Need a Disco

[Excalibur]

It took me ages to get bookings from it (I think in my 1st year I got one kids party and I only went for that to cover the subs )

The first one is the hardest one to get, because you have no feedback. Mine was a £500 wedding. I'd almost given up hope of getting anything by that time, and I hadn't half replied to some leads.

It's be no means a big earner and I still only get a trickle of bookings from it but if you're picky about what you go for then it's not too much hassle v reward.

By definition, aren't we all picky? You only quote for the ones you fancy, so already you're being selective. Now exactly how picky and selective people are............................................... .......

I'm currently averaging just short of thirty bookings per year, and it's very valuable to me.

[musicology]

I don't do badly out of them. Worth the price at the moment. I'm mid-price with most quotes £200-300

[DJ Jules]

My tips for success...

1. Invest the time and effort to build up your reputation on the site (get that DJ Mark up a few notches, do some reviews, etc)
2. Take the time to set up your postcode areas, price bands, services offered, etc on needadisco so you get the enquiries you want
3. At first, take some gigs at below your usual fee to get the initial feedback
4. Most importantly, really think about your email response - people coming to you via needadisco haven't seen your website or heard of you and they'll receive between 10 and 15 responses so you really need to sell yourself on the first contact and stand out from the other replies (especially if you want to get good money)

Once you get going, success breeds success and then it can be a valuable tool. Bizarrely, people in Bristol seem to have stopped using needadisco at the moment, 80% of the enquiries I get at the moment are for Bath, Swindon or Gloucester (and that's not because I'm filtering them out on price - they just don't seem to be there!)

Julian

[Excalibur]

Amen, Brother Julian, amen.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

The first one is the hardest one to get, because you have no feedback. Mine was a £500 wedding. I'd almost given up hope of getting anything by that time, and I hadn't half replied to some leads.



By definition, aren't we all picky? You only quote for the ones you fancy, so already you're being selective. Now exactly how picky and selective people are............................................... .......

I'm currently averaging just short of thirty bookings per year, and it's very valuable to me.

True but I'm picky even with the ones that get through my fairly high ineligible thresh hold.

Before I'd be responding to a coupe of leads a day, now I maybe do 1 or 2 a week and whilst the return still isn't a phenomenal number of gigs - the pay off compared to the time and energy put in as well as % of wins compared to bids is much higher.

That said, I know folk who absolutely smash it on NaD so it does work if you price and sell yourself correctly.

[Imagine]

...it does work if you price and sell yourself correctly.

And there Jim....is my big problem.

A couple of years ago when I first started with NaD (indeed my first year back into this lark), my prices were rock bottom. I could pretty much guarantee to win any gig that came my way - it was like shooting fish in a barrel and I thought £250 for a night's work was a luxury...

Last year, I increased my prices so that my absolute minimum was £250 for a night.....conversions from NaD tumbled badly. Thankfully I was by then getting work from other sources at my price so hey-ho....no biggy.

This year....well I had a pay rise again and my minimum is £300 (still too low in reality....I paid £200 for my wedding disco back in 1999!). I currently have three pending and confirmed gigs from quotes I've sent out. My marketing works (I'm getting direct work), my reputation locally is A1 and I get plenty of referrals, but it seems I can't win a NaD gig for toffee.

Now I know I said a couple of pages ago that I wouldn't speak badly of NaD, and that's not my intention with this response. I'm just telling it how I (and several others) see it at the moment. Martin has the right of reply on here and I'd be interested to see his responses. I'm not out to cause trouble like some on the official FB group (in fact, I'm very quiet on there these days unlike some of the protagonists), because I want the system to work.

Now here's the interesting bit. It's a personal gripe of mine and I've actually had it confirmed by a more than a couple of turn downs recently when I've asked for feedback after losing to someone who's "agreed a fee slightly less than the stated budget" (and Martin....I really would appreciate your input on this one because it's driving me and quite a few others nuts at the moment).

When a client goes through the quote request process, they're asked for their budget. Fair enough...it gives us an idea of what they're prepared to spend. NaD actually pre-fill this based on averages for the area. This however is the big downfall. The pre-filled budget was recently changed and you can now tell if the customer has amended this figure (so an extra step to find out if they're after bargain basement, have accepted the default or increased their budget from that suggested). Normally from my personal experience they either leave this "as is" or round it down.

The reason I was turned down for the couple of aforementioned gigs was price, and that alone. Fair enough....there's always competition, it's life and it's not a problem. They thought that the pre-filled amount was what they were supposed to pay and were confused when they got quotes all over the place, some higher, some lower (some considerably so!).

Now I'm sure Martin's thought this through and it's probably explained during the quote request process (I haven't been through it personally to see), but that's not the feedback I'm getting myself.

Personally, I'd prefer it if the budget question was left blank for the customer to physically have to think about and to fill in, or even left out altogether. If a client then gets 20 quotes for around the £300-£500 mark (and yes I HAVE seen that many responses to gigs), then they realise that's what the cost is (I appreciate these numbers can vary in different areas of the country by the way).

My other really big gripe is that in my area, most leads are going out to 20-30 people. The client gets that many responses and turns off (again I have proof...I've won NaD leads outside of NaD because they've had too many responses and decided to look for themselves). I know they have the facility to limit the number of responses they get, but believe me...most of them don't bother and they're getting inundated...just look at the number of leads that don't get marked as "Won".

Don't get me wrong - I think NaD is a brilliant system (I have to say that....I'm the 5th highest rated DJ on the top 40 ). But, there's a lot of room for improvement from the paying customer's perspective (i.e. US!). Now I understand that NaD is a business and like all of us has to make a profit to survive, but it feels at the moment like it's becoming way too crowded and the busy fools will always win the gig (note....that's in my personal areas at the moment).

One thing that would be nice to see though and going back to how to filter the gigs dependant on the quality of the DJ....
DJMark isn't perfect by a long chalk, although I can't see what other measures could be used other than running as a professional business (aka PAT/PLI/contracts/deposits and feedback scores). But....it would be really nice to see budgets tied to DJMark. For example, £500 weddings (or anything for that matter) only being offered to those who have taken the time and got the customer feedback to gain Platinum and above as an example, anything for £300 going to Gold and above etc.....

I know there's some sort of filter in place for this, but it still seems like the higher end jobs are being farmed out to far too many low end hobbyists at the moment, and for that reason this time next year....I'm oot

[rth_discos]

My marketing works (I'm getting direct work), my reputation locally is A1 and I get plenty of referrals, but it seems I can't win a NaD gig for toffee.

Let's be realistic about why most people use the NeedADisco website - they just want a disco. You don't got on a site to receive multiple quotes when price isn't the driving factor (not for all cases, but the majority). If you value you evening entertainment, and want to invest in it, you'll search for DJs and contact the ones that you like the look of for your needs. I know at my price point I will only get a few gigs from NeedADisco per year, and I'm comfortable with that - I don't believe that's a NeedADisco issue, it's a reality of the type of person that will use such a site.

But....it would be really nice to see budgets tied to DJMark. For example, £500 weddings (or anything for that matter) only being offered to those who have taken the time and got the customer feedback to gain Platinum and above as an example, anything for £300 going to Gold and above etc.....

I can't see this working. As I mentioned, the high DJ Marks are very easy for a budget operator to get, as per above, it's easier for them to get more gigs at a lower paying rate, and will therefore get a greater number of feedback quicker. I've seen some of my areas top DJs on NeedADisco with only a handful of feedback, and a low DJ Mark - so the ranking isn't a true reflection of how good a DJ is. More how good they are for the price they sell at, but that price isn't shown on their profile so it's hard to compare.

I still think it's the best DJ site there is, and it generates good leads, where the majority do book through the site, and I think Martin has done a great job. And we have to be realistic about the type of person that is going to use such a site - Martin can't create a demand that isn't there.

[Excalibur]

If you value you evening entertainment, and want to invest in it, you'll search for DJs and contact the ones that you like the look of for your needs. I know at my price point I will only get a few gigs from NeedADisco per year, and I'm comfortable with that - I don't believe that's a NeedADisco issue, it's a reality of the type of person that will use such a site.

Or when you google "Mobile/wedding DJ in local area" you find Martin's site pops up, and offers to find the DJs for you, and they've all got some sort of " certification " for your peace of mind.

When you need car insurance, do you search every individual site, or use Go Confuse a Meerkat.com and the like? Similar principle.

[rth_discos]

When you need car insurance, do you search every individual site, or use Go Confuse a Meerkat.com and the like? Similar principle.

There's little difference between car insurance. It's not a creative industry.

How many people use a comparison site to find their wedding photographer when spending more than £1k on their photographer?

At the upper end of the scale, the likes of Firebird are effectively the premium version of NeedADisco.

[ukpartydj]

What really grinds on me is that you're considered better for having your equipment PAT tested yearly!

I totally understand why some people like venues and DJs who would rather do it than bother arguing and go with the flow. But surely Martin knows that it's not relevant to the quality, legality, or anything which indicates a good DJ! It's something a business does if they wish to, nobody else's business!

So I don't even get a bronze award... Doesn't matter that I have plenty of positive feedback!

When is "I put all my taxable income in my self assessment" going to contribute to the DJ mark? Surely that's far more important and legal?

Needadisco is good but it's DJ police style is what let's it down. And I didn't even mention having a risk assessment ranks you as a better DJ? ? What?... Insanity! I've got one put I need not bother uploading to needadisco as I cannot get past bronze anyway!