YAY, you are getting client inquiries, and with each one that comes in, your confidence gets a boost but, as soon as you respond, you get crickets. And then you wonder if maybe you did something wrong, or even worse if there’s something wrong with you.
Does this scenario sound familiar?
Well, let me tell you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you, my dear friend. That’s simply a thought you have to leave behind. But, I do encourage you to take these moments of downtime and turn them into a learning opportunity for you and your business.
In this post, I will go over a few probable reasons potential clients are ghosting you and what you can do about it!
YOU AREN’T COMMUNICATING YOUR VALUE EFFECTIVELY
If you keep getting ghosted by potential clients, your first instinct may be to look at your pricing and automatically assume your prices are too high. And while this may be the truth, the only reason your prices could be offputting to some is if you didn’t clearly communicate the value that you offer through your website copy or in your pricing guide.
If people reach out to ask about your prices then disappear, it means they don’t see the value that you offer after visiting your page or receiving your pricing.
Let me explain – let’s assume you’re offering a ton of value in your packages. Are you clearly and authentically communicating your services’ value instead of just copying what your competitors say?
Communicating your value to potential clients starts with you, your story, and your value proposition.
Start by asking yourself, “What am I offering that’s different from what others are offering?” And if you can’t answer that question just yet, that’s OK! We all started somewhere. It can be a difficult question to answer!
To get you thinking about how you can clearly communicate what makes you unique and why your clients should care, try this exercise:
First, think of your WHY. Not just “I take photos because I want to capture memories and love etc.” This WHY is about your unique reason for doing what you do. It’s the story that brought you to where you are today. And it may seem like a selfish reason for a WHY, but it’s still unique.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you are a family photographer. Your story could be that you don’t have any great family photos to look back on from your childhood. And now that you have your own family that you’ve been photographing and documenting for over a decade, you realize the importance of having beautiful family photos to look back on. You want to share this with your clients because this story is your personal why.
To further communicate your value, you want to be clear about what your clients can expect when working with you.
Break it down for them and let them know how you will personalize and tailor each client’s experience.
For example, let them know you will plan every aspect of the photoshoot with them before the shoot by creating a mood board with all kinds of ideas for wardrobe, locations, lighting, etc.
Or, If you offer large prints in one of your packages, you may want to schedule a call to discuss the colors in their home so you can coordinate appropriate colors and backgrounds for the photoshoot that fit into their home décor.
The point is to help paint a picture of how working with you will feel to your clients. Think of it as a simple formula:
Your WHY + HOW + YOUR CLIENTS RESULTS/FEELINGS before, during, and after the shoot equals how you communicate your value to your clients.
If you know you offer value in the first place, you can learn to communicate that value, but what if the problem is you’re not offering ENOUGH value? And this brings us to the next point.
YOU ARE NOT OFFERING ENOUGH VALUE
A second reason potential clients are ghosting you is that you are not offering enough value or the type of value that your ideal client needs.
For example, when an inquiry comes in, you quickly respond with your prices, but are you thinking of how you deliver those prices? Simply shooting off your rates in an email without taking the time to understand your clients’ needs makes the experience feel impersonal. And this can be offputting to a potential client.
To help clients see your value, be sure to include not only pricing but a guide that helps answer common questions, a blurb about your process, and your value proposition.
Imagine another scenario. Let’s say you’re a fly by the seat of your pants type of person, and your method is to just show up on shoot day and shoot without any real game plan, and you put your client to work scouting a suitable spot, posing themselves, etc. You’re not offering much past your photography skills at this point, and people won’t want to pay a high price for your services.
If someone thinks your pricing is too high, you are either not offering enough value or not communicating your value clearly to your ideal clients.
So, what if you have all your ducks in a row? You provide an unforgettable client experience. The copy on your website is clear and captures leads. You send out branded pricing guides that answer all potential questions and walk them through a step-by-step of your entire process, yet you’re still getting crickets.
At this point, I would suggest going back and re-evaluating WHO your ideal client actually is.
Take some time to reflect on these important questions:
Are you marketing to the right audience?
What is the message you are sending out to potential clients?
What is the type of energy you are putting out there?
Are you the kind of person who is responsive?
Are you a price shopper yourself?
Would you invest in the kind of client experience and photos that you are putting out into the world?
Be honest with yourself.
Take a look at your work and think of ways to make it better or more appealing to your dream clients. How can you better serve them?
And last, ask yourself, why are you doing ALL of this in the first place? It all starts with a really strong WHY.
Finally, if the ghosting is only occasional, I’m here to let you know we all go through it! It’s normal. Sometimes it’s just not a match, and that’s OK because they weren’t your ideal client, to begin with. You can’t possibly be the right match for everyone!
Be confident in the value you offer, and don’t forget to stay on top of those follow-ups but also, don’t beat yourself up if you miss a few. Life gets busy, and we miss things sometimes, it’s OK.
