Ever call your competition?

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!

djcrazychris

DJ Extraordinaire
Jun 12, 2018
4,420
8,046
50
The year was 1995....i had been doing parties for around 4 years and had began working in clubs as well.... word of mouth was keeping me booked solidly and i was able to quit my job as a house painter to do the dj thing full time. My audio rig was solid but i didnt have any form of light show ...and a few clients had requested it.... so i happened across an ad in a local paper about some lighting equipment for sale.... i drove out deep into the rural suburbs and met a dj who was somehow a dealer for some middle of the road lighting gear company... and i bought a new light mixer and mirror ball ...plus some used par cans and tripods from him. He was a cocky slick talkin guy and i got such a bad vibe from him....but this was pre ebay/amazon ...and the closest guitar center was a state away.... so he was my easiest choice...

anyway....i digress...lol

a couple days later im laying around the house with my girlfriend ...and i began to wonder just how shady this guy really was.... so i had her call him and pretend to be interested in his services.... while namedropping me as a secondary prospect...

this guy laid out a pile of horse hockey about me that lasted a solid 5 minutes... that i had worked for his company and he let me go because of my work ethic and lack of talent....lol...now mind you i had met him the one time....to do business with him and spend money....it was really shocking ....enlightening... and yet entertaining

on the flip side...i had another local dj who saw my business card up in the local record store...asked the owner to vouch for me as a professional....and commenced to sending me a half dozen referrals when he was overbooked....i hunted him down and thanked him a few weeks later...

i spent the rest of my career emulating the second dj...and never stooping to the level of the first...

after spending a few weeks on the forum... ive tried to pick out which dj i think each of you are... lol.... i will keep the results to myself... :cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers: lololol

cc
 
Both those guys are in every market. I always try to be the second. I've ranted here about a few but in my market I don't say too much about anyone bad but I speak well of others of quality. I will advise a prospect to do their homework because there are some that are less than reputable.

I guess maybe I do speak bad in a round about way I will tell them to make sure they get a contract whomever they book with because the non reputable ones and even some pretty good ones don't use them around here
 
Best opportunity to contact DJ in your area would be a local DJ association. Been involved with many of these groups during my career. Great for exchanging equipment and technical ideas and checking out those who you might want to help you out in an emergency. Always nice to have a backup; I've been a single operator my entire career. Never needed an emergency substitute, knock on wood, but it is always nice to know who you might be able to depend on at some point. I've even tagged along on events with several (became their roadie) just to see how they operated during events; then you know who best may fit your emergency need.
 
There are so many DJ services around me, I could spend weeks calling them to hear them pitch. But I do my best to keep an abundance mentality. There's so many events out there... I really think it's all about finding a lane and grinding.
 
Yes, I've called other DJs. The reason I've called them was to find others to network with. I did a pay for referral deal with one about 6 years ago which yielded a couple of weddings. But he pretty much hung up the headphones because his day job was at night. He was a really nice guy.

Others I talked to viewed me as competition or offered me low priced gigs. At that point I figured I'd do better to give clients a big discount. And yes, there are those that will bad mouth you because they'll do anything to book every prospect they get.
 
"Ever call your competition?"

Yes, but not with the intent and purpose in post #1.
 
Never with DJ or sound company work.

When I was in music retail, we used to call this "shopping." Call the competition for market research, pricing, etc. A fairly regular occurrence until stores got wise, which is why many of them won't quote prices over the phone anymore.

My old band/I got (obviously) shopped once by a union hatchet man when we played a wedding at a hotel in Niagara Falls (a notoriously old school, think-they're-still-in-the-1950's "Mad Men"/"Sopranos" era town). This was in the 90's, but I don't think things have changed that much.

Dude comes up _on-stage_ pecking my guitar player on the shoulder asking for a business card _while he's playing a solo_, and doesn't want to let it go when he is obviously non-plused. I couldn't get to him from where I was, but I took off like a rocket looking to tear someone a new one when it was break time, but dude had disappeared.

About a week or two later, I get a _collect call_ with someone asking all kinds of questions about booking the band and playing weddings. I knew what was happening, but I went along for the ride to put the reverse-spy on him and for the laughs. This was all pre/developing Internet, so it wasn't so easy to get all the details with a click.

GJ
 
I have thought about reaching out to other DJs in the area and trying to have a get together just to get to know each other and see what each person does that works well, etc. and find out if any have extra equipment they rent out or other things they offer. Wasn't sure how it would be received, since we are competitors, but it isn't like a store where we can have 1 or 20 customers at a time. If you are booked on X date, you are booked.... 1 client = 1 DJ.
 
i love networking....funny enough i collaborated and had great relationships with the local club dj's for years....we respected each others little patch of land...and if we had a night off we hit up each others spots... i guess it all boils down to a man's true self as to what extent he's willing to go for a buck... it could be any occupation....

This incident has always stuck with me as a sort of compass in business... a lesson in trust... and it is a fun game to figure out when i meet other djs or people in general... who fits into which category...

cc
 
DJ associations (local area networking) is valuable for all concerned. Nobody wants to learn your trade secrets or pricing for that matter. The most obvious point is for it to be a learning tool. Try to raise the bar of professionalism; need for insurance, legal music library, use of contracts, etc. Have the local Guitar Center or Sam Ash bring the latest lighting or sound equipment to a meeting of the group; learn new things. There's more than one way to run a wedding reception or sweet sixteen,
 
DJ associations (local area networking) is valuable for all concerned. Nobody wants to learn your trade secrets or pricing for that matter. The most obvious point is for it to be a learning tool. Try to raise the bar of professionalism; need for insurance, legal music library, use of contracts, etc. Have the local Guitar Center or Sam Ash bring the latest lighting or sound equipment to a meeting of the group; learn new things. There's more than one way to run a wedding reception or sweet sixteen,

would love to access any of that....or even have a guitar center or sam ash in our state...lol...but none of the above exist... so im stuck online with u guys...haha

cc
 
I don't bad mouth others, but I will be blunt and tell the truth about a competitor. There was one service called Davis Deejays, and if a prospect told me about them, or anybody out on the street mentioned them I will tell them exactly why they sucked, and how the owner operated LOL.

There is another service here in the Baltimore area where the owner pulls a bait and switch on his clients all the time. He also charges $1,400+ and the clients end up with a DJ being paid $150 to $200 to do the gig. ...If you read wedding wire reviews enough of DJ companies in this area, you can figure out who I am talking about.

Other DJs I will give praise to a prospect or any one who mentions them in conversation. ...Some DJs have no idea I talk great about them to others, but I am being honest. One DJ I have only talked to twice, and he is very well known at the DJ Convention, and is a top notch wedding DJ, and generally a nice guy to talk to.
 
Does the ADJA still exist? I attended those for the first couple of years, until I figured out that the only ones who were actually get referrals from the group members were the officers. Seems also that the DJ would separate out into factions, each group bad-mouthing the next. I had a meeting with the biggest multi-op in the area one day and when I told him how many gigs I'd worked the past year (50) he said, "You're working more than any of those ADJA guys." After that, it became clear that it was a waste of time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger
Chris-- Where you at? There's got to be something (retail-wise) in your area that could help facilitate gathering/learning, etc.

GJ

Im in Charleston WV... we had some great mom and pop record/dj equipment stores in the 90s ...but the advent of internet research and shopping shut them down... they couldnt compete ...especially after we all realized how big a mark up they were putting on stuff to pay the rent...which i totally understand and respect...but... lol

I used to attend some seminars and meet ups by our local hip hop community....they did some great afterschool programs...teaching kids turntablism and stuff like that... but that fizzled out as well...

cc
 
  • Like
Reactions: ittigger
Seems also that the DJ would separate out into factions, each group bad-mouthing the next.

ive noticed that some people seem to become mobile djs because they lacked the social skills to get invited to parties on their own accord...

.... most that ive met...sad to say...i wouldnt enjoy hanging out with them in any other setting... lol

cc
 
Things are quite cordial around here.
We all know each other, and for the most part we all like each other.
And if we are booked, we will recommend someone else.
The only real competitiveness is when it comes to pricing.
And that is only discovered when a potential client calls to see if we can beat a quote from someone.
Can't recall a time when anyone really bad-mouthed anyone else to a client.
(or at least, that we heard about...)
There have been a few (very few) companies that had a rep for screwing clients...
but they went away as fast as they arrived.
 
Some people thinks it's strange, but I've never looked at other DJ's as competition. Sure, some people have selected other DJ's over me.
But if I'm doing the right things, I'll be able to fill that date.
My competition is my time. If I spend it wisely, my schedule will be as full as I want it to be, regardless of whatever other DJ's are doing.
I network with other DJ's in my area a lot. I send business their way when we are booked and have received many from them.
I'll gladly help out any DJ that has questions. Many have helped me.

Sure there are some DJ's in my area that feel their road to success is paved with other DJ's failure.

I've found the exact opposite. If a dozen Dj businesses went out of business in my area, they would be replaced easily. My business wouldn't change much. Certainly not long term.

I've had other DJ's I've never met call me and thank me for telling a potential client the good things I've heard about them.

I'll fill holes in my schedule with gigs from other companies. I'll gladly promote their business. I get calls a lot for these, but am fortunate that I'm busy enough to not be able to take a lot of these. I just recently got a call from someone I did a wedding for through another company. Even though I gave her their card, she looked me up and called me, bypassing the original company. I said if be glad to help, but only if she booked it through them. That will endear you to another Dj business like nothing else.

I had a guy fill in for an event for me several years ago. I made it clear He was representing our company and gave him our cards to give if someone asked. 2 hours into the event, I get a text from a friend saying this guy is handing out not only his business cards, but to people that weren't even asking. I paid him and told him why I wouldn't be sending him any business again.
I've seen this guy out. I wish him well. Just ain't going to do business with him any more.