Do you pee in the shower?
I know, awkward question. Now the age-old question “What is your budget?” doesn’t seem so uncomfortable.
Believe it or not, we don’t ask the budget question so we know how many kegs we can buy for the Holiday party (we’ve been saving money for Holiday booze since March). Understanding a client’s budget not only saves time, it leads to a stronger strategic plan.
Here are three (of 100) reasons to share your budget up front:
1. We will recommend the best strategies and tactics to meet objectives within the budget. When we plan a program with an open-ended budget (i.e. the client says “they don’t know what their budget is” or “they need us to recommend what it should be”) the client, inevitably, treats the plan like a Chinese menu — not necessarily selecting the items we would recommend with a limited budget.
2. We need some guidelines. Keep in mind that we are creative AND strategic. We can think of a million and one ways to promote your brand – keep us grounded. Don’t worry, you will still get creative solutions. Just more realistic ones.
3. It’s hard to get excited about the more affordable campaign that fits within your budget when we originally suggested that you buy out the halftime show at the Super Bowl (Remember, we didn’t have any budget parameters so opportunities were endless!)
Keep avoiding “How much do you weigh?” and “Why do you always smell like pickles?” but certainly be prepared to answer the budget question.
Excellent post.
A client being upfront with their budget eliminates an adversarial step in the process- important to both client and agency, or, in my case, photographer. I believe clients are shady about budgets because they think it gives them a money-saving edge, when, in fact, it just makes the relationship difficult.
“I don’t know” is a fair answer as well.
My response is to first provide a range-”If this project priced out between $15k and $20k, would that be a range you’ve anticipated?” This qualifies the client, and sets the standard for my place in the market. If the client responds they had a number like $3k in mind, we already know we’re not a good match- I’m not the photographer for them.
Even better- the client asks how best can their $15k budget be spent? NOW, I can help- I’m an expert in my field, and now the different options available to maximize their dollar.
I like to do that- it’s one of my favorite parts of servicing my clients.
So- as an agency, next time you photographer asks YOU, you know the answer. Tell him/her that you pee in the shower. Or not.
I love your analogies, Jennifer. This one is even better than your Red Face Test — the test that allows you to see if the budget you have just put in front of a client makes their face turn red. With anger? With embarrassment? With resentment?
And I wonder — did a particular recent client situation prompt this post?
Hmmmmm……
Paul, thanks for your thoughts. Maybe together we can overturn the awkward question market!
and no comment on the weirdest one of them all: “Why do you always smell like pickles?”
No, this post wasn’t in response to a recent client…just something that has been on my mind after years of clients dancing around the subject.