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A
You already have some level of emotional attachment because it's, you know, you've tried, you, you've already tried it on, you've fallen in love with it and you know, by the time you hear the price, it, it is sticker shock. And I suppose the parallel is very similar to what a lot of photographers do. And I don't think it's done intentionally, to be honest. I think it's because we're not confident with the price because let's face it, I don't think most photography businesses are aligned with what clients are buying from us.
B
Hey, hey, hey.
C
And welcome to the Difference Maker Revolution podcast. And the four of us are back again. We have Janine and Jonathan and Steve and myself, Ronan. And this week we're going to talk about when do you reveal the price to your client and, and when you reveal it, how it can show whether you're really doing a bait and switch or you're actually adding value to your clients. Alrighty, let's kick start this. We're going fishing.
B
What do you mean? Did I not just like see your ad and just like worry you? 20 grand and you just delivered a portrait six months later, is that what happens? You don't need to tell them the price ever, right? They should just know like they're gonna buy your art. It's gonna be like 20 grand. They'll wire it to you. No, better.
A
It's on your website somewhere. Yeah, they're buried.
B
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
C
Janine, you were telling us a story about a jewelers, right. And it was, I thought it was a great example of another industry that gets this wrong too, right? Not, not, not everyone in the industry, but how some people get it wrong and how it makes you feel. Can you tell us that first? Because I think it lays the foundation to what we're going to talk about now.
D
Yeah, so, and it's funny because the example was given in a workshop I went to on selling photography, right. And so they used it as what they thought was an example of something good. And I remember thinking, that's icky. Like, I don't like that at all. But the example was given that if you go into a high end jeweler that the price tags are flipped over. And so the idea is you walk in and you, you view the, the piece of jewelry that you love and then you have to ask the price, right? Like you don't get to just browse and see it because then it forces you to interact with the salesperson and you have to ask for the price. And, and then of course, like the comments were, well, like if you have to ask, you can't afford it, right? And it's like, well that's icky. Like I would never walk into that jewelry store. What a horrible feeling. Like I would not like to have to ask and then feel weird about it. And to, to, to be like, oh, that's $20,000. My budget was like a thousand, you know, and now you feel dumb. You feel no one wants that feeling. What a horrible feeling. Like, why would I? I just can't even imagine running my business that way. And I remember walking out of that workshop where they were so proud of that jeweler example and comparing photographers to high end jewelers. And I was like, ah, really? Is that the feeling? You want your clients to walk away with an icky feeling on something that is supposed to be a beautiful transformational experience for them and their family and their kids. Like they should be happy with the money they're spending, not have an ick feeling. They're never gonna come back to you if they have an ick feeling.
B
Why?
D
Like that doesn't build loyal clients. That doesn't build clients that know like and trust you and wanna refriend their, refer their friends and family and come back to you multiple times a year. That's a one and done, I'm out of here. Never again.
A
Or a great reputation in your community.
D
Yeah, so yeah, I thought it was interesting. And again, not all jewelers do that. It was like, but I have seen jewelers do that, do that.
A
And that was a price tag off. Like it's hidden under the, you know, the little velvet thing. So it's in the, in the velvet and then you're asked to see it and then they, they take it out and they unclip it. You know how it's got the little clip and so they unclip the price and then it's face down and then they let you try it on and then they let you fall in love with it. Fall in love with it. And then you spend money that you weren't expecting because now you've, you know, fallen in love with it and you know, you already have some level of emotional attachment because it's, you know, you've tried, you, you've already tried it on, you've fallen in love with it and you know, by the time you hear the price, it's, it is sticker shock. And I suppose the parallel is very similar to what a lot of photographers do. And I don't think it's done intentionally. To be honest, I think it's because we're not confident with the price, because, let's face it, I don't think most photography businesses are aligned with what clients are buying from us, right? And so because we're not aligned with understanding from a client's perspective what they value and what they're actually buying from us, then we struggle with telling them the price or charging for what we do, because we're selling our work, our style, our photography, archival quality. We're selling paper weaved by elves in a mystical wood, blessed by a unicorn overseen by unicorns.
B
And.
A
And what our clients are buying is. And what our clients are seeing is that child. That is their miracle child that they've been longing for for 10, 15 years. And they've gone through so much to get to this point. And so what they're seeing and what they're buying is something very different to what many photographers are selling, which is my style and my work and my Instagram page and the lens I bought and the camera I'm using and I have bills to pay and all this stuff. Whereas, you know, there's a misalignment. And so, you know, we then put off telling people the price because we've had rejection, and we're getting that rejection because we're not aligned with what clients are actually buying. We're trying to push, and we hear it all the time. I didn't want to push them, I don't want to push them. But of course you're pushing them because you're not aligned. You're not aligning yourself with what that person is actually wanting to buy from you. So it's always going to feel like you're pushing people because you're misaligned. And so we put it off because, you know, we've had rejection, and then we put it off because we've had rejection. But then that's not fair to. Then let them try on the ring. Let them fall in love with it. They're seeing their photos, they're falling in love with it. They just, they can already see it on their walls. They can see it in their child's bedroom. And then you drop the bombshell and that's just not fair.
C
It's not fair. And it's, it's, it's not fair to you, you as the business owner, but it's not fair to your clients. No, it's not fair to everybody. Everybody's like, I love win, win, wins, right? This is a lose, lose, lose. It's It's a lose for you in the day, a lose for your client, and it's a lose for both because neither of you will want to come back and do business together with each other again.
D
And that's huge, Ronan.
A
And we've seen photography companies burn. Burn. Countries like burn, you know, create a reputation for themselves where every photographer is cast into the same, same. Into the same sort of field or the same boat. And, you know, there's a lot of people who, you know, believe that you need to hide it. You don't put it anywhere and you don't tell the client until they've, you know, right at the end. And then you don't even tell them. You create some menu that is, you know, so difficult to work out and understand and shove it under their nose and expect the client to know what they want. And then they're suffering from sticker shock. So definitely, I believe we need to be upfront and we have to be aligned. We need to align ourselves with what people actually and understand from a client's perspective, what are they actually buying from us and what do they want? What do they value about what we do? What is it that when somebody seeks photography, where's the value? And how can we make this something that they enjoy and something that they feel proud of doing rather than leaving feeling like they've been stung?
C
Okay, so let's get the pendulum to swing, right? Because we've talked about it's not good enough to use bait and switch. Use hard sales tactics, and that's what it is. And introduce the price at in the design consultation or if you're not a difference maker revolution photographer yet in the viewing or in the IPS or whatever.
A
Language you use a bait and switch. In my words, if you're telling somebody that they're coming into view and they're doing a viewing in their head, they think, oh, I'm just coming to have a look. I didn't realize I had to buy, right?
D
You and I have had this conversation because of how I swung the pendulum before meeting Steve, right? Like I had. And this was like kind of my journey. And I bet a lot of photographers have been on this journey because they didn't feel good with the way they were taught in the industry of waiting to the end and then sticker shocking and this horrible, icky feeling. So I swung the other way, right? The whole pendulum for me swung completely to the other way. And I published price guides. I gave them to my clients up front. I called it an ordering appointment. Like I and it's funny you mentioned that because I totally forgot about that. When we were prepping for the podcast, I called it an ordering appointment because the viewing word, I'm like viewing, but then they don't think they're ordering. I want people to know what it is, they're coming into order, you know. And so I swung completely to a logical side because I didn't want to be on the icky side and it works. But then I met Steve and I was able to massage it and make it even better. Right. So. And so it's interesting when you talk about the pendulum Ronan, because I think like you, you feel one way and then you feel like you gotta switch the other way and then you come back into the right way.
C
Well before, well before we get into the right way, I wanna swing to the other side, which I see. Right. Which is no, I'm putting my price on my website.
D
Right, Right.
C
So the client can see the price before we have a conversation. And I expect my client to understand what my experience is going to be about and what value they're going to get from it by just seeing a price of my website. When most consumers think that a photo is just about a photo because our industry has trained them to see that. So, so can we talk about that then? This idea of, well, I'm going to price qualify up front and I'm going to put a price on my website. So I don't have a conversation with anybody unless they know that that's the minimum amount of money that they're going to spend or maybe the maximum.
B
I'm going to come in and just say something quickly, Steve. This is more Steve's thing, but a lot of people try and price, price qualify very early in the experience. Like they'll try and price qualify people in their Facebook ads. And here's the problem with that. When you try and price qualify people in your marketing or very early on.
A
Even on the website.
B
Yeah. Website doesn't really matter anywhere. If you price qualify before the discovery call, then the problem you're going to face is you're going to automatically eliminate people who, because they don't understand their value yet because they haven't had discovery.
A
Call.
B
You'Re going to potentially eliminate people who once they have that discovery call, could be a 10, 15, 20k client because they haven't had the opportunity to be shown their value as the client by you, the difference maker, photographer.
A
Or even a fifteen hundred dollar client. That's okay too.
B
Of course. Yeah. I'm just giving an extreme Example, because like, people, we hear it all the time, oh, I don't want to waste my time talking to people who don't value me and all this bull crap. Like, you're better off having like, you're better off having like. And I'll see if hates free. But like register to win offers where there's like a value on the gift certificate, but if they qualify, they get it right, they're paying for it without paying for the gift certificate. Because the conversations you have with those, some of those clients, you're opening up the floodgates for potential clients who could be really, really great clients. Whereas if you put up a price, say, oh, it's 500 pounds or euro or dollar, because they haven't had the discovery call yet, they may just not fill out your form or on your website, on your ad at exhibition because they haven't been given the opportunity to see their value yet. So it's really hard in the photography industry to like, price qualify unless you've had a discovery call.
A
Well, photography is such an emotional buy.
D
It's not, I don't think it's just photography. I think that most businesses where you're doing a service, even delivering a product you can't really do just put out a price list without having a conversation. And the example I had always heard was a florist, right? And if someone calls a florist and asked how much is a dozen flowers? The florist isn't just going to say it's $24 and 95 cents, they're going to ask you questions first. You know, what occasion are you shopping for? You know, what are these, who are these flowers for? You know, like, and, you know, and they're going to ask you a whole series of questions before they tell you the price of the dozen flowers. And they're going to, you know, and so it's sort of the same idea. So cake baker, like any, there's a lot of different businesses. So I wouldn't say it's just photography. I think it's businesses that relate to people where you're, you're purchasing for, I don't know what the word I'm looking for is. So you have to have conversations in order to be able to deliver a price that makes sense for what it is that they're, they're, they're buying. And, and so having that, like having it, like you said, run and flip the completely other way, where you just put up a menu of prices. Those menu of prices don't mean anything unless there's been a conversation that's had.
C
Yeah. The other thing that irks me is when I hear this thing. If they cry, they buy. Like, that's hard. Sales tactics, too. This is a job is podcast all.
D
Of our pet peeves.
C
Tell them no price, get them in to the viewing, which is not a word we use, but I'm using it because it's normally these people who use that word that do this, get them emotional, get them crying, and then hit them over the head with their price so that before they actually get their senses back, they're spending money with you and they go out the buyer's remorse. Many of those people actually, if they can, they'll cancel the order. That's why you see them producing these contracts that are 10 pages long. So you can't get out of this. Like, it's just rubbish.
D
I was just gonna say, Vernon, when you were talking about that. I'm like, those are the people who are also on the forums talking about how many canceled orders and buyer's remorse clients they end up dealing with.
C
And they think the solution is a contract that's 10 pages long.
D
Right.
C
You know that you. You have to forfeit your home if you don't complete it.
A
Forcing people to fulfill their end of the bargain. I think we've got to understand that. And I've just quickly tapped into ChatGPT to give me the number. 95% of purchase decisions are emotional. 95% of our purchase decisions are emotional. So when we're buying a car, it's not about the metal. And, you know, it's about how that brand makes us feel. It's about how we feel when we get into the car, how we feel because we own the car. And clothes are the same. When you put something on, it changes the way you feel. It changes. It can change your confidence. It depends on what emotion you attach to certain things. And we've got to know that 95% of our decisions are emotional and driven by emotion. And I think that's what makes us, as difference makers so different, is that the first part of what we have to do is help people find their value and help find out what matters to them. Because we're selling art, and art is an emotional attachment. Whether it's you're admiring a statue at the Piazza Navona or you are going looking at these incredible paintings that are priceless, it's the emotion that makes them priceless. And so what we create, when we create it, we need to find out, you know, help people find out what is that emotional driver for them? And, and what is it that they need to feel? What is it they want. Want to feel when they see their photographs? What, what emotion they want to highlight? What part of themselves do they want to highlight? Because then I'm a strong believer that it's not that people don't value photography anymore. They just don't value themselves enough to be photographed. They don't value themselves enough to spend X amount of dollars on themselves. You know, you go to some of these entrepreneurial, like those entrepreneurial meetups where there's thousands of people in a room and there'll be people that stand up and, you know, there was. The speaker got up and asked, you know, stand up. You know, if you've spent more than $5,000 on a handbag and there's tons of people in there, and they do that because they believe they are worth it. And I think that if we don't take the time to help people feel valuable enough to be photographed, if we don't take the time to show people their value, and once we do that, you know, once they understand the value and understand, you know, what we, what we're giving them, then, you know, we should be attaching that. The value or the price. We ask the questions. Like Janine was saying, ask them about what they'd love to have, where they would love to display it. Give them some idea of, you know, what, what that's going to cost them. I think it has to come after, you know, some questions. So that way we're not just taking a stab in the dark. Our cheapest price. Telling somebody the cheapest price is. And the average person spends at the end is too late. It's got to be upfront. But it needs, we need to. Like Jono was saying, you know, if you're putting them up on the price on. In your ads and you're doing it, you're not giving people the chance to understand the value of what they're going to receive.
D
And when you say upfront, Steve, you don't mean upfront before the questions. You mean the questions and then the price. But upfront before they come in for the experience.
A
Yes. Yes, on the first. Before you actually book them in.
D
Yes, before you book them in. I just want to clarify for those in the back who might not have.
A
Understood what you said before you actually book them in. I got a little bit lost in there, I think.
C
So we don't try and price qualify in the marketing, as Jonathan said, we don't leave it till the Very end in the viewing as people who tend to do this, do it. I'm using that word on purpose so it's not associated with what we, we do. And I'm going to do it then once I've had an opportunity to have a conversation with a potential client to understand what they value and show them, or show them their value and elevate.
A
Help elevate their value. Because as an industry we should be elevating people's value and helping people feel more valuable.
C
And then when we do that, and then they tell us where they want to display that emotion once they've discovered it, that's when we start to introduce price first. Is that correct?
A
Yeah, because it should be linked to that. Because you can't be quoting on a 8 by 10 that is going to sit on a shelf. If they're imagining something above their bed or something, you know, above their couch and you're quoting them the price for something that is tiny.
D
And that's also where confusion comes in, in the design consultation room too, because we've seen that as well. People think they're being upfront with pricing. They quote out their cheapest price and then people come in, but I gave the pricing up front. And then they come in after their session, they come into the design consultation and they're flabbergasted that to get what they want is going to be a couple thousand dollars. And that also feels like a bait and switch. But you told me it was 200. No, I said the prices started at 200. Right. And so, but to get to what you love, it's going to be 2,500.
A
But that's happened to me too, in all fairness. I've come in and saying I want a family photo, I want a photo of all my kids together, I want it for the lounge room. And I've been, you know, they've, they've said to me the prices start at $200. And in my head I'm imagining, because I'm, I'm imagining this above my, in my lounge room, above my three seater couch. And I've told them it's a family photo. I told them I want a photograph of my kids altogether and I told them I wanted it for my wall. And because they've said prices start at, I'm assuming that their wall art starts at. And something that's going to look okay above my couch starts at. But, but what they're quoting on is a five by seven.
D
Yep. And so it's not just okay to give a Price up front. You have to give the right price up front or you're. You're essentially still bait and switching your client in the end and leaving them with that icky feeling.
C
So, Steve, you talk about, you know, often a good measure of this is, is I see you when you're coaching many of the difference maker revolution clients, one of the questions you ask them is, so how often do your clients come back again?
A
Yeah.
C
Right. And. And if the client has been burnt. Right. That's a one reason why they won't be coming back again. The other reason is you may not have. Have a system to invite them back again, which is a separate thing. But often, often it can be that. Right. That they've been in burnt once gone. And as you said a little bit earlier to start of this podcast is like, what does that do your brand reputation in your community?
A
Yeah. It's amazing how quickly bad news spreads, but it's hard to regain ground once you've lost it.
C
Yeah. And it spreads way quicker than good news.
A
Yeah. And, you know, there are lots of people that are running on, you know, now with Facebook, there's an abundance of leads and abundance of clients, and so they just burn through leads and burn through people and there isn't really a consequence because there's more people. They just spend more money on more ads and burn through more people and. But it catches up in the end.
C
It does.
A
And it's hard work. Hard work looking for new clients all the time and working with cold clients. The easiest way to grow a business is to get your clients to use you more often. You know, another thing that I like to ask people is, you know, how, what about your partnerships? How many alliances do you have? Because that's normally an indicator too, because when you have raving fans, they come to you and say, oh, my God, my clients would love this. Do you do something like, I'd love to. You know, how can I help you? How can I help promote you? When we give people this incredible experience and we're being upfront and honest, there are people that want to come and work for you because you're attracting people who want to give what you've given them. And there are people that want to align their businesses with yours and want to promote this through their channels and through their circles. And that's an indicator of that trust, that rapport that you've built with people as well.
C
So, Jono, I don't want to be a starving artist. Right. I don't want my clients to feel icky. I do want my clients to come back over and over again and get amazing value from me, and as a result of that value, spend with me. What do I do?
B
Oh, what do you do? What you need to do is you need to click the link below this video or go to joindifferencemaker.com innercircle and join the Inner Circle. Because the Inner Circle is a community of driving difference makers. Not only is it a community, but it also has weekly coaching that's going to help you to elevate your skillset, elevate your business, elevate your clients, as well as incredible training courses in depth training courses, plus much, much more. So click the link below. Join the Inner Circle today. We can't wait to see you inside.
A
And if you want to hear Jono sing a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, click the link below.
C
Inside.
A
Bye everyone.
Main Theme:
This episode of The Difference Maker Revolution Podcast dives into the critical (and often mishandled) topic: When should photographers reveal their prices to clients? The hosts break down the psychological impact of different pricing strategies, debunk common practices in the photography market, and share actionable advice for nurturing long-term client relationships—without resorting to bait-and-switch tactics or creating icky, transactional experiences. The discussion is lively, brutally honest, and draws on real-world cases from both inside and outside the photography industry.
“That’s icky. Like, I don’t like that at all… you want your clients to walk away with an icky feeling on something that is supposed to be a beautiful transformational experience for them?”
— Janine, discussing the flipped-price-tag jeweler [02:15]
“Then you drop the bombshell, and that's just not fair.”
— Steve on post-emotional-attachment pricing [07:18]
"You have to give the right price up front, or you're essentially still bait and switching your client in the end and leaving them with that icky feeling."
— Janine [23:51]
"If you price qualify before the discovery call... you're going to potentially eliminate people who... could be a 10, 15, 20k client..."
— Jonathan [12:54]
“95% of our purchase decisions are emotional. So, when we're buying a car, it's not about the metal… it's about how that brand makes us feel.”
— Steve [16:58]
| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:56 | Janine's jeweler analogy and price-hiding story | | 05:49 | Steve on misalignment between what photographers sell and clients buy | | 09:35 | The problem with “bait and switch,” and why it’s unfair | | 10:11 | Janine on swinging too far to total transparency | | 12:10 | Debate around putting price on website / price qualifying | | 13:09 | Jonathan on losing high-value clients with premature pricing | | 16:01 | Ronan on “If they cry, they buy” mentality and its problems | | 16:58 | Steve: 95% of purchases are emotional, not logical | | 20:52 | True meaning of “upfront” in pricing: after discovery call, before booking | | 22:13 | Calibration: giving the relevant price for the client’s dream | | 24:05 | Metrics: client return rate & alliance building | | 25:31 | Business growth through loyal, returning clients |
This episode is high-energy, candid, and coaching-focused. The hosts speak like seasoned mentors—directly, honestly, and with plenty of real-world stories. They call out industry myths without sugar-coating, always looping back to the human element at the heart of portrait photography.
In sum: If you want more loyal, higher-value, and happier clients—and to never fear the "price conversation" again—start every client relationship with genuine curiosity and empathy. Discover their dreams, spell out what’s possible, and attach your pricing only when it resonates with what your client really values.
“The easiest way to grow a business is to get your clients to use you more often.” — Steve [25:31]