talking about a burger joint that offers more than burgers. I am talking about a burger joint that offers a quarter pound burger, medium well, white bread, ketchup and mustard. No pickles, no fries, no drinks, no options. Don’t know about you… I would opt for at least an In-N-Out, where I can make some of the decisions myself.
Ask yourself, are your prices set in stone? Do you run specials? Do you take coupons or offer two for one’s? Well it seems to me that everywhere I turn someone is offering a deal. Photographer’s included. So should you offer a deal in your licensing? How do you do this without “selling out”?
I suggest you at least let the client ”feel” like they are getting a deal. How? Give them options. Let them decide for themselves what they will be having. Offer them a menu with choices.
I like to give my clients the option on how they want to pay me. I don’t mean check, credit or cash. I mean high, medium or low. By the job, by the usage, by the image.
If you want to keep them as clients then perhaps letting them ‘feel’ like they got a deal is a good thing. Let them decide how they want to pay you. You might just be surprised. Happy clients buy more product. Happy client + more money = happy photographer.
Kevin Lock is currently a national director of the ASMP. While Kevin has been known to usually have one of In-n-Out’s cheeseburgers with onions, today he is ordering off the ‘not so secret-secret menu’ and going with the “2×4 with grilled onions, chopped chilis and extra toast.”
