Do you nickel and dime clients?

[ahoustondj]

Mix,
I will share a story with you. Back in the mid to late 70s I used to Sell Waterless Cookware, Fine China, Flatware and Fine Crystal. If I had an appointment with a married couple and one of them was not there, especially if it was the husband, I would give a presentation but not give the price. You see, if the husband was the decision maker the first thing he would ask his wife when he came home would be "How much is it?". His wife was not trained to sell or give a presentation so the sizzle would not be sold to him. However, as excited as i left her, she would make sure he was there for the follow up appointment. He wanted to see what made her so worked up. I would usually get the sale.

Same applies to when people call me asking how much do I charge to DJ. I would reply "Help me so I can help you, I need a little more details. When is your function? How many people? What hours? etc" If they interrupted me while i was asking these questions I would reply, "I don't really know how to answer you with no details. Its kinda like me asking you, "how much to build a house?" By that time, if they don't get it and give me the answers, then I would politely tell them they may need to call someone else. I would not throw out a figure hoping it catches! This same applies to posted Package prices. My prices are based upon a client's needs. It is a special price just for them. That way I am not obligated to charge the same for their friends down the line if it came down to a referral. Negotiation is the key. You have to take control of the discussion.

 

[steve149]

His wife was not trained to sell or give a presentation so the sizzle would not be sold to him. However, as excited as i left her, she would make sure he was there for the follow up appointment.

Tell the truth .. you left her excited not because of waterless cookware ...

 

[TheOlogee]

That's just it. This last one i never really got to talk to. All I could do was give a price and nothing more. So there really was no conversation. Not much you can do when that happens. You can try to talk to them but you can't force them to talk about something they don't want to talk about when they are only stuck on price.

Are you in this to make money or to have fun? Doing both is possible but one will always be a primary. You seem to like DJing but not the business side of it.

Ever considered working for a multi-op? Let them run the business and you get to do what you love without doing the stuff you are or not so good at.

Play to your strengths or reconsider your retirement...Remember there is a fiscal cliff ahead. Proceed with caution.

 

[ahoustondj]

Tell the truth .. you left her excited not because of waterless cookware ...

My favorite closing question after my presentation was (I would look the husband dead in the eye and ask) "You want the best for your wife, don't you?". It resulted in a sale everytime.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Canute I do what you said do. I'll ask them to give me more details about their event. Like the type of event it is, how many hours will they need the DJ and other such questions. I tell them this is so I can give them a price. Sometimes the price I give them they think is too much to pay for a DJ to do the event. Some simply don't care how good a DJ you are but just that price is outrageous for them to pay someone to play music.

Some of that is due to some knowing is all they have to do is keep looking and they'll find a DJ willing to work for cheap. Some will do an event for less then $200.00. There are those out there advertising such prices like that.

I remember a member on here posting in a thread about advertising somewhere that a DJ company would come to do a wedding for $250.00. He said that was taking 90% of the work from him on that site. Obviously he decided he can't compete with that company and decided to not go crazy advertising on that site. I don't know anybody on here that would want to compete with that company. To me for that price you might as well tell them you'll do the brides wedding for free.

 

[DJCC]

Mix, you are the only person one this board that is whining EVERYDAY about all you can get is people that only care about price and want a dj for $250.


What does that tell you?

 

[SoftJock Rick]

My favorite closing question after my presentation was (I would look the husband dead in the eye and ask) "You want the best for your wife, don't you?". It resulted in a sale everytime.

I'll tell you what Canute -- come to The Farm, and explain to me how good you are.

Then I want to see a video of you doing your entertainer job.

Then we will discuss a price.

Fair enough?

 

[ahoustondj]

I'll tell you what Canute -- come to The Farm, and explain to me how good you are.

Then I want to see a video of you doing your entertainer job.

Then we will discuss a price.

Fair enough?

What you call Farms where you are we call backyards. Now if you want to visit a Ranch.....welll thats another story!

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Mix, you are the only person one this board that is whining EVERYDAY about all you can get is people that only care about price and want a dj for $250.


What does that tell you?

No not all. Just some do. We all want to know what something will cost us when we're spending our money no matter what it's for. Anytime we feel we're being taken advantage of we're not likely to spend our money in that direction. Some just don't see what we do as a big deal and they feel anybody can do what we do.

Canute I'll tell you a story. A man went to a mechanic shop to get his car fixed. The mechanic took 20 minutes to fix the man's car and it cost him $75.00. The man complained about the price figuring that was too much for 20 minutes worth of work. The mechanic explained he was paying him for what he didn't know. He told him if he could have fixed the car himself he would have never needed to come to see him. There are those here that can do things the average person can't do. Hey what about us knowing how to properly setup the equipment to do the gig? If we left it up to the client 99.9% of the time it would not get set up. Now after that is done there is the part where you've got to perform and hopefully do a really fine job.

Now just to be fair. Some see what we do as no big deal because they don't know what it has taken us who are serious at what we do to become as good as we are. Then at some point they probably have been to an event where they have witnessed a DJ that was sub par and that gave them the impression of most DJ's. Especially since a lot of people don't go out to events they are invited to on a regular bases. The most some will come in contact with unless it's a wedding is the DJ that is playing in a local pub somewhere that the DJ isn't get paid much. So some won't care what their performance is like just as long as they get paid.

 

[SoftJock Rick]

What you call Farms where you are we call backyards. Now if you want to visit a Ranch.....welll thats another story!

Well, if you Texasses are so big, bold and talented (and making apparently sh_t loads of money) -- hop on a plane, and come on up, and take me out to dinner. I sorta like German food, and there's a nice place less than a mile away.

I guess that would be a sidewalk for you...

 

[ahoustondj]

Well, if you Texasses are so big, bold and talented (and making apparently sh_t loads of money) -- hop on a plane, and come on up, and take me out to dinner. I sorta like German food, and there's a nice place less than a mile away.

I guess that would be a sidewalk for you...

Correction! Texans is the word.

 

[eddieyourdj]

I'd prefer that they pay with nickels & dimes!!! ;-)

 

[ittigger]

Canute I do what you said do. I'll ask them to give me more details about their event. Like the type of event it is, how many hours will they need the DJ and other such questions. I tell them this is so I can give them a price. Sometimes the price I give them they think is too much to pay for a DJ to do the event. Some simply don't care how good a DJ you are but just that price is outrageous for them to pay someone to play music.

Some of that is due to some knowing is all they have to do is keep looking and they'll find a DJ willing to work for cheap. Some will do an event for less then $200.00. There are those out there advertising such prices like that.

I remember a member on here posting in a thread about advertising somewhere that a DJ company would come to do a wedding for $250.00. He said that was taking 90% of the work from him on that site. Obviously he decided he can't compete with that company and decided to not go crazy advertising on that site. I don't know anybody on here that would want to compete with that company. To me for that price you might as well tell them you'll do the brides wedding for free.

It all boils down to what YOU can sell to your customer ... and what your customer is willing to buy. There are car dealerships that sell cars for 30k and some that sell the very SAME car for 40k (or more). What is the difference? The difference is who sold the car - and who bought the car. If you're trying to sell the car for 40k, your customer needs to believe that it's worth it.

 

[SoftJock Rick]

It all boils down to what YOU can sell to your customer ... and what your customer is willing to buy.

Just find a dumber ass, with a lot of money...

I believe this is why America is so f_cked up now.Everybody spends all their time trying to sell you something, and very little time actually doing something for that money. No wonder the Chinese own US now...

 

[ittigger]

Just find a dumber ass, with a lot of money...

I believe this is why America is so f_cked up now.Everybody spends all their time trying to sell you something, and very little time actually doing something for that money. No wonder the Chinese own US now...

I'm not in any way insinuating that you sell a product that's not worth it - or that you don't earn what you're asking for. I used the car bit as an example, and that does happen in reality. I AM saying that if you can't regularly sell a show for what YOU want for it, then it's a good possibility that the customer doesn't believe they're getting a product worth that value.

IMO, your product should be worth what you're asking. I don't like sales people / customer service anymore - barely anyone has, nor believes in good customer service. They sell, sell, sell - then don't deliver what was promised.

I try very hard to put my customers first and to put on the very best show that I can, each and every time. I believe good customer service is half the show. You might be surprised (or not) how many times I hear that's what was missing from their last DJ - and what a difference it makes.

 

[DjDennis]

so anyone have the popcorn!!

 

[Proformance]

The real problem was me deciding that I would cave in and do it for $250.00 just to say i got a gig in the books. Then the other bigger problem was doing such gigs like that for the price of $250.00-$350.00 constantly. So that's what people would expect. If they were friends of mine I would try to tell them to keep the price a secret but most wouldn't do it. So someone else would come along expecting the same deal. Don't let me be totally broke, I would rush to do the gig so I could get some money in my pocket. Obviously what I should have done was to let such things go because at the end of the gig with such little money I would still be broke basically after putting gas in the van or paying for other things. Not making enough money to advance with upgrades that we wanted to do. Basically to keep it simple just settling for whatever came along.

What people tell others about your price, or your willingness to cave in is not the problem. The reality is that social and business circles are formed around economic strata. "Birds of a feather flock together" so to speak. When you are at a $250 event you are going get referrals for more of the exact same thing.

People who belong to exclusive country clubs and need a high profile service aren't hanging out at local dive bars or (sadly) even family gatherings. They tend to be fixated on being upwardly mobile. Work and play are hard to separate. They hang out at the country club lounge and restaurant where they have minimum monthly purchase quotas to be met, and network with "friends" and associates.

If you want to improve your clientele you need a way to connect with another social or business strata. Raising your price is not a plan - it's just a wish. You either have to get referred to someone in that strata - or enter through a business link.

For example, My Thursday gig is a law firm with 8 locations around the world and 700-800 people in attendance here in Boston. (I actually lost the $12K full bid but retained the $1,200 DJ portion.) The price is not what matters. What maters is that the room I will be in is filled with people responsible for all kinds of significant and high profile events. The more serious the event needs the more you can charge for the same service. (Of course, you also have to be capable of delivering error-free service or your sojourn into a new market will be very short lived.)

Business and corporate gigs can help you find a better clientele. You are far more likely to run into someone from a different social circle at a corporate gathering (where attendance is expected) than a family gathering of friends (where people choose who to socialize with). The alternative is to get an agent who can put you at the right gigs to move you along.

 

[Proformance]

It all boils down to what YOU can sell to your customer ... and what your customer is willing to buy. There are car dealerships that sell cars for 30k and some that sell the very SAME car for 40k (or more). What is the difference? The difference is who sold the car - and who bought the car. If you're trying to sell the car for 40k, your customer needs to believe that it's worth it.

Your customer also has to have $40k they can spend. Most DJs fail miserably at qualifying a prospect. Even the "elite gurus" who seem to think they can convince someone on a $600 budget to spend $3,500 are deluding themselves. The customer has to actually have the disposable income. When they do, you may be able to convince them to part with more of it. If they don't - then they will eventually walk.

 

[SoftJock Rick]

I'm not in any way insinuating that you sell a product that's not worth it - or that you don't earn what you're asking for. I used the car bit as an example, and that does happen in reality. I AM saying that if you can't regularly sell a show for what YOU want for it, then it's a good possibility that the customer doesn't believe they're getting a product worth that value.

IMO, your product should be worth what you're asking. I don't like sales people / customer service anymore - barely anyone has, nor believes in good customer service. They sell, sell, sell - then don't deliver what was promised.

I try very hard to put my customers first and to put on the very best show that I can, each and every time. I believe good customer service is half the show. You might be surprised (or not) how many times I hear that's what was missing from their last DJ - and what a difference it makes.

Tigger -- the problem I have with this whole thing, is that DJs/Entertainers have become sales people.

We are NOT sales people -- we are entertainers.

If you are simply a sales person -- than call yourself that. Don't call yourself an entertainer, and try and confuse people.

 

[Proformance]

Tigger -- the problem I have with this whole thing, is that DJs/Entertainers have become sales people.

We are NOT sales people -- we are entertainers.

If you are simply a sales person -- than call yourself that. Don't call yourself an entertainer, and try and confuse people.

Then who is your agent? ..as if that would matter.

Everything you do is sales - right down to the songs you pick.

Still, it can't possibly end there. Everyone in the chain is a salesperson - from the receptionist to the roadie. When any one of those people (who may in fact all be you) fails to deliver a satisfying experience that customer may fail to hire, return, or refer new business to you.