Discussion: Will most clients choose a DJ who is "OKAY" to save $$$?

No, you need to find the 'going price' and perhaps you can get more, but not much more.

If a typical 3 hour weekday school dance is $200 then you might get $225 or 250 IF you can bring more, then KNOW you bring more, or they're desparate.

Backyard parties/grad/bday I can get $300 all day long. $350? Nope.
That's the market here for that.

Like lunch at a restaurant - it's otehr than fast food it's cheaper, smaller menu, often smaller portions. Why? If olive garden can get $15 for spag at 5 pm why not at noon? Same food...same atmosphere. But if they asked $15 the people would go elsewhere, so it's $9.95.

DJ Ricky B said:

So it is safe to say that if you are quoting on a Birthday Party, High School Reunion, Company picnic, Anniversary Party, Pool Party...perhaps even School Dances that you need to figure out what is the lowest price another DJ will quote the client, and go lower than that to truly get booked on the event?

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Depends..I don't buy the most loaded car, the biggest camper, the fancienst TV the 'best' mattress (in his opinion).

I bought a fridge and stove yesterday, went to a sears outlet and bought the least expensive stove (which I thought was still too much at an outlet/scratch n dent store) and a fridge - not the quad door stainless $1700 one but a $550 one that has the features i"m used to (ok, no light in the freezer on this one, darn) but not the $440-480 ones either. I liked the $800-900 ones the best...but I also have to buy 3 beds and some LR furniture as well.
Now when I go for those items will I buy 'the best'? Doubt it. Two mattresses for my teens - they'll be out of the house in 5 or fewer years. Won't by the cheapest either.
Sofa..hard to say. They don't last nearly long enough. Not sure if it's my abuse, er, use of them or buying cheap..not that i'm gonna go drop $2500 on a couch either, just to find out. Styles change. I could go to a used furn store and get a good 1960s sofa that is cheap and good - but way out of style. So cheap..it likely will be.

ittigger said:

It's like buying anything else. When the salesman is trying to sell you something, do you select the thing that costs a little more or the thing that is 'just ok'?

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We plan to buy my kids new mattresses this week. They make them from very cheap to OMG expensive.
I"m SURE the folks that make $2500 mattresses truly believe they are making the best product possible.
Should I get that? I mean, we spend 1/3 of our lives on a mattress..more than I spend cooking, in my car, using my DJ gear.
Maybe I spend that much time in shoes..so no $20 tenny's for me! LOL

The challenge for the mattress folks is what? To make a profit. Do they care if I buy a $249 or $600 or $2500?
What do I, the consumer get, for that higher price point? And what 'value' does the salesman have to convince me exists to spend double, triple or ten times as much?

Rarely do you hear folks that sprung for the top of the line anything being disappointed "man, that $2500 mattress was no better than my 10 year old $300 one I replaced it with"
I did meet a lady that didn't like her mercedes..but i've not met a premium car buyer that said "my beemer isn't worth the $70k over my last chevy" and they go back to the chevy.

So...how do we sell what we do, for the most money (gigs X price per gig)?

It's great to get $1500 for a wedding, but if you only do 10 a year vs the guy that charges $600 and works 25 or 30 who's the winner?
And what are YOUR goals? I don't have a day job so the most bookings is my first priority -sure, $1500 wedding is nice but one a month won't pay the bills to well...3 $600 ones a month will do better -and with more exposure I may book more and with more experience I get better as a DJ.

DJ Ricky B said:

So, in your opinion, the best course of action is to find out the prices everybody else is charging, and price yourself similarly in hopes to increase your chance of booking the gig? Maybe up your price $25 to $50 if you are bringing more to the table than the other DJs, and can show it?

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IceBurghDJ said:

It's great to get $1500 for a wedding, but if you only do 10 a year vs the guy that charges $600 and works 25 or 30 who's the winner?
And what are YOUR goals? I don't have a day job so the most bookings is my first priority -sure, $1500 wedding is nice but one a month won't pay the bills to well...3 $600 ones a month will do better -and with more exposure I may book more and with more experience I get better as a DJ.

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25 at $600 vs. 10 at $1,500 are both businesses making $15K a year. And the guy booking 10 at $15K is being way more successful. Not because he's making more per gig, but because he still has capacity. Our inventory as DJs is our time, and the guy doing $15K with 25 events under his belt is almost out of inventory.

Now, if the goal is more reps and exposure... sure. It feels good to be busy. But I'd hate to own a business where product is flying off the shelves, but I'm still not making much money, and my upside is VERY limited by supply side constraints.

As always....it depends on the client...and what their priorities are.
But I agree 100% with Steve.
Unless it's a wedding or a mitzvah, most parents are just looking for someone "good enough" to keep their kids distracted for 4 hours.

Here is the problem with this discussion. Not all DJs are the same and just focusing in a price alone is not good enough. Some can offer more then others for the same price. What is it with how much someone else charges and you under cutting their price? Do you know that DJ personally? What does another DJ have to do with how you run your business and what you charge? I'm not asking these questions to be mean. I'm asking because I feel the focus needs to be on what I'm doing and is what I'm doing working or not?

Personally I've had a client contact me wanting a price quote and I give them one. They then counter that with saying I talked to another DJ that said he would do it for this price and can you beat that price? First I don't know if they are telling me the truth or not. Then in most cases if they are telling the truth the other DJs price was so low that there is no way I can beat that price. Nor do I want to.

I remember a member of the networking association I used to belong to told us the story about a client that he thought was looking for a $350 DJ and was mistakenly wrong. He thought because of where the event was taking place that was all the client would spend for a DJ. It was at a legion post and it was a surprise birthday party for her husband turning 50. The place got turned into something that looked like a lounge instead of a VFW Hall. He said he had lounge furniture rented for the event with uplighting and other things. The client paid him $8,100 of which he netted over 5k for his services.

It's really all about how well you are at selling to a client and what you're bringing to the table. I remember Tunes talking about bringing a couple of speakers to d o a wedding and getting paid a little over 1k. Not everyone can do that. What is the price that will have you say thanks but no thanks? In other words when do you reach rock bottom when it comes to price?

IceBurghDJ said:

We plan to buy my kids new mattresses this week. They make them from very cheap to OMG expensive.

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I know you weren't asking for mattress recommendations but we bought this one several months back. It's great, ran us about $500 and UPS delivered it to our front door.

Night Therapy Memory Foam 14 Inch Pressure Relief Mattress & Bi-Fold® Box Spring Set (Various Sizes) - Sam's Club

rickryan.com said:

I know you weren't asking for mattress recommendations but we bought this one several months back. It's great, ran us about $500 and UPS delivered it to our front door.

Night Therapy Memory Foam 14 Inch Pressure Relief Mattress & Bi-Fold® Box Spring Set (Various Sizes) - Sam's Club

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So you found a solution for a nice price that worked for you and you're happy. Someone I know has a bed that cost them $4,000. They said they don't want to get out of the bed. I guess paying that much they should feel that way. My question is how many of you here could afford a bed costing that much? My point is some people can afford the finer things in life and some can't. Some will sacrifice to obtain the finer things in life even though they can't afford it. Personally I can't afford a bed that cost that much nor would I sacrifice to buy a bed costing that much. When I heard her say that I said she has lost her mind. Now turn that around to the DJ business that we are into.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

So you found a solution for a nice price that worked for you and you're happy. Someone I know has a bed that cost them $4,000. They said they don't want to get out of the bed. I guess paying that much they should feel that way. My question is how many of you here could afford a bed costing that much? My point is some people can afford the finer things in life and some can't. Some will sacrifice to obtain the finer things in life even though they can't afford it. Personally I can't afford a bed that cost that much nor would I sacrifice to buy a bed costing that much. When I heard her say that I said she has lost her mind. Now turn that around to the DJ business that we are into.

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I can but don't know if I would pay that much, my last was one was around $2500, so maybe, if it could be proven to me that it would help me in some way

Several ways to answer that..."what is he giving you for that price?" - most don't really know, and you can ask "x soundsystem, lighting, 100 million songs, etc" - you come out sounding better.

You can say "when you eat out is it always at mcdonalds?" - of course not they'lll say " so then lowest price isn't always the most important thing to you is it?" (a big harsh but some people need it delivered that way).

Best is always "let me ask you, what is most important about your event/party?" - 'that people have a good time' or similar is usually the answer. "ok, so it's not price then?"...

Hopefully you bring up many other things, perhaps 'have you hired a dj before? been to a party with a Dj and what did you like or not like about it?" etc.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

Personally I've had a client contact me wanting a price quote and I give them one. They then counter that with saying I talked to another DJ that said he would do it for this price and can you beat that price? First I don't know if they are telling me the truth or not. Then in most cases if they are telling the truth the other DJs price was so low that there is no way I can beat that price. Nor do I want to.

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IceBurghDJ said:

Several ways to answer that..."what is he giving you for that price?" - most don't really know, and you can ask "x soundsystem, lighting, 100 million songs, etc" - you come out sounding better.

You can say "when you eat out is it always at mcdonalds?" - of course not they'lll say " so then lowest price isn't always the most important thing to you is it?" (a big harsh but some people need it delivered that way).

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That's an interesting analogy. You're right, it could be too harsh but if you polished it a bit;

McDonalds is usually cheaper food. Would you consider serving it at your wedding reception?

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I don't even think you have to spell the rest of it out. Just lead the horse to water and let them drink.

AH HAH!
And that's the 'value proposition' we face when we go to sell ourselves to a customer.

If you want $1000 for a 3 hour b'day party and the guy next door wants $500, you need to 'prove it would help them in some way' to spend the extra money on their DJ, rather than get 'good enough'.

And YOU don't have much control over that!

Years ago wife and went to an RV show to buy a travel trailer. EVERY salesman said 'ours is the best because...'..be that construction, warranty, material quality, etc.

You can say you're great - lights, sound, experience, songs, etc.
Guess that the guy at half price is saying? Pretty much the exact same thing.

So how is the consumer unfamiliar with the product to decide? Hmm...if they seem the same I guess cheaper works!!

The only way this works in your favor is if they talk to say 5 DJs and they're more than you but a LITTLE bit, or are at 750-800 and one is $350 and you're at $1000. Now the cheap guy loses - too cheap, something must be wrong with him.
Your'e just a bit more money..so if your presentation is good you may get the job.
But if you're 1500...now your twice the price of 'the market' as the client knows it based on calling around...so you'll probably not book them.

But you have no control over what the client sees and hears.

tunes4046 said:

I can but don't know if I would pay that much, my last was one was around $2500, so maybe, if it could be proven to me that it would help me in some way

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tunes4046 said:

I can but don't know if I would pay that much, my last was one was around $2500, so maybe, if it could be proven to me that it would help me in some way

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That's my point. You can afford it but seriously wouldn't spend that much unless the salesperson could convince you to buy it. I take the salesperson would have to be a really great salesperson to get you to spend that much.

When you bought that bed for $2,500 did you pay for it all at once or over time? I ask that because when it comes to paying a DJ depending on the price they are paying their DJ the payments might have to be spread out over time to satisfy the contract. Some will just save up till they have the money to get the DJ paid the full amount at the signing of the contract.

Again it's really about you and how good you are as a salesperson. In certain cases you can get a person to spend a bit more if they feel you're worth it. I would say a person looking for a DJ to do their wedding for $300 is not likely to have a DJ to change their budget for the DJ and spend $1,000. It could happen but I don't see it happening very often.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

That's my point. You can afford it but seriously wouldn't spend that much unless the salesperson could convince you to buy it. I take the salesperson would have to be a really great salesperson to get you to spend that much.

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Or it could be really be a better bed, have more features, maybe its comes with bedding, or a lifetime warranty.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

When you bought that bed for $2,500 did you pay for it all at once or over time? I ask that because when it comes to paying a DJ depending on the price they are paying their DJ the payments might have to be spread out over time to satisfy the contract. Some will just save up till they have the money to get the DJ paid the full amount at the signing of the contract.

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I don't buy things like that on payments, at 46 years old I long ago figured out not to buy that kind of stuff until I can afford it, I will take advantage of 0% interest financing if its offered, The only things I finance are vehicles and property at this point