Cheesed Off (to Put It Mildly!)

[bigMCben 0]

I do work for an agency and am listed on their website along with a number of other DJs. There are some with prices lower than mine but I still get regular work because my 'blurb' explains about 20 years experience, discussion before the event, etc, etc, so it is possible to get bookings with a higher price. Ultimately you get what you pay for.

[Mattaious 0]

Ultimately you get what you pay for.

 

 

Exactly, And thats what you have to get across to the client.

 

 

[C.S 0]

There are members on here on the £500 to £700 hundred price range for an average wedding in the uk,they havent taken any part in this discussion on how the £200-£300 boys make them look unproffessional :shrug: As before worry about things you can do something about not what the next guy might or might not be doing. Perhaps the £95 guy is a great dj who doesnt need the work for the money but the so called buzz?

[C.S 0]

Right i seem to keep on making myself unpopular by going against the grain but i am going to try and explain why. As most of you know i work mostly clubs but i also do mobiles occasionaly and i want to just write what i do,i am not saying its right or wrong but it works ,for me. (Some of the things are from Richard rendezvous in NZ.)

A typical wedding gig for me pays around £700 but i am in Norway so lets say 4/500 squids equivelant (sp) and this is what they get.

On initial contact i set up a meeting a few weeks in advance and go and meet the B+G where we discuss what they want for the evening, we find their first dance and i collect info on the expected guests,stag night,timetable etc.

I set up gear a minimum of 5 hours before the gig but prefer to do it the day before so that they know i am there, what the gear looks like in relation to the venue ,volumes etc. I use a minimum of equipment.

On the night arrive a minimum of an hour before start time and make my presence known, talk to bar staff etc.

Start off with background stuff and then at appointed time ,turn off music and go out to centre of room and introduce myself with a small stand up routine about getting married and marriage. Present the couple in the room who have been married longest with a bottle of champagne and some chocolates and also present eg the people who have been living together longest with a kinder egg and a bottle of coke! (always have extra kinder egg with in case of hecklers who you can distract by making them be quiet until they have made the toy!)

Put out quality street and slips of paper and pens on the table, get the guests to eat chocalate and write something nice on the slips of paper and wrap them in the sweet papers, collect them all in a wedding bag ( wedding motive paper ones at card shops) and give the bag to the bride with instructions that they must not open the wrappers until their first anniversary.

 

First dance - at end of first dance stop music and go on to the dance floor and start a routine with the B+g where i ask them about their stag nights and get them to pick out guests that they would like to get revenge over !

Get them to pick out people (how many depending on size of dancefloor) and then get the victims to dance to short cuts of morris dancing,birdie song ,limbo,can can etc. At end of this do bouquet throwing and garter collecting. Make a quick monologue about djs being deaf, liking lots of bass,flashing lights and things they dont like and explain that it possible to ask for requests and even talk to me. I always take a rose with me for the groom to give to the bride either before they leave or the first dance

Then start gig !

 

At school reunions i do a quiz based around the year the guests left school and present the winner with a collection cd eg best of the 80s\70s and let them choose people to dance the revenge dances i use at weddings.

I never ever try and follow or worry about my competitors ,they do their thing and i do mine.

 

As stated above this is what I do and it works for me and my market, i do turn down a fair amount of gigs to make it a little exclusive but then again i have my club work to fall back on.

Edited September 2, 2007 by C.S

[Mattaious 0]

Seems like youve got it pretty covered there,

 

Dont think its against the grain at all :shrug:

 

 

[Dream Catchers 0]

The only thing that I can see that you need to do to make your receptions better Chris is to intoduce Dancing Queen.

 

Jim

[Paul Smith 0]

I can see the point Buskerball is making (Public perception) and this is something that we've always been up against. Who do we have to blame - well it's certainly not the public.

 

I have recently read 2 posts on other forums (wedding & money saving expert) where it's DJs telling clients that they are paying too much for their entertainment. In one case the DJ making the comment was several hundred miles (& a sea) away from the potential client so why did he make it his business to even comment (negatively) on the fees quoted :shrug:

 

I also agree with many of the other comments that you shouldn't let these 'pile em high, sell em cheap' operators dictate your own business. There is an ever widening gulf between them and those that offer a totally professional service. We do need to get this over to the public though which is 'work in progress' and I will soon be in a position to put forward my ideas on how we might tackle this.

[buskersball 0]

At last, someone sees what I'm saying!!!

 

 

 

 

 

I can see the point Buskerball is making (Public perception) and this is something that we've always been up against. Who do we have to blame - well it's certainly not the public.

 

I have recently read 2 posts on other forums (wedding & money saving expert) where it's DJs telling clients that they are paying too much for their entertainment. In one case the DJ making the comment was several hundred miles (& a sea) away from the potential client so why did he make it his business to even comment (negatively) on the fees quoted :shrug:

 

I also agree with many of the other comments that you shouldn't let these 'pile em high, sell em cheap' operators dictate your own business. There is an ever widening gulf between them and those that offer a totally professional service. We do need to get this over to the public though which is 'work in progress' and I will soon be in a position to put forward my ideas on how we might tackle this.

 

[C.S 0]

Dont think any of us have not understood what you have been saying ,i just think its not worth worrying about.

[jamminroadshow 0]

I see it like Supermarkets some people will shop in lidi the food is not as good as waitrose but some people do not mind that.

 

I am the type that would never shop in a discount store but loads of people will. Waitrose do not say hey we have a cheap range too and local wierdos, They explain why they are better same with marks and spencers they show the food not the price.

 

The only issue that we have which has been said is the fact that we do not want to appear to be harrods (massivly over priced). I have a agency here that will send DJ's out for £90 and it does make me look expensive but there is little i can do about it

[TonyB 0]

Perhaps re wording your adds along the lines of:
We don't just play any old music, we play the music that you and your guests want to hear.
We don't turn up with any old equipment, we provide the latest cutting edge sound and lighting equipment
We don't let our clients down when an offer of a better paid job comes along, we promise to be there
We don't charge £95, we charge a little more but for peace of mind, its worth it.

[Paul Smith 0]

We don't charge £95, we charge a little more but for peace of mind, its worth it.

Some good ideas although I think that £250 is more than 'a little more' compared to £95 tongue out icon

[TonyB 0]

Some good ideas although I think that £250 is more than 'a little more' compared to £95 tongue out icon

 

They can find that out when they phone for a quote smile icon

 

Otherwise delete the words "a little"

[buskersball 0]

 

 

 

PS well there is something I can do...I've stopped my ads in the paper as from today! Will pursue other means (ie targetting venues for more recommendations/do a cut price deal with them for block bookings etc.

So at least thats saved me £1400 a year!

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2007 by buskersball

[Dream Catchers 0]

I didn't initially want to advertise prices on my website but after thinking about the ad that was put in the Bolton Evening News and it being in my catchment area I decided to put prices on the site.

I added a page which sets out a basic price then by choosing differant options (time, distance, etc..) it shows what you pay.

That way the customer is clear on what they are paying for.

 

Jim

[monkeebiz 0]

Simple. You don't. You cant. Not on price anyway. I doubt the kind of people foolish enough to pay £95 for a disco will pay £250 for you anyway. Some people are hell bent on getting the cheapest DJ they can find, even though there's a serious chance they'll regret it later. It'll be too late by then but still, it takes them booking him to find that out. Catch 22.

 

I went to a wedding last year where the DJ was £100 and it was a joke. I have a pic of it but the rules wont let me post it. Just trust when I say he had a laughable setup and the kind of people willing to book this man will probably never pay £250 anyway.

 

Stick to your prices and sell yourself on your reputation. The people looking for a good quality DJ will still book you instead of 60 quid sid or his cousin, DJ beer money.

 

What he said.No need to try and compete with people you will never compete with.

 

He will get loads of bookings like others have said but the business will still be out there for you to get once he's fully booked (at £95 a throw I doubt he can be everywhere at once).

That leaves you to go for the other customers out there, if your'e good then you'll get the repeat business and not him.

Bit like being stuck in traffic, you can't affect it so don't worry about it.

 

[digitaldistortion 0]

Perhaps re wording your adds along the lines of:

We don't just play any old music, we play the music that you and your guests want to hear.

We don't turn up with any old equipment, we provide the latest cutting edge sound and lighting equipment

We don't let our clients down when an offer of a better paid job comes along, we promise to be there

We don't charge £95, we charge a little more but for peace of mind, its worth it.

 

 

Not wishing to stir anything up....but apart from the last statement......ANYONE can make these promises (and do! I've seen it)

 

:djurant:

[Tonsk 0]

No stirring it up at all.. It's these things that seperate us from the beer monies....

 

People seem to come in two different types:

 

1. Those who want the cheapest and

2. Those who want quality..

 

Now, I'm not saying that those in number 2 will pay more, but ordinarily, if you can make them see the difference the extra money buys, then you will make the sale...

 

Those in Number 1 will always only wanna pay the cheapest rate and will be the people who spend all day on the phone calling every disco number they can get and start the call "How much do you charge".

 

In my experience, I don't want those sort - I want the ones who want quality....

[Dukesy 0]

All good advice. At the end of the day, you don't compete effectively by trying just to match the strengths of the other disco service. You compete by doing what the other service can't do. smile icon

Competition is good. Don't fear it.

 

 

[Norfolk DJ 0]

No stirring it up at all.. It's these things that seperate us from the beer monies....

 

People seem to come in two different types:

 

1. Those who want the cheapest and

2. Those who want quality..

 

Now, I'm not saying that those in number 2 will pay more, but ordinarily, if you can make them see the difference the extra money buys, then you will make the sale...

 

Those in Number 1 will always only wanna pay the cheapest rate and will be the people who spend all day on the phone calling every disco number they can get and start the call "How much do you charge".

 

In my experience, I don't want those sort - I want the ones who want quality....

 

Spot on Tony.

 

Cheap low paid gigs end up in cheap dodgy venues

 

[rictic 0]

dont know how to put this without offending peeps.

its all well and good if you can command those fees ok.

where i am 200.00 for a gig is deemed a good fee, i have no probs with that.

if i get more they dont get more. they get my best every time.

 

if i had more gear and more flash i could maybe charge more, for the frontage.

 

BUT! I pride myself on the quality of music i play,the way i play it and the way the audience reacts to me.

i get nothing but compliments an handashakes from my punters.

 

all on mid range gear no top of range stuff no denons etc.

just honest to goodness hard graft.

 

i have been doing this since the 70's and times may change but the methods never will.

[Dukesy 0]

dont know how to put this without offending peeps.

 

Appreciate what your saying ric and I don't think you are offending anyone.

 

What we have to appreciate is that unique and different is cool. It's what sets us apart in a pretty saturated 'industry'. We all operate slightly different and I would like to think that many adopt a mindset that is similar which can only do wonders for the profession. :Thumbup:

 

For sure, it's not the brand of disco gear that gets work but the level of service for price. The only time I expect that a client will be interested in gear is if they have seen or personally experienced disco entertainment where 'the gear used by the DJ' may have let down the performance, although from what I've read and heard over time, it always seems to be the actual DJ that is a let down for the client in either not being appropriate for the job or an arrogant and big headed 'wotsit', or a combination of the two!

 

I believe many of the contributors to this forum do have a great passion for music and enjoy the service they provide and re-invest in that service in many different ways.

 

We all come from different backgrounds and have different reasons for entering into the disco business. Once entered, we learn and may make mistakes like the next person. We will try to resolve issues that we come across over time so that we are not caught out again. That's logical and also one area where the forum is great because someone may come across a situation where they read on the forum how another member handled their situation! That's also another reason why we've encouraged networking too.

I suppose we could reflect and say that as a service industry, we adopt rules of thumb and take on board what seems to be a general consensus in aspects of our business whilst trying to maintain a unique service to set us apart from the next.

 

Some may rely seriously on the income of DJ'ing whether it be a part-time or full-time occupation.

One thing that is for sure is that if we rely on the service need for income, then without doubt we look for ways to promote our service and how we can make our service better as well as competitive because obviously, we don't want to individually lose out to another/rival service let alone deliver a third rate one!

 

We can all charge what we like and focus on as many areas of client as we like. There's nothing wrong in having a £100, £500 or £1,000 fee for a level of service because if you are happy with that then that's what counts, so long as one has accounted for the elements and factors that are part of what makes up and equally affects the service, or the only person kidding themselves at the end of the day is the service owner who aims to be competitive!

 

As a service provider, it's logical to keep a finger on the pulse - not just to keep an eye on the competition but also look at the demand and see how our service is dictated by varying factors including what is imposed. We take on board the trend changes and variety of client, demographic factors as well as the various different venues we work in, etc. In the future, we may have to reduce the amount of equipment we take into venues, may have to reduce the noise level of our sound systems, reduce the time it takes to pack gear away at the end of the night, and so on because of what is imposed.

 

We observe everything else including health and safety procedures and risk assessment, etc as well as hold any certifications required under law or statute because of what is imposed and because we choose to continue to provide a service.

 

True, the key methods of our business service don't change too much but we should perhaps embrace the idea that some services in our industry adapt and follow to the imposed requirements and the demands that dictates change because individually, to 'compete' and survive is what works for each and everyone of us that really counts at the end of the day.

 

Now, after all my waffle, I have a headache, feel like crap and I'm going back to bed. :zzz:

[slug boy 0]

i did a party in the local pub for FREE!!...

 

the landlord booked me for his wedding, for £100... he though it was VERY cheap

 

but i'm now also booked for monthly disco and karaoke and get plenty of referrals and hand out lots of cards...

 

so, doing that one gig for free has earned me a minimum of £1300 for the year!...