Stupid crap photographers say like, “That lens is only $997, here’s my credit card!”

Have you ever been DYING to get that Canon or Nikon lens…you know, maybe it’s the 70-200, 2.8 lens, or the 85mm 1.4, or even a sweet 45mm tilt shift lens. And an off-brand just won’t do.

The price tag?

Roughly $2,200-$2900 (unless there’s some new dream-land website that offers them much cheaper and isn’t trying to send me a 5k rebate back via credit card).

And then…

There’s that other lens you like…not as much, but you like it. The 105mm macro, the 50mm 1.4, you get what I’m saying.

Now the price is…a measly $997! Wow, that’s like, nothing in photography land am I right?!?

“Oh, $997? That’s great! Here’s my credit card!”

***That’s what I said last week when I went to Bozeman Camera and bought a 24-300mm f/4-5.6 lens (OK, it took a LOT for me to admit I bought a kit lens…please, please, give my photographer’s ego a BREAK! I “need” it for vacations so I don’t have to lug around my other 10k in lenses!)

WTF?

I mean…Who just drops 5 figures on something they don’t need, and thinks its inexpensive?

THIS GIRL does…PHOTOGRAPHERS do.

 

This rambling actually has a point, I promise…

Have you ever heard of a psychology thingymajigger called “Price Anchoring?”

Well, for all of us in photography-lala-land, we’re always seeing prices for lenses at 2.5k, camera bodies at 4.5k…so when a lens “isn’t even $1,000!” it seems low to us.

But think about all of the non-photographer people out there.

Dropping $997? Is FREAKING INSANE. They would, like, need permission from their spouse or something…

Lesson of the day:

This is WHY when you have your package list, you always list the highest price first then drop down. When your client sees a $3,000 package and has a little mini freak out in their head, then they go down and see the $1,500 package, they’re starting to see those lower packages as “inexpensive.” This is because you anchored them high, so as they go down, even $1,500 seems inexpensive.

On the other hand…when you start out with a $395 Package, then move up to $997, then $1,500…it’s just freaking them out more, and more, and more! You anchored them at $395, so now everything seems MORE expensive.

Have an insane, you think you’ll never get anyone to purchase package on top.

Seriously, do it!

First off: some day, somebody might actually purchase it (and blow your mind all the way to Jamaica)!

Second: It’s just there as an anchor, and it can help people see your CURRENT highest price as actually something relatively inexpensive.

 

Lesson #2 of the day:

The more we can get our clients in front of high numbers, the better off we will be when it come sales time. Instead of on your first phone call or email saying, “our collections start at $400 and go up from there,”

say something like, “we have just a HUGE range of collections, as high as $3,000 for those people who literally want everything and want to re-decorate multiple rooms in their house,  all the way down to $400 for people that really just want a few gifts to give for Christmas.”

You’re causing a mini panic-attack when you say 3 grand, but you’re also giving it in the context of you “get everything.” Then, when you tell them $400, they’re going to think that’s super inexpensive, and they also have the context of not getting much.

 

A final thought…

Us photographer’s have virtually no sense of what a dollar is worth…to us? Purchasing something for $500 is a no-brainier. It’s inexpensive in our funky financial world.

But for our clients? $500 is a LOT of money. $1,000? Is crazy. $3,000? INSANITY!

So even when our clients spend what to us is a “low average sale,” we should be grateful. Grateful they are spending their hard-earned money.

Grateful that if they are only making minimum wage, a $500 order is 55.5 hours of work.

Grateful they could have gone somewhere more inexpensive, but chose US because they want quality.

Let’s be grateful not for money this time of year, but for what our clients are giving up in order to purchase from us.

Mooshy mom moment DONE, promise! (Lets blame it on the still-lingering pregnancy hormones of having a baby 5 months ago…)

Cheers to being thankful for our clients!

 

Lisa Edwards

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