I’ve been forming this business as part of my business plan that I’m developing for my Entertainment Business degree at Full Sail. This current semester is about negotiating; so, to see how negotiating comes into play in my industry, I found Joe DeBlasi from the Professional Videographers of Central Florida, and asked him some questions as to how negotiating comes into play in this business.
According to DeBlasi, his usual set price is determined mostly by his expertise, establishing his status as a skilled, professional videographer. Someone newer in the field would likely be considered a “budget” videographer until their status and reputation is built up. Despite his set fees, there are times when his clientele might be relatively low, leaving him with fewer choices in work, thus, reducing his BATNA. In times such as this, he’s admitted to occasionally lowering the prices of his services for the sake of securing a client.
There are also cases wherein a compromise can be reached between budget and services offered. A customer with little money might request a partial service to be rendered in exchange for a lower price. A newcomer videographer states in a support message board that some potential wedding clients were asking him to film less of the wedding, even to exclude the matrimony itself for the sake of paying a smaller price. At first suspecting that the clients were haggling him, the videographer was advised on the board that they were instead trying to reach a compromise to meet their budget.
Now is the time for us to branch out from our hobby-based, narrative film-making and dip into a solid business of shooting for clients. As we become more experienced, we’ll become more capable of asking for higher fees and, if we’re well known, will have more bargaining chips on the table.