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Originally Posted by
Benny Smyth
If you do it for free, then you'd be silly.
And in answer to your question, no I wouldn't reduce my fee. It's a service that I offer and provide and clients are aware of this when they book me. If they so choose to not take advantage of that (which, to date, has never happened) then that is their choice.
But could you not offer a meeting and gain the same fee ?
If yes, then in essence your meetings are free !
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Dinosaur
Originally Posted by
Benny Smyth
I'd like to make a slight addendum to that: An hour of time that you'd be getting paid for.
The clue's in the question, Benny.
Originally Posted by
juski
Would it be worth an hour of your time going to see a prospective client? Now there's a much more interesting question IMHO.
Prospective. Don't get the gig, you can't add it to the fee.
That's a slightly flippant answer. I know many on here will only meet clients after a confirmation. Others, like me, may be prepared to take that risk because
Originally Posted by
Shakermaker Promotions
You could also look at it as the whole customer service experience from start to finish and not just "doing a Disco".
Gary, you've got it in one. We're a service industry. Service. ( Not necessary servile, by the way. )
How can you command high fees with crap service? It's not rocket science.
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I've no evidence to support which way works best but I'd imagine you could sell more add ons during a meeting before they book. I've not measured this or noticed a difference though!
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I must admit that when I went to see my near neighbours who were getting married (and I just so happened to be DJing their reception) they were completely surprised (in a good way) by the fact I was willing to do that. That's definitely the way I intend to go for proper paying gigs no matter what they are.
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When I get an enquiry, either by phone or email...I confirm the following as included in the price. In the example below, it is a wedding.
A Disco duration of 4hrs - 4.5hrs
A full sound & lighting system
A full back up system (to avoid any disruptions to your evening)
Early access & set up of the equipment (if the venue allows it and it is viable to do so)
A pre-wedding meeting at a convenient time to you either at the venue or your home to go over your expectations for the evening including timings, announcements & specific music requests including first dance(s)
As I said, it is all part of the price and I do it for every booking. If it is part of the price it means I am getting paid for it. If the customer doesn't want to meet (and I haven't had any yet that haven't met) then I am still getting paid for it whatever but obviously the way I work means that I would rather meet them.
I am not going down the whole full time vs part time thing but I'd still do it even if I was doing the job part time. As a full timer it means I have the time to do it and that's why I push it. I am fully customer service focused and it can only help me in the end when it comes to repeat work. I don't tend to advertise that much anymore because I get a lot of recommendations and repeat bookings.
In fact, I had an enquiry and confirmed booking yesterday over the phone (I wish they were all that quick) from someone who was at a wedding I did back in April. They mentioned the pre-wedding meeting to me as the Groom had told them that I'd speak to them and go over everything with them and they liked that idea.
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Resident Antagonist
Originally Posted by
Excalibur
The clue's in the question, Benny.
I may have mis-read the question.
Originally Posted by
ppentertainments
But could you not offer a meeting and gain the same fee ?
If yes, then in essence your meetings are free !
I'm afraid that I don't see what you're getting at.
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Dinosaur
Benny, I may not have been as clear as we'd all like.
I was referring to Juski's question about would you meet a prospective client? That's different to " would you meet a confirmed client"? Presumably you'd factor in the cost in the second scenario, but you'd be unable to recoup it if the client didn't book you.
I believe Chris is asking a question along the lines of " If you charge £xxxx for a disco with a meeting beforehand, and you can still achieve the same figure without a meeting, is the meeting cost effective"? Answer, No.
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Originally Posted by
Excalibur
Benny, I may not have been as clear as we'd all like.
I was referring to Juski's question about would you meet a prospective client? That's different to " would you meet a confirmed client"? Presumably you'd factor in the cost in the second scenario, but you'd be unable to recoup it if the client didn't book you.
I believe Chris is asking a question along the lines of " If you charge £xxxx for a disco with a meeting beforehand, and you can still achieve the same figure without a meeting, is the meeting cost effective"? Answer, No.
Give that man a cigar !!
I can see why people have meetings and it may be beneficial to them. I will still have a meeting if someone asks - but basically the costs of that, and the time, is out of my own pocket. There are many DJs out there claiming to earn big money, but if you break down their spend/booking etc you often find the final figure is not as attractive as it first may seem.
I also think that things are changing greatly. I have had comments by brides on how the DJ at weddings they have attended wore a penguin suit, which they found comical and totally overboard (not that they would welcome a scruffy t-shirt and ripped jeans either). Now 3/4 year ago this was almost the norm, in fact I wore a suit and tie to every meeting and booking. These days it is mainly smart dark jeans and a company logo polo shirt. A few years ago meetings also seemed the norm, now with all the communication methods and the dreaded facebook, I have found couples don't see the need, value or have the spare time to meet just to basically tell you what their first dance is.
A meeting used to be a big marketing tool for me and was really the only successful way I had of upselling. Now though, people know what I offer, have seen pictures etc (often in the same venue they are getting married) so already know what they like and don't like. Anything I may be interested in I can communicate via email or telephone.
I also think it depends on how many bookings you take. Some are quite happy with half a dozen a month whereas others are looking for that amount, or more, on a weekly basis. 6 meetings a month are doable, whereas 6 a week would be quite a challenge - so depends on your own business needs.
As I constantly mention there is no right or wrong answer - the only thing that infuriates me are when DJs say you MUST have meetings to gain better bookings etc etc that just ain't true !
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Resident Antagonist
Originally Posted by
ppentertainments
I can see why people have meetings and it may be beneficial to them. I will still have a meeting if someone asks - but basically the costs of that, and the time, is out of my own pocket. There are many DJs out there claiming to earn big money, but if you break down their spend/booking etc you often find the final figure is not as attractive as it first may seem.
But if the DJ played it smartly, he could still do meetings at minimal cost. So, for example, I sometimes hold 'clinics'. If I have a run of quite a few gigs, I find the venue where most of them are, do 30 minute appointments and essentially make it a production line.
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