'Preciate it, Fred, but the problem that I'm facing is a little different. Steve seems to be in the trenches with anybody here who's anybody in the bar or restaurant business and I guess some of the halls.
Funny, Steve and I have actually switched places a few times over the years. Fire him, hire me.....fire me, hire him, sometimes a coupla times in the same place. I've got a lot of respect for what he does, but I don't know how he does it, slugging his stuff into the bars 5-6 nights a week. I kinda left the karaoke and bar scene behind a few years ago and I don't think I'll look back.
The marketing issues that I have revolve more around the high end venues like the country clubs, inns, and wineries. That's where opportunities are being wasted because of everyone's haste to fill the calendar, thus the $600 price that I described earlier in this thread. This problem is exasperated by the fact that while there are two local booking companies that dominate the market are band-based and they do well, so the money's there, we DJs just aren't getting it and never will with the current "regime". One agent actually tells the DJs here that if they want to book out faster, drop the rate.
This is what led me to the Bubble parties and the Trivia games. They are gonna be my insurance policy. That leads to the other problem that I personally have, which is that while I am a great performer, I am a lousy marketing person. I'm trying to get better, reading sales and marketing books, etc., but it's outside of my box, so it's not very comfortable, like going from a size 10 to a size 11. I'll get there.
"Til then, I reserve the right to whine! LOL
Rick
I can speak at least to Country Clubs and booking agents. I spent 5 years on our Entertainment committee at my Country Club.
Early on we (the committee) would hear of good bands, DJ's and book them.
Our General mgr. belongs to Associations who offer a forum for Managers in the Country Club Industry, to share idea's sources etc. We became aware of some good booking agents in the area.....very competitive pricing.
By using booking agents today we can get exactly what we want, for club events as well as offer outside events, getting a list of varied entertainment options.
Our Mgr. only goes to these sources when He has no other alternatives.
We will not hire anyone without a referral from a trusted source, or seeing a video, hearing a CD of a Bands Music, etc....
For an Outside event (party/wedding from the general public) we can not afford to bomb with bad entertainment. For inside events (member events) the cost is a concern. We already pay substantial monthly dues. If we bring in a bad band or hire a bad DJ, it hurts our ability to attract members to future events.
Consequently if we don't have someone we know of to hire, we go to the agents, and hold them responsible for who they send us.