While I agree with your points, these kind of prospective clients will likely ask why your quote is higher and/or why you can't do it their way. How can you answer it without going into this minefield?
I don't approach the client with the intention to "sell" them something.
Rather, they have provided me an
opportunity and I simply make them aware that there are also
other opportunities available to me as well.
From this position it should be clear to them that I am not competing with other DJs - it is they who are competing for my consideration.
Of course, that is all lip-service until you are actually in a position to
truly have other opportunities.
- Reputation,
- References,
- and a client's personal knowledge of your previous work is a must.
If you are an
unknown quantity you are subject to the comparison of price vs promises and are in fact, competing with every other available service.
For example, I recently quoted a fundraiser. I was called because two committee members were also on a committe for another organization's fundraiser which I have been doing annually for the past 4 years. The third person and committee chair had a plan based on an idea she saw at yet another event she had attended.
As she described it to me I ask her if it was the
"_____________ debut." She said: "
Yes, so you know what I'm talking about? I told her:
"Yes, I did that job."
Having been part of the successful experiences these people hold as their current expectation gives me a credibility that's hard to overcome by
price and promises. I am a known quantity - already confirmed as the result they are looking for.
The other side of that - is being able to demonstrate that you are
worth it. By "
worth," I don't mean the "value" jibbersih that people toss around like so much flack from a
cheezy marketing grenade.
"Worth" is not a comparison to someone else. It is the ability to
clearly demonstrate that you are in fact putting their money to work at it's highest and best use - saving them time, dollars, stress, and increasing their returns (fundraising); benefit (commercial); or experience (personal).
Essentially, you have to
know what you're talking about AND be able to connect solidly with what
they're talking about.
I may not get this job ($5,250) because the chairperson dosen't have a full appreciation of the wholesale cost of what she wants, and refuses to solicit volunteers to cut expenses. But, if I don't it will be because my specialty was not in their budget this year and not because they got a better deal somewhere else. They may get by paying less, but next year they will remember too budget for what they really wanted in the first place.
