Invest In Yourself
An
estimate offers you a unique opportunity to secure an assignment. Many
photographers try to get the job by focusing on saving the client
money, and yet that should never be your focus. Look at the estimate as
an investment in yourself and your photography business. Prepare your
estimate as a thorough plan that gives you the resources to do the best
possible work. Your job is not to save the client money; your job is to
provide the best possible photography.
What Label Do You Want?
Keep
in mind that the photography you produce will reflect directly on the
art director or art buyer who hires you. Their job could even be at
stake. The job you produce will label you and possibly them as well. Do
you want the label as “will work cheap” or “delivers great work”? Your
long-term career depends on a reputation for delivering quality work.
To do quality work you need the resources and time to do the job well.
You also need clients that understand that. You are better off letting
go of the jobs in which the resources you need are not available.
Besides, low ball jobs take up your valuable time and in the long run
will cost you money.
An Estimate That Gets You The Job
To
create an estimate that gets you the job, and the resources to do that
job well, requires detailing out how you will approach the job. It
means thinking through each step and understanding the real costs
involved. Include visuals and detailed written descriptions to insure
that you and the client are on the same page.
A Detailed Plan And Twice The Money
I once bid on a job that required showing a businessman listening in on a
conversation as he clung to the outside of a skyscraper using suction
cups. I don’t recall the exact figures, but my estimate came in at
about $30,000.00. That seemed like a very healthy amount and I was a
little concerned that it might be too much for the client. I wasn’t all
that surprised when I didn’t get the job. It turns out I knew the
photographer who did get the job. I gave him a call and asked what he
was getting for the job. He was getting more than twice the money I had
estimated! Turned out his detailed plan was less risky than mine. Mine
required shooting an actual building. It was in the winter and the
weather could be a problem. His approach required a model maker to
create the building…more expensive but less risk. He also provided for
a set for the interior as opposed to my shooting in an existing office.
Again, he would have more control with his approach.
The Clients You Want, Want the Best Job
My
point here is that the clients you want are the ones that want the best
job, not the lowest cost. I have had many experiences over the years
that reinforce the wisdom of this approach. In your estimate, spell out
exactly how you plan to do the job and your reasoning for that
approach. Be as detailed as possible. Be specific about your expenses.
It is hard to argue over costs when they are spelled out. Even your
presentation is important. Your estimate gives the potential client a
look at how you operate. Think back to an estimate that you have been
given that impressed you. What worked for you? What was it about that
estimate that influenced you to give someone the job? Use your estimate
to build confidence with the client, confidence that you have thought
the job through, have a good creative plan with necessary
contingencies, and have spelled out all the terms and conditions.
Unless it is a birthday party, in business, nobody likes surprises.
Make Your Estimate A Work Of Art
Your
estimate speaks volumes about you and how you do business. It offers a
great opportunity to instill confidence in a potential client and to
help insure that you have quality clients and produce quality work. You
are in the business of commercial art, make your estimate a work of
art, and in the long run, you can’t lose.