Venting...

I get the same type of responses every week. Don't sweat it man! Just because you suggested to her that she needs to meet with DJ's doesn't mean she is going to do so. There will always be those brides that are looking for the bottom dollar bid, and, like us, you don't want to be in that position anyway.

Wow, you call THAT "venting"? lol

Hey, be glad she at least responded to let you know something. And as for speed, at least in these parts, it's rare for a bride to want to meet the DJ. Of the ones I deal with, they look at your price, your referrals/testimonials and whatever is on your website, then they make a choice and BOOM! Some book, some don't. Next.

I'm sure most of us would like to reply like that...
or even reply with a bit more attitude.
But just remember, at NO point during her reception, no matter how mad it turns out...
will she remember your reply and think, "Gee, that Steven guy was right. I really screwed that up!"

As all of you know (if you've read my previous posts) the gigs I've done so far have all been for clients who knew me prior to my retirement or were friends of people who knew me before I became a DJ. But I'm thinking I might offer to hand deliver a quote to a potential client so they have to meet me in person. I'm confident I can close a sale if the client gets to meet me in person. I have a 50 mile range max anyway, so I would not be traveling far, and I have the flexibility to meet any time. Eventually, I'm going to have to take gigs with clients I don't know, so I think this might be a good strategy, based on some of the threads I've read here. My price is pretty competitive, but since I don't have the experience of some area DJ's in the same price range, maybe focusing on personal service and interaction might give me a slight advantage?
I could email quotes promptly for sure... just don't know how that differentiates me from other DJ's. [emoji4]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We don't really know why this particular person went with someone else, but here's some food for thought.

Sometimes a lengthy or "pseudo educative" sales pitch can put people off. Many people when shopping, know what they want and what they're willing to pay. When you are knowingly selling something that others are offering for less, you may feel that you have to justify why "in depth". That's fine, but it's rarely going to sway someone that has their mind made up.

This is a niche business, regardless of which end of the scale you operate on. Not every inquiry is obtainable or a good fit.

Many folks think all dj's are about the same - 'you play music, right?' and we all play the same music. So yeah, price is often the one thing they all do understand is different.

More and more people shop online and don't want the in-person face to face 'experience'. The military is teaching it's new officers how to make small talk and interract socially in person - they have classses for it because so many under 20's don't have experience with it. So they avoid it.

What you need to find out is what is important to them - and it's an easy question on the phone but via email it's nearly impossible. A pitch that tries to address the most popular 'hot button' may help...but as stated some will jump to the price and not bother with everything in the middle.

Out of ALL of the leads that you receive. Direct Inquiries, and Cold Leads from any source that you participate with, figure your booking ratio.

In General sales it is said that if you close 2 to 3 out of cold leads, that is normal. If you are closing 8 to 10 that is phenomenal. You are bound to strike out with most inquiries...If you are booking 50% of them, either your price is way low, or you are a hell of a sales person.

I went back and counted my last 100 leads off of Gig Masters. I went back to May of 2015. Since then, I have booked 7 gigs on GM. So 7 out of 100 leads booked with me.

Almost every lead had a email and/or phone call response from me after I bid on their event through the system. A few leads I did not pursue after I sent my quote because I knew their budget was just too low, or the location was just really, really far away. But 7 out of 100 booked.

You gotta just take rejection in stride, and move on.

Reasons they are not booking? I can think of 5 different potential reasons:

#1 - Price: I can tell you it was most likely over price as that is the number 1 reason clients don't book.

#2 - When it's not over price, it's due to the client feeling that another DJ can provide an experience that you can't offer. For example: A Client wants a Super Sweet 16 party with big up lighting, moving heads, on totems, flat screen TVs everywhere, and they realize that you are not capable of that type of production so they go with a company who can handle it proficiently (This is rarely the case though). Or perhaps a Client wants a Super Energetic High Energy party motivating dancing DJ for a Bat Mitzvah, and while you do mitzvahs, you are more of a lower key style of a DJ.

#3 - The third reason clients don't book is actually over color of your skin, or ethnicity. Maybe you quote on an event where they simply feel they should hire a Black Hip Hop DJ because that is most of their audience. (As a white DJ, I often lose out with these prospects, and I know that is the reason - Or another DJ is able to do Indian Punjabi music, and you have no clue about that stuff, or they feel an actual Indian DJ is what they need).

#4 - The 4th possible reason is because there is something about you that did not mesh well with them. It's hard to figure out what that was though. If you were your true self, and acted as professional as you always do, then don't dwell on it and move on. ...An example of this was I booked a bride who told me another DJ put her and her groom off because he was "Way too in your face" ...She mentioned the guy also "looked like the father from American Pie movie" ...LOL I had to laugh when I heard that. BUT, his price was lower than mine, and she went with me because a couple things about that DJ put them off. ...He could have been a great DJ outside of that, but they chose to book me at a higher price because they liked me, but didn't like a couple things about the other guy.

If they like you, and there is something about another DJ they didn't like and they well on that 1 thing, they will choose you over the other guy!


#5 - Your location compared to where their venue is at. Sometimes brides/grooms just feel safer booking a local DJ rather than a DJ who happens to be a 2 hour drive away. ...They usually don't take this into account, but some brides will. They feel safer if their vendors are more local in case of bad weather. ...I lost a Virginia Bride a couple years ago because I am from Baltimore, and they were worried how reliable I would be in case of a snow storm since it was a March wedding. ...They went with a DJ who lived 20 minutes away. ...I don't know if his price was lower or not, but they told me the final decision took my actual location into account.

Great thoughts, guys. Just like all of you, I see a lot of varying reasons for why they do and why they don't book. My overall average, across a 7 years timespan is that I book 1 gig for every 3 leads I get in. I average 250 leads per year and book 80(ish). I believe the "in your face" style can and will cost you. Appearing desperate or presenting too many options, especially "BIG SALE" options can cost you even more. There's something about projecting a strong, professional, polished image that just creates a magnetism that most brides will gravitate to. The common theme that I always hear is "This is the first time we've done this." and they crave someone who will listen to them, then use their expertise to make that vision come to life. In my own case, I usually gain their confidence by over-educating. By the time I've rapid-fired a few dozen good points or "gotchas" that they've never thought about, they're ready to sign.

Good discussion.

NickC said:

I get the same type of responses every week. Don't sweat it man! Just because you suggested to her that she needs to meet with DJ's doesn't mean she is going to do so. There will always be those brides that are looking for the bottom dollar bid, and, like us, you don't want to be in that position anyway.

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I don't suggest that they meet with a DJ. I ask if they would like to have a meeting with me.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

I don't suggest that they meet with a DJ. I ask if they would like to have a meeting with me.

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Mix please don't give advice until you are consistently booking gigs at a decent rate, that aren't somebody's cousins, sisters, boyfriends, godsons birthday party,

I

tunes4046 said:

Mix please don't give advice until you are consistently booking gigs at a decent rate, that aren't somebody's cousins, sisters, boyfriends, godsons birthday party,

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said what I said and I meant it. I ask can we schedule a meeting in the future to see if that's something they want to do. To tell somebody they should meet with the DJ is a bit much. Not everyone has the time or care to do so. Especially if it means having to meet a bunch of different DJs.

He put this on another forum as well. There's not much that can be done. The potential client has moved on and so should he. I was playing in a lounge on Fridays and things didn't work out. So time to look at another place to play at or work on getting more business. I vented my frustration out about what happened. I got it out of my system and now it's time to keep it moving. The owners loss my gain. NEXT!,,,,,,,,,

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

I

said what I said and I meant it. I ask can we schedule a meeting in the future to see if that's something they want to do. To tell somebody they should meet with the DJ is a bit much. Not everyone has the time or care to do so. Especially if it means having to meet a bunch of different DJs.

He put this on another forum as well. There's not much that can be done. The potential client has moved on and so should he. I was playing in a lounge on Fridays and things didn't work out. So time to look at another place to play at or work on getting more business. I vented my frustration out about what happened. I got it out of my system and now it's time to keep it moving. The owners loss my gain. NEXT!,,,,,,,,,

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Did you you have a contract with that lounge???

tunes4046 said:

Mix please don't give advice until you are consistently booking gigs at a decent rate, that aren't somebody's cousins, sisters, boyfriends, godsons birthday party,

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Who is this Mix, of which you speak?

rickryan.com said:

I believe the "in your face" style can and will cost you. Appearing desperate or presenting too many options, especially "BIG SALE" options can cost you even more. There's something about projecting a strong, professional, polished image that just creates a magnetism that most brides will gravitate to.

Click to expand...

Holy Crap!
I'm agreeing with Rick again!
It's true. Confidence works. Desperation doesn't.
Once you appear too anxious to book the gig (desperation)...
clients know they have you right where they want you, and begin whittling away at your price.
Of course, the real key to this concept (in my case) is that I can afford to pass on the gig,
rather than drop my drawers. (I mean, my price)

Hey like everyone has said at least they wrote you back. We lose on price all of the time, and I always give them a quote before we meet. There is no way I want to waste their time and ours. That way if they know our price and want to meet then its my event to lose. I would say that we are maybe 40 - 45 percent of calls we take. But about 95 percent when we meet. I only recently got very pissed at a potential when they knew our price and said they wanted us. But could not give us a confirmed date until they talked with the father at their local parish who would not be back for about a month.

They did give me the date but it had to be confirmed that their priest could do it. They were a direct referral from a previous client and the bride had been a bridesmaid. The date was obscure and this was in December so no worries. My only precondition was that if anything changed or they decided not to use our services just to let me know. So I wait till two days after the date they were supposed to talk with the priest. I send an email and they simply wrote back we have decided to go another route. Now it really cost me nothing to do this, but it was really quite rude on their part. Of course I just let it go but I was irritated.

What you don't know is by how much you're losing...$30? 300? 500?
I'd almost expect to lose if my quote was $300 higher, but 30? I think I'm better than 90% of the folks in my price range so to lose over a pittance would be annoying.

the other thing is we don't know - what the buyer's expectation or experiences are, what the other folks that do get the gig are saying or doing that may transcend price alone.

We're assuming we're losing on price..but we really don't know unless we ask and they are honest about it. And i'm betting most would say 'i found someone cheaper' rahter than 'your website isn't as good/your email was missing.../etc', let alone 'you pic online made you look old, i read review that you never showed, etc