How to make a Bid?

[DVX100Shooter]

I am always wondering when different events come to town and a video production crew is there filming, how do they go about getting the "gig"? Is there a way to know well in advance of various events to get in on in terms of shooting the event? I often ask organizers if they have someone doing video production for them. That may sound cheesy but I have no idea what the normal chain of command is in putting in a bid. I want to shoot more stuff on the side in 2006 so I need to try and get a jump on things. I picked up a possible PSA gig today but that is through a producer at my job that knows someone that needs it shot!

When making a bid, what exactly do you present? Is it like an outline or business plan what you plan to achieve in the shoot? The rate you are charging, etc?

I know there is tons of companies and organizations and churches, etc., that need some sort of production work done throughout the year. The problem is finding out about this stuff in advance!

 

[Barry_Green]

I picked up a possible PSA gig today but that is through a producer at my job that knows someone that needs it shot!

Exactly. That's how it's done. You go and meet people, let 'em know what you do, find a way to make their life easier by having them use your services, and then when they have a job come up, they call you.

90% of the jobs I've gotten have come through knowing someone somewhere, whether it's networking with freelance production coordinators or meeting the boss of a large company or schmoozing with the human resources department at a medium to large company.

When making a bid, what exactly do you present? Is it like an outline or business plan what you plan to achieve in the shoot? The rate you are charging, etc?

I don't do any of that. When the people call me in to discuss the shoot, I act as if it's already a given that I'll be the guy doing the job. So I have them talk and talk about what they want to see in the finished product (the more they talk, the more they sell themselves on the idea, and the more time they spend with me the more they get invested in the idea that I'll be the one doing the job.) They always ask "what will this cost?" and I never answer. I turn it around and say "what's your budget?" If you approach it as a "cost" figure, then that leaves them with the idea of getting competitive bids and getting the cost down -- which is death to the negotiations. So don't do that. Instead I have them tell me what their budget is -- and as soon as they do, the game's over, because if they've already said their figure, and they like my work, why will they waste time even considering anyone else?

Of course, there are times when they have no idea what they want to spend. In those cases, I'll help them along by giving them an idea of what they could have for three various budget figures, numbers that I pluck out of the air based on experience. I might say "asking what a video costs is like asking what a house costs. It all depends on the house, right? So, for $5,000 I could give you a video that does this and that. For $15,000 we could add this and that and the other thing, and for a budget of $50,000 we could bring in some name actors and get some celebrity value and present the finished product in a movie theater and blah blah blah." So that gets 'em thinking -- it gets 'em thinking that first of all, this ain't no $300 job, the cheapest option I gave 'em was $5,000. Second, they start to dream because they see possibilities, possibilities beyond what they may have thought. And third, nobody likes to be the cheap guy, so I'd say 80% of the time that I've used this tactic, they always choose the middle price. Almost always.

Once we get a budget figure from them, then I reassure them that I will give them exactly what they want, exactly when they want it, and we then lay out terms (shooting dates, payment terms, anything that's their responsibility instead of mine).

I never have to fill out any sort of line-item budget, because they don't know or care what those figures mean and wouldn't know what to do with them if you gave them to them. All they want to know is that a) I'm going to solve their problem, b) they're going to look like heroes, and c) they know exactly what it's going to cost them and when they'll have it.

I know there is tons of companies and organizations and churches, etc., that need some sort of production work done throughout the year. The problem is finding out about this stuff in advance!

That's where meeting people comes into play. Get out there, talk about what you do, but more importantly listen to what they need. Meet 'em at luncheons, meet 'em at networking events, meet 'em through friends, but get out there and meet people and get on their minds.

If you really want to go the "bid" route, you can look at getting registered with your county and city and get on their bid list. I never bothered to do that, but it helps enormously if you meet any of the disadvantaged business requirements (minority ownership, women-owned-business, etc) as you can then bid up to 20% more and still be considered the "low bidder". I don't qualify for that, so it wasn't worth it to register, plus I don't like the impersonal relationship of bidding through a form -- I much rather prefer sitting down with the person who has the problem, and brainstorming a way that I can solve their problem for them.

 

[DVX100Shooter]

Thanks Barry your advise was much appreciated!