Pricing too low???

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niagprem

DJ
Nov 12, 2007
258
7
68
Niagara Falls Canada
Have you ever felt that you lost gigs because your pricing was too low?

I'm working this weekend for another DJ company that won the same gig that I had quoted for a lower price. As this is my first year in business for myself and we are currently in the off season I've tried to be more competitive because I want to work and gain more experience. My prices are not low ball prices but reasonable. It's not that I don't know what I'm doing as I played in bands for 25 years and I worked about three years for one of the multi-ops before going solo, just my business name hasn't been around very long.
Any comments appreciated.

Dean
Niagara Premier
 
You might be priced too high for an unknown commodity. this is your first year in business for yourself and if there is little difference between you and everyone else why choose you?

These days I don't think anyone is priced too low especially for corporates they are looking for the deal but they are also looking for quality. I'm not saying you don't provide quality but how would they know.

My guess is they were shopping and went with what they know
 
niagprem said:
Have you ever felt that you lost gigs because your pricing was too low?



Dean
Niagara Premier
Click to expand...

No...and here's why. I explain myself (notice I didn't say sell).

From my FAQ section:

What are your rates and why?

There are many varieties of DJs. Each, have their own brand of entertaining. It is not my practice
to research, meet or beat the pay rate at which other DJs operate.

Since all functions have different requirements, my rates are determined after obtaining all
possible information regarding an event. The most common factors being "distance", "duration"
and "duties". My rates are determined to suit my own needs. I consider them to be fair to both the
client and myself.

Everbody deserves great service. Although my rates tend to fall lower than the market average,
my service remains top notch. I've worked hard to find a good balance between expenses and
profit to achieve the goal of being obtainable by a broad group of clients.

If you contact me for a quote, I'm sure you'll find it to be quite reasonable.
 
WOW!
never heard that one before!

maybe they compared your price to some of the national multi-ops which low ball the price and are KNOWN for hiring the cheapest and crappiest DJ's they can get. I'm assuming they asked for a quote from you, but have not seen you in action, so they had to assume that cheap price = bad DJ
 
I have had people tell me after the fact that I should charge more but don't know if anyone didn't book me because my price was low.

It has only happened a couple times but when asked why I charge what I charge, I tell them I charge what I would pay for the services I offer if I was looking for a DJ. Simple as that.
 
No client is ever going to say "you're charging too little, so I'm going with this guy - BUT, if you were to RAISE you're rates to match his, I'll hire you right now!"

I would say that the company in question either resorted to scare tactics to convince the client that something in you or your offering "must be" missing at that price, or they did a better job (fair assumption as they got the gig) at communicating or convincing the client of the overall value of their offering compared with yours.

Just look at it that way and see if there's any area of opportunity in the way you communicated those things or might do it differently next time.... And look at everything from the ground-up that plays into customer perception.... website, printed materials, presentation, everything.

But before you beat yourself up over it, make sure you're comparing apples-to-apples between what you were quoting for what you'd provide and what they contracted for with the new company. They may be getting "more" or "different" in certain areas of the offering that are very tangible in their eyes that might justify the increase in rates - at least it did just that for the client in question.

Chin up!
 
The thing here is I've actually been sub-contracted to do the gig for the other company that got the gig. So client is not getting anything more then I offered at the lower price. They are getting me and paying the othere company a couple hundred extra. I almost feel like telling the customer, but I wouldn't actually do that.

Dean
 
niagprem said:
The thing here is I've actually been sub-contracted to do the gig for the other company that got the gig. So client is not getting anything more then I offered at the lower price. They are getting me and paying the othere company a couple hundred extra. I almost feel like telling the customer, but I wouldn't actually do that.

Dean
Click to expand...

this is a weird one.
obviously NOT the price, since they chose to pay more
probably NOT the services, since they're getting YOU anyway
I assume the B/G don't know that they got a quote from you???
I had a similar situation, and the bride was very apologetic for not hiring me direct. then hired me thru a multi-op I work for. not only did she pay more, but I got paid more to do the job! (even after the company got their piece)

I wouldn't tell them.
just do the job and spend the money.

of course, if you get any referrals from the gig, you'll have to run them thru the multi-op!
 
I had that happen. Just the opposite.

The multi-op that lowballed to get the gig, called me to see if I could DJ it. (I recognized the gig) Even though I was available, there's no way I'm gonna cover a gig for a guy that undercut me to get it...and he needs a DJ to cover it, so he can pocket 3/4 of it for doing basically nothing. (a DJ pimp)

.....and wants to pay me less than what I would've required as the deposit.

Personally, I would be contributing to his success.
Screw that!
 
niagprem said:
The thing here is I've actually been sub-contracted to do the gig for the other company that got the gig. So client is not getting anything more then I offered at the lower price. They are getting me and paying the othere company a couple hundred extra. I almost feel like telling the customer, but I wouldn't actually do that.

Dean
Click to expand...


Reminds me of the movie "Moving"

The family refused the grubby looking blue-collar moving company & chose a more expensive moving company based on the sweet & honest looking sales lady. .......But guess who shows up to do the work? the grubby cheaper blue collar movers, who now have a chip on their shoulder because they were dissed/overlooked by this family before.
 
I have been know to say when a client told me they where considering someone much less expensive than myself. That in life there are many truisms. And the phrase you get what you pay for is one of them. Now I never bash another company nor do I discourage them from looking around. I never try and hook them up with a meeting to tell them my prices either. I tell them what we can do and how we do it.

I try if I have the time and educate them. If they want to get off the phone quickly. I simply say that who ever you use for your special day. I wish them best and that they have a wonderful time. The soft sell baby is the best. I would rather they hand me there money because they want to rather than prying it from there hands. There is a possibility that your lower price made them wonder why you where lower and therefore they equated price with service value. Which in your case does not apply, though many times it does.
 
Maybe this is ignorant but have any of you guys actually considered the possibility that this was an early 20-something bride, who had her daddy's credit card may have just gone with the marginally-higher price tag, merely because "It must be better cause it costs more." ?

It is pretty weird though that you're working the job, either way. Congrats on that much.
 
rickryan.com said:
Maybe this is ignorant but have any of you guys actually considered the possibility that this was an early 20-something bride, who had her daddy's credit card may have just gone with the marginally-higher price tag, merely because "It must be better cause it costs more." ?

It is pretty weird though that you're working the job, either way. Congrats on that much.
Click to expand...

Hence my advice to:

"Just look at it that way and see if there's any area of opportunity in the way you communicated those things or might do it differently next time.... And look at everything from the ground-up that plays into customer perception.... website, printed materials, presentation, everything.":sqrolleyes:
 
And there is one possibility that everyone seems to have missed!

It could be that WOM from a friend who had used the Multi-op before carried the bid! Or it was a simpler transaction, I get booked all the time through an agency and have covered many gigs for the same clients that have called me and then passed for the agency (at a higher price)! Since I am the number 1 DJ they reccomend I am usually the one who ends up with the job if I have anyone available on that date!
 
There are SOOOOO many instances where a low price will reduce number of sales.

People often believe that a lower price means lower quality.

Sometimes, and DJing is surely one of them, a prospect will believe that your price dictates how good you are.

There was an interesting experiment where they removed labels from bottles of wine and put fake prices on them. The subjects were actually tasting identical wines, one with a low price point... one with a high price point. They were merely asked to rate the wines.

Well... the "higher priced" wines significantly outperformed their identical "lower priced" counterparts.

It's all PERCEPTION!!
 
People don't always buy on price, sometimes they buy on perceived value. You know why you spend more on a Porsche 911 than a Dodge Charger, performance. A lot of people expect a better service for their money. If you are going to be cheaper, be ready to explain why. If you are going to be priced higher, be ready to explain why. If you aren't going to get a chance to explain, price the same. These are just my simple rules on pricing. That being said, I am pretty much priced the same as the other DJs in my area and I have been in your exact situation.

young...
 
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