Do you actively seek work?

[JDB Entertainment]

After a recent conversation with a fellow DJ the questioned was asked to me: "Do you actively seek work?"

I know there is a lot more I could possibly do to get more work.

I am very interested to know what you do to actively seek work.

For me I have my website, repeat clients, attend a few Wedding Fairs and also pay for a few listings on some directories.

I did a "mailshot" to all the local schools in the area this year to try and get the Proms booked, however have not had one reply so far.

Does anybody do anything else?

If so care to share?

I am sure this has probably been done before in the past, however we have a lot of new members.

:) Looking forward to reading the replies.

[charlie]

i am that fellow DJ that asked the question!

Will also be interesting for me to read, i am full time now and have alot of time to actively seek work, i have just had 1000 flyers printed and it will be good to see where they have worked best for others :)

[Danno13]

I tend to be a bit lazy with this to be honest, I do spend alot of time tweaking my website, and review advertising every now and again, as well as getting to as many DJ meets as I can, but I've never been one for pressure sales or shoving myself in peoples faces - I just worry too much about appearing too desperate, which isn't the impression I want to give.

I've tried mailshots in the past and had no success. I've considered Wedding fayres, but these would involve being up silly early on Sunday mornings, which isn't the ideal time for me to be able to give 100%, plus it would often conflict with any hires I have to collect from the Saturday night. If my business goes the way I want it to, with me taking more of an organisational role rather than actually doing any humping about myself, then this would be something I can re-visit, but for now being out there and earning the money has to to come first.

[yourdj]

networked with my competition and share events we are already booked for.
Turns out they are now my friends :p

Spose Michael coreleon was right after all.

Offer free per wedding meetings if your desperate as the majority will result in a booking.
Unless you fart a few times have a dump in the middle of it and drop your papers everywhere :o

[Charlie Brown]

For me I have my website, repeat clients, attend a few Wedding Fairs and also pay for a few listings on some directories.

I did a "mailshot" to all the local schools in the area this year to try and get the Proms booked, however have not had one reply so far.


This year, I have done all of that James apart from a Wedding Faire, which I wish I had done but I needed more planning time.

I also sent out letters to school and got no replies.

I sent a version to Ollie too who adapted it and again, received no enquiries.

[charlie]

I am quickly seeing that mail shots are a waste of time, i have done some email shots to have no reply.

Has anyone tried approaching venues directly eg. going in with some info and asking to speak to the person in charge of events?
I am thinking of doing this but not sure how to go about it

[Danno13]

I suspect that mailshots would be better if you did a few each year in a latest news fashion, the time is bound to come when the venue wants something that you do and that can be enough to get an "in".. telephone follow ups would probably help as well.

[Booche]

tried mailshots also with again no replies, ive also done a few warehouse drop ins as i live near quite a large industrial estate to see if icould possibly get like company parties,retirements, leaving dues and such like which got quite abit of interest but as of yet nothing has come of it but im still holding out :)

Cheers Dave :)

[yourdj]

I am quickly seeing that mail shots are a waste of time, i have done some email shots to have no reply.

Has anyone tried approaching venues directly eg. going in with some info and asking to speak to the person in charge of events?
I am thinking of doing this but not sure how to go about it

Don't bother with mailshots - I have sent loads. Nada back

best bet is to arrange a meeting with the event person and meet face to face. The percentage of success on that is very limited too.

Web presence is key in my opinion. :)

[JDB Entertainment]

Networking - I forgot that one, lol!

Definately a great source and do this a lot.

Dan ;)

I offer Pre-planning Meetings, which I do 2 weeks prior to the big day, however have never considered a Pre-event meeting until Charlie's thread.

This seems like a good idea and maybe something I will look further into.

Charlie - I have done 1 Wedding Fair so far this year and took 2 Bookings off it. It was however not very well advertised and I only spoke to say 5/6 people on the day so in my opinion that was a good turnaround.

I also forgot - My Sign-written Car!

This again generated another booking today from somebody walking their dog on Monday.

The lady knocked on the door and asked for a card as it was her son's 21st Birthday.

He phoned me today and I took the Booking. Good Fee aswell.

Well worth spending the money on the car in my opinion! :)

[yourdj]

however have never considered a Pre-event


if you make the effort to see the client they will be more inclined to book you. They will also meet you and not a website with flashy lights etc. :)

[charlie]

networking is a big one, i take alot of bookings from larger event companies who need a DJ.

My van has been sign written for about a month and i have already had one enquiry, gave them a card but heard nothing. But you never know what may come off it. He has my card now :)

[rob1963]

I wouldn't say I actively seek work.

To be honest, I don't really need to...as my website does that for me.

Around 75% of my work comes from my website & the other 25% from people I know, recommendations & repeat bookings.

This provides enough bookings (nearly one a week) without having to do mailshots to local venues, wedding fayres etc etc.

[Vectis]

I don't actively seek. In fact, at the moment, I'm actively refusing by being very picky about some venues, some types of gigs and being inflexible on pricing.

Website only for me, plus a few select ;) directories

[Ukbride Owner]

That was a really interesting read.

Saying mailshots don't work, is like saying the data industry which is worth £billions doesn't work either.

I am going to be honest here (even if it hurts), if mailshots don't work, it is either poor quality data, not enough data or, and I am afraid to say it YOU!

Some of my clients which include Debenhams, F Hinds the Jewellers and the DeVere Group, the later told me that their wedding sales were up by over £250,000 in the first quarter as a result of buying the list of brides that we sell from UKbride (sorry not meaning to plug).

We also have hundreds of local wedding businesses that buy data for their area too!

Mailshots don't work if you say something like... Julian Wilkinson Entertainment - We are the bees knees (for example)!

They WILL work if you say "Free Entertainment for your Wedding Day by One of the leading Entertainment businesses in "Lincolnshire".

And then go on to explain, that in order to receive free Entertainment all they need to do is call XXXX XXXXXXX to find out more about the business and you will then be entered into an annual prize draw to win your entertainment for your Wedding.

You have to remember that this is BUSINESS, and marketing is THE most important way to win business. Over the years I have heard of thousands of wedding business who rely on reccomendation and word of mouth which is great BUT SLOWWWWWWWWW!

Direct Marketing means not waiting for the phone to ring, but you actually and actively getting your name DIRECTLY in front of brides to be! This is far better than an advert in the local newspaper (less than a quarter of a percent of people in the UK are getting married), so local press (other than local wedding magazines) have way too much waste!

I could go on and on. BUT please don't make the mistake that direct marketing doesn't work. And remember email marketing costs next to nothing!

I will await the back lash!

Regards Julian

[yourdj]

Paying hundreds/thousands on online listings can be very effective.

especially UKbride* They are excellent :D

But:

Marketing at the event is one of the best things I would say.
That way people know exactly what they are going to get.

- business cards
- banners
- gobos on moving heads
- verbal communication (if you want to book me etc) on the mic
- talking to people at the gig one to one
- promotional incentives (toys, sweets etc)
- etc.

A track request list that you hand out at gigs work well.
People have to come up to you which makes it very interactive.

You can add some info and nice pics. Very good during dinners as people get bored and are more interested too read them.
As long as the disco is good they will remeber your name/identity mentally or take a card home.

I get fed up with them now and rely on verbal requests - don't put more than four tracks on it as people get silly and test you with request tracks like Beethoven etc.




* can i have a free listing for that?

[Charlie Brown]

Julian,

Your right but I sent 5 letters out to local schools in my area....not thousands of brides encouraging them to enter a free competition.

[Vectis]

Some of my clients which include Debenhams, F Hinds the Jewellers and the DeVere Group...

If I was on your client list and stumbled across sensationalist comments like this on a seriously unrelated public forum, I'd be off again very quickly indeed.



They WILL work if you say "Free Entertainment for your Wedding Day by One of the leading Entertainment businesses in "Lincolnshire".

And then go on to explain, that in order to receive free Entertainment all they need to do is call XXXX XXXXXXX to find out more about the business and you will then be entered into an annual prize draw to win your entertainment for your Wedding.


If I was a punter and fell for that old ruse, I'd make a conscious decision to go elsewhere and tell everyone that I knew about my experience.

I do understand where you're coming from, having previously been involved in sanctioning major high-risk advertising projects (love it or hate it; the slag of all snacks to name a couple :zip: ) but for a small business owner working in a relatively confined geographical area this would be suicide.



I could go on and on. BUT please don't make the mistake that direct marketing doesn't work. And remember email marketing costs next to nothing!


Sadly mass marketing does work, but not for this marketplace.





- verbal communication (if you want to book me etc) on the mic


If you held a gun to my head you'd never get me to speak such a thing :o

[yourdj]

If you held a gun to my head you'd never get me to speak such a thing :o

Your right - I never say anything like that either but it can be an effective way to sell yourself

for example "if anyone eles wants to book me come and get a business card" at the end of the gig when people are mingling and the music is off.

It may spurn drunk people to think "oh im going home in a minute and im getting married this year - that guy was actually really good i will get a card" Bit like requests - there is a massive difference when i tell people they can come up for them.

Forgot to add put your cards at the bar in several places! the womans loo is also good one :Rob James:

[Corabar Entertainment]

Your right - YOU'RE!

[DJMaxG]

Around 75% of my work comes from my website & the other 25% from people I know, recommendations & repeat bookings.

Even better than, they know what they're going to get that way, rather just an advert in their local newspaper or business card stuck up on the wall in their local chippy.



Sadly mass marketing does work, but not for this marketplace

"WIN A FREE HOLIDAY - JUST TEXT 'WIN' TO 8000" kind of thing doesn't really work with many forms of business, but I gather that's not what you meant :confused:

[yourdj]

YOU'RE!

What's the difference :D

[Corabar Entertainment]

Toby... do you know how close I am to coming down to visit you and :riceandrob:

:p :p :p :p

[JDB Entertainment]

Back on Topic... :P

Any other ideas that people do to actively seek work?

[SC Events]

Tell customers when I'm at work (At my part-time job (8hrs per week))

I always try and have a bit of a chat with each customer so I know exactly what they are looking for etc...and sometimes they ask me if I work there full-time, to which I say 'No' I am a DJ as well.

I then occasionally get asked for a card :D

[Vectis]

Back on Topic... :P

Any other ideas that people do to actively seek work?


Here's a suggestion that has worked for me in the past.

Volunteer to put on a kids disco at an upcoming charity or community event. If they talk you into providing PA for other stuff, talk them into covering your "costs".

Have some specific promotional materials printed up (either Vistaprint free-except-for-postage giant postcards or more general purpose flyers) for the event with a nice juicy offer on there - either a discount on production, or a freebie.

On the day go all-out to give the kids a good time, making sure to play on the old crowd-teasers such as the bubble machine, smoke machine etc. (yes I know it'll just disperse into the air but the boys in particular will love waiting for the next "whoosh") and if you feel so inclined do a few giveaways or even a charity raffle for a free kids disco (£1 a ticket, all proceeds to wherever).

I found out long ago that becoming community-minded definitely has its payoffs. Joining something like a local carnival committee is akin to joining the masons, but without all the nonsense. You meet other likeminded folks, and in my experience seemingly all are retired or self-employed, and a lot of reciprocal back-scratching falls out of such relationships.

Pick the right event and you'll get several thousand potential customers past your rig (albeit audio only) and marketing materials in a day. Please their kids as they wander past and they'll remember. Adult work always seems to spin out of kids work in my experience.

[OllieJames]

Well, networking plays a large part of my business...

I'm fortunate enough to have met a couple of forum members that have helped me out gig wise around Northampton, that I feel has had a major impact on how I run & promote my business.

I have one paid advert which is in two booklets which go to 20,000 homes across Northamptonshire which over 6 months has generated around 5 enquiries and resulted in 1 booking. I'm giving it a go for another 6 months, then not doing it again - although my costs were covered, It's outgoings that I could spend on more music...

Another networking example was that I went to visit a lovely wedding venue in Northamptonshire, as my parent's friends are getting married there and I'm DJing for it. I got speaking to the owner of the venue who said they were going to start looking for a new DJ that they could recommened to clients and use for their own staff parties. My first gig there was the other week, and it went so well that I've been put on their website under the DJ section, and have started to be recommened to clients by the owners! I now have a few more gigs there this year, and the enquiries are still coming in for wedding season. All this from a polite, light hearted chat and me giving them a business card!

[Ukbride Owner]

Sadly mass marketing does work, but not for this marketplace.

Give me the opportunity to prove you wrong! I will market your business free of charge! BUT I will take 90% off all bookings I get for you, until you tell me to stop!

Julian

*Lays down the gauntlet* :bang:

[charlie]

some very good advice there guys.

Vectis, your idea about the free kids party sounds like a very good plan and with the summer coming up i am going to look into this.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice and comments

Charlie

[Corabar Entertainment]

Give me the opportunity to prove you wrong! I will market your business free of charge! BUT I will take 90% off all bookings I get for you, until you tell me to stop!

Julian

*Lays down the gauntlet* :bang:If it costs 90% of your booking fee to get a booking, it isn't 'working', is it? :p

Sure, you can get bookings if you through enough money at something, but to be classed as 'working' it has to be cost effective!

[Ukbride Owner]

I will show all costs (and post them on here too so you can all see that it is profitable, if I am allowed).

I totally agree, working to me means making a profit. It may also mean more work, working days when you may prefer not too, taking lower paid work than you normally would. BUT it will make you MORE MONEY.

Isn't that what it is all about? Or is it a hobby? :confused:

Julian, UKbride

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

working to me means making a profit. It may also mean more work, working days when you may prefer not too, taking lower paid work than you normally would. BUT it will make you MORE MONEY.


Why on earth would anyone want to take on lower paid work to make more money and how would that even make sense?

[Ukbride Owner]

say you charge £500 and usually get 6 bookings a month (forgive me I don't know the facts here). You would take £3000!

But if you charged £400 a booking and got 10 bookings you would take £4,000!

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

say you charge £500 and usually get 6 bookings a month (forgive me I don't know the facts here). You would take £3000!

But if you charged £400 a booking and got 10 bookings you would take £4,000!

Yeah and how would you guarantee that you got an extra 4 bookings? You think by putting your price down by £100 that an extra 4 people would suddenly decide to book?

[Corabar Entertainment]

say you charge £500 and usually get 6 bookings a month (forgive me I don't know the facts here). You would take £3000!

But if you charged £400 a booking and got 10 bookings you would take £4,000!But you still have to look at the profit margin! As I mentioned before, getting the bookings isn't the only thing to look out for!

[StarZSoundS]

say you charge £500 and usually get 6 bookings a month (forgive me I don't know the facts here). You would take £3000!

But if you charged £400 a booking and got 10 bookings you would take £4,000!


:run: :run: :run: :run: :run: :run: :run: :run:


I'd start now if I were you!!

You're going to get the full busy fools routine!!

We need to take your Brain out .....scrub out all rationality....and replace it with a bit of DJ logic!!:devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil:

[Corabar Entertainment]

Martin

If you think that the membership here are all idiots and that we should all be halving our prices to get 3 times as many gigs (meaning 3 times the work) to take out less profit, and that we are all wrong and you are right, and your way of doing things should be rammed down our throats at every opportunity because everything you do is right and everyone else is wrong...


...why bother posting here? :Censored:

[Ukbride Owner]

How much extra PROFIT would you have with the extra £1,000?

I think I will leave you guys to get on with it!

There is only so much negativity I can handle!

Best wishes


Julian, UKBride

[StarZSoundS]

Martin

If you think that the membership here are all idiots and that we should all be halving our prices to get 3 times as many gigs (meaning 3 times the work) to take out less profit, and that we are all wrong and you are right, and your way of doing things should be rammed down our throats at every opportunity because everything you do is right and everyone else is wrong...


...why bother posting here? :Censored:




Don't have a pop at me because a member of the General Public has asked for some rational explanation that challenges YOUR approach.Answer his enquiry....I think he has a fair question!!:bang: :bang:

[Corabar Entertainment]

WHAT????:confused:

[Charlie Brown]

This forum has gone crackers.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I think I will leave you guys to get on with it!




Yes, you do appear to be way out of your depth with this now. :)

[StarZSoundS]

How much extra PROFIT would you have with the extra £1,000?

I think I will leave you guys to get on with it!

There is only so much negativity I can handle!

Best wishes


Julian, UKBride







WHAT????:confused:

It seems like the General Public .... just don't understand!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[StarZSoundS]

This forum has gone crackers.

Yep..... its my new MJ Avatar.....


Think i'm going to have to change it....its getting on my nerves too!!:D :D :D

[OllieJames]

Yep..... its my new MJ Avatar.....


Think i'm going to have to change it....its getting on my nerves too!!:D :D :D

I quite like it Martin! :D

[Charlie Brown]

I quite like it Martin! :D

No...

Please don't encourage him Ollie. :sj: :p :p

[StarZSoundS]

I quite like it Martin! :D


Thank you kind sir!!

Google.... Moving Avatars.....Music!!

THEY'RE FREE!!


:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

[yourdj]

I found out long ago that becoming community-minded definitely has its payoffs.

You do live on a small island :p I would that would have been key as everyone knows everyone etc.

Are you coming to our next meeting in Southampton (im on topic) :)

[Corabar Entertainment]

How much extra PROFIT would you have with the extra £1,000?
It's not negativity - I have actually never moaned or complained about the number of enquiries we convert.

The point that I am trying to make is that it isn't as simple as lowering prices to get more gigs. To use your suggestion on your own business, why wouldn't you half the cost of advertising on your site?

People outside the business do not seem to appreciate the costs of running a mobile disco business, and the extremely tight profit margins that many reputable companies are running to, and that lowering prices further is neither feasible - or desirable. There are plenty of other ways to market a business.

If you take on more gigs, obviously your overheads are higher (With your example, you've got 4 extra gigs-worth of wear and tear on the equipment, stationery, telephone, staff costs, time spent with each client, and plenty of other things). If for your additional £1,000 turnover, you have expended an additional £900, plus worked an additional 30 hours, is the additional £100 (before tax) worth it?

It is very easy to have a business with a high turnover, but it's the bottom line of 'profit' that people need to live on!

You most certainly mis-interpreted my post Julian if you thought I was being negative - because nothing could be further from the truth! To my mind, giving the answer "lower your prices" is a far more negative outlook to business.

[Corabar Entertainment]

It seems like the General Public .... just don't understand!! :eek: :eek: :eek:Right...understand what your previous post was on about now! You posted the above whilst I was drafting my reply to Julian.

[StarZSoundS]

Right...understand what your previous post was on about now! You posted the above whilst I was drafting my reply to Julian.

And you've explained the situation to him......


Maybe if a few more of us could key into what the General Public think it might help things....after all they pay most of our wages!!I think I have a knack for that!!;) ;)


Julian put forward a fair argument.....You answered it.(I think you stretched the £900 wear and tear etc issue a bit....but i'm not the pedantic sort:D :D :D :D )

[DJMaxG]

Angela,
I totally agree with what you wrote in Post 49, but it really does depend on how you run your business.

The staffing costs and wear and tear does depend on whether you buy new equipment frequently, or perhaps you may keep it forever. Staffing costs aren't so much applicable with a 'one man band' either.

Julian,
I think there has been way to much critisim towards you, your business decisions do involve risks, but business is all about taking risks as Charlie will point out.

[Corabar Entertainment]

I think you stretched the £900 wear and tear etc issue a bit....but i'm not the pedantic sort:D :D :D :D Not literal figures Martin - just using fictitious ones since the £1,000 was fictitious in the first place :)

[StarZSoundS]

Not literal figures Martin - just using fictitious ones since the £1,000 was fictitious in the first place :)


Yeah...but you were trying to give the impression that there was hardly any benefit at all in doing the extra work.....when clearly there is.....

And you failed to mention the extra benefit in the free advertising....if you your DJ's are any good....which obviously they are??;) ;) ;)

[Corabar Entertainment]

No - put the particular figures quoted aside: I was merely trying to point out that extra turnover is not the holy grail.... extra PROFIT is.

[Shaun]

What are the average prices that you guys charge?

Is there a gulf between what is being charged and what the brides are expecting to pay?

Julian

PS: Thank you StarZSoundS for a kind response.



We're getting way off topic now. I've split the posts into a new thread. Link is below.

http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=25500

[Shaun]

:ontopic:

[Ukbride Owner]

I am happy for one of you to become a UKbride Expert, where brides can ask you questions in the forum and you can freely help them but, obviously you can't promote yourself.

Does anyone want to volunteer to be an expert?

Please email me at [email protected] and will sort it out

Julian, UKbride

[Shaun]

obviously you can't promote yourself.



Please extend us the same courtesy. I've removed the 'plug' from your post.

[Ukbride Owner]

Sorry Shaun you have every right to delete that. I am sorry.

[SC Events]

I am happy for one of you to become a UKbride Expert, where brides can ask you questions in the forum and you can freely help them but, obviously you can't promote yourself.

Does anyone want to volunteer to be an expert?

Please email me at [email protected] and will sort it out

Julian, UKbride

If no-one else wants to do it, I can, if all of you including Mods/Admins agree?

[Shaun]

Sorry Shaun you have every right to delete that. I am sorry.

No worries. Thanks for your understanding. :beer1:

[StarZSoundS]

If no-one else wants to do it, I can, if all of you including Mods/Admins agree?

I think Scott is ideal for the job.His maturity belies his age and he gives a good balanced view on most subjects.


I thnk we have come a long way today.For a long time I have been suggesting some sort of rapport with these type of Sites instead of ripping them to shreds at every whipstitch.

If you can't beat 'em....join 'em.:beer1: :beer1: :beer1: :beer1:

That is of course assuming the owners and the mods choose this as the right course of action!! ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

[BeerFunk]

I thnk we have come a long way today.For a long time I have been suggesting some sort of rapport with these type of Sites instead of ripping them to shreds at every whipstitch.When has that ever happened then? Besides that Goodparty site, or whatever it's called, that you seem to treat as a son? And even then, no-one was criticising it unfairly.

[Corabar Entertainment]

That is of course assuming the owners and the mods choose this as the right course of action!! ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)Nothing to do with us!

Why on earth do you think that we would have any say over who joins another forum???? :confused:

[Shaun]

Now, back on topic please guys. Thanks.

Do you actively seek work....


Edit: Off topic post deleted. I won't ask again.

[JDB Entertainment]

Can this thread be seperated as I fear this has gone completely off topic?! :S

[Shaun]

I've moved all off topic posts relating to the UK Bride site over to the UK Bride thread. It can be located here on the link below.
http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24873

[Jonathan Ford]

Just to get the thread back on topic, I don't actively seek work. However, I'm part-time, and though I rely on the income to some extent, it's not my only source. Consequently, my advertising budget is £0, I have no website and no printed materials, aside from business cards. Even so, I'm out probably three weekends a month and all of December, which is as much as I want.

I do worry occasionally that all my eggs are in one basket, so to speak, but I suppose I'll have to cross that bridge if I ever come to it.

[StarZSoundS]

Just to get the thread back on topic, I don't actively seek work. However, I'm part-time, and though I rely on the income to some extent, it's not my only source. Consequently, my advertising budget is £0, I have no website and no printed materials, aside from business cards. Even so, I'm out probably three weekends a month and all of December, which is as much as I want.

I do worry occasionally that all my eggs are in one basket, so to speak, but I suppose I'll have to cross that bridge if I ever come to it.



My Doppelganger.....I was beginning to feel real alone!!:beer1: :beer1: :beer1: :beer1: :beer1: