What Will You Do When.....
- Thread starter Proformance
- Start date
Amen
to that brother. That is when the truly skilled players will step up and the cream will seperate itself
to that brother. That is when the truly skilled players will step up and the cream will seperate itself
Alright, so you are are the cream of the crop- you are at the undisputed top of your game. an "industry" leader.
Is that what customer's really want when they shop for a DJ?
If you could read the Bride's mind - would the ultimate need she is trying to satisfy be "the cream of the DJ crop?"
What about other customer's? What is it they really want?
Is that what customer's really want when they shop for a DJ?
If you could read the Bride's mind - would the ultimate need she is trying to satisfy be "the cream of the DJ crop?"
What about other customer's? What is it they really want?
ProFo, this should be another thread altogether!
Now that you've made me think, I've decided to become the Baby Boomer Karaoke King of Sacramento, as a way to fill my lonely weekdays (LOL).
So when the wedding biz dries up I can still eke out a living doing Elvis tunes....hahhahaha not really
To answer your new questions:
MY customers are the ones who hire me or one of my associates.
They tell me (repeatedly) that they are tired of the used car sales approach to DJ marketing. Typically I'm the only one NOT offering to meet with them initially. Of course I WILL MEET THEM after they pay my deposit!!!
During the initial call I talk with them about their event and see if what we offer will meet their needs, over the phone in about 5-10 minutes. I'll send them a written estimate right away, in the US mail (not e-mail). The other DJs won't give a price until they meet! (prospects do not like this sales technique). My retainer (deposit) is only $200 and the rest is paid at the event after we set up.
Once they realize I'm not out to scam them out of their money, and when they check our references (all good), most send their retainer by mail (about 80%, the highest percentage in years). About 1/5 of the prospects I will meet with for a quickie meeting (20 minutes) to collect the retainer in person, and still provide another 40 minute meeting at a later date, to finalize everything.
What the PAYING CUSTOMERS (not prospects) tell me they want:
1) a basic, no-frills approach to announcing, and party motivating.
2) no foo foo (DJ-MC customers take care of their own projectors, screens, and other non-DJ-related items).
3) no cheese (this can be interpreted many ways but it generally means NO MACARENA, NO YMCA, NO CHICKEN DANCE, NO DJ SCHTICK
4) as my customers age, they say no rap, no hip hop, no Top 40 (no Fergie, no Gwen, no Britney).
5) younger clients want everything not wanted in #4
6) DJ must be PROACTIVE......NOT reactive. For example, the WWYD where the caterer is late. Most DJs (including myself in my first 10 years of DJ'ing) would have just kept on playing background music and wasting the client's money in the process. (Hey, more Overtime.....that is the mentality) But generally a good DJ-MC will try to make the party move along in an orderly fashion. Even the good deed attempted (asking B/G or MOB to change some of the order of events), will not go unnoticed! Moving tables and chairs, helping pour champagne, dismissing tables with a trivia game. When the prospect hears about our proactive moments (documented by actual customers in their online reviews), they immediately see how we've become a Team Player and probably the best value among wedding vendors.
now its time to load my van, and go & practice what I preach, for a #4-type customer (above).