Would you consider doing this wedding?

[sonic-vision]

I've seen this too many times people just saying raise your rates without explains how to do it.

Just add another 0 to the old price.

 

[adj2ent]

While it's true you should always try to improve your show & wow your client that goes without saying but to reach higher levels you have to also change your clients circles go after clients who have the money to spend. Let's say I am getting x and I want 4x. I don't market to my clients who pay X and try to get 4x. You market to a whole new set of clients who have 4x to spend. When I moved from the wedding market to the corporate market it had little to do what I did at my wedding shows or clients, it was focused marketing, networking, creating alliances, timing & luck to get the interview & first few events. Then of course you have to deliver, make yourself unique and expand secure your foothold. But that first step is were a lot of people get tripped on up because there is no hard fast rule on how to do it. For my Video Dance Party events I actually started marketing the event & concept before the equipment was brought. On that one we changed our marketing from going after the organizations who hired Dj's to the organizations which had the budget to hire bands which was substantially higher. That also required me to take the show on the road which I have been doing since the mid 90's. I was shocked to find many other companies who travel and service the same market doing different types of events. Now maybe you play to your usual clients and hope a person who can help you to the next level attends. I run into many singers performing nightly who blow away artists on the radio waiting to be discovered but like with our business you have to be in the right place, with the right people, with right connections & disposable income.

 

[ittigger]

Taso thanks for your last post!!!!!!!!!! I almost put a like to your post Itigger until you talked about Taso raising his prices. I've seen this too many times people just saying raise your rates without explains how to do it.

To be honest, a 'like' does not bother me. That said, I did post about Taso raising his prices - and then I told you what was not a justification to raise them as well as a justification to raise them. This has been discussed several times with you - this is not new. Have you written a business plan yet?

 

[djtaso]

It's easy to tell someone they should charge more. Yet as Taso explained it its not just that simple. My thing with Taso and mean this as a compliment. He might be at the point that if he went up on his prices it may cost him business because some people might see as now being too much and not want to pay him more.

That's not for me to decide, that's for the clients I attract to decide. I've been raising my prices every single year, and so far have filled up my calendar every year... so I don't know if I've reached that threshold yet. I will say I am not the most expensive in the NJ area as there are a few at $2250, one at $2750 and one at $2995. They are all older and with at least a decade more experience than me in the wedding industry, but as my base grows, I'm sure the demand will be there for my services even at those prices. My base has expanded quicker than expected in the Philly area (less competition), and although my prices are significantly more than what they're used to, there is a healthy demand for a more upscale experience and they are willing to pay that top figure.

Again... give people something they can't easily find and attract the ones that value that difference and you'll be able to get that top dollar (whatever that top dollar happens to be for your area). In that wedding I did yesterday and just shared a video of... what the video doesn't show is how I mixed in a lot of those house tracks. Those are 64 beat mixes, layering a vocal and an intro on top of each other, making sure everything times perfect so theres never a loss in energy. This was that crowd that appreciated that atmopshere... and I can guarantee you there is a very select few dj's in their area that can do weddings and cater to that sound. There are video clips from last night where you can hear people near the camera saying OMG is the Peanut butty jelly (by galantis), and literally taking video of me djin and saying this is the best wedding ever. This is the difference that people want to find if they're going to dish out big money. Of course... it is a wedding... and everything else from professionalism, to customer service, to attention to detail has to line up for them to also want you. The bride and groom have to trust you that despite the high price tag, you will deliver for them when it matters most. The groom said to me at the end, I have no idea why we hired a wedding coordinator... you literally did everything she was supposed to do, and you did it better. She had a timeline made that was not in the best interest of the bride and groom. When they saw my proposed timeline and how they could have an extra half hour of dancing, they sent an email to all involved saying their changing the timeline to what I proposed.

This is also why my finalization meetings are 2 hours.