Yep. This topic never dies. 🙂 Thanks for your “sage” input my friend. 😉

I think listing prices works when, like you say in your post, the wedding pro, has enough inquiries that they don’t need to entertain prospects. I’ve worked with many wedding pros that are tired of spending time on the phone with people well under their price range instead of focusing on their target market and their core clientele.

I think I still favor that most business should list starting rates, while you favor that most business should NOT. HA! So – we agree and we don’t agree on this topic. 🙂 I encourage people to try both and see what works for them.

This is always a challenging issue in our industry!

Oooh. Thanks for commenting Michelle. Let the debate begin. Ha! 🙂

Your example is precisely why I think not including the price is important for most (but not all) wedding vendors. Or maybe it’s best suited for photogs and videogs. If a bride has a price range in mind for video and it’s low (which for a lot of brides it is), if they jump to a price page and see a videog is out of range, they may not even bother to watch. But if they watch and get engaged, then call or email to learn more, they may still move on, but 1) you at least have a chance whereas before you didn’t and 2) you never know where that conversation/engagement might lead. They may refer you to another friend whose budget can handle it.

As far as being embarrassed in a meeting, as I say in the post, you should never meet with a bride unless she knows ahead of time what the minimum amount she can expect to invest is. You get to that point only after the conversation and engagement via phone or email.

I want the buyer to have information before picking up the phone for sure. But I don’t want that information to be used to keep them from calling in the first place. From personal experience I have had jobs I know I would have lost if I had posted my starting price.

Regarding the uber-high end brides who is willing to spend $50K or more on services, I think it’s fair to say the vendors in that stratosphere are getting referrals from souces like coordinators and the like, or friends of past clients. The clients who pay that kind of money typically are not randomly looking for a vendor.

Love the discussion. Thanks for participating!

If you are catering to a very high-end clientele, the range of budget on your service can be $20k-500k… listing a starting rate definitely limits you from doing some of that SUPER high-end work. In this example, when listing prices as “starting at $20,000” you may be cutting yourself off from the higher-end spectrum of that super high-end wedding. A celebrity client may want to spend much more than $20k and you’ve shot yourself in the foot. These are the same clients who buy a $10k luxury handbag. For them the perceived value is in that pricetag. It’s better *because* it’s expensive.

We should all be so lucky to have clients like this!
But we don’t.

The only other reason to NOT list price is if you do enjoy the ‘winning the client over’ of the sales process. This salesperson is sincerely are good at educating and is confident in sticking to the pricing. Your examples are FANTASTIC! (#1 and #3 are especially helpful) But not all people are confident or strong in the dance of the sale. Nor do they want to do this with everyone.

All this being said, I think it’s important for *most* (not all) wedding businesses to list starting prices. The reason is simple… as a buyer, I want to know where I start. I am willing to spend money and make the investment. Usually I have a range of what I want to spend. And, I’m willing to entertain the thought of extending beyond the upper end of my price range to for the right product or service. (God knows I did when I got married!) But, I want to know if I’m in the ballpark. And, if I don’t know that ballpark, I’m probably going to move onto the next person who can give me that information quickly. I don’t like being sold to (and so many engaged couples are fearful of this too). And, I don’t want to be embarrassed in a meeting if I’m totally out of the pricing range of that wedding professional. Nor do I want to waste my time or their time. This is how the bride and groom often see it.

The buyer just wants information before they pick up the phone to make an appointment. And starting rates are a must for most wedding businesses.

Thanks for the dialogue! Always a fun topic to debate. 🙂

Thanks for sharing Stacie. That seems like a unique case where, as you say, including the price is important.

For real tho’. 🙂 Adam’s a smart dude.