As a celebrant, setting a fee for
your services will be one of the things you need to decide early. You will want
to set a fee which you feel will cover your running expenses, plus allows you
to make a profit. But you need to take into consideration what clients will pay
for your services, given the competition already in existence.
Fortunately, finding out
what other celebrants are charging should not be too difficult. But in setting
out your fees you need to know how your services differentiate from those of
your competitors, and why clients will come to you rather than go to another celebrant.
Before you begin to play
the numbers game, you need to know a few things about yourself and your
business. This will include:
1. What is your aim in becoming a celebrant?
2. Why should clients come to you, instead of using
any one of the other officiants around?
3. What particular strengths and talents have you got
to help you in the running of your celebrancy business?
4. What are some of your weaknesses which might work
against you?
5. Who are your potential clients? How old are they
and how well off are they?
6. How do they perceive the business of celebrancy
generally?
7. In what way will they be better off by coming to
you than by going to another celebrant?
8. What fees do the other celebrant charge?
9. Can you charge more and still attract clients?
10. Can you charge less and still be profitable?
11. Can you offer clients something more or something
different than they will receive from other celebrants, that will be of
significant benefit to them?
12. What exactly are clients looking for – saving money,
better service, convenience?
In the beginning, when
you have no criteria for setting your fee, your only option might be to charge
a similar price as other celebrants. You will need to have some idea of how
they came upon that particular figure. It could be that they have streamlined
their business to such an extent that they can provide their services much more
cheaply than you will be able to. It could also be, that like you, they’re
flying blind, and without knowing it, they’re losing money even though they’re
getting the bookings.
You will also need to
justify your prices not only to yourself, but also to your client. Most will
ring a number of celebrants to find out what fees they can expect to pay.
Instead of becoming defensive, embarrassed or just plain angry, recognize that
the client has every right to ask you why your charges are so much higher or so
much lower than the other celebrants they have spoken to. Work out your own
reasons, then you will be able to face these questions with confidence rather
than indignation.
Once you have some
figures of the costs involved in running the business of celebrancy, you can
determine your own fee structure, remembering though, that your client will
have the last word. You need to convince clients that the fee is worth what
they’re getting. In the case of many ceremonies, which are little understood,
the client’s perception is that they’re paying hundreds of dollars for ten
minutes of the celebrant’s time. It is up to the celebrant to ensure that the
client is made aware of all that goes into those ten minutes. Crucial to that,
is your image for professionalism and expertise.
In the beginning when
bookings are few and far between, some celebrants decide that any booking is
better than none. With that in mind, they will ask for the lowest fees which
clients are willing to pay, undercutting every other celebrant in the area.
They will also travel anywhere to get these bookings. At this stage they may be
aware that, in fact, they are losing money, instead of making it. Their
thinking is, that when they have established themselves they will then ask for
a higher fee. More often, though, such celebrants are not keeping any records
to show whether they’re making money or not. And just how much money they’re
losing in the meantime.
Sooner or later these celebrants
find that while they’re extremely busy, they have nothing to show for it when
it comes to money. Their low fees will often also be reflected by their
services. The celebrant is too busy and too poor to provide anything but
sub-standard service. When he eventually raises his fees, the type of clients
he’s been attracting will go elsewhere. As everyone knows, it’s a lot easier to
drop your fees without affecting your client numbers, than to raise your fees.
At the other extreme is
the celebrant who tries to recoup all his expenses in the first year of work,
using the few clients he gets in which to do it.
Whether you charge a
high or low fee should be dependent not on what you’d like to get, but rather
how good you are. By all means charge high prices if you’re sure that your
clients are getting their money’s worth. Most celebrants, like most small
business people are frightened of pricing themselves out of the market.
However, you should be able to charge what you think you are worth.
To decide that, you need
to know just how much time you’re spending on the ceremony, and just how good a
service you’re providing. If you know that your service is better than those of
other celebrants who are charging higher fees, then by all means charge those
fees yourself. It’s preferable that you do fewer ceremonies and get paid for
them, than that you perform many ceremonies and are losing money while doing
so. What is vital is that the client perceives the quality of your service is
worth the fee.
As a new celebrant,
testing the water, you can make an introductory offer, stipulating that these
prices will only last so long, and then the fee will go up. If, after the
introductory offer expires, you find that your services are better than those
of other celebrants around you, ask for the fee that compensates you
accordingly.
Based on How to be a Profitable Celebrant
