Vibe? ??

[Excalibur]

I understand all points that have been made, but I had discussion on the phone and certainly gave me the impression they wanted to book me or I WOULDN'T have taken a booking form.

This couple gave me the impression they were going to book me never mentioned other Dj's. .

And shortly, we're going to have the discussion as to whether or not you'll have client meetings either:
1) before they're clients, ie pre cast iron booking.
2) free, gratis and for nothing. If it's with clients who have already signed on the dotted line, you may have factored this into your fee already.

I know we have more than one member who requires their palms crossing with silver to undertake these meetings. If I can't find an old thread, well I'll just have to start a new one, won't I?

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

I understand all points that have been made, but I had discussion on the phone and certainly gave me the impression they wanted to book me or I WOULDN'T have taken a booking form.
I didn't hard sell it spoke to them about what they wanted and showed I could accommodate them.
My gripe is i went to that meeting under false pretences.
Plus I don't go to meetings on a whim that I may be booked.
All meetings I have been to the client has made it clear that they will be booking me and they are paying the deposit job done
This couple gave me the impression they were going to book me never mentioned other Dj's. .

That's one of the risks you take with offering a meeting unfortunately

You either do it (as I used to) as you get to meet me once you've booked and protect yourself from those issues or you offer pre-booking meets which give you a great chance to sell yourself and is an added impetus for potential clients to consider you providing you put it across properly - you don't want to seem desperate...

Personally looking at your case - that to me is a pre booking meet - regardless of what they've said or how eager they sound, until I've a deposit and contract in place - it's a pre booking meet.

I've had to do 3 of them (well the 3rd is this evening) after coming back from my honeymoon last week and I love doing them. As I said before, my conversion rate on them is exceptional so I'm going into them pretty much convinced that they just want to check I don't have a 3rd eye or I'm not a complete tool (remember, anyone can have a decent looking and sounding website these days... buyer beware)

If you've gone there assuming the gig was yours (through crossed wires or otherwise) then I'd imagine the issue is really that you gave the vibe that you were taking their custom for granted even before you brought out the booking form.

[Excalibur]

That's one of the risks you take with offering a meeting unfortunately

You either do it (as I used to) as you get to meet me once you've booked and protect yourself from those issues or you offer pre-booking meets which give you a great chance to sell yourself and is an added impetus for potential clients to consider you providing you put it across properly - you don't want to seem desperate...

Personally looking at your case - that to me is a pre booking meet - regardless of what they've said or how eager they sound, until I've a deposit and contract in place - it's a pre booking meet.

I've had to do 3 of them (well the 3rd is this evening) after coming back from my honeymoon last week and I love doing them. As I said before, my conversion rate on them is exceptional so I'm going into them pretty much convinced that they just want to check I don't have a 3rd eye or I'm not a complete tool (remember, anyone can have a decent looking and sounding website these days... buyer beware)

If you've gone there assuming the gig was yours (through crossed wires or otherwise) then I'd imagine the issue is really that you gave the vibe that you were taking their custom for granted even before you brought out the booking form.

I feel that my Scottish friend has pretty much got it all bang on here. Well done that man.

[DazzyD]

I understand all points that have been made, but I had discussion on the phone and certainly gave me the impression they wanted to book me or I WOULDN'T have taken a booking form.
I didn't hard sell it spoke to them about what they wanted and showed I could accommodate them.
My gripe is i went to that meeting under false pretences.
Plus I don't go to meetings on a whim that I may be booked.
All meetings I have been to the client has made it clear that they will be booking me and they are paying the deposit job done
This couple gave me the impression they were going to book me never mentioned other Dj's. .

Never assume as we all know what assume is!

Out of interest, have you undertaken any sales training? Well worth doing, as it'll help you identify buying signals - and to a degree, get confirmation of their intention without needing to ask them outright.

It's a very useful skill to have - and one that most DJs don't have, because their focus is on the DJ'ing. But we rely on the ability to sell to get bookings, so if you can improve that area, you'll see a big difference.

Sales training is pretty vital to anyone who needs to generate business. And it needn'tbe expensive. Buy a "How to Sell" book - they're full of good tips and advice. As is that vast resourse we call the World Wide Web (or t'internet, depending on where you're from!). There's loads of free sales tips online. Google is your friend!

You can have as much sales training as you can afford but the two most important things are first impressions and people need to like you and feel comfortable with you, without those it's a battle you will often lose .

That's true - people buy people - but learning how to overcome objections is vital. A good salesman is personable, friendly and can objection-handle with the best of them!

Absolutely - nothing can account for not being a good fit for each other.

People buy from those they know, like and trust.

And this is why these pre-booking meetings are important - so both sides can get to know each other. Also, when we say "meeting" people picture a physical meeting with both sides sat in the same room. That's so yesterday! With technology you can have your meeting from opposite sides of the world - Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp, Allo or one of the many other video conferencing solutions. Or a plain, simple telephone conversation to answer any queries and iron out any issues. People forgot that the telephone is a wonderful form of holding a business meeting (which is what we mean when we say "meeting", we should really say "business meeting").

That's one of the risks you take with offering a meeting unfortunately

You either do it (as I used to) as you get to meet me once you've booked and protect yourself from those issues or you offer pre-booking meets which give you a great chance to sell yourself and is an added impetus for potential clients to consider you providing you put it across properly - you don't want to seem desperate...

Personally looking at your case - that to me is a pre booking meet - regardless of what they've said or how eager they sound, until I've a deposit and contract in place - it's a pre booking meet.

I've had to do 3 of them (well the 3rd is this evening) after coming back from my honeymoon last week and I love doing them. As I said before, my conversion rate on them is exceptional so I'm going into them pretty much convinced that they just want to check I don't have a 3rd eye or I'm not a complete tool (remember, anyone can have a decent looking and sounding website these days... buyer beware)

If you've gone there assuming the gig was yours (through crossed wires or otherwise) then I'd imagine the issue is really that you gave the vibe that you were taking their custom for granted even before you brought out the booking form.

Can't disagree with any of that!

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Converted all of this weeks face to faces, not heard back from the phone one but in retrospect it may have been someone fishing.

Great way to sell yourself in amongst all the noise of similar emails if they've contacted a few DJs...