Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Why Don't You Charge More For Your Services?

www.NorthernColoradoDJ.com

Originally Posted in 2013 (revised and re-written Aug 18th 2015)

I had a potential client ask me a very interesting question today during a consultation; he wanted to know why so many DJ's price their services well over a thousand dollars while others like myself do not.

There are so many possible good answers to this question. I am not intimately familiar with what most other DJ's are offering. There may be more than one person on hand to assist with giant screens and live video projection or sophisticated light rigs which require full attention while another DJ sees to client needs. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what can be included into what really should at that point be called a stage production. They are turning the whole room into a feast for the eyes and ears.

Another possibility is that they are simply asking for that amount of money because they are excellent salespeople and can produce high dollar advertisements and promotional materials which can sell people on the superior worth of the services they offer.They may attend big conferences where they attend classes on how to market themselves better and ultimately ask for more and more money. This seems somewhat dishonest to me.

I feel as though I am a much better DJ than I am a salesman. I do not employ common sales tactics and I do not push to close the deal with clients during our initial meeting. I prefer to send people home with an agreement and the understanding that I will follow up with them in a week or two if I do not hear from them.

Personally for me it all comes down to comfort level. I am not comfortable applying pressure on people and I am not comfortable asking for ridiculous sums of money for my services. I feel as though my prices are quite fair and the level of service that I can provide is indeed right up there with all the biggest and most expensive DJ's.

How do I know this? Because venue staff will often tell me that I am among the best DJ's in the area. They get to see a lot of DJ's, they judge us on the job that we do, not on how shiny our brochures are or how well we can sell people on the idea that skill is always proportional to how expensive something is. I prefer to under-promise and over-deliver when it comes to my services. My clients and the venues I work in appreciate it.