Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PROFIT
six lessons
WELCOME
HOW TO USE
THIS BOOK:
1 Find an hour of uninterrupted time
2 Grab a healthy snack and beverage of your choice
3 Print out this booklet
4 Plan to make notes in the allocated section
5 Have an open mind about pricing (it really is fun!)
6 Be willing to try new things
( 2)
PRICING IS A
FORMULA, NOT
A GUESS
les s o n o ne :
j oys sto ry
w w w.joyve r tz.co m
myself first.
w w w.j oyve r t z. c o m
( 3)
les s o n t w o :
j oys sto ry
IGNORE YOUR
COMPETITORS
PRICING
other
photographers
pricing
I distinctly
( 4)
w w w.j oyver t z. c om
BE CAREFUL OF
YOUR PRODUCT
OFFERING
I
lesson three:
j oys sto ry
to us as photographers.
I immediately implemented.
overwhelmed.
did!
www.joyve r tz.co m
w w w.j oyve r t z. c o m
( 5)
ITS OK TO
SAY NO
W
lesso n fo ur :
j oys sto ry
strategy.
( 6)
w w w.j oyver t z. c om
www.joyve r tz.co m
w w w.j oyve r t z. c o m
( 7)
KEEP IT
SUPER SIMPLE
les s o n fiv e:
j oys sto ry
( 8)
w w w.j oyver t z. c om
c hec k li st
IS YOUR PRICELIST
PROFITABLE?
YES NO
www.joyve r tz.co m
w w w.j oyve r t z. c o m
( 9)
ENCOURAGE
YOUR HAPPY
PLACE SALES
les s o n si x :
j oys sto ry
In 2003, After I had my expenses
nailed down, I knew that for the
profitability level.
I could not
on the table.
w w w.j oyve r t z. c o m
( 10 )
www.joyve r tz.co m
( 11 )
c hec k li st
larger purchases?
higher packages?
popular options?
The difference is
w w w.j oyver t z. c o m
( 12 )
w w w.j oyve r t z. c om
c hec k li st
MY NEEDS
My Happy Place Sale Is: $ _____________________
YES NO
I am easily frustrated by
pricing my work
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
checked on page 8
____________________________________________
Im overwhelmed
by pricing
Numbers confuse me
even though I
understand concepts
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
Pricing is my least
favorite part of business
____________________________________________
I know my pricing
is too low
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
( 13 )
i m p o rta nt
his is the most exciting and best time. If I were going to go back in time, there are many things I would
have done differently (and lots of things Im glad I did right from the start) but the best advice I have
if you are newer to the business is to market to your ideal end target market from the start.
Newer photographers feel their work is not good enough to charge full price and they enter a stage
of portfolio building where they offer discounted pricing. While it is a fantastic idea to practice and build
to get to the level you want to be at technically, the biggest mistake you can make is to offer very low
(often non-profitable!) prices that do not reflect your ideal target market.
Here is an example: You are a new photographer, offering portfolio building sessions for $75 just to
practice and grow your customer base. Your eventual target market is boutique high end, but you, being
new, cannot justify asking clients to invest $500-1500 on a session yet. (This is totally normal!) The problem
though is that, your portfolio building sessions are not your target market. Therefore you are spending
a year or more working and investing in a business (and your clients who are not in your target market
are referring other people to you-- likely also not in your target market). Before you know it, you have a
client base of people who are all expecting to spend $75-150 and your business has built itself smack in
the middle market. Your choice now is to adapt to this price point and trim some of the services you have
previously offered to now become profitable OR you can scrap your year of work and have to start over
building a new client base to match where your business goals would be.
Ugh! Is that you? No worries. Fix it, immediately! Right now, (like put down this booklet and start jotting
some notes!) start to develop your dream price list that will appeal to your dream client! Scary? Trust me..
this will work. Implement it now (like effective tomorrow!) and dont look back.
Tip: If you are still portfolio building, give each person your dream price list, and a gift certificate valid
for a complimentary session plus $X print credit.
I would make this equal to approximately 2 1/2 small prints. Make it an amount vs. specific products
because this will give your clients the experience of being able to select what products they want. If they
want something over and above your gift certificate, they can pay regular prices for it. If they want only
what the gift certificate allows, by giving them something equal to a little more than 2 full prints, they are
likely to buy 3, as many people do not like to leave an unused credit out there.
Remember: Portfolio building is not only about practicing. Its also about building your business through
referrals. Make sure you do not spend your time building your portfolio with your non-ideal target market.
w w w.j oyver t z. c o m
( 14 )
www.j oyvertz.com
fa c e b o o k :
Joy Vertz
i n sta g r a m :
@joyvertz
twitter:
www.twitter.com/joyvertz
email:
joy@joyvertz.com
zenfolio
m i l l e r s www.millerslab.com
p r o s e l e c t www.timeexposure.com
www.zenfolio.com (discount: r 2y - y r r - g e r ) l a r s o n www.larsonent.com s e n i o r s i g n i t e www.seniorsignite.com
h i - f i s o c i a l w e b www.hifisocialwebmarketing.com k at i e l o e r t s www.loertsdesign.com
Joy Vertz, has grown in 6 short years from a one-woman show in her basement to now running 2, thriving high end, boutique style studios
with a team of 7 employees. Joy is a business person with a firm grasp on the process of running a successful business.
If you are struggling with anything business related or just want to make more money, talk to Joy.
The moment you make a mistake in pricing, youre eating into your reputation or your profits. - Katherine Payne