Looking for some standard prices

[Chris Fritsche]

I have been asked to do some work for a lawyer, videoing depositions and burning that "tape" info to DVDas well as some possable surviellence type stuff. I have no idea what to charge for this typr of work. I have a XL-2, 30X wide and Canon EF variable zoom 100-400mm lens for the camera. I bought this stuff for personal use, but it seems as if I can use it to make a little money. Can anyone help me with pricing or where to find hourly rates..???

[Pete Bauer]

Chris,
I moved your thread over to the Taking Care of Business forum, as I think you'll get a lot more visibility there for this kind of question.
Cheers,

[Dylan Couper]

Couple suggestions:

1) call around to other videographers and see what they are charging (maybe $200-$400 for a half day), then charge less.

2) Pick a higher hourly ($50-$100/hr) rate that makes you happy, and helps pay for your equipment.

3) Charge a daily rental rate for you gear (probably $150-$200) plus a lower hourly rate ($30/hr).

4) Offer to do it 10% cheaper than their last videographer.

[Bill Porter]

Originally Posted by Dylan Couper

Couple suggestions:

1) call around to other videographers and see what they are charging (maybe $200-$400 for a half day), then charge less.

4) Offer to do it 10% cheaper than their last videographer.

I don't want to come across as a "hard on" nor do I want to hurt anyone's feelings but in my opinion this is absolutely the opposite of what to do.

Offering a lower price is the hallmark of inferior quality. Do high end car manufacturers even attempt to price many or all of their models competitively? Nope.

Are you any good? Then why would you want to work for less than someone else? Are you better than the competition? Then why would you want to work for less or even the same price as someone with less skill?

Here are two very real profiles of two different kinds of customer.

One shops by price. The other, by quality, or even shops by higher price.

The one who shops by price typically doesn't have as much working capital as the client who shops by quality or looks for a high price. Why is this? Often it's because the client looking for higher quality is more successful. Ever deal with a very successful person? They want results and are willing to pay, few or no questions asked. They know that it's so hard to find truly great work that when they do find it, it's literally worth more than the apparent cost of the lesser priced work.

By "inferior quality work" I don't just mean, in this case, poorly lit video, etc. I'm talking about all the things that really do come along with dealing with a B or C grade worker: Maybe s/he flakes out on showing up, maybe s/he's late, maybe s/he loses the tape, maybe s/he forgot some piece of equipment, maybe s/he is impossible to get a hold of half the time, maybe s/he tapes the deposition but doesn't finish up the DVD for weeks or months. There are many ways that non-top notch workers cost money, it's just not apparent up front.

Why target the people who don't have the money? You don't see Bugatti, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborhghini, Spyker, etc, being interested in going after anything but the people who do have the money and want good stuff. Please no-one mention Mercedes Benz as an exception, as their one attempt (C-class) has not exactly been a winner for them.

And speaking of exotic cars, ever buy something on that level? Try telling the Ferrari dealer to come down on their price because the Lambo dealer down the street wants $10,000 less for a Gallardo. They'll politely tell you to hit the bricks. They don't need to lower their prices, because they got the good stuff. You should have this attitude about your own work.

One more thing. If you're just as good as the next person, why would you want to work for less? What, you have no other sales points and immediately jump to throwing away your profit? The idea is to find anything you can offer that's attractive and serve it up. You're prompt? You're available 24/7 by cell phone for questions? You'll drive anywhere within a 300 mile radius? You're honest? You're absolutely reliable? You really want their business long-term and you'd love the opportunity to show them how serious you are about it? Tell them! If they ask for a lower price, come up with another reason why you're worth every penny. If their issue really is price, and you decide you do want to throw away money, aka lower prices, THEN do it. But don't do it right off the bat!

Lowering prices is what causes a price war, ruining it for everybody.

There's a saying in German: The weakest goes to the wall.

[Karl Heiner]

hello bill,

"The weakest goes to the wall."

hab das noch nie gehoert.

are you certaint it's not greek?

greetings

[Mike Teutsch]

I agree with Dylan. Get the jobs first then raise the price. Don't price yourself out of the game and sit on the sidelines. If you are that good, that talented, that much in demand----then your wouldn't be doing depositions!

Simple as that! Man, everybody has to start somewhere!

Mike