Requests for custom work

[Shelma1]

I know there's an old thread about this, but I hate reading a "new" thread only to realize that it's five years old.

Anyway, do you guys get requests from buyers for custom work? I'm happy to do work for people I "know," whether in "real life" or through groups like this (thanks again!), but I'm finding that requests from "strangers" are just a waste of my time. Most of the time when I tell them a price I never hear from them again. And a big red flag for me is when they insist on talking on the phone...that almost always means they think they can sweet talk me into working for next to nothing with their amazing charm. I've been on a few of these phone calls this year. (And some of these people were referred to me by my advertising colleagues.)

Perhaps the solution is to raise prices on my site so much that custom prices aren't a shock. Opinions? Success stories?

[PaulieWalnuts]

Yeah I occasionally get custom requests. Usually from strangers. Sometimes it's for a custom shoot but usually it's they want to license an image but want to make changes to an like color or remove something.

For custom work I always immediately give a ballpark "typically between X and Y" range the first email or call to feel them out on budget. That way I figure out if it's worth spending more time on. Otherwise people can drag things out for days or weeks of calls and emails making you jump through flaming hoops only to find out they have a $50 budget to do $5000 of work. If it scares them, great. I didn't waste much time. My costs are my costs. I need to run a profitable business.

Yeah I also get people wanting to talk on the phone about an "opportunity to do business together". It's normally BS like "hey I have this great idea where you spend tons of your own money making a bunch of prints so I can decorate my business with them and you'll get a ton of exposure." Anytime it sounds like a sales pitch I tell them to send me more detail about their proposal in an email and if I feel it makes sense we can then set up a call. Occasionally it's something legit.

I'd say maybe a 1/4-1/3 of the time it ends up turning into business for me.

[cthoman]

It's a mixed bag of people you never hear from again and people that end up being good customers. Probably everything in between too. I try to subtly discourage phone calls, but they aren't too bad. Some people just like to talk on the phone or put a voice to the person.

[Justanotherphotographer]

I like email because it means I have a complete record of all our correspondence. Phone calls often result in a client hearing whatever they want to and expecting stuff for free down the line.

[kmlPhoto]

I can tell you from experience to ask immediately for a contract and get all the terms up front and in writing. I let my guard down once and started working on a custom request only to find out that the "buyer" was just jumping from contributor to contributor pulling our chains. Having said that, one of the advantages of a good microstock port is that it gets you noticed by folks who regularly buy images. Rob Sylvan talks about getting custom work and assignments from stock in his book: "Taking Stock" It's inspiring.

[Difydave]

I like email because it means I have a complete record of all our correspondence. Phone calls often result in a client hearing whatever they want to and expecting stuff for free down the line.

I can tell you from experience to ask immediately for a contract and get all the terms up front and in writing. I let my guard down once and started working on a custom request only to find out that the "buyer" was just jumping from contributor to contributor pulling our chains. Having said that, one of the advantages of a good microstock port is that it gets you noticed by folks who regularly buy images. Rob Sylvan talks about getting custom work and assignments from stock in his book: "Taking Stock" It's inspiring.

I think this is good advice whatever work you are doing. Including work outside photography and graphics.
Exactly what will be done, and when it will be done.
Price, and whether a quote or an estimate. Cost of extra work or payment of expenses. [/size]Payment terms. Deposit payable, when full payment is due.
And as said put it all in writing. When I made furniture, if I spoke to a client about modifications either in person or on the phone, I would take notes, and either email, or in the old days write to them with the details.
It all saves any argument or confusion.

[Shelma1]

When I made furniture, if I spoke to a client about modifications either in person or on the phone, I would take notes, and either email, or in the old days write to them with the details.
It all saves any argument or confusion.

This is one of the reasons I try to minimize talking to clients on the phone. They don't want to have to put their thoughts into writing because it takes time; they just want to talk and have you take notes, then feed it back to them in an email for agreement. So you're spending all that time talking to them, then going back over your notes, then writing up a conference report and emailing it to them and waiting for confirmation. That can easily double the amount of time it takes to do a project. (Of course, sometimes a phone conversation can be quicker and easier than writing back and forth.)

I've also had trouble with attorneys who yammered on the phone, charged me for their time (it takes a lot longer to have a phone conversation than for them to write you an email, especially since the writing is usually done by an assistant who costs less), and then claim they never said what I heard them say, leading to more phone calls and emails, which you're charged for.

It got so bad with one set of attorneys I flatly refused to speak to them in person or on the phone and insisted all communication be in writing. Eventually I had to fire them.