How To Turn $1,000 Projects Into $10,000 With Retainers

The client acquisition process can be long and frustrating.

You send hundreds of emails, book dozens of calls, and send handfuls of proposals, only to end up booking a project for a grand.

It’s a great feeling when you book your first clients, but booking low budget after low budget client gets frustrating fast.

Luckily there’s a way to increase the amount of money you make per client without changing your core service.

In comes the retainer model.

A retainer is simply a long term contract with a client. You provide a set number of assets, on a reoccurring basis, for a set timeline.

A simple example is 10 photos per month for 12 months.

All you need to do is take one of your packages and begin to offer it as part of a long term agreement.

But in order for people to agree to this, you need to incentivize them with a discount. For 12 month retainers, I’ll start by offering a 20% discount and negotiate from there.

Pitching your retainers is another challenge. Who wants to commit to paying 10 grand? If you can show the value you provide with consistent assets, the client will be more convinced to work with you.

If you’ve had any past clients that you’ve worked with on a consistent basis, pull together a case study. Show how because of your assets, they were able to increase sales, build brand awareness, grow their following, etc.

You already know how valuable consistent, good content is to a company. Your case study should reflect that.

Once you’ve worked with a client on a small project, send them your case study and tell them how a retainer model could help them. Offer that discount and land that deal.

In depth retainer guide is right here.