I dunno about best at it, but I also use a sliding scale, and it's similar to what Larry and Paul have described. For around 50 shots and a half-dozen of 'em prepared to print in 8x10 and 11x14 mode, I ask $50 at the track. On the salt flats, it's a little different. If one of the big teams wants me to cover 'em for the whole event, I ask $200 and do my best to be around whenever they launch from the starting line or if I'm at the 5 mile mark, I make sure that I get a sequence of shots at high speed. For the little guys I still ask $50...but then I'm not attached to them at the hip, either.
I really agree with Larry that Paul's very, very good at marketing his products and services. Follow him around an ya can't help but pick something up. I think I've mentioned that for most of my life I had a tough time with personal selling...but this year I started telling myself that I USED to hate selling, but I'm better at it now. Strangely enough, that "positive self-talk" seems to have worked. And what I've found is that if I can have a print of the racer's car or bike in my hand and compliment them on how kool it looks in the turns or how I really enjoyed watching 'em lift a wheel in the Attitudes, it sure opens the door. One guy at the NASA nationals, the driver of the #56 black BMW, loved it when I showed him a print of this shot: http://www.chevyasylum.com/racing/racing2009/20090910111213/20090910_0738r8_jpg.html but he wasn't quite convinced. So I went home and made another print showing the whole car http://www.chevyasylum.com/racing/racing2009/20090910111213/20090911_2323r8_jpg.html with two wheels in the air and he was hooked. When I showed him the first shot I told him he could hang onto it if he wanted it and I'd follow up with a CD. He said that he didn't have a good place to store it, yada, yada. But he DID ask if I had shots of the entire car. When I brought the second one, he wouldn't let go of 'em. I think he found a good place to store 'em and when I left (with $50 in my pocket) he was still sitting on the stairs of his trailer staring at 'em. :)
Someone said something to me about this selling deal (and I know you were more interested in pricing, but this might apply) that really hit home. They said, "I don't try to sell people anything they don't want...but I make it easy for them to get what they really DO want." Man! What a profound statement. That helped, along with that self-talk, to change my attitude. So if it was wonna youse guys that said it, I'm very grateful to ya.
RtR At 10:20 AM 11/6/2009, you wrote:
I think Paul is an excellent Marketer and I usually listen to him when it comes to selling. I know I have tended to back away from the selling side from time to time, it seems to sap some of the pure enjoyment of the photography for me (and Paul too if I remember our discussions). I usually like to scale my price based on (and here comes a couple of big words for me, from my college marketing classes) market segmentation. Some of my customers are Porsche 944 and Miata owners and they will not pay $50 for 10 shots. However, Porsche 997 drivers don't bat an eye at whatever you tell them. Ray is the best at this stuff.LarryFrom: ratpack-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ratpack-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Michael WellsSent: Friday, November 06, 2009 9:16 AM To: ratpack@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ratpack] Re: PricingYeah the guy in the black Vette wants both prints and a cd, now that I look at all the pics I have of the Vette I actually have 44 shots of the car and the driver in the parking lot. So with that many shots I think I can justify $50 for a CD.Thanks for the input. MichaelOn Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 8:24 AM, PAUL W WATSON <<mailto:TSWATSON78@xxxxxxx>TSWATSON78@xxxxxxx> wrote: Pricing is one thing that we have struggled with. I usually charge $75.00 for a cd with at least 50 pic's. I don't worry about releases, etc.The main legal problems come from selling prints of the pro teams at the big races. It is ok to sell pic's of the team to the team but be careful if you try and sell a ALMS, Nascar, Rolex race to a private party.It is different if you are working for a publication and have credentials for that race and the publication prints your photo and pays you the going rate.I am guessing your customer is the guy with the Black Vette?Wait and see what Lar and Ray say as they have more experience in this matter than I do.Lotsa luck. Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: <mailto:mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx>Michael Wells To: <mailto:ratpack@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>ratpack@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 9:23 PM Subject: [ratpack] Pricing The Rat Pack,One of the drivers from Saturday's Lap Battle has asked for prints so I just wanted to get a feel for pricing. He asked for a cd of his pictures, there are only about 10-15 pics so I don't know how I should price the cd. Do I include a release of the pics or should I not worry about the legalities of copyrights and things like that? What do ya'll think?Michael -- Michael Wells MCWells Photography <mailto:mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx>mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx 801-850-7279 -- Michael Wells MCWells Photography <mailto:mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx>mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx 801-850-7279
