Need a Disco

[Vectis]

does it currently match the Budget/Average/Premium price bands we can select? or do they get the 0-100, 100-199, 200 -299 etc choices?

As we all know there IS regional variation in pricing. But it's not as vastly different as some might suggest!

What we've done over the last couple of years is collect budget information across many thousands of leads to determine what the "Budget / Mid-Price / Premium" ranges ought to be for any given type of gig in any of our venue categories in any given area.

So an "average price" 4-hour evening adult birthday in a pub in B42 for example is going to have lower price expectations than a 4-hour evening adult birthday in a livery hall in EC1A.

At the moment when each lead is processed this is a manual matching task - the client specifies the type of DJ they're hoping for and their maximum budget (as a number) and we categorise accordingly. If the expectations are wildly different (eg. Premium DJ requested for a £100 budget) then we bounce it back to them for clarification before processing.

Before the end of the year we're hoping to have sufficient historical data to be able to automate this somewhat as the client is entering their request.

So, to answer the question, the client currently states their expectation of DJ type and their maximum budget in whole pounds, not a range.

The other stated was only very slightly less than her stated budget, but this one was for a premium dj. So I'm certainly not complaining.

I noticed that one - well done - IIRC you were £20 under, but on a booking of that value it's hardly a vast difference

[Ryu]

As we all know there IS regional variation in pricing. But it's not as vastly different as some might suggest!

What we've done over the last couple of years is collect budget information across many thousands of leads to determine what the "Budget / Mid-Price / Premium" ranges ought to be for any given type of gig in any of our venue categories in any given area.

So an "average price" 4-hour evening adult birthday in a pub in B42 for example is going to have lower price expectations than a 4-hour evening adult birthday in a livery hall in EC1A.

At the moment when each lead is processed this is a manual matching task - the client specifies the type of DJ they're hoping for and their maximum budget (as a number) and we categorise accordingly. If the expectations are wildly different (eg. Premium DJ requested for a £100 budget) then we bounce it back to them for clarification before processing.

Before the end of the year we're hoping to have sufficient historical data to be able to automate this somewhat as the client is entering their request.

So, to answer the question, the client currently states their expectation of DJ type and their maximum budget in whole pounds, not a range.

So if the customer can specify in whole pounds what there budget is, would it not make sense to mirror that in terms of what the DJ specifies is there "Preferred" type of lead, instead of selecting Budget, Average or Premium leads (or have I missed something?)

[STEVE HANLEY]

[I noticed that one - well done - IIRC you were £20 under, but on a booking of that value it's hardly a vast difference ]

Thanks Martin. Yes NAD has it's faults,but it's got it's good points as well

[Vectis]

So if the customer can specify in whole pounds what there budget is, would it not make sense to mirror that in terms of what the DJ specifies is there "Preferred" type of lead, instead of selecting Budget, Average or Premium leads (or have I missed something?)

We do.

Let's say customer X says he wants an average price DJ for a 4-hour private function in a pub in a Birmingham suburb B42. His budget is £Y.

Our database says that £Y is in the normal range for a 4-hour pub gig in B42, so the lead is processed on that basis.

All members covering B42 who have 'average' jobs selected on their profile, haven't deselected pubs, private functions or the guest predominant age group, and whose calendar shows available on the date of the gig will be offered the lead.

What they choose to bid is out of our control, but will affect our pricing database over the long term. If everyone consistently bids £50 for jobs worth £200, then over time the database will normalise towards £50 for that type of job and "average" will drift down. Or vice versa.

Our pricing database goes down to postal incode level (ie typically less than one square kilometre) and is subdivided into three price ranges, twelve venue types, seven gig types and five guest age groups. It contains data on over 30,000 events. We think we have a pretty good handle on what pretty much any disco should cost

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I've just been looking at the page of the DJs who have won the most bookings and one of them who has won a lot of business has atrocious looking equipment. Horrible. It just makes me think he's very very cheap and there's no other reason he would be winning all those gigs.

And yes, of course I know it's not all about the gear, but there are certain standards...

[funkymook]

I've just been looking at the page of the DJs who have won the most bookings and one of them who has won a lot of business has atrocious looking equipment. Horrible. It just makes me think he's very very cheap and there's no other reason he would be winning all those gigs.

And yes, of course I know it's not all about the gear, but there are certain standards...

Going by the number of very nice wedding venues that are surprised I don't need their table to set-up on I conclude expectations are often low when it comes to the DJ's presentation.

[STEVE HANLEY]

Going by the number of very nice wedding venues that are surprised I don't need their table to set-up on I conclude expectations are often low when it comes to the DJ's presentation.

I get the same whenever I turn up at posh venue and they say "We've put a table out for you over there"......."Oh you have your own stand do you?"

[WWDJ]

I get the same whenever I turn up at posh venue and they say "We've put a table out for you over there"......."Oh you have your own stand do you?"

Got that in the last hotel I was in. I shudder to think, I really do.

[DJDC]

I don't believe every single booking is lost solely on a small price difference.

I think it's become the default cop out to blame the slightly cheaper 'other supplier' for losing a gig.

If you can't show a prospective client you're worth an extra £10/£20 then you're either actually not worth it or if you are, you haven't shown it and need to improve your marketing and selling skills.

But that takes more effort than having a whinge and doing nothing about it.

I did pen a detailed response to this but i've decided not to post it, those who know me know what I am worth and when I work for other DJ's £160 is not reflective of what I earn, with the exception of one or 2 those who know me don't use forums, so there won't be a rush of responses in my defence. When I speak to a client I covert the vast majority of enquiries into bookings. However with NAD leads there have been several reviews on responses. I also price in accordance with their recommendations. But as yet it has made no difference. I do note that those I see the the response rate to most enquiries is often 7+ responses. So it's not necessarily going to be that easy.

[Excalibur]

Out of curiosity, I checked out which Discos covered my area on NAD. I was slightly surprised to find that one from over three hundred miles away was professing to offer to cover work here.