One of the biggest problems I see as a consultant to creative professionals is the way resistance to talking about money with clients obstructs growth and successful relationships with clients.
But here's the reality: whether you are a photographer, an illustrator, a designer or any other creative, you are also a business owner, and you can't do business without dealing with money. If you try, you're likely to get yourself in trouble. I've seen it happen - a lot. Miscommunication that leads to conflict. And worst of all, failure to ask for (and get) a client's budget. We've all been there, but for some reason fail to learn the lessons. Here's another chance to learn.
It's Okay to Talk About Money
Your prospects are considering hiring you as a professional. They don't expect you to work for free. They have a budget (whether they reveal it or not) and if you don't take the initiative and bring up the topic of money, the impression you leave is that of an amateur, and, as a result, they may not take you seriously.
Talking about money doesn't have to be distasteful or confrontational. In fact, it is one of the clearest planes on which to speak because there are no blurry lines when it comes to numbers. They either work, or they don't. Your prospects either have the money or they don't. It's that simple, and there's no need to make a big drama out of it.
Smart clients -- the most desirable ones -- know how much things cost. (This is the type of client you should be looking for.) Talking about money will not be difficult for them, and they will make the process easy for you because they are accustomed to spending money on creative services. They are also familiar with budgets, and they are spending their company's money, not their own personal money so they can be much more objective about it.
Step 1: Weed out inappropriate prospects
First, make sure you're talking to the right kind of prospect. Most "pricing" problems have marketing solutions. In other words, if you were targeting the right clients (not taking whatever comes along), you would have less trouble getting them to value your work. It's proactive marketing that ensures you'll have the right clients because you choose them and you pursue them until they're ready to work with you. (But that's an entirely different article!)
Step 2: Make sure there's a financial fit.
At some point in the very first conversation with a prospect, you must make sure you're in the same financial ballpark. Otherwise, you're wasting their time and yours. While it may not yet be time to get into the details of an actual budget, at the very least you should throw out some price ranges to see if they flinch. Pick up the phone for this; don't do it via email. That way you can respond to whatever they say.
Step 3: Get numbers (a budget) from them.
Once you've established that there's a financial fit, whether it's in the same conversation or later (but before you commit to writing a proposal), get some actual numbers from them. This isn't always easy, but it's not as difficult as you may imagine. The most important thing is not to give up when they say, "We don't really have a budget." (This is a red flag, by the way, of an undesirable client. Good clients have budgets.)
Here are 3 strategies to try:
What did you spend last time? If this is not a first-time project, they know what they spent last time and, if you ask, may be willing to share that information.
What is the overall budget for the entire project? Chances are your piece of the project isn't the whole thing. If you can find out what the big number is, that will give you some context for what percentage your piece is.
Give them a multiple choice. If they can't give you numbers, then give them numbers to choose from. Say, "Are you thinking $10,000 or $500." People have numbers in mind without being aware of it and a question like this will often elicit those numbers.
And if none of this works (and sometimes it doesn't), then at least you've gotten the issue out on the table.
Adapted from "The Designer's Guide to Marketing and Pricing: how to win clients and what to charge them" by Ilise Benun and Peleg Top, co-founders of Marketing-Mentor.com. Available wherever books are sold. Sign up for their free tips at http://www.marketing-mentor.com