Pricing sweet spot

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
Galager

Galager

DJ Extraordinaire
Feb 5, 2016
87
118
57
At the risk of sounding redundant I would like to address pricing again. Is there a 'sweet spot' for pricing with DJ gigs? When I was in sales (home improvements) I would usually tell the client it was not wise to go with the most expensive bid or the cheapest bid. The cheapest bid's work would often be suspect and you were usually overpaying if you went with the most expensive bid. The sweet spot was somewhere in the middle.

I have done a lot of business through Thumbtack. They came on the scene just I as was starting to DJ. I was one of those very cheap DJs that did gigs in someone's garage for $150. My gear was crappy and I really didn't know what I was doing most of the time other than the fact that I played good music. Over the years I have raised my rates as me and my gear have gotten better. Now my goal is to book my first wedding for $1000. I doubt I will get there this year but I am getting closer. But as I have raised my rates I obviously am bidding on less and less gigs because the price the client wants is too low.

As a matter of fact, each week Thumbtack now sends out a report to pros telling you many things including how you compared to others DJs that bid on the same bids that you did. Since I was only bidding on the higher end bids it was not uncommon for me to learn that I was the low bid 80% of the time yet I wasn't getting any new gigs! Did I slip out of the sweet spot? Was I pricing myself too high for the clients that were looking for a cheap DJ and I was too low for those who had much bigger budgets?

I raised my rates again just to see and after a month of no new gigs I booked 3 in the last 2 weeks.

So, my question is "Is there a sweet spot for YOU in your pricing, and if so, how did you find it"?

PS. Sorry for the long posts. I can't help myself. It's a sickness. Don't judge me!
 
when I get a lead from thumbtack I bid regardless of what their budget is, many simply do not know what to put down, I have booked $1500 weddings from leads that had a $400 budget, as you move forward you should be getting more and more lead from referrals and having to rely less on lead generating sites
 
  • Like
Reactions: DJ Bobcat
tunes4046 said:
when I get a lead from thumbtack I bid regardless of what their budget is, many simply do not know what to put down, I have booked $1500 weddings from leads that had a $400 budget, as you move forward you should be getting more and more lead from referrals and having to rely less on lead generating sites
Click to expand...

Interesting. Maybe I'll try that. The leads are cheap enough that it won't hurt to try it for a while.

I do get referrals but not enough yet. I am sure that is one thing I should probably work on.
 
Ron said:
Are these Thumbtack Reports also available via your account dashboard on Thumbtack?
Click to expand...

I don't think so. I just went and checked and couldn't find them. I get them emailed to me once a week. They just started doing it a few months ago. It's helpful. If you don't get them I would call customer support and and ask.
 
Galager said:
I don't think so. I just went and checked and couldn't find them. I get them emailed to me once a week. They just started doing it a few months ago. It's helpful. If you don't get them I would call customer support and and ask.
Click to expand...
What is the email subject line? Maybe I can find it somewhere in my email.

Thanks.
 
There is always a sweet spot - locally it seems the full time always busy pros do a 5 hour wedding for about $500. I want more...so I raised prices a bit this year and seem to be doing ok.
I too want to be at $1000.

But like many things in life the middle is likely shrinking...lots of work below $500 and over $1200..with little in between.

With photography I could offer a price leader - one photog 6 hours and no products and upsell to 8 hours, album, engagement session, 2 photographers, etc. So I could appeal to most all price ranges.

I'm finding that harder to do as a DJ...other than lighting and hours of service there really isn't much to upsell, or cut out to offer a loss leader price. I mean, one speaker, no lighting, ipod only...3 hours $250? Two speakers, 5 hours, laptop $500. Sub, lighting, etc $700.

Now you run into the issue if you bring less(er) gear, no sub, etc you won't be delivering 'your best product'. - but maybe that doesn't matter?

I'm early in my career so I'm bring a lot to the job - lighting, sub, etc on almost all gigs (backyard grad party no subs, sorry! Outdoor daylight? no lighting, no point to it).

Maybe i need to offer a bronze/silver/gold package of some kind?....speakers, speakers and lights, speakers lights and sub?
 
IceBurghDJ said:
Maybe i need to offer a bronze/silver/gold package of some kind?....speakers, speakers and lights, speakers lights and sub?
Click to expand...

Many DJs over the years touted offering 3 packages on your website to your clients. 3 was the sweet spot number.

I tried that back in 2009. It did not work for me. EVERYBODY who inquired wanted the bottom package. Even trying to upsell the higher packages didn't work.

Honestly, unless you are providing multiple add ons such as Photo Booths, Up lighting, Large Moving Head Intelligent lighting displays, video presentations, flat screen TVs...I believe packages don't work in today's wedding world for DJs.

The way packages are somewhat effective are if the higher packages save the clients money by package bundling instead of buying everything a la carte. If the client can get a DJ=Photo Booth package from a DJ company for $995 all inclusive, then it saves them time and money instead of booking a $795 DJ, and a $500 photo booth company separately.

I didn't have success with putting "Bronze, Silver, Gold" packages on the website. Everybody wanted the Bronze package and just add hours to it if they needed to.

I have done better just booking myself or other DJs, and quoting a total price for the job at hand. ...Then they can add up lighting, or an extended lighting display if they want those add ons.
 
DJ Ricky B said:
Many DJs over the years touted offering 3 packages on your website to your clients. 3 was the sweet spot number.

I tried that back in 2009. It did not work for me. EVERYBODY who inquired wanted the bottom package. Even trying to upsell the higher packages didn't work.

Honestly, unless you are providing multiple add ons such as Photo Booths, Up lighting, Large Moving Head Intelligent lighting displays, video presentations, flat screen TVs...I believe packages don't work in today's wedding world for DJs.

The way packages are somewhat effective are if the higher packages save the clients money by package bundling instead of buying everything a la carte. If the client can get a DJ=Photo Booth package from a DJ company for $995 all inclusive, then it saves them time and money instead of booking a $795 DJ, and a $500 photo booth company separately.

I didn't have success with putting "Bronze, Silver, Gold" packages on the website. Everybody wanted the Bronze package and just add hours to it if they needed to.

I have done better just booking myself or other DJs, and quoting a total price for the job at hand. ...Then they can add up lighting, or an extended lighting display if they want those add ons.
Click to expand...

Packages that add equipment are not an improvement. DJ versus DJ + Up lighting or DJ + Sub woofers does not change anything about the caliber of entertainment they receive. Photo booths are novelties - just passive forms of self-service entertainment.

Compare this to: Trio versus 10 Piece band. There is a real step up in entertainment capability and potential.

DJ packages provide no advantage if nothing about the core entertainment changes. DJ versus DJ + Emcee + Dancers does make that change - and so, there is real value with each increase in the package. Changing the level of talent matters - changing the amount of gear does not.
 
Galager said:
At the risk of sounding redundant I would like to address pricing again. Is there a 'sweet spot' for pricing with DJ gigs?

I have done a lot of business through Thumbtack.

So, my question is "Is there a sweet spot for YOU in your pricing, and if so, how did you find it"?
Click to expand...

The sweet spot is a demographic variant - it is different for each kind of customer, those customers being determined by the placement of the solicitation.

You specifically cite the Thumbtack internet lead site as your source. The sweet spot for Thumbtack will be different from the sweet spot for other sites, other internet approaches, and especially from all other forms of solicitation.

In general, the internet (my website) produces for me leads with a price expectation between $600 and $1000 and I most often succeed at booking that type of lead at $800-$900, with the possibility of an add-on moving things a little higher. I have no control over who uses the internet to search for DJs. I have even less control over a directory that places me next to hundreds of other DJs and pits my quote directly against the quotes of competitors. The best I can do with the internet is design a site that might speak to prospects with at least the minimum budget I am willing to accept.

My referral network and word of mouth produces leads with price expectations 3 or 4 times higher. I can position and place myself for this latter group because with word of mouth I and my work are the original source of the referrals. This higher level client generally does not use the internet to seek this service. Therefore, it is more of a closed loop - the clients often all know each other and they all use the same vendors over and over again.
 
Proformance said:
The sweet spot is a demographic variant - it is different for each kind of customer, those customers being determined by the placement of the solicitation.

You specifically cite the Thumbtack internet lead site as your source. The sweet spot for Thumbtack will be different from the sweet spot for other sites, other internet approaches, and especially from all other forms of solicitation.

In general, the internet (my website) produces for me leads with a price expectation between $600 and $1000 and I most often succeed at booking that type of lead at $800-$900, with the possibility of an add-on moving things a little higher. I have no control over who uses the internet to search for DJs. I have even less control over a directory that places me next to hundreds of other DJs and pits my quote directly against the quotes of competitors. The best I can do with the internet is design a site that might speak to prospects with at least the minimum budget I am willing to accept.

My referral network and word of mouth produces leads with price expectations 3 or 4 times higher. I can position and place myself for this latter group because with word of mouth I and my work are the original source of the referrals. This higher level client generally does not use the internet to seek this service. Therefore, it is more of a closed loop - the clients often all know each other and they all use the same vendors over and over again.
Click to expand...

You make some very good points. Thank you.
 
I'm a big believer in packages and have used a 3 package approach (Silver, Gold, Diamond), both in DJ/Lighting and now in Photo/DJ/Lighting. On average, I see about 1/3 of the girls who have daddy's credit card and just want "the best". The other two levels seem to be also around 1/3 each. Since I've added photo, I'm seeing it mostly split into bottom-level and top-level ($2k or $3.5k). As we transition more into F2F sales meetings, I'll likely just bust it up into custom quotes, with discounts applied for bundling services. I've noticed a real trend that in the photo world I can win the gig by throwing in something to sweeten the pot (extra photog, engagement, bridal, photobook, etc). I'm also seriously looking into renting a small office space where we can do meetings and do head shots.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Galager
rickryan.com said:
I'm a big believer in packages and have used a 3 package approach (Silver, Gold, Diamond), both in DJ/Lighting and now in Photo/DJ/Lighting. On average, I see about 1/3 of the girls who have daddy's credit card and just want "the best". The other two levels seem to be also around 1/3 each. Since I've added photo, I'm seeing it mostly split into bottom-level and top-level ($2k or $3.5k). As we transition more into F2F sales meetings, I'll likely just bust it up into custom quotes, with discounts applied for bundling services. I've noticed a real trend that in the photo world I can win the gig by throwing in something to sweeten the pot (extra photog, engagement, bridal, photobook, etc). I'm also seriously looking into renting a small office space where we can do meetings and do head shots.
Click to expand...

I would like to see a thread about what you do to clinch the deal. Do you throw in something like a photo book, etc. Good post.
 
HAving sold photography for over a decade - the quality of the image is the same from a given photog whether you get a file or a wall portrait, album or wallet print.

BUT what a consumer WANTS and CAN AFFORD varies.

Some have little money or chosen to spend little on the photography so files is fine. Others want the album and have the ability to pay for it. They get more pictures because they can affford it.
Some are fine with studio pictures of the HS kid others want 10 outfits in 5 locations over multiple seasons...and are charged accordingly.

the quality of the posing, lighting editing is all the same.

Like DJs - you and I and all the others play teh same songs. If there is a difference between a CD and MP3, a low end win 7 computer and top end apple, a 10 year old peavey speaker and a brand new bose the consumers don't care. They don't ask, do they? It's not important to them.

So what CAN we do to make it 'more important' to them, so we can charge more?

They know, intuitively, that they'll get less from a $400 wedding dj than a $800 one. If you can fill your book with $800 gigs than you don't care. But then you should be asking $1000 or $1200, right? And now maybe you won't fill your book...

Most halls offer multiple menu and bar options. At last weekend's wedding the bride chose the top food option and mid-bar. the bartender thought that was stupid and told me so (known here for years). They booked me as part of the hall's package..so NO choice in DJ. Obviously they had other priorities - either 'all djs were the same' or it was just convenient to take the 'included one' - just like the cake and center pieces were included.

I brought dance lighting and a sub...I coulda left them at home and it may not have mattered at all. the last 2 weddings i photographed there the DJs had no subs. And I doubt they got paid any less (or more) than I did.

Proformance said:
Packages that add equipment are not an improvement. DJ versus DJ + Up lighting or DJ + Sub woofers does not change anything about the caliber of entertainment they receive. Photo booths are novelties - just passive forms of self-service entertainment.

Compare this to: Trio versus 10 Piece band. There is a real step up in entertainment capability and potential.

DJ packages provide no advantage if nothing about the core entertainment changes. DJ versus DJ + Emcee + Dancers does make that change - and so, there is real value with each increase in the package. Changing the level of talent matters - changing the amount of gear does not.
Click to expand...
 
Galager said:
I would like to see a thread about what you do to clinch the deal. Do you throw in something like a photo book, etc. Good post.
Click to expand...

I don't want to start a new thread but will offer some insight. For me, I think it largely comes down to how good of a poker player you are. I recommend you start with 3-4 general packages. Now some people will just buy DJ service straight off your website, no questions asked. The sweetening comes more with in-person sales meetings and I think the key is to not offer the sweetener until the exact right moment. If you start throwing stuff in after 10 minutes of talking, they know you're desperate. You wait 50 minutes until you've covered everything and waiting on their decision, then you're at the perfect point to throw in the little extras. For DJ gigs, I always found that throwing in a monogram or ceremony coverage or perhaps discounting uplighting by $100 was often perfect. I always feel it's also best to not throw in too much. If I throw in 10 uplighting fixtures, which I'm selling at $500, just to land a DJ job, it screams desperate. If I discount it a $100 bucks, perfect.

But you've got to discern whether the bride is close to pulling the trigger or not. If she tells you plainly that they're just shopping around and want to talk to others, you're better served to project an image of confidence and not offer the freebies.........not yet at least. You've got to be able to smell that blood in the water and just know that she's really wanting to book with you, and just needs a little something extra to push her over the top. THAT is the perfect timing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back