Starting a new small business I want to get potential clients

Go ask those customers if they are happy with their current solution. Find out what you can do better and if that provides enough value for them to switch. Switching customers is tough, even if your service is cheaper. You need to find out the best way to pitch it. It's not just about the cost of the service.

working for free is begging to get used over and over again. Just like you said, theyll use you for the first free turn then toss your info in the trash, unless its a service that requires a quality output and you blow the competition out of the water.

normally in my experience as long as youre cheaper than the competition/what they use specifically, your conversion rate is normally decent. People like to save money so theyre normally willing to give things a trial run

personally if you were going to compete via discounts, I'd offer something like 35/50/75% off first service when you sign up for a 6 month contract, etc.

>>1398856

I should have just said that I am doing interior photography (real estate)

My prices are comparable to my competition (not cheaper), the service I provide is almost identical in regards to the quality of images produced (everyone uses the same equipment and techniques) though I try to go the extra mile when possible (not always possible due to time restrictions).

I work for a few clients already, work is in abundance.. I thought ifI could get my foot in the door with a few new clients then once they know me it would lead to more work (they basically just use who they know) at least this is how it has been so far with my current clients.

>>1398858

Your post got me thinking..

What if I were to forget about a standard price list structure and instead when contacting potential clients ask them what they pay and then just undercut all of my competition? (it would still be highly profitable for myself). How would I do this in a non dickish way?

I would still keep my price list but only use it for when someone contacts me via website enquiring about pricing.

>>1398892
I'll just lie when asked what I pay. If they undercut that I win by a lot. If they undercut it by a lot I know they are going to do a shit job.

>>1398863
I should have just said that I am doing interior photography (real estate)

I'm actually a real estate investor/property manager.

This is going to sound retarded, but are you equipped to do proper LIDAR scanning of rooms and upload proper 360 degree views for virtual reality stuff? I rent out apartments, and I'm having to invest in most of the equipment myself.

Started out as a gimmick for me, but there's some crazy growth potential in VR. I now have virtual walkthroughs of several of my apartments, and a few thousand dollars in vive equipment at my physical office. Results so far seem sort of mixed, but I'm not a professional at building 'levels' and I don't have all the equipment. People are impressed, but I could blow them away if I could get a professional to do the job decently.

I guarantee you that it will be profitable to be equipped to do this in the near future.

>>1398909
Unrelated to the above, I demand exclusive ownership of any photographs taken. Most photographers don't like that, so I just tell them to go fuck themselves since it's non negotiable. Maybe your clients don't care about copyright, but I don't want my apartments showing up in portfolios. I also want to have the full force of the law behind me when I start carpet bombing sites like Craigslist with DMCA's to remove scams using my pictures. DMCA's are faster than the report functionality on most sites because there is actual legal weight behind them.

Maybe offer to give people the exclusive copyrights to an image (since it's not like you want to put some shitty apartment in your portfolio), and point how that makes you better than most of your colleagues. No idea how you'd market this to the average dipshit landlord. I know this because I used to work in IP and contract law, but the average landlord barely seems to understand that you can get sued for not fixing a hot water heater in a timely fashion.