Stick to your guns. Don't count on making a good profit from the extras after giving away what is probably the minumum package on your list. The average will be about 15-20% more than the minumum. For instance if your package should sell for $12.00, the average sale will be about $14.00 Give away the $12.00 package and you may average about $2.00 per kid average in sales. 200 kids should equal about $400.00 in sales. Now throw in the fact that they don't even have to spend the first $12.00 maybe they will spend a little more but I doubt it, I think when it comes down to the kids, the parents will buy by whatever is needed and not by available funds. And also, from my experience people buy more the younger the kids are.
Steve
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Around NW Ohio, the 4 x 5 / 5 x 7 package goes for about $12.00, about 95% of the parents buy, and it doesn't make any difference whether it is T-Ball, baseball, basketball, football, soccer or wrestling.
Steve
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Randy, I can't agree with you unless you have something very specific in mind that you're not disclosing! The lab you are dealing with gives you extremely good pricing that I've not found availiable around here and hopefully you are taking that into account. Someone on this forum once said "that the client will let you be as dumb as you want to be". Couldn't agree with it more!
If you have a marketing plan that I'm not aware of I'd be more than happy to hear about it. Other wise it's just talk. Hockey to this point has been an very OK seller, not great!
Alot of T&I photographers sell simular packages and there is quite a bit of advice on this forum. So again unless you have something the rest us don't, please fill us in!
Too many times photographers don't know what they are doing when they start this business and are willing to do work for next to nothing.
Am I a little steamed? Yes, when it comes to dealing with people who because of photographers? who don't now what they are doing make it harder to do business that is half way profitable and fair!
Mark
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Have you tried negotiating with them? Is this a one time thing or do they want this for each game or tournament? If it's one time and you get to be the official photographer for the whole season, then maybe this is a good marketing tool. Or maybe you can negotiate selling the T&I at your cost, as long as you get more business. If they want this free and want a percentage of other business then you can say that the cost of the 500 free T&Is is deducted from their percentage.
Don't give up and get mad. Negotiate with them. If they still won't budge, then you can at least console yourself that you did everything you can to make the deal.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Yes Mark, there is a lot of advice on this forum. If I read your initial post correctly, you have been shooting action, with some success, but you haven't shot much, if any, T&I. There's a big difference between the two. There's also a big difference in T&I marketing across different parts of the country. In many parts of the country a league wanting a free Memory Mate is unheard of, in other parts of the country it's the norm. You can either pass on the business, or you can learn to profit from what you have to work with.
You don't need any marketing secrets, but you do need to do some very basic marketing and pricing. Create an order envelope with 6 different packages, priced at $52, $46, $38, $28, $20, with the 6th package the basic Memory Mate at N/C. Your packages should have a mix of products, with a - cost to sale - ratio of 25%-30%. You also should offer 12-15 a la carte items on your envelope ranging in price from $6-$18. You need to offer straight prints, 8-wallets, 4-3x5's, 2-5x7's, 1-8x10, digital memory mates, magazine covers, calendars, high quality Trading Cards, buttons, bag tags, mouse pads, digital magnets, extra team prints. You need a high quality 4 color order envelope with samples of all of your products, and you need to get real samples in front of your customers, both before picture day, and on picture day. A requirement for providing the league with free memory mates is that each team recieves your order envelopes 7-10 days in advance, and that they are passed out to the parents 7-10 advance. The first year I photograph a league I require the league to provide me with 15 minutes to address all the 'Team Moms' at their before the season meeting. Here I explain how we schedule pictures, how we run our picture day, provide samples of all of my products, and answer questions. I make it clear that every child photographed must have a completed envelope on picture day, even if they are only getting the league provided package. If a parent forgets their envelope, there will be extra envelopes available on picture day for $2.
That's a brief glimpse at the marketing side, if you follow these guidelines the dollar amounts I wrote above are very realistic. What the above doesn't cover is logistics, pre shoot preparation, equipment and personnel requirements, scheduling, poseing, lighting, after shoot workflow, and everything else involved in providing T&I customers with a professional service and a professional product.
I've been doing this for a while, I shoot a lot of leagues, and I'm pretty successful at it. As I said above, if I were in Colorado, I'd take your job in a heartbeat.
Randy
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Randy I appreciate what you offered, but every thing you said is very basic for T&I, but not quite that simple. Certain parts of the country carries diffent attitudes from parents on items versus other parts. They're are areas, maybe yours where it is a no brainer. The opportunity to talk to parents doesn't quite work that way here. Not everywhere is like Souhern Cal. Plus it's simply not neccessary.
I'm not hurting for work in what I do, plus my biggest impression is that quality creates opportunities to seperate yourself from the need to give away possible revenue.
I'll get the job without having to give it away!
My steam is about photographers who give it away because of either lack of talent or knowledge, thus creating attitudes about paying little or nothing for it. If it's lack of talent, then they'll lose the job anyway. If your work is vanilla (Randy not you-my competitors) then maybe you have to do things like give away a package. In the end all you do is compete on price.
Thanks for the info, I know you've established yourself where you are at, but it's not the same everywhere you go.
Mark
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I think it really depends on the league. I have a house league I shoot with an average of 600-800 kids then a cuple other leages I have shot with 100 or so kids. At times I have made the same amount of $$ off the smaller leagues as the house leages with the larger # of kids.
I would not go along with what they are asking but instead might offer them a % of the sales. That way its a win win for everyone.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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