The Eyes of Portland Monk :: Official Blog of Award-Winning Commercial Advertising Photographer Benjamin Reed

There are a million theories circulating out there on how to bid properly, what questions to ask, should you over or underbid, etc. It can drive you crazy trying to figure out what the wizard is doing behind the curtain. As I mentioned in the previous post, this is an art. It doesn’t make sense why some people receive jobs and others don’t. Many times it’s not based on cost and many times it is. Sometimes you’re wanted because of your style alone and other times you’re competing with 10 other photographers for the same job.

One theory that you can immediately throw out the window is the one you might expect happens most often – that if you do your research, assess the economic conditions and evaluate your competition, your fair bid will be competitive and increase your chances of landing the job. The one flaw in this theory is that it assumes your competition is practicing the same conventional business practices taught to photographers around the country. But as you’ll learn the more you bid, even the most well known business saavy photographers underbid the market for business even while speaking otherwise. At the same time buyers and directors might not be interested in the lowest bid for your potential shoot. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow the fundamentals listed above, it means bidding can be a crapshoot. Sometimes you just never know.

Case in point:

An ad agency in the Pacific Northwest called and asked for a bid on producing some web based advertising for a local client. The company wanted the images indefinitely and wanted them exclusively for themselves. After asking the pertinent questions on usage, shooting time, location and mediums I decided to ask for more ‘inside’ information. I wouldn’t recommend doing this with your first bid with a new client but I had a good relationship with the art director and, after all, information is power.

I was able to learn about the other photographers (competition volume) being solicited for bids and the potential range of the bids coming in. I also learned the client was already using a photographer but was unhappy with their work. With this information I could gauge how many photographers I had to compete with for the bid, if the client could afford me to begin with, and also understand that the client was dissatisfied with their current photographer.

I spent hours researching usage fees for exclusive web use for an indefinite time frame and came up with a market competitive number. I then added my shooting fees and prepared my bid for submission. I also had my producer look over the numbers to make sure they made sense and spoke with other photographers to double and triple check the bid. I felt great about it. It was 100% in the bag.

A few days passed and the art director called up. “Nobody got it,” he said. “Not one of the photographers is getting the job, the bids were all too high and they’re sticking with the photographer they’re unhappy with to stay in budget.”

“Really?” I said. “Well, what did the other photographers come in at?”

Again, something you should probably not ask on your first or second bid with a new client, but I needed to fully understand the situation and we have a good relationship.

“You were in the middle,” he said. “(Photographer A) came in at $XXX, (Photographer B) at $XXX…”

This was really interesting for me. Photographer A was relatively well known in the area and often spoke out against photographers undercutting the market. The problem is that Photographer A came in THOUSANDS below the market competitive rate; it was actually the lowest bid in the group by thousands of dollars.

It was good and bad news. The company was unhappy with the work because of a photographer they underpaid due to budgetary constraints.  I was happy to hear this because the company learned the “You Get What You Pay For” lesson.

At the same time, I began second guessing my bid. Something that I’ve come to learn is a waste of time. The bid was in the middle, it was competitive, but how was I so far from Photographer A? Have I been drinking the bidding theory Kool-Aid? Why did Photographer A underbid the market so much? It really bothered me. I began asking around if other photographers heard of such drastic underbidding in their businesses without revealing Photographer A’s name.

The best advice I got was don’t sleep on it, you’ll never figure it out. Bidding is an art.

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So what can you do to increase your chances of winning your bid? A good strategy is to understand how many photographers you are bidding against. If you know 10 or more or in the running, you can assume the client wants the lowest price. If they can’t afford you, don’t undervalue yourself. Of course if this happens time and time again, consider cutting costs in your business and adding value for your clients in other areas without lowering your rates.

If there are a few photographers up for the job, they are most likely looking for your style or something close to it. You don’t need to keep your numbers as competitive. Add more value to your bid by offering creative ideas to the process.

Another strategy is to hire a bidding consultant. They do the same for you as agents and you’ll be paying a percentage of your fees to them if you get the job. Consultants are a great strategy especially if you’re new to the bidding game with ad agencies. Make sure you perform your due diligence when finding a consultant. You’ll want someone established and noteworthy. After all, the consultant will be an extension of your business and you don’t want any Joe out there representing your work.

To summarize: Bidding is an art.

In part III we’ll look at what happens when you’re the photographer for the job but your bid isn’t “exactly” what they’re looking for.

The Monk
 

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