When you say "Sales calls" are you saying I have to cold call people? how do you define what that is? I don't see myself calling people up in the middle of dinner asking them if they want a DJ. Trying really hard to "learn" by asking the simplest of questions going back to the very basic of basic questions. I learn best by doing. I have trouble remembering what I read in books , I forget them 5 minutes later. I have to actually do it several times to understand it and do it. I need to learn how to do it I guess, I've never really heard one. Most of the time when I get hired , it didn't require a sales pitch or anything, it's been "you're a DJ? Good You're Hired" kind of deal nobody wanted to hear it. I mean I like people like that to a point...
It sounds like you're over thinking this a bit.
At the moment someone calls to say, "Are you a DJ? Are you available? What is your price?" You're on a sales call. They're making a decision about whether they'd like to work with you or not. How you present yourself in answering their questions, or asking questions of your own, will determine the outcome of that call.
Think of sales as a big funnel. There is (typically) drop off at every level, which is why it's referred to as a funnel.
The top of the funnel: How do people find you?
This could be advertising driven, local networking, social media, yellow pages, posters on the side of the road... whatever you do to let people know that you're a DJ and you're open for business. If nobody knows you are a business, nobody will ever call.
What information can they find about you?
Many potential clients want to learn about you before they ever call. Having a website of some sort, even if you're just using a free Facebook page, is pretty critical for this. But, there are still businesses around that don't have one. Showcasing reviews from previous clients, photos of past events, examples of your work. Many clients will look for this before they ever make a call. Lots of business is won or lost here before the phone rings.
The Inquiry
Either by phone, web form, etc. the prospect will let you know that they are interested. And through your communications they will either negotiate a price and book, or decide to do something else.
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You basically need to optimize at all three levels. If nobody ever finds you, you don't get to show off your work. If you don't show off your work in some way, you'll get very few calls. And if you aren't good at explaining your brand and value on the phone, you'll get very few bookings. You may be better or worse at some areas than others, but all three need constant development to be any good at sales.
Or...
If you decide that you don't want to be good at any of that - you need a booking agency. Instead of selling yourself to clients direct, you only need to make one sale, to a booking agent of some sort. A multi-op that is busy, some other DJ company that can hire you. You'd give up part of the money they charge to do so - but you wouldn't have as much work to do. If you're feeling lost in this process, that might be worth exploring.
