Are My Prices Competitive?

[NRG Roadshow 0]

Just wanting to gauge some oppinions on this.......wonder what you guys would quote....

 

18th Birthday

7pm - 11pm

35 miles from your home

Karaoke included in the package

 

I would charge about £225, seems fair to me for providing all that, would you say?

 

The reason Im writing this is because I got undercut by a "beer money" DJ.....when I say beer money I mean those that are doing it for fun and not for a living.........he charged £150.

Im just wondering if my £225 quote is competitive or if its me thats over-charging....

 

Comment and discuss gentlemen

[Andy Westcott 0]

I'm not sure your implication that DJs who go out for a 'mere' £150 are beer-money DJs will be very well received!

 

I reckon £150 is a good price, and that the price you quoted is a little over the top, although you do offer karaoke which adds a bit of value.

 

I suppose the tester really is whether you got the job, which you didn't, which suggests you overpriced for this particular gig.

I think DJs who charge the higher rates need to be offering something exceptional to warrant the price - either a steaming personality or a massive show, and they need to be able to sell that extra detail to the customer.

 

Of course, prices vary a lot with the area, so we have to allow for that too.

For example, I reckon my prices are pretty competitive, even for this area, and yet I'm still getting undercut with some 'discos' cropping up for 50 quid! I can only assume these guys aren't footing the bill for legal music and insurance, but in the end, price is frequently the only deciding factor for this type of gig, and the customer isn't really interested in the reasons for price differences.

Edited February 9, 2008 by Andy Westcott

[McCardle 1]

now you know that this question is just like asking who likes marmite!. The £400 a gig members are going to accuse you of undercharging and the £150 a night ones are going to accuse you of overcharging!. First of all, take a look at the many forum polls on the subject, spanning the last few years and take the 'average' across the membership. Your fee, also depends on your local area and the type of market you are serving / aiming for. Also take a leaf out of the supermarkets book, they are always comparing and researching prices and you should too, at least once a year. Get a friend or relative to ring around 4 or 5 local established Dj's asking for a quote, and see what the local going rate is - you may be surprised / shocked. Personally, I aim my business towards the Wedding market, because I find that Wedding clients are more likely to pay what I need in order to make a living and the business turn a profit. That doesn't mean a two tiered quote system, and I charge the same for a 21st as I would a Wedding Reception, however I pitch my marketing towards the wedding business because I know from past experience that they are the enquiries which are turned into confirmed work, when quoted that particular fee.

 

N.B there are always going to be clients looking for the cheapest quote, in the same way as we might look around for the cheapest pli or a few quid off that new piece of equipment we want, everybody loves a bargain and sadly some people already have an ideal figure of what they WANT to pay before they even pick up the phone, and sadly its down to you as a service provider to change that perception and sell them on what they SHOULD be paying. The only way of stopping this from happening is ensuring that yours is the first business they contact, and that they don't feel the need to look anywhere else, and they want to book you right there and then. This may mean asking questions, and keeping them on the phone longer and generally showing more of an interest rather than just handing them a fee.

 

Out of interest was losing this booking a one off occurance or are you losing a lot of work on this basis?. I will also remake a comment i made on a similar thread previously. Lets just assume that a fictional deejay is earning £150 a gig but doing 10 bookings a month, netting him / her £1500 a month. Compare this to another fictitious deejay who works only 4 times in the same month, at £300 a gig giving a net income of £1200 / month. Would you still define the first example as a 'beer money deejay' or just somebody who enjoys their work and prefers their gear to be out earning money, and on a monthly basis, quite good money at that.

 

.

[DJH 0]

 

 

I would charge about £225, seems fair to me for providing all that, would you say?

 

 

 

 

 

I charged on average £150 a gig for 7pm till 11pm, so does this make me a "beer money DJ"?

no this makes me a dj who does it as a hobby and doesn`t care if he gets gigs or not, it dont make me unprofessional,alot of my bookings are from people who have seen me perform as a dj and see what sort of dj i am. all gigs go through my books and a lot of the money is put back into the business to make people enjoy the set up, and this way people book me for future gigs. maybe i ought to put my prices up another £20 - £30 so i can have some beer money. BUT I DONT DRINK AND DRIVE

 

Haydn

[Mattaious 0]

You have to aim yourself at a certain market, and look what the market average charge is ....

 

 

IMHO - £225 for a 18th is a little steap - around me anyways, Not many 18 year olds have that sort of money and some parents may begrudge paying that amount.

 

Again it goes back to the previous threads,

 

Id prefer to go out for £150, than loose the booking.

 

I understand charges have to be inline with outgoing costs, Petrol/Travel etc,

 

 

Have you looked around the area and ran a price check?

 

 

Just my views,

 

 

 

[Danno13 0]

Id prefer to go out for £150, than loose the booking.

 

Why? Whats to stop you getting another booking for that date at a higher rate? Its not like you have to convert every single enquiry into a confirmed booking...

Edited February 10, 2008 by Danno13

[andyw 0]

 

18th Birthday

7pm - 11pm

35 miles from your home

 

The reason Im writing this is because I got undercut by a "beer money" DJ.....when I say beer money I mean those that are doing it for fun and not for a living.........he charged £150.

Im just wondering if my £225 quote is competitive or if its me thats over-charging....

 

Comment and discuss gentlemen

 

i am not going to say you are overpriced,every member here needs to charge somewhere between what they feel they are worth and what they can get.if you can get £225 for that sort of party you are not overpriced ,if you can't get it you are overpriced. but you can't decide on one individual case,as andywestcott says even us bottom feeders lose out on price.

i do think your idea of a beer money dj differs considerably to mine though. for £150 round here you can get a good quality semiprofessional dj.please don't fall in the trap of thinking all dj's that are cheaper than you are doing it for beer money,because they are your direct competion at your price and you need to take them seriously and when you understand what they do, you might be able to sell your own services better

[Paul Smith 0]

I think that even a DJ who charges £150 would be over budget for some people. There are clients out there who would be looking to pay £50-£80 and equally there are others who are happy to pay £500. It's all about deciding on which market you want to aim for.

 

In some cases this is almost decided for you. There might not be enough £500 clients in your area or that market might already be saturated. The same applies to the cheap end too.

 

Market research and then deciding on how you will fit in to the market is usually a worthwhile exercise.

[NRG Roadshow 0]

I allways used to take comfort in thinking that because I charged a little more that I gave my customers that little bit extra......Im now finding out thats not the case their are people providing the same as me for less money....

 

Why are people doing that, well because they are doing it for fun and not to make a living, thats what all us full time DJs are up against, we are trying to make a living, part timers are trying to make pocket money (if indeed they make any proffit at all).....

My oppinion to the part timers.....charge a propper rate.......nobody can tell me that £150 is enough to cover your costs and earn a wage from it.

 

An example of £1500 a month income was quoted above, thats not a bad wage, if I had £1500 in my pocket a month I would be happy.....

But take your £1500, take off income tax, take off gig expenses, take off the cost of new music we all have to purchase regularly, take off all the other expenses that we all have to pay out.......and the £150 boys are practically PAYING the person to come and do their party, is that a good way to run a business, oh sorry I was forgetting to some of you its not a business is it.....just a hobby.

[Dukesy 0]

I allways used to take comfort in thinking that because I charged a little more that I gave my customers that little bit extra......Im now finding out thats not the case their are people providing the same as me for less money....

 

There's a saying, "Opinions do not really blossom into fruition until we have expressed them to someone else."

Well here's a little of mine! Firstly, didn't you have a great reference resource (forum) and know exactly what you would be facing when you was considering going "full time" way back when?! In the same breath, can also appreciate that personal circumstances can change, but overall unless you market your unique service to the type of client who is happy to pay you 'your rate', then sure as the black text your reading, you are simply no different in the eyes of a particular circle of client to all the other 'services' available, and will remain as such! Charging more because you can is one thing, but not appearing to be doing anything different to that of your competition is another!

 

Have you decided to stop asking your self is there anything that you would do different in your service to that of others - what remains unique about your service, and how many more unique mistakes have you made over a period of 'x' time gives you the edge over all the other services....in other words, how much experience do you uniquely have to that of others?!

What about your client feedback? Are you considered average, good, great or crap? Considering this is pretty relevant stuff, the facts that surface should indicate rather well in your favour as facts can not be distorted! They will give you scope!

 

 

Being fair, of the diversity of disco services who have a week job and go out DJ'ing at weekends for say £250+ a gig, they do not appear to have a problem with the rate they charge...so even if you do feel that they are hobbyists, they are still achieving/commanding a fee that is slightly higher than the example rate you mentioned at the beginning of the thread. Remember that, because there are members here who work during the week and charge this rate and above!

 

Sure, there may be other factors to take into consideration such as demographics, the reputation and experience of the service, etc but don't kid yourself into believing that the circles of client who you desire to work for do not exist!

 

By and large, like other businesses in the service industry, there are many who are great at delivering the service but are absolutely 100% :poo: at marketing.

I do not recall you mentioning ever your business plan so I presume you don't have one? If however you do, I would suggest reading it - it's your business Bible. Refer to it and as necessary, amend it.

Read up your forecast and actual (monthly) income and see if you have allowed for the peaks and troughs during the year. How does it compare to the previous years? What is different in the circumstances to that of now and before? How does the projected forecast look?

Who have you networked with? Look at who you know and how you can benefit from TALKING To THEM and discussing the hurdles you face. It will cost you a little time but worth every penny. You could pay to network of course.

 

I'm no expert in business and do not profess to be. But I do know that as a full-time business myself (over 10 years) with a lot of experience under my belt, I STILL have to keep an eye on the business Bible as well as everything else that's going on because that's the real world!

 

Healthy competition is good and I love it because it gives me the opportunity to sell my self.

Unhealthy competition can also be good because, you guessed it, it gives me the opportunity to sell my self!

 

If you are in a positive frame of mind and stay focused, you will not waste time on the work opportunities missed but will instead focus your time and energies on building your reputation on the quality of your service and of course what is out there and available.

Don't get into a rut, stay alert and get of your ass and continue to do the leg work because after all, as a full time service, there are no excuses that you can't!

 

Sorry if I come across as being a tad blunt, but sometimes, from the motivation POV, the aroma of coffee won't always come wafting - you have to chase it and sometimes......make it yourself!

Edited February 10, 2008 by Dukesy

[durbanite 0]

There's a saying, "Opinions do not really blossom into fruition until we have expressed them to someone else."

Well here's a little of mine! Firstly, didn't you have a great reference resource (forum) and know exactly what you would be facing when you was considering going "full time" way back when?! In the same breath, can also appreciate that personal circumstances can change, but overall unless you market your unique service to the type of client who is happy to pay you 'your rate', then sure as the black text your reading, you are simply no different in the eyes of a particular circle of client to all the other 'services' available, and will remain as such! Charging more because you can is one thing, but not appearing to be doing anything different to that of your competition is another!

 

Have you decided to stop asking your self is there anything that you would do different in your service to that of others - what remains unique about your service, and how many more unique mistakes have you made over a period of 'x' time gives you the edge over all the other services....in other words, how much experience do you uniquely have to that of others?!

What about your client feedback? Are you considered average, good, great or crap? Considering this is pretty relevant stuff, the facts that surface should indicate rather well in your favour as facts can not be distorted! They will give you scope!

 

 

Being fair, of the diversity of disco services who have a week job and go out DJ'ing at weekends for say £250+ a gig, they do not appear to have a problem with the rate they charge...so even if you do feel that they are hobbyists, they are still achieving/commanding a fee that is slightly higher than the example rate you mentioned at the beginning of the thread. Remember that, because there are members here who work during the week and charge this rate and above!

 

Sure, there may be other factors to take into consideration such as demographics, the reputation and experience of the service, etc but don't kid yourself into believing that the circles of client who you desire to work for do not exist!

 

By and large, like other businesses in the service industry, there are many who are great at delivering the service but are absolutely 100% :poo: at marketing.

I do not recall you mentioning ever your business plan so I presume you don't have one? If however you do, I would suggest reading it - it's your business Bible. Refer to it and as necessary, amend it.

Read up your forecast and actual (monthly) income and see if you have allowed for the peaks and troughs during the year. How does it compare to the previous years? What is different in the circumstances to that of now and before? How does the projected forecast look?

Who have you networked with? Look at who you know and how you can benefit from TALKING To THEM and discussing the hurdles you face. It will cost you a little time but worth every penny. You could pay to network of course.

 

I'm no expert in business and do not profess to be. But I do know that as a full-time business myself (over 10 years) with a lot of experience under my belt, I STILL have to keep an eye on the business Bible as well as everything else that's going on because that's the real world!

 

Healthy competition is good and I love it because it gives me the opportunity to sell my self.

Unhealthy competition can also be good because, you guessed it, it gives me the opportunity to sell my self!

 

If you are in a positive frame of mind and stay focused, you will not waste time on the work opportunities missed but will instead focus your time and energies on building your reputation on the quality of your service and of course what is out there and available.

Don't get into a rut, stay alert and get of your ass and continue to do the leg work because after all, as a full time service, there are no excuses that you can't!

 

Sorry if I come across as being a tad blunt, but sometimes, from the motivation POV, the aroma of coffee won't always come wafting - you have to chase it and sometimes......make it yourself!

 

 

 

Not blunt at all. Infact a very accurate discription in my opinion.

[andyw 0]

nrg 2 points.

1) how long have you been full time and when you wasn't full time did you charge less.

2) it don't make sense someone who charges £150 is offering the same service as you for £225 you should be offering a better service and selling yourself accordingly. no one is going to book you because you are full time and have more overheads they will only book you on either price or service.if you were looking ast buying anything would you pay an extra £75 for the same item . don't blame the dj's charging less look at your service to see what extra you need to do to win these bookings thats the idea of charging more you should offer more. when a client phones you ,you need to convince them your service is secound to none,you have top quality gear and by the end of the conversation they are going to want you and no one else. i said in a previus topic similar to this one us bottom feeders are and can push standards up and it is up to you full time guys to raise your game because we can have pat/pli and legal music for £150, so dont compete with us on price improve your service and make it superior and price it accordingly

andy

[NRG Roadshow 0]

Thats exactly what Iam doing.....

 

I have increased my prices slightly this year, and have gone out of my way to look for work which has been productive on the whole.

Previous years I sat back and waited for the work to come to me.....

Iam making a comfortable living from running the business the way I do, but Im thinking that maybe I should reduce my prices slightly to compete with the part-timers, and in turn I would in fact make more money.

 

Since the beginning of the year I have sold an average of £1000 a week in bookings, which Im more than happy with.

People are happy to pay my price with the way I sell myself, its just more than a little annoying seeing part timers charging less and giving the same service as I do just because they can afford to do that.

I have no problem at all with part-time DJs, what I do however have a problem with is them charging less because they can with little or no overheads.

 

Do plumbers, electricians and other professional tradesmen have to put up with part-timers undercutting them because they dont have the overheads and are doing it for fun? I dont think it happens as much as it does to DJs thats for certain.

 

Im wondering if the DJ that undercut me is going to put in an apperance on this thread......would be interesting to here HIS point of view.

 

Andy W - No I did not charge less when I was part-time, charged around the same.

As for the bottom feeders pushing the standard up.......your not really all your doing is dragging the price down.......full time or part time makes no difference but you have to charge what your worth........and £150 for 4 hours Birthday disco with karaoke included is not charging what your worth.

 

Edited February 10, 2008 by NRG Roadshow

[Mattaious 0]

Its not like you have to convert every single enquiry into a confirmed booking...

 

Thats MY aim

 

To do less in not good business practice.

 

Ive been in business to long to let things slip,

But thats another thread

 

 

Hope that clarifies it for you

 

[NRG Roadshow 0]

Matt.....

 

We all get phonecalls from people who want a sub £100 disco.......would you take those bookings just because you want a 100% conversion into bookings rate?

 

[andyw 0]

Thats exactly what Iam doing.....

 

I have increased my prices slightly this year, and have gone out of my way to look for work which has been productive on the whole.

Previous years I sat back and waited for the work to come to me.....

Iam making a comfortable living from running the business the way I do, but Im thinking that maybe I should reduce my prices slightly to compete with the part-timers, and in turn I would in fact make more money.

 

Since the beginning of the year I have sold an average of £1000 a week in bookings, which Im more than happy with.

People are happy to pay my price with the way I sell myself, its just more than a little annoying seeing part timers charging less and giving the same service as I do just because they can afford to do that.

I have no problem at all with part-time DJs, what I do however have a problem with is them charging less because they can with little or no overheads.

 

Do plumbers, electricians and other professional tradesmen have to put up with part-timers undercutting them because they dont have the overheads and are doing it for fun? I dont think it happens as much as it does to DJs thats for certain.

 

Im wondering if the DJ that undercut me is going to put in an apperance on this thread......would be interesting to here HIS point of view.

 

 

why are you focussing so much on this one that got away,we all lose bookings so why is this one any different? did the dj go out of his way to undercut you or is that his normal price

if you are selling that many disco's at that price why cut your prices you should be looking at putting them up and getting more money for doing less(again it comes down to service).

yes electricians plumbers and every other service trade have got new boys coming in and undercutting them.

from your first post i thought you were struggling to make ends meet and blaming part timers from this post you seem tobe doing extremely well,so you are selling your service to the right people at the right price.so stop worrying about the one that got away and be ready for the next one to come youe way :Thumbup:

[McCardle 1]

i take on board and agree with the comment in relation to expenses increasing the more gigs that you do, but i don't see how music is a factor in this, surely once you've bought whatever is new and usable at a disco for that week, then it will cost the same whether you have one booking that week, or seven?. in fact surely it pays to be using the music that you have just bought at more than one gig to make the purchase worthwhile. Personally, with all of the guff in the charts at the moment, i am needing to buy (and being asked for) less and less chart stuff, which I suppose is the difference between the 18th birthday market, and weddings / wedding anniversaries.

 

Have you sat down and worked out what your monthly expenses are on average?, because this will go a long way to determining you actual fee, and nobody should be just plucking figures out of the air without knowing this, ideally your expenses (not including tax and n.i) should be less than 33.3% - ie a third of your monthly turnover. Also, is there a big demand for Karaoke in your area, because if you are buying both Karaoke and conventional CD music material then your expenses per week could be higher than average!, do you routinely get asked for Karaoke or is it just something that you have decided to add automatically?. Since I moved to a new area, i have found the demand for Karaoke here has actually tailed off, and now 90% of my work is just a disco, which suits me, because i'm saving a fortune on having to buy Karaoke CDG and CD material every week - effectively i'm charging the same for just a disco but actually making more profit because my working expenses have now been reduced without the Karaoke.

 

There will always be people who treat deejaying as just a hobby, and that doesn't mean that they don't take the work seriously, all that it means is that they don't need or intend to make much, if any profit out of it. When you see what some people spend on other hobbies, such as playing golf, diving, hanggliding, motor racing etc it shouldn't be so surprising that those who deejay for a hobby are quite willing to spend several thousand pounds on equipment with no actual intention to make much out of it - thats exactly what a hobby is, spending money on the tools required to provide an enjoyable pastime.

 

[NRG Roadshow 0]

Yea I know what your saying Andy....

Its not that Im that bothered about the one that got away, obviously I allways knew that their was cheaper discos around than me.

But I always thought that they were cheaper than me because they provided less of a serivce, this whole thing has highlighted to me that this guy appears to be providing the same as me for around £75 less......

 

The DJ did not undercut me, he submitted his price first to the customer, as far as Im aware £150 is his normal price for providing the disco.

 

[Andy Westcott 0]

Ultimately, the maximum price you can charge is dictated by the client, not by you, or by those scummy people who have decided to charge less than you do - in other words, the more affordable discos.

 

Quote:

"what I do however have a problem with is them charging less because they can with little or no overheads."

 

I probably have the same overheads as you have:

Still have to purchase PLI.

Still have to get the equipment tested.

Still have to transport it about.

Still have to keep up to date with music.

Still have to pay tax on my earnings - more in fact than you do.

 

The only difference is you are trying to earn a full-time wage out of it - that's your problem, not ours - it was your decision to do this. We don't 'do it for fun' as you put it, we do it to earn extra income to supplement the wages from our day jobs.

[Reverandfunk 0]

If you quoted 225 for that where i am people would laugh at you - end of story.

 

As for the full time/part time debate, being full time at something doesn't mean you are any good. In fact some of the people I know who have being doing it donkeys years are rubbish.

 

I probably do six gigs a month, charge on average 150 and the feedback i get from every gig is that i'm the best DJ they have had/seen.

 

Still nothing like a bit of snobbery to cloud the discussion lol

 

 

[Spear 0]

NRG you would love working down here, had an agency on the phone last week for last night 7-1 £150

 

That's the limit the pubs and clubs will pay around here, (through agencies anyway), thankfully I didn't need that gig.

[Dukesy 0]

Since the beginning of the year I have sold an average of £1000 a week in bookings, which Im more than happy with.

So based on the above quote...now week 6 into the year, and you are on course for at least £52,000.

Better keep an eye on the VAT threshold if you generate even more work!

 

As for the full time/part time debate, being full time at something doesn't mean you are any good. In fact some of the people I know who have being doing it donkeys years are rubbish. I probably do six gigs a month, charge on average 150 and the feedback i get from every gig is that i'm the best DJ they have had/seen.

 

Sure, I'm sure there are lots of crap DJs earning enough money to work at it full time just as there are great DJs earning well below what they could be charging part time!

 

 

[NRG Roadshow 0]

People dont laugh when I quote £225 for that though.......and I get a lot of bookings like that.....but when theirs hobby Djs around that are willing to go out for £150 how can I convince my customers Im worth £225?

Simple I cant......whats needed is for the parttimers to charge a proper price for their services.....treat it like a business instead of somthing they do for fun.

 

But when thiers £150 a night hobby DJs around people are gonna go for the cheapest.....and thats the problem.....

 

Im sure professional plumbers and electricians dont have to put up with part-timers charging less because they can afford too. But the full time DJs are allways gonna struggle when theirs people going out for pennies.....which if your charging £150 thats all it is.....

 

But I guess it may be time for me to lower my self and dig into the market at the lower end.......if you cant beat um join um kinda thinking.

 

Dukesey - No I said my SALES were averageing £1000 a week, so Im selling £1000 worth of BOOKINGS projected for the entire year.

Once dates start to get full up towards the end of the year that figuire will obvioulsy drop as more and more dates become unavailable.

 

For example last week I took the following confirmed bookings....

 

Wedding £375

Wedding £275

Birthday £200

Birthday £200

Childrens Disco £100

 

So £1150 worth of bookings taken last week.

I havnt and dont expect to make £1000 a week.......I wish!

Edited February 10, 2008 by NRG Roadshow

[andyw 0]

NO NO NO NO NO AND NO, stop blaming part timers. you need to give a superior service to charge more.if others are giving the same service for £150 your overpriced you need to give more to charge more.it is as simple as that.why do you need to lower your prices if you are selling a £1000 a week in discos you cant doevery disco.stop whinging about part timers and concentrate on your show.but if you feel you need to lower your prices lower them. work out over a year would you win or lose though.at 1000 a week you need to do 4.4 shows at 225 but you need6.6 at £150 to stay the same. i really don't understand your problem here just because you lost 1 disco to someone,

Edited February 10, 2008 by andyw

[NRG Roadshow 0]

NO NO NO NO NO AND NO, stop blaming part timers. you need to give a superior service to charge more.if others are giving the same service for £150 your overpriced you need to give more to charge more.it is as simple as that.

 

My problem is people such as yourself making comment like that, you just dont get it do you?

 

I give up........Im not even going to comment on that if you honestly feel £150 is a fair price for providing the services that I outlined in the original post then I cant change your mind can I.

 

NRG you would love working down here, had an agency on the phone last week for last night 7-1 £150

 

So this was and AGENCY phoning you and offering you £150 for that?

Thats fine but remember that the customer would probably be paying around the £200 mark, which proves that their are customers that are willing to pay more money.

Edited February 10, 2008 by NRG Roadshow