Turning around an objection

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Sounds To Go

Sounds To Go

DJ
Dec 22, 2008
2,473
12
52
Roseville, CA
www.sounds2go.com
I had a lead on the 22nd of April, just a contact form through my site. I tried to get her back via phone and no-go, so I always hit them up via email as well.

After a couple of emails to set up a consult, I get slammed with this email:

Justin,

After I spoke to my fiance' he said he wants a dj that uses a computer instead of cd's or something like that. Do you only use cd's? I guess I didn't do enough research. Thanks for your help.

Heather

Pretty much a brush-off, end-of-story, right? I'm sure a lesser dj would've thanked them, wished them luck on their search end of story goodnight... but not this guy!:sqwink:

Here's my response:

Heather,

That's kind of an odd consideration to make a choice on - if you are hiring a professional, having a laptop vs. cd's won't make a bit of a difference for your event - you won't even be able to tell.

If your fiance has concerns or questions or whatnot or would like to talk about why he thinks it is such a difference, I would be glad to talk to him about it.

The things that really matter for a wedding dj are the customer service, personality, and their ability to plan and successfully run a wedding event from start to finish. Attention-to-detail is the biggest thing you should think about because that is going to make the difference for your event.

What medium they are playing their music from shouldn't be a consideration at all. The question is - can they do the job and do it well!

Just let me know!

Thanks,

J....

I didn't hear any response back, and thought it was so long farewell, until tonight when I get this response:

Hi Justin,

My fiance' and I are back in town and we were hoping we could schedule a meeting with you, maybe sometime this or next week.
Let me know.
Thanks,
Heather

So I not ONLY overcame their initial hesitation, but turned around an outright dismissal, all with a single short email - without even the benefit of ever having talked to them on the phone or having built ANY real repoire whatsoever.

Moral of the story: Don't give up on leads so easy, don't be afraid to push back a little, and sometimes, even when the exchange is for all intents and purposes DONE in their minds, you might... JUST MIGHT be able to turn the tide.

It never hurts to TRY!

I'll update on the consult after I get it done - but if I can get them for a face-to-face after that, its just about as done as a deal can be.:sqwink:
 
....and if you ever need selling points for being disc based, you know who to call! :sqlaugh:
 
You haven't eliminated the objection yet, but you got the meeting, so your point is well taken.

Good luck!
 
Steve Sharp said:
You haven't eliminated the objection yet, but you got the meeting, so your point is well taken.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks! You are right, but if it (objection) is pushed out of the way this far, that's as far as I need it to be! :sqwink:

I'll find out the reasons for the objection at the meeting for sure - perhaps they have experience at another function where an inexperienced dj was fumbling with cd's, transitioned sloppily, skips... who knows! In a case like that his concerns may be justified to an extent, but in that case are still easily overcome.
 
Back when I still used only CDs, I was told I looked very unprofessional having to pull CDs out of my case and load them into the CD player. The company I was working for hired DJs to do class reunions. They usually paid lower pay, and only used me when one of their regular DJs was not available. Most of their other guys brought in a laptop full of music that they all shared and downloaded from napster, limewire, and other sharing sites. After I heard this comment from one of the other DJs that I knew, I told them to remove me from their list, and a couple of their clients tracked me down and hired me independently.
 
Apparently, you're all missing the real point of this post. Go back and re-read what Justin wrote -



Sounds To Go said:
I didn't hear any response back, and thought it was so long farewell, until tonight when I get this response:

Hi Justin,

My fiance' and I are back in town and we were hoping we could schedule a meeting with you, maybe sometime this or next week.
Let me know.
Thanks,
Heather
Click to expand...

Perhaps it was in the initial tone of the voice contact that Justin felt somewhat of a brush-off and felt that because there was no "immediate" reply to his email, that it should be looked upon as a denial.

What I am getting at is this -

We forget that we as entertainers are a small part of the whole planning process, and that our potential customers have more on their minds and plates than just the planning of their big day. They are still having to go through their daily lives with all the obligations that that brings with it.

So, instead of looking at it from a "potential denial" or "brushoff" as Justin mentioned above, be willing to give some of your potential clients the benefit of the doubt and time to respond.

As his clients' response said -
Sounds To Go said:
My fiance' and I are back in town and we were hoping we could schedule a meeting with you, maybe sometime this or next week.
Let me know.
Thanks,
Heather
Click to expand...

Just my two cents.
 
unless you need the job , I would pass
because they wont be satisfied on anything that you give them



oh Justin, watch out the groom cant see this via google!
 
sparkieg said:
Perhaps it was in the initial tone of the voice contact that Justin felt somewhat of a brush-off and felt that because there was no "immediate" reply to his email, that it should be looked upon as a denial.
Click to expand...

Great point, and your interpretation and implications are right on. Actually though, what told me I was getting a brush off was actually much earlier than the lack of a timely response to my email, though that was helping to reinforce that impression. The initial realization I was essentially dismissed was the:

"After I spoke to my fiance' he said he wants a dj that uses a computer instead of cd's or something like that. Do you only use cd's? I guess I didn't do enough research. Thanks for your help."

Sounds like an intended slough-off to me.:sqlaugh:
 
DjDennis said:
unless you need the job , I would pass
because they wont be satisfied on anything that you give them
Click to expand...

Warning taken. I'm just operating under the assumption (however flawed or not it may be) that I will be at least relatively successful at feeling out all of their concerns and objections at the consult. If I see anything insurmountable or any kind of stand-offish attitude on behalf of the groom, it would serve as a flag. So fare though, from the minimal communication we've had, I have no reason to suspect any of that as the case - just seems like a cut-and-dry matter of educating the consumer.

We'll see!
 
I am wondering why the groom would think that DJing with anything but a puter would be undesireable. :confused:
 
Fred Wright said:
I am wondering why the groom would think that DJing with anything but a puter would be undesireable. :confused:
Click to expand...

Who knows - maybe he has a friend of a friend of a cousin who's a dj (who doesn't these days, right?) and uses a computer.

Maybe he's had a bad previous experience with a dj who uses cd's and attributes it to that.

Maybe he feel for a sales-schtick by a "digi-dj" and actually thinks that the latest IS "the greatest!" :sqlaugh:

Who knows... we'll find out.:sqwink:

(In the end, there's only ONE actual tangible BENEFIT to dj'ing digitally that I will concede may very well have an overall positive net effect on the success, outcome, and quality of events (and no it doesn't have anything to do with speedy-access of files) - but for fear of derailing the thread, I won't go there... let someone else start another thread on the topic if they're so inclined. Even that benefit is not a given that is a natural or even likely result of using the technology, but will depend wholly on the individual performer in question and how they utilize it.)
 
as I mentioned to you at the Sticky Wickett on Sunday I admire the level you have attained in just four years of your DJ experience. Good job and great thoughts here Justin.
 
wow Jon, now that must have been very hard to say that
since your an old man at this job!
 
Well, looks like my self-assurance in this case was justified!

Wife emails me today that I got a deposit in the mail and told me the name and I couldn't remember for the life of me who it was... after searching my email for the name, which I DID recognize - just couldn't place, found it was the couple from this thread! This was 3 months ago, and I hadn't heard from them and had long-since written them off.

She basically wrote me off sight-unseen initially after one or two emails, gave me the reason they decided to keep looking elsewhere, and thanked me for my time.

Obviously though, they responded well to my absolute refusal to be "dismissed" out-of-hand.

Just goes to show - think twice about giving up on that lead - EVEN IF it seems THEY have given up on YOU! :sqlaugh::rofl::sqlaugh::sqwink::sqcool:
 
Sounds To Go said:
Who knows - maybe he has a friend of a friend of a cousin who's a dj (who doesn't these days, right?) and uses a computer.

Maybe he's had a bad previous experience with a dj who uses cd's and attributes it to that.

Maybe he feel for a sales-schtick by a "digi-dj" and actually thinks that the latest IS "the greatest!" :sqlaugh:

Who knows... we'll find out.:sqwink:

(In the end, there's only ONE actual tangible BENEFIT to dj'ing digitally that I will concede may very well have an overall positive net effect on the success, outcome, and quality of events (and no it doesn't have anything to do with speedy-access of files) - but for fear of derailing the thread, I won't go there... let someone else start another thread on the topic if they're so inclined. Even that benefit is not a given that is a natural or even likely result of using the technology, but will depend wholly on the individual performer in question and how they utilize it.)
Click to expand...

I agree, there are all kinds of possibilities why he thinks that. Who knows. While I personally think DJing with a computer is better FOR ME, I think it's a silly reason to choose a DJ based mainly on his or her media choice.

I once had a client ask me if I used a computer. I said yes. She said the DJ she met with before said he doesn't use computers because every DJ that uses computers is illegal and the cops may show up at the wedding and shut them down. There is a lot of misinformation out there on both sides.

We just saw a thread where the client wanted "any other system" besides one brand. You simply can't get much more uneducated or misinformed than that. But as we all know, some people have misinformed or uneducated opinions about lots of things.

But people choose DJs for all kinds of reasons. I once had a client tell me that it was down to me and another DJ, and he chose me because I accept american express and the other guy didn't.

While I'm glad it worked out for you this time, I would caution against telling someone that their requirement is an "odd" choice. Some people may take offense to that. They may also then see your reasons as self serving.

Again, glad it worked out for you, just suggest tweaking the word choice just a little.

We should all keep working to get better at turning around objections.
 
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