Acquiring Gigs

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As others have said you have a sound business head on your shoulders, and you are approaching it the right way.

I noticed from one of your earlier comments your concern about "selling yourself". The answer here is their is no easy answer, it just takes doing it, making the mistakes, and never giving up.

I was in Sales (Insurance) for 35 years, and what I found that worked the best from a solicitation standpoint was to schedule one morning every week to make calls, visits, send letters.....any marketing activities, involving new prospects. I would block out the time on my calendar like any other appt./commitment.

The actual visit for the close, I would first know what I wanted to say; but I didn't memorize it, I wanted it to sound natural, and if I had to flip on something, I could do it very easily.Prospects are more comfortable when you come across as relaxed, and confident, having good "body language" is very important. Unfortunately this takes time and exposure to gain this, if it doesn't come naturally, but it will come if you stick to it.........
 
jokerswild said:
Yes but note that I didn't say CD was better sound wise nor did I say that using CD's was more efficient.... All I said was graphically CD's are equal to or better than my digital versions. Of course my digital versions will never skip or degrade over time. So, in that light Mine are better than yours are..... neener neener neener :la:
Click to expand...


Quick hijack: I beg to differ-

"I have the cleanest digital karaoke show in my area next to CD. None compare to the quality of my graphics, except for those using CD. But, this while a selling point isn't strong enough... in my area size truely is what matters not quality."


"Next to" is a lot like "aside from"- making the CDs sound better.....sounds like a Freudian slip to me...:sqbiggrin: and a neener to you...



Now, for gig building- I must re-iterate that the visit is VERY important, but the mailing comes first. This will give you a common ground to get the conversation rolling. I should also mention that you should keep dropping in even if you've been rejected.....you never know.

The biggie is that if you plan an un-appointed visit, MAKE SURE that you schedule it properly. It's ok to stop in at prime time on the night you want to work to check the place out, but don't expect the owner to drop everything in mid-blitz to talk to you. The exception is, of course, is if there IS no blitz. Then this is the perfect time to tell them how much good you'll do them, Even trying to talk to them when busy will make you look bad. If the place is a restaurant, you want to talk between service. 2-4PM is best. If the venue is mostly a bar, 6:30-8pm is also a good time.

You might carry, besides your card, a song list, and possibly good pics of your rig. A pad and pen is a must for notes regarding the venue's special needs.
 
JoeChartreuse said:
Quick hijack: I beg to differ-

"I have the cleanest digital karaoke show in my area next to CD. None compare to the quality of my graphics, except for those using CD. But, this while a selling point isn't strong enough... in my area size truely is what matters not quality."


"Next to" is a lot like "aside from"- making the CDs sound better.....sounds like a Freudian slip to me...:sqbiggrin: and a neener to you...
Click to expand...

Ya gotta read between the lines... I was trying to draw a corrolation to the graphics only... and the only reason I say CD would be better assumeing the CD is in prestine condition is that sometimes graphics don't convert perfectly to .cdg. And I still have a handfull of those on my computer only because for one reason or another the new program I'm using, which does convert CDG to mp3+g perfectly, wouldn't recognize a couple of discs out of over 300+.

But, that's for another topic.

Sorry for the Hijack,.... on going war ya know.

Engaging Defletor Shields..........................NOW!
 
JoeChartreuse said:
Dam! I hate those things. Engaging disruptor pulse frequency variation. Will......break...through.......
Click to expand...

Must.... Hold......... on....

Maintain..... stability...

Redirecting main reactor power....

Whew... deflector shields are holding sir.
 
Enigma where do you plan on taking this? Do you plan on going beyond the bar scene?
 
jokerswild said:
Must.... Hold......... on....

Maintain..... stability...

Redirecting main reactor power....

Whew... deflector shields are holding sir.
Click to expand...



....blew another vacuum tube in the main power array......replaced.....bringing flux capacitors back on line.....NEED MORE POWER!
 
Jeff I was thinking the same thing and why I changed his sigline and his avatar title. Hoping to disolve such Debauchery.
 
Sorry I've been sort of MIA for a few days. Lots going on right now. I'm going to try to get to some of these (much appreciated) replies now.

Carolyn: Thanks for the great advice. I especially like the idea of offering to buy everyones first drink if they show up. Nothing like some good ol' fashioned bribery to get the job done. :rofl:

JoeChartreuse: Good call on the flyer idea. I'm in the process of making one of those up now. Also, working in the service industry, I know how busy it gets from 11:00-1:00 and after 4:00 or 5:00, so advice dually noted. And coming from someone who used to use the internet to find places to go sing karaoke on a nightly basis, I also am quite familiar with how unreliable it is. :sqwink:

Jeff: Eventually, I plan on moving up the ladder. Right now I'm trying to hone my craft at bars and such. Once I feel absolutely comfortable with that, I'm going to work on marketing outside of that. As I said in the first post of this thread, I'm going all "Guitar Hero career mode" here. Right now I'm in the basement, playing for 20 people. Eventually, I'd like to make Warped Tour. :sqcool:

And a big thank you to everyone who may have just commented something that didn't really necessitate a reply. I didn't ignore the rest and they were all just as appreciated. I assure you. Keep 'em coming, folks. This is helping me out loads.
 
You are now, where...

...each of us has been. Charge what ever you need to charge to satisfy your needs, and don't let others tell you you're wrong.

For the first few years, I put most of my money back into the business (because I could afford to), and now have some pretty descent gear (and lots of it). This may take you a lot longer, but continue to strive on upgrading your gear. Learn DMX programming too.

And, run ideas past us before you make a move... like business cards. Many here run a sample of their card past us and we critique it. Good way to get a great card and design.
 
Another thought, Enigma, for when you DO branch out into private events.


More than 70% of my events are midweek. This is because I made a concerted effort to concentrate on shift workers like nurses and cops. Their "weekends" are whenever they are off. It's a heck of a market, and wide open.
 
Wow Enigma excellent simple but attractive with all the info legible. My friend you are heading in the right direction and landing on both feet. Keep networking here. You can ask guys like Papa Deuce, Nextgen and several others who have grown dramatically since posting regular and asking the proper questions they have excelled more than I did my first 20 yrs without such a great resource. Keep it up.
 
enigma..nice card..KISS has always been my rule...as joe told you, check out those mid-week gigs..there's always a small watering hole around a hospital or factory...i used to own a small sports bar and a large amount of my weekly business was weekday mornings starting about 7am after the local factory changed shifts..we even do a few early day gigs, still...promoter yourself to these establishments, graveyard workers spend money,too
 
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