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Thread: Clients are becoming insanely ridiculous

  1. #1
    Member fatcatdj's Avatar
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    Clients are becoming insanely ridiculous

    So now that I am a bottom feeder because most clients are bottom feeders, I offer a cheap no frills $250 package and a better $500 package for (6) hours
    which includes a monogram (home made from transparent paper)

    Its now come to the question from a few prospective clients:

    "DO THOSE PACKAGES INCLUDE A PHOTO BOOTH?"

    My God, has mankind lost their minds?
    Yes lady for $250, I provide a professional photo booth with all the prints you need and we also will bring in
    an "IN & OUT" Hamburger truck at no extra charge later on.

    If this was 1949, YES it makes sense. But, no in 2019, you are just a retard. And my apologies to the real mentally challenged.
    .."You can NEVER go too far"---Ferris Bueller

  2. #2
    Truck Driver Dix's Avatar
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    I think the problem you're facing is your location. Los Angeles/Hollywood. I would suspect that a DJ in that area either caters to the mid/high income or the low income. In order to cater to the $1000+ crowd, your going to have to take on a different game plan.

    Based on your post, you've got one of three choices, either come up with another game plan & boost your equipment, presentations, advertising & pricing or keep the situation & clientele you have now or, get out of DJing in that area all together.

    For whatever reason, middle income clientele are not calling you. Either they don't know about you (that you exist), you're not selling them on your services or they aren't happy with what you offer.

    If they are calling you & your prices are $250 for six hrs... they ain't taking a chance on that. Not when someone they have experienced before is charging $1000 for 4 hrs.
    I was on another forum for a couple of years & some DJs there, in major cities were charging as high as $10,000 just for DJ services. One guy was the DJ & his wife was a photographer. Hiring them as a package, they were getting paid as much as $25,000 for some high end events. But their services reflected that. Very high end business, equipment, lighting, monograms, all very high quality & very professional and of course....... very expensive. And, they were supposedly booked every weekend.
    Now obviously, not everyone can do this. I cant do it. But, again, I don't live in a market area that will support that.

    I dont know what services you provide but, you have to get a different game plan to target a higher clientele & get away from those bottom feeders.
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  3. #3
    BanHammer™⚒️ Manu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fatcatdj View Post

    "DO THOSE PACKAGES INCLUDE A PHOTO BOOTH?"
    Being 2019 and with multiple lens modern phones and things, I would have thought photobooths are relevant when you need a passport photo.

  4. #4
    Deez Beats! KLH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fatcatdj View Post
    But, no in 2019, you are just a retard. And my apologies to the real mentally challenged.
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  5. #5
    Member fatcatdj's Avatar
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    Thanks guys for the support. Yes, there are $3,000 wedding DJs out there. But they have the same Shure wireless hand helds, same Chauvet wireless up lights and JBLs I use. In fact, I use TVs and for them its an expensive option. I think DIX is right regarding advertising, but paying high advertising bucks will suck up my ability to pay bills around here. Facebook is about $20 a day and of course nothing is guaranteed except they have your credit card number when billing you. Wedding Wire/The Knot---I tried with limited success and I mean limited.
    .."You can NEVER go too far"---Ferris Bueller

  6. #6
    Truck Driver Dix's Avatar
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    As for advertising, try;
    WEDJ: Monthly fee & you dont pay for leads
    Eventective: Pay a small fee for leads
    Gig Salad: Quarterly or yearly fee & no lead fees

    I wont advertise with The Knot because its too expensive for the amount of leads I get & I am too picky with the leads I take.

    I haven't had any luck with "My Party Planner", although they also offer membership for a monthly fee I think & no lead fees.
    Thumb Tack is waaaaayyyy too high for the trash leads you get. You think you have bottom feeders now? TT is the worse. And, I used to get leads that were similar all the time. 3 or 4 leads with the same first names, same last names, same venue, same city & most of all, 6 hrs for $300 budget. I believe that TT staff just sends these out to boost their activity. Get you to take the gigs even though they reimburse you if there is no response. Sometimes I don't get a response but sometimes I did. However, since they restructured their format & dollar amount per lead, I haven't taken a lead since & have since canceled my account.

    As for FaceBook, if that works for you (& it does work for me), you don't need to boost your $20 posts every day. Sometimes I boost two $20 posts a month. I am not as proactive as I used to be, but if so, that's what I would do. I am by no means saying that using FB it the best thing to do & their policies suck too but it does work for me in my situation/area. Currently, in all honesty, I only boost about once every two months or so, but, if I was more active with my business, I'd boost twice a month.

    Do some research & find out when bridal shows are in your area. Yours will probably be expensive, like $1000, but they aint coming to you.... you got to go to them. Bridal shows is where the brides are. A lot of them.
    I'm sorry to tell you that bridal shows here are about $225 & I see about 100+/- brides per show. It is worth it in the end if you follow up.

    Last but certainly not least, work on your delivery during sales. Tell them why your the man for the job. Tell them what makes you the man. Tell them what you offer that the other DJs dont. Promote things related to ensuring their trust in you. A contract, back up equipment in case of failure, etc, etc. Convince them they are covered. Your thorough, confident & they are safe with you. You've got them covered. Make them feel confident that you know what your doing. Build their confidence in you. Push your experience over other DJs.

    Sometimes I use the line that some DJs are just "date, time & dollar amount & I'll see you then" DJs. That's not me. You can call some DJs & ask; "how much do you charge?" & they can shoot you an answer without knowing anything about what they have to do. They dont know if its a frat party, a Halloween party or a wedding. I assure you, there is a difference. They dont know if its across the street or across the state. They dont know if its 1000 yards or 1000 miles.
    They dont know if its a ceremony outside & the reception inside & they need two setups, etc, etc. If a DJs price is "this", then "this" is what your gonna get for Suzies wedding for 40 people, Sally's wedding for 300 people & the high school prom for 500 people. Same music, same lighting, same speakers, same everything, etc. Everyone gets the same. Limited options = limited experience in being able to adapt to each individual event.
    If Suzie wants Country music, Sally wants 60's & 70's, the prom wants Hip Hop & the frat party wants underground.... that DJ can't do that. Why? Cause just like he has one price, he has only one genre/set of music he plays... most likely. You get what he offers... end of story.
    You need to be able to adapt to each of the four situations & every one of your clients needs to know that you can do that. This is Suzie's wedding.... not Sally's.

    You have to be able to "sell" your clients on your services & make them feel comfortable & confident that you can get the job done for that individual client/event.

    I hope this helps........
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