Time to raise rates?

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The big thing is to be able to consistently deliver do a great job to support the amount you charge clients. When you consistently do a great job the word will get out there. Either online or referral. The key is maintaining that price point. You do that by what I just said.

It's one thing to have an event not go so well or you not do a stellar job from time to time. We've all had bad days. It's another thing if you just plain suck. The word will get out too and let people know to stay far away from that DJ.
 
DJ Ricky B said:
There is a DJ at the agency I am with who now charges $1,950. He owns his own small insurance firm now. The only reason he upped his rates is because he is busy with his insurance firm. Nothing changed with what he offers to his clients. He just wants to work less, and earn more money if he has to go and DJ a wedding.
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Mix is right. If SOMEBODY is willing to pay his price....so be it.
It's good for him, he makes more money and works less.
It's also good for you, because he is moving into a different income range of customers...
leaving his former "bracket" of customers for YOU.
 
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Ausumm said:
Mix is right. If SOMEBODY is willing to pay his price....so be it.
It's good for him, he makes more money and works less.
It's also good for you, because he is moving into a different income range of customers...
leaving his former "bracket" of customers for YOU.
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Basically,

Well it is good for me because had his price been the same as it use to be, he would have been booking this couple, and perhaps I might not be working at all on that Saturday. ...Or I could have booked someone else, but I do have a booking that day at the moment in part because another DJ had raised their rates.

I don't blame him though. If I am earning good money working Monday through Friday with another business or at a job, I would also raise my rates even further, and be more selective on the events that I do on the weekends.
 
Albatross said:
Always circles of excuses around this topic. Why not just say, you charge what you do because you're comfortable with that spot in the market?

To say literally that some people charge higher rates because it doesn't matter to them, and other do it because they've built a business around it... is totally contradictory.

Having a diversified income stream doesn't mean that one of those income streams doesn't matter. If you choose to be happy where you're currently positioned, that's fine. But, to always point to external factors on why you shouldn't or couldn't be in a different spot in the market is silly. One of the higher volume vendors in the area charges $400+ an hour for weddings, easily pushing towards that $2K number regularly. Not because it is a hobby business, but because the market will support it if you're marketing correctly to the right people.
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I think MOST DJs are comfortable where they are with their pricing. The money can ALWAYS BE BETTER...who doesn't want more money?

I was just stating that it's simply EASIER for a person in a comfortable financial position due to working during the week to quote much higher prices, and be willing to work less events. There is nothing wrong with that. If I were in a position to where I could book 15 weddings or less per year, and quote $2,000 or bust to every inquiry I have, I would certainly do it. 12 to 15 $2,000 wedding bookings a year is $24,000 - $30,000 - maybe $8,000 in deductions, and that's 16 k to 22K a year on top of a nice paying job during the week. I would be comfortable with that.

I'm not in that position though, and know I need to book 50 or more events a year, so my pricing is more competitive. I don't think most DJs are going to be in a position to get that $2,000 client market either.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
I'm not in that position though, and know I need to book 50 or more events a year, so my pricing is more competitive. I don't think most DJs are going to be in a position to get that $2,000 client market either.
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I don't think most markets have enough $2000 clients to sustain that many $2000 DJ's
 
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Just had a meeting on a 2nd inquiry from this same country club. I was actually braced for another "Why are you so much cheaper?" discussion but this guy (FOB) had already figured out that the $2k is just over-priced. During the discussion, he told me that he's in business development (sales) and that I'm priced right in the middle. The low side is $500 but he wasn't un-easy that they would be quality. When I made mention of knowing that "some guys" use 2 DJs (my $2k competitor) he also felt it was just overkill. I think he's going to book after he talks with his daughter. Still, I'm getting that nagging feeling that $850 might be a good price-point to move to. I'm not settled in it yet but if the feedback keeps leading in that direction I may just have to boost the price this year.
 
rickryan.com said:
Just had a meeting on a 2nd inquiry from this same country club. I was actually braced for another "Why are you so much cheaper?" discussion but this guy (FOB) had already figured out that the $2k is just over-priced. During the discussion, he told me that he's in business development (sales) and that I'm priced right in the middle. The low side is $500 but he wasn't un-easy that they would be quality. When I made mention of knowing that "some guys" use 2 DJs (my $2k competitor) he also felt it was just overkill. I think he's going to book after he talks with his daughter. Still, I'm getting that nagging feeling that $850 might be a good price-point to move to. I'm not settled in it yet but if the feedback keeps leading in that direction I may just have to boost the price this year.
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With the Photography end doing so well you could probably afford to take the chance and for $100 I don't think you would lose too many especially when it's still in the middle and the top end is 2K
 
Jeff Romard said:
I don't think most markets have enough $2000 clients to sustain that many $2000 DJ's
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rickryan.com said:
I'm getting that nagging feeling that $850 might be a good price-point to move to.
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Around here, I don't know of any local DJ that gets $2k for just music, even with a few add-ons.
And it's funny, my multi op boss says he has the best close rate in the $800 range.
So he quotes $850 quite a lot.
Clients seem to think that $1000 and over is just not in their range,
they don't go for $900, because it's too close to $1000...
yet $850 seems totally do-able...even though it's only $150 difference.
Guess it's the "Charge $19.99 because it sounds less than $20.00" scenario.
 
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Ausumm said:
Around here, I don't know of any local DJ that gets $2k for just music, even with a few add-ons.
And it's funny, my multi op boss says he has the best close rate in the $800 range.
So he quotes $850 quite a lot.
Clients seem to think that $1000 and over is just not in their range,
they don't go for $900, because it's too close to $1000...
yet $850 seems totally do-able...even though it's only $150 difference.
Guess it's the "Charge $19.99 because it sounds less than $20.00" scenario.
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The $1,000 number tends to be a scary one. Oddly enough, when people hear "Eleven Hundred" it sounds more manageable than "One thousand."

I realize you're not asking about coasting through that number yet, but when you do, it's easier to go beyond $1,000 than to stop at it.
 
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Guys, you're nudging me closer to at least an incremental increase. I want to be careful and not kill off my DJ biz, especially in light of my 19-year old who is about to start working dates solo. I also have to keep in mind the rather large influx of startups who are pitching $400-$500 service. The $850 range might be just the perfect price point for now.
 
Albatross said:
The $1,000 number tends to be a scary one. Oddly enough, when people hear "Eleven Hundred" it sounds more manageable than "One thousand."

I realize you're not asking about coasting through that number yet, but when you do, it's easier to go beyond $1,000 than to stop at it.
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If I had inclination towards just being a solo-op, DJ-only guy, I'd likely raise my price to $1500 and pitch it as a premium-level service that comes standard with monogram and uplighting. I think you're right in that the $1k mark is a definite hurdle, mentally speaking. It's almost like it's easier to sell $1100 or $1200 than it is to sell $1000.
 
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Ha. Raised DJ price by $100 an hour ago. Just sent out my first price quote and the bride accepted. Here's her response (partial)

Thank you so much for providing all this info. The cost is more than I had budgeted for, but you sound very knowledgeable about what you are doing and seem to know our venue which makes me feel great.
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This is a destination wedding for a couple from L.A. While the price made her flinch, it apparently wasn't enough to make her run. First one on the books for the new rate (as soon as she pays the deposit).
 
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rickryan.com said:
Ha. Raised DJ price by $100 an hour ago. Just sent out my first price quote and the bride accepted. Here's her response (partial)



This is a destination wedding for a couple from L.A. While the price made her flinch, it apparently wasn't enough to make her run. First one on the books for the new rate (as soon as she pays the deposit).
Click to expand...

Congrats on making the leap, happy the first shot at it sounds like it's going well!
 
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Ausumm said:
Around here, I don't know of any local DJ that gets $2k for just music, even with a few add-ons.
And it's funny, my multi op boss says he has the best close rate in the $800 range.
So he quotes $850 quite a lot.
Clients seem to think that $1000 and over is just not in their range,
they don't go for $900, because it's too close to $1000...
yet $850 seems totally do-able...even though it's only $150 difference.
Guess it's the "Charge $19.99 because it sounds less than $20.00" scenario.
Click to expand...

I agree!

$850 is a nice number that WORKS for us. Anything $9xx is not good. I call it the bad "middle" zone that has some sort of bad aurora with clients. $1,000 works, but these days I am usually quoting $1,250 or above, or $850 is my regular Friday starting rate. Add an hour, and my price jumps to $1,000...by passing any price in the $9xx range.
 
rickryan.com said:
Just had a meeting on a 2nd inquiry from this same country club. I was actually braced for another "Why are you so much cheaper?" discussion but this guy (FOB) had already figured out that the $2k is just over-priced. During the discussion, he told me that he's in business development (sales) and that I'm priced right in the middle. The low side is $500 but he wasn't un-easy that they would be quality. When I made mention of knowing that "some guys" use 2 DJs (my $2k competitor) he also felt it was just overkill. I think he's going to book after he talks with his daughter. Still, I'm getting that nagging feeling that $850 might be a good price-point to move to. I'm not settled in it yet but if the feedback keeps leading in that direction I may just have to boost the price this year.
Click to expand...

You said that 2k for that DJ is over priced and the FOB knew this. How do you know that DJ is over priced charging 2k? Obviously there are those who would never spend 2k for a DJ to do their wedding. Then there are those who wouldn't hesitate to spend that or more. If that DJ is getting people to pay him 2k means he must be targeting his business who don't see an issue with spending that kind of money to book a DJ to do their wedding.

On the flip side there are those who would never even think of paying a DJ $500 to come and do their wedding. It's all in who you target your business to and be able to convince them you are worth the price you quote them.
 
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We shot the wedding last night where my $2,000 competitor as the DJ. He sends 2 guys; a DJ and an MC. They used an MC6000 mixer with a pair of QSC (looked like) K15 speakers, no sub. This was for 170 guests in a long warehouse space. I have to say, the QSCs did not cut it. Compared to a top-sub system, it was muddy sounding and dull. The MC had a Shure mic that the squelch kept popping on it and his vocal was very dull, making it hard to understand what was being said, especially during the toasts. The guys did present extremely well. Clean, black table/facade and 2 sets of 4Bar lights. They also had 2, 40" flat screens mounted on 8 foot totems, each uplit. It looked good and they presented well but the MC was just reaching into annoying territory. I mean, dude, shutup every now and then. I did take notes, and gleaned some good stuff from them but mostly it re-affirmed what I had suspected; we're doing a better job at less than half the cost.
 
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rickryan.com said:
We shot the wedding last night where my $2,000 competitor as the DJ. He sends 2 guys; a DJ and an MC. They used an MC6000 mixer with a pair of QSC (looked like) K15 speakers, no sub. This was for 170 guests in a long warehouse space. I have to say, the QSCs did not cut it. Compared to a top-sub system, it was muddy sounding and dull. The MC had a Shure mic that the squelch kept popping on it and his vocal was very dull, making it hard to understand what was being said, especially during the toasts. The guys did present extremely well. Clean, black table/facade and 2 sets of 4Bar lights. They also had 2, 40" flat screens mounted on 8 foot totems, each uplit. It looked good and they presented well but the MC was just reaching into annoying territory. I mean, dude, shutup every now and then. I did take notes, and gleaned some good stuff from them but mostly it re-affirmed what I had suspected; we're doing a better job at less than half the cost.
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Now I understand you. The question I would want to know if it were me besides the number of people to attend the wedding is about the venue itself. I like to get to see what the place looks like where I'm going to be working in so I can get a good idea of what gear to bring to get the job done right.

What I know and what it sounds like to me is they were pushing those speakers way to hard to make up for not having at least one sub. Obviously not every event requires you use a sub. I got an event to do on June 10th. Just background music. So no need for a sub.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Now I understand you. The question I would want to know if it were me besides the number of people to attend the wedding is about the venue itself. I like to get to see what the place looks like where I'm going to be working in so I can get a good idea of what gear to bring to get the job done right.

What I know and what it sounds like to me is they were pushing those speakers way to hard to make up for not having at least one sub. Obviously not every event requires you use a sub. I got an event to do on June 10th. Just background music. So no need for a sub.
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These guys are the preferred vendor and work at that venue, a lot. It surprised me that their game was that off, especially with the home court advantage. A pair of 10s or 12s, paired with a sub is a magnitudes better sounding rig, in my opinion.
 
rickryan.com said:
Ha. Raised DJ price by $100 an hour ago. Just sent out my first price quote and the bride accepted. Here's her response (partial)You mean retainer don't you? LOL. I was told legally that was better.



This is a destination wedding for a couple from L.A. While the price made her flinch, it apparently wasn't enough to make her run. First one on the books for the new rate (as soon as she pays the deposit).
Click to expand...
 
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