Your clients are lying to you 😬

They just don’t know it.

(And neither might you)

Let’s talk —

How many times have you:

+ Gotten a dream inquiry

+ Connected super well with the couple

+ Sent your pricing with so much excitement

Only to hear back that dreadful response, “we can’t afford you”?

We’re here to tell you, they’re lying. They just don’t realize it.

Yes, there may be people who truly cannot afford you. But the reality is that the people you’re attracting to your business CAN. They have disposable income.  They can make choices where their money goes. What big investments to save up for (like photos) + probably make occasionally splurges on things they didn’t plan for.

Here’s an example to prove this. Two bookings. Inquiry on the left, contracted amount on right 👇👇 This happens in our business ALL THE TIME.

So… if this is true…

Why are they lying to you?

Here’s why: The money you’re asking for is not equating to the VALUE they think your service is worth.

Here’s what we mean:

Without creating the worth and value your business actually deserves… your couple has no choice but to assign THEIR perceived value on your behalf.

A $6,500 package sounds crazy when what you offer sounds like it should be worth $3,000.

So what can you do?

Here are 10 mistakes you may be unintentionally making when building your value:

1. You don’t know who your ideal client is – the ones who value your photography the most.
2. You let your leads (the ones who may not be your ideal client) define your worth. Whenever someone said, “we can’t afford you”, you listened and sabatoged your worth.
3. Your inquiry process doesn’t speak to your ideal client.
4. You based your worth and your pricing on the photographers around you, rather than your OWN value.
5. Your client experience lacks impact because the money you’re making doesn’t leave you room to work on giving back to your clients.
6. You’ve been told that the only way to actually make good money in weddings is to shoot film and market to luxury clients.
7. You’re terrified to niche down to the kind of work that lights you up because you believe there aren’t enough of those clients that will pay for it.
8. The way you present your pricing is either too long, too short, or requires a spreadsheet to understand.
9. You are stuck in a referral trap from clients who have paid you too little to do too much..and their friends expect the same
10. When someone asks for your price, you give it to them, rather than learning more about what they wanted and building your worth around how you can give it to them.

How many of these felt true for you? This cycle leads to burn out quickly 😞

And instead of living in a place of growth and confidence, we see photographers hiding behind their busy work (hello editing cave) feeling overwhelmed and defeated.

But here’s the good news – there’s a way out!!

If you can build your biz or even re-establish your offerings with greater value for what your ideal clients want in their wedding photographer experience… you will hear this lie less and less.

And the couples who tell you their budget is 3k will end up investing 3x because your value matches your worth.

When thinking about your value, think about this…

Nike doesn’t talk about shoes, they talk about greatness.

Apple doesn’t talk about computers, they talk about being different.

Tiffany doesn’t talk about diamonds, they talk about love.

Instead of talking about photos and coverage, what are you actually selling?