Meet my bride

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rickryan.com

DJ Extraordinaire
ODJT Supporter
Dec 9, 2009
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Hendersonville, TN
www.rickryan.com
Fellas, say hello to Mrs. Connie Ryan. The wedding went off without a hitch and we had roughly 150 guests (which is a lot for the area we're in). My son DJ'ed the event and did a great job. Lots of dancing. I used my photobooth and also hired in a caricature artist, which was a huge hit. While I stayed away from the mixer, I did end up playing dance motivator throughout the night. One thing's for certain, this white boy cannot dance, but it sure was fun trying. We're getting ready now and flying out to South Lake Tahoe at noon today and will be there for a week. She's a wonderful girl and things just click. See you guys when we get back.

 
So happy for you Ryan! BTW, this white boy can't dance either...although I did win an award for dancing the "Car Wash" on our Carnival cruise in April.

I have no problem being an azz...especially with 2,000 strangers around.:sqlaugh:
 
Congrats Rick enjoy the vacation :)
 
Thanks guys. After a wonderful week in Tahoe we're back in the saddle this morning. I appreciate the sentiments. Now, to get ready for this week's wedding.

BTW, on booking, we had a tour yesterday. We've been having a hard time closing gigs so I decided to try something different. We had a number of bottles of wine left over so I walked over an interrupted the sales meeting and asked the bride to be if they were wine drinkers. I then handed her a bottle. It brought a big smile on her face and a bit later, my Events Director texted that they'd booked. I think I'm going to try this on the next several tours and see what happens. We've been sitting at about 15% close rate so if a $5 bottle of wine can up that to 30%-40% then it's a bargain. Just some food for thought for your own DJ practice.
 
Thanks guys. After a wonderful week in Tahoe we're back in the saddle this morning. I appreciate the sentiments. Now, to get ready for this week's wedding.

BTW, on booking, we had a tour yesterday. We've been having a hard time closing gigs so I decided to try something different. We had a number of bottles of wine left over so I walked over an interrupted the sales meeting and asked the bride to be if they were wine drinkers. I then handed her a bottle. It brought a big smile on her face and a bit later, my Events Director texted that they'd booked. I think I'm going to try this on the next several tours and see what happens. We've been sitting at about 15% close rate so if a $5 bottle of wine can up that to 30%-40% then it's a bargain. Just some food for thought for your own DJ practice.
do you do any sort of follow up to see what may be causing such a low closing rate?
 
do you do any sort of follow up to see what may be causing such a low closing rate?

I haven't tried following up with lost prospects. Pointless as they ghost you as soon as you're not needed. The girls now are very tepid about saying anything out of fear they'll make you angry. For several months, I just turned over leads to my Event Director, but then started getting the impression that she was slacking a bit. For the past month or so I'm pushing on her. I didn't want to do too much, given my own wedding, but now that that is done I can focus more on bookings. We're trying a few more things to get it moving, mainly cleaning and grounds keeping. If that doesn't start turning things around by Oct, then I'll likely make a change in who does the tours. My gut tells me I've got a good lady, but I can't just not monitor it. My wife is a business person and she's suggesting I give the ED a bit more time and to improve things that I can change (housekeeping/landscaping).
 
Hey Rick, I hope you gave yourself a friends-and-family discount on the venue. ;) BTW, not many venue managers can say that the got married in their own venue.

The wine giveaway idea is a good one. That simple gesture conveys that you are more about the clients happiness than trying to nickel and dime clients over every last detail.
 
I understand the issue with following up with people who didn't book the venue as some will think you will get upset at the answer they give you. What about this though. Keeping on contact with the people who booked the venue and find out why they booked? What are the strong points that you can focus on and improve on those things if they need improvement.

You also might put out a survey as to either why they did or did not book the venue. Anyway just keep up the good work on making improvements on the venue and keep your head up. Do remember we're coming out of a difficult situation with this Pandemic. Things have opened up but not everyone is ready to be in a crowd. My best friend is still nervous about being in a crowd. I'm not. I was just out last evening in a park with well over 200 people easily.