They just dont get it!

[CRAZY K]

Just got a request for the dreaded C word.

Charity Event.

I explained as full time pros we may well be too expensive--but just in case what kind of budget do they have?

Answer--cheap as possible:Censored: :Censored: :Censored:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArgh!

I wont be replying.

CRAZY K

[Shaun]

I can't remember the last time I secured a charity event. I'm sure there must be several charities that aren't looking for the cheapest DJ, but none of those seem to be contacting me.

I also dislike the enquirers that contact me and assume I'll be offering a discount to them as it's for charity. Ummm, afraid not.

[CRAZY K]

I can't remember the last time I secured a charity event. I'm sure there must be several charities that aren't looking for the cheapest DJ, but none of those seem to be contacting me.

I also dislike the enquirers that contact me and assume I'll be offering a discount to them as it's for charity. Ummm, afraid not.

Yes, sadly they are ALL obsessed with cost.

Well nearly all, I did 3 last year at standard rates for one organisation who were delighted and people kept coming back for more;) .

This is what they dont understand--a duff night means people dont bother next time.

I havent got time to educate these kind of narrow minded people--I have better things to do:D :D :D

CRAZY K

[Corabar Steve]

I also dislike the enquirers that contact me and assume I'll be offering a discount to them as it's for charity. Ummm, afraid not.
That's just the Scotsman in you :sj:

[Jiggles]

The only charitable event I'm doing is the cancer walk on the 17th of May :)

[Mark Wild]

I supported a band for a charity night a few weeks back Childrens Hospice Association. The band were great too "The Works" we both dropped our prices somewhat and the night managed to raise some good money for the kids.

[CRAZY K]

I supported a band for a charity night a few weeks back Childrens Hospice Association. The band were great too "The Works" we both dropped our prices somewhat and the night managed to raise some good money for the kids.

I dont object to working for Charity---just the attitude of the organisers who seem to think cheap is the only option.

There are things like sponsorship of the Entertainment by local business--bit too complicated for a lot of them.

Get it cheap--- job done---yeah right

CRAZY K

[Excalibur]

I think there are two very important points here. If we wish to do functions for charities, then the discount offered should be at OUR discretion, ( often for a charity which we have a link to/support for ) not an automatic reduction in fees, and secondly, while I applaud those who work free of charge for charities, I generally can't afford to do this. I'm sure we'd all like to offer big discounts to worthy causes, but it can be annoying when organisers believe that by playing the charity card they will get your services for next to nothing.

Edit: Crazy types faster than me. Agree totally.

[Tony Scott]

I got an enquiry to do a Red Nose Ball (70's night), I quoted my full price without flinching and was booked on the spot without the mention of a discount so it shows that some organisers expect to pay full price.

The event was cancelled in the end due to the venue being double booked so I kept the deposit.

I would have made a donation of £20 on the night as a gesture of good will, I believe this is the way it should be done, discretionary. :)

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

donating £20 on the night means they get more money than if you had knocked £20 off the bill

[wensleydale]

but some companies would offer a discount or perhaps give time for free so why cant charities ask?

you dont ask you dont get, and they are charities- whether you choose to offer a discount or not is up to you.

[dmckaraoke]

Oooooo the old its for Charity claim....Most company's that i have worked for in the past (Brides,kilts,Clothing) are doing it to raise there profile..i.e sell there product..I'm sorry to say this very rarely when i do these events do i get much back even thou I've posted cards and flyers etc..

So this is what they get told...Pay for nothing get Nothing..Pay and get a service second to none..You show looks better and will also help make your product sell better..

Two examples below..No prizes for guessing the frebbie..

[JAMdisco]

I've done a couple of charity discos and one was for McMillans (Cancer trust). As it was also the organisers 21st birthday I quoted £200 after originally saying it would be £275. She booked and paid in full on the spot.

Apparently (I found out afterwards) her father is a self made millionaire, If only I'd known before-hand. Would I have exploited this? You bet I would :D :p

Generally I will do charity events if asked but the reduced fee wouldn't be massive (around 10%-15%) as I also have a business to fund.
The only one I've done for free was the charity that my mum is Manageress of, (it was a charity fund-raiser fashion show for St Leonards Hospice) only because it's family, was a weekday, and she fed & watered me during and after the event. :)

I am doing the York 10k run in August for charity though, so I do my bit. :p

[DazzyD]

When charities raise money, not all of the cash collected goes to the cause. A proportion (often quite sizeable) goes towards the operating costs of the charity. Without funds to operate, a charity will quickly fold and many do simply because they don't get the cashflow balance right - same as any other business. This means that when charities are organising a function or event, they have funds available to set a budget. Whilst all charities will try to keep costs down, the better organised ones will know that you get what you pay for and cheapest isn't usually the best option. Like Crazy K said earlier, some obtain sponsorship deals for their events (there are loads of companies that sponsor Comic Relief, Children In Need, etc) and this helps cover event costs. Any high-profile charity will pay the going rate as they know that hiring better quality enterainment will bring a better return.

If I am presenting/DJing for a cause I personally support (cancer, premature babies and blind charities are closed to my heart) I will often provide my time for free. The setup, however, needs to be hired at the going rate.

[ppentertainments]

The secret is how to sell yourself and how the charity will benefit from hiring you. When they understand this, your fee is less of a priority. I am still trying to learn how to do this, but know of a dj local to myself, who does this well and can charge as much for a charity gig as a wedding.

The basic concept is which is best ?
Hiring a £50 disco (or other service) and raising £100 or
Hiring a £300 disco and raising £1000.

I have been learning a lot about this from this other dj and have applied some of these learnings to my race nights with success.

[CRAZY K]

The secret is how to sell yourself and how the charity will benefit from hiring you. When they understand this, your fee is less of a priority. I am still trying to learn how to do this, but know of a dj local to myself, who does this well and can charge as much for a charity gig as a wedding.

The basic concept is which is best ?
Hiring a £50 disco (or other service) and raising £100 or
Hiring a £300 disco and raising £1000.

I have been learning a lot about this from this other dj and have applied some of these learnings to my race nights with success.

Im not sure how a £50 Disco raises less money than a £300 Disco.

Everyone buys the tickets anyway--I cant believe ticket sales rocket because xyz a £300 Disco is doing the job.

They never admit--oh we booked the cheapest DJ we could find --SO HALF THE PEOPLE GIVE IT A MISS.

The problem arises when the people turn up and find they have been shortchanged by the organisers who have booked a load of :Censored:

They make the money ONCE--after that no one turns up.

If your talking about holding a series of functions trading on the success of the first one fair enough.

Thats what happended when I was booked for 3 last year:D

I have not secured any Charity gigs this year at all.

Never mind plenty of others on offer:D

CRAZY K

[ppentertainments]

Im not sure how a £50 Disco raises less money than a £300 Disco.

Everyone buys the tickets anyway--I cant believe ticket sales rocket because xyz a £300 Disco is doing the job.

They never admit--oh we booked the cheapest DJ we could find --SO HALF THE PEOPLE GIVE IT A MISS.

The problem arises when the people turn up and find they have been shortchanged by the organisers who have booked a load of :Censored:

They make the money ONCE--after that no one turns up.

If your talking about holding a series of functions trading on the success of the first one fair enough.

Thats what happended when I was booked for 3 last year:D

I have not secured any Charity gigs this year at all.

Never mind plenty of others on offer:D

CRAZY K

A number of reasons.


Firstly if it is a yearly event and the charity continually use rubbish dj's who provide a rubbish night, ticket sales will inevitablly go down year on year. (just noticed you have mentioned this)

Secondly, most charity disco's have various fundraising activities. A DJ who is compenent on the microphone will raise more than someone who is microphone shy.

Also if you have done previous charity fundraisers you may have ideas which can help them raise funds. One example is, if I do a fundraiser and someone donated their raffle prize (a bottle of whisky for example) back to the charity. Instead of drawing another ticket or 'using it next time' I always reccomend a game of shove penny. The bottle is place on the floor and ask people to roll or slide a pound coin along the floor from a distance. The closest pound wins the bottle - easy to raise £50-£60 alone with this, especially if encouraged by use of a microphone.

If there is a rubbish disco, people will also tend to leave early giving less opportunity to raise more money from them. Also there is one venue who used to charge a race night customer of mine £200 for the room hire. This is a regular customer and the venue now give the room hire for free as everyone stops and spends on the bar as well.

If I read this 3 months ago I would have agreed with you, but now have a bigger insight and as said learning how to convert these into bookings.

[Mark Wild]

Charity nights I'd say need more a DJ who is also a good host/compere. The charity night I did, when the band took thier break, I was hosting raffles/games for at least an hour without any music at all. Just me, a mic and the crowd. You can't beat the buzz from that !

[ppentertainments]

Charity nights I'd say need more a DJ who is also a good host/compere. The charity night I did, when the band took thier break, I was hosting raffles/games for at least an hour without any music at all. Just me, a mic and the crowd. You can't beat the buzz from that !

Very true. The last charity function I done, I only did about 45 mins actual Disco. Howewer with a cheap DJ - would they do this ???

[Mark Wild]

Very true. The last charity function I done, I only did about 45 mins actual Disco. Howewer with a cheap DJ - would they do this ???

I doubt they would leave the chair they took with them ;)

[CRAZY K]

A number of reasons.


Firstly if it is a yearly event and the charity continually use rubbish dj's who provide a rubbish night, ticket sales will inevitablly go down year on year. (just noticed you have mentioned this)

Secondly, most charity disco's have various fundraising activities. A DJ who is compenent on the microphone will raise more than someone who is microphone shy.

Also if you have done previous charity fundraisers you may have ideas which can help them raise funds. One example is, if I do a fundraiser and someone donated their raffle prize (a bottle of whisky for example) back to the charity. Instead of drawing another ticket or 'using it next time' I always reccomend a game of shove penny. The bottle is place on the floor and ask people to roll or slide a pound coin along the floor from a distance. The closest pound wins the bottle - easy to raise £50-£60 alone with this, especially if encouraged by use of a microphone.

If there is a rubbish disco, people will also tend to leave early giving less opportunity to raise more money from them. Also there is one venue who used to charge a race night customer of mine £200 for the room hire. This is a regular customer and the venue now give the room hire for free as everyone stops and spends on the bar as well.

If I read this 3 months ago I would have agreed with you, but now have a bigger insight and as said learning how to convert these into bookings.

I agree entirely and have hosted many of the shove a pound sessions over the years with a lot of success.

Maybe we could put together some kind of standard document which could be supplied with quotes for charity functions---that would be a positive in warning organisers of the problems---in the past I really couldnt be bothered.

However--nearly ALL my enquiries come from people who say they have never done it before--so that makes it difficult to sell the idea as I WOULD say that a more expensive option is better WOULDNT I ???????:D :D :D

People who have tried the cheap option and got their fingers burnt will obviously know better.

CRAZY K

[ppentertainments]

I agree entirely and have hosted many of the shove a pound sessions over the years with a lot of success.

Maybe we could put together some kind of standard document which could be supplied with quotes for charity functions---that would be a positive in warning organisers of the problems---in the past I really couldnt be bothered.

However--nearly ALL my enquiries come from people who say they have never done it before--so that makes it difficult to sell the idea as I WOULD say that a more expensive option is better WOULDNT I ???????:D :D :D

People who have tried the cheap option and got their fingers burnt will obviously know better.

CRAZY K
Its all about educating people, and like weddings, it's a very hard task.

[flatliners]

a mate of mine done 1 for free as it was a charity close to his heart and also he owed some one a favor
for ages after he had people ring him up and say i hear you do free discos
one person rang up another mate and said it was for a charity knocked something of but then she sent the info back no mention of charity do but an 18th

[JAMdisco]

Its all about educating people, and like weddings, it's a very hard task.

To be fair, I think most (especially brides) would rather spend a bit more and thus get a better wedding reception disco.

I always bull-up the BIG DAY thing and that by booking me I can guarantee (a) I'll actually turn up on time and dressed accordingly (b) All my gear is professional quality (c) I have all required certification and (d) I am an experienced DJ with many satisfied customers.

Anyway, without going off topic and turning this into a wedding thread, I still wouldn't lower my prices by a lot as I believe I give excellent VFM anyway.

[ppentertainments]

To be fair, I think most (especially brides) would rather spend a bit more and thus get a better wedding reception disco.

I always bull-up the BIG DAY thing and that by booking me I can guarantee (a) I'll actually turn up on time and dressed accordingly (b) All my gear is professional quality (c) I have all required certification and (d) I am an experienced DJ with many satisfied customers.

Anyway, without going off topic and turning this into a wedding thread, I still wouldn't lower my prices by a lot as I believe I give excellent VFM anyway.

But a majority of brides, in my experience anyway, still look for the cheapest, yet we are able to influence them, so why not charities. In all honesty it is often easier for me to charge well for a charity event than a wedding. But this is going way off topic so will not go on. :o

[rob1963]

But a majority of brides, in my experience anyway, still look for the cheapest,

My experience is the complete opposite to yours.

I'm hardly the cheapest disco, but have no trouble getting bookings.

Not only that, but 85% of my clients book my most expensive disco.

I also have a friend who offers 3 packages and he's taking quite a few bookings at the moment...all for his most expensive package, which is £75 more than MY most expensive disco!

[SilverlineDiscos]

I think some people use the moto "Pay for what you get". If you spend more on a disco, you're more likely to get a professional one :)

[ppentertainments]

My experience is the complete opposite to yours.

I'm hardly the cheapest disco, but have no trouble getting bookings.



For the sanity of the forum we will not go into that ;) :D

[rob1963]

I think some people use the moto "Pay for what you get". If you spend more on a disco, you're more likely to get a professional one :)

Indeed.

Fortunately for me, that's how all MY clients think.


My experience is the complete opposite to yours.

I'm hardly the cheapest disco, but have no trouble getting bookings.



For the sanity of the forum we will not go into that ;) :D

I hope you're not suggesting that the forum is a sane place!

:p

[Bouncy Dancefloor]

i find brides want the best disco, the groom wants the cheapest :)

[PropellerHeadCase]

i find brides want the best disco, the groom wants the cheapest :)

That's a fairly sweeping generalisation and, I think, about 50% wrong :D

[CRAZY K]

That's a fairly sweeping generalisation and, I think, about 50% wrong :D

Dont most people want the absolute best at a low price--

Completely unrealistic---but a fact.

I had an enquiry last week---my most expensive offering---yet apparently despite reading my prices CLEARLY SHOWN ON THE SITE expecting a discount of more than £150.

Hope they found someone else ok.

CRAZY K