Why Thumbtack may or may not work for DJs.

[Galager]

A previous thread started bemoaning how terrible the lead generating web site Thumbtack.com was. I happen to like TT very much and get a lot of business from them. Based on what I read I see that there are a lot of misconceptions of what TT will do for you and questions about how to make it actually work.

I feel this deserves it's own thread because I want people to learn how to use it and I would like to refine what I do with TT and other sites like it by seeing what kind of feedback is given. If you have experience with TT or other lead generation sites, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE your ideas and what has worked and what has not. We can all learn from both.

This is how TT works. TT is like Yelp in that you can get bids on everything from movers, tree trimming, accountants, etc. As a client you type in the service you want bids for and in the next 24 hours you get bids from a variety of providers. It is free to the end user.

As a provider, you prepurchase 'points'. Different leads for different types of service cost different amount of points. For DJs in my area it costs 5 points to submit a bid. What happens is when an end user puts in a request for service, a TT employee will usually call first to verify the information (I don't know if it is all the time though... I've used TT as an end user twice and each time I got a call from TT to verify information before they sent the bid request out) then they send a mass e-mail out to all the providers of that service. For convenience I will use 'DJ' as the service requested from now on.

As a DJ I have set it up so that I get both an e-mail and a text that there is a bid request waiting to be responded to. Often it is time critical to get back to the client because (and this is very important) only 5 providers are allowed to respond. If you are the 6th provider to try to respond you will not be charged for the points and will not be allowed to submit a bid. This is the first big reason why I like TT over some of the others... I have a limited number of competitors. The days of bidding against 20 other DJs for the same gig are gone with TT.

Just because you are sent an e-mail saying that someone wants a bid, doesn't mean you must give a bid. You can sign up and NEVER send in an actual bid. You only bid on what you want to bid on. If there is not enough information, don't bid on it. If they are asking for Rap and you only do country, don't bid on it. If you don't work on Sundays and the bid is for Sunday, don't bid on it. If they say they only want to pay $200 and you are used to getting $1000 per gig... DON'T BID ON IT! I don't bid on more than I do bid on... quite a few more actually.

If there is not enough information in the initial bid request (and there often ISN'T) then you can send the client a question. You must follow the guideline for asking questions which can be pretty stupid at times, but this can often help you get more information to help you determine if this is something you want to bid on or not. There is not charge to ask a question and all other DJs can see both the question and answer.

Sometimes (not often but sometimes) a client will also request a bid by phone. It is VERY important to call ASAP! I have lost potential gigs because I waited an hour to call. If someone wants a bid by phone they usually want to make a decision NOW!. When I am the first person to call, 80% of the time I hang up the phone having won the gig because I sell myself well over the phone. If that happens, tactfully ask the client to state on the web page that they have picked a provider and the phone number will no longer be given out and no more bids will be sent.

Another nice thing is that TT will return the 'points' to your account if the bid you sent in is not at least looked at by the client within 5 days. If the client doesn't at least OPEN the e-mail with your bid in it then there is no chance of you getting the bid therefore it is not fair to charge you for it. Over the last couple of years I have had MANY bids refunded to me. The cool thing is I have had a few that have opened them AFTER the 5 days and have taken my bid yet I still got the points refunded to me.

TT limits the number of characters you can type in the initial bid. I don't think that is nearly enough to let me 'sell' my self. Instead of trying to crunch my bid down to the very essence of what I do in those few characters I let the potential client know that I will be sending them a 2 part bid due to that TT policy. I have pre-typed bids for weddings, corporate parties, B-day parties, etc. and I just cut and paste those into the bid, changing a few things as needed such as numbers of hours the bid is good for, lights or no lights, etc. I feel by having a much more detailed information the client is better to make an informed decision and choose me (because ANYONE who has all the facts will obviously go with me because I am the best... duh).

I was a salesman for many years so I am constantly refining my pitch to add sizzle to what is often a very boring process... looking through written bids. If you have never been a salesman you may not understand what I mean. I believe it was Dale Carnagie that said 'you sell the sizzle not the steak' meaning that steak is nothing more than dead meat. very unappealing. What gets the taste buds going is the sound of the sizzle of the steak on the grill... the smell that causes the taste buds to swell, etc. It's the perception of what that piece of dead meat may become is what is appealing not the meat itself. You are a DJ. There are lots of DJs out there. DJs are the dead meat. It's what you as a DJ can DO to make their wedding, party, etc. the best it can be (the sizzle) that makes your bid appealing. When you write your bid, add the sizzle.

I also send a copy of my wedding worksheet (for potential wedding clients, obviously) with my bids. The worksheet is there to give me as much information as I can but it also helps give the client a sense of comfort knowing that I pay attention to details! Wedding are about details and my wedding worksheet alone has won me numerous gigs I believe.

I also ask for references of TT clients that other TT clients can look at. TT makes it easy to do this. Once you complete a TT gig you can send a request for a reference directly from the TT website. I even will often ask, as part of my negotiations, ask for them to give me a positive reference via TT if they like what I did. I will also ask potential clients to look through my references on TT. I have more than any other DJs in this area so it makes me look good.

It is true that TT clients are often, but not always, looking for the cheapest DJ they can find. I bid low. Not stupid low but I strip my bid to nothing more than playing music. I then add extra items like lights to help me up the price. I usually go over these items more in detail if they bite on the low bid. It is not a bait and switch. I give them a very basic bid I am glad to do it for, but if they want more, and often I can talk them into more, I can charge more.

I am not sure how much this affects things now but you can do various things to make you look more credible than the other guys. I am a GOLD member of TT. This is based on points as well. You get these points by doing things such as adding pictures, references, verifying phone numbers, doing a criminal back ground check, etc.

I am successful at TT not because of any one thing I do. I believe it is because there are lots of little things I do in relation to TT that make me look more and more appealing to a potential client.

Just know, to get a client through TT it is a different process than many of you are used to. Just because they don't make a policy change because you sent them a letter pointing out a deficency in their methods doesn't make them a bad company. How many times have you been told by someone at a gig that you need to change something (the type of music being played, the gear you have, etc.) and you didn't do it? They do listen. They have called me and asked me my opinion. I have called them and told them mine. I have seen positive changes in how they had done things over the years. Yes, I wish they would do other things differently but I make the most out of what I am given.