My guess is that for most readers the answer to that question will be an emphatic ‘yes’! Well, in this article I’m going to share the techniques that I used to position myself as an in-demand wedding DJ, increase my fee by 10X and get to the point where I have to turn down 50+ bookings each year because I’m already booked. What’s more, I believe that you can use this same strategy to build your DJ business too! By Terry Lewis A six-time award winning wedding DJ based in Essex, Terry Lewis has spent years honing marketing and business strategies that now mean he is consistently booked up.
He is the author of the book ’12 Habits Of Successfully Booked Up Wedding Suppliers’ and the creator of ‘The Phoenix System’ for booking high-end brides. THE SIX INFLUENCERS THAT MOTIVATE BETTER-PAYING CLIENTS TO BOOK Throughout this article I’ll discuss booking bridal couples, as I am a specialist wedding DJ. However, whatever niche you serve, the same techniques can be applied to attract and book high-paying clients in your market. Before we dive into the 6 Influencers That Motivate Better-Paying Clients To Book, I thought it would be a good idea to share how I deal with a contentious issue that I know many DJs find challenging: HOW TO DEFLECT THE ‘P’ QUESTION WHEN ASKED TOO EARLY I’ve found that the more you deviate in price from the average for your industry, the more you should want to meet to explain why you are worth more before quoting.
If you do not, you’ll potentially put yourself at risk of being commoditised, price-shopped and prematurely excluded from a potential client’s selection process. • On average, whenever I give a price via telephone or email, two out of ten prospects go on to book; the eight that do not, raise price objections. • Whenever I meet before quoting, eight out of ten couples go on to book, the two that do not, raise price objections. Because price shoppers are not my avatar (or perfect client) I am prepared to let them go early, which is why I am reluctant to quote outside of a meeting.
Instead, I email back an elegant ‘price deflector’ which delays answering the ‘P’ question until I’ve created the space to first explain my USPs (Unique Selling Propositions). My price deflector makes it clear that I don't mean to be evasive, prices will be revealed, but only after a friendly chat first. It’s another one of my professional differences to others in my industry, alongside guaranteeing clients will love everything I do or get their money back!
The deflector goes on to give compelling reasons for brides and grooms to meet me and, through carefully worded copy, I arouse desire and inquisitiveness to discover more. Interestingly, around 65% of couples decide to meet me after reading the price deflector and because of its high success rate, I’d like to share it with you as a free download here: But securing prospects to a meeting is just the first step to getting booked; being seen as a key person of influence that clients must have at their event is the real key to success.
And through this article I’m going to get you started by revealing: The Six Influencers That Motivate Better-Paying Clients To Book. Before jumping in, I’m going to make a promise to you. Individually, each of the six influencers is powerfully persuasive, but when fused together they create a synergy capable of supercharging your conversion rates. 1.
SELF-BELIEF - TO INFLUENCE CLIENTS YOU MUST FIRST INFLUENCE YOURSELF! Success happens in your mind long before it materialises in your business, which is why you must believe in yourself even when others tell you to let go of your dream. It will be those closest to you who question your sanity and say “It can’t be done” . Quite often these are the people who care about you the most and want to protect you from the pain of possible failure but, ironically, they’ve never stood in the shoes of failure nor success in your endeavour.
So before listening to unqualified opinions, you should ask the same question I silently ask myself: “Does your life experience and track record qualify you to shut down my dreams and kill off any hope of success?” Henry Ford put it best when he said: “The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.” Which is why you should set your mindset very carefully. You can’t escape the fact that within your DJ business, you will meet Dream-makers and Dream-takers.
Your Dream-makers will: • Help you achieve your targets • Hold onto your vision for you whenever you falter • Show you a proven path to success Your Dream-takers will: • Take your dream away (if you let them) • Say it won’t work because... • Find faults in your ideas Develop a mental toughness to grow into a talented, solution-driven, entertainment professional, and create an unshakeable self-belief in your ability to achieve your ambition. Above all, hold onto your dream and let no one tear it away from you, because if you want highpaying clients to believe in you, you must first believe in yourself.
Self-belief enhanced by strong USPs were the gamechangers that eventually created a demand for my services that exceeded my ability to deliver. I now turn away more couples than ever due to existing bookings. I feel a little self-conscious telling you this, especially when I know so many struggle to get booked regularly, but I sincerely tell you from a point of gratefulness that I found a proven path to success that I am now able to share with you.
47THE SIX INFLUENCERS THAT MOTIVATE BETTER-PAYING CLIENTS TO BOOK 3. BE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR CRAFT People buy people who are passionate about what they do, and passion is contagious. When Mr & Mrs Avatar realise your number one goal is to do whatever it takes for them to float out of their wedding feeling like nothing on earth could have gone better, getting booked gets easier. Let me ask you a question: have you ever purchased something costly even though a cheaper option was available?
Something for your business, a present for a dear friend, accommodation at a better hotel? Either choice would serve its purpose but you went high-end for a reason and this is why - you believed the more expensive option would deliver more pleasure, be more reliable and diminish the possibility of a disappointment. Price was not an objection; the inferiority of the cheaper option was. The same buying criteria governs the buying decisions of high-paying DJ clients.
Selling Premium DJ Services Is Easy! Have you ever been around someone who has just purchased something expensive? They are generally euphoric, right? Telling their friends all about it.
In fact, they are so full of passion and pleasure the feeling has been described as ‘retail therapy’ . Now view this through the eyes of a premium service provider. After taking a booking, do you think they experience ‘hard work’ while their prospect passionately buys? Absolutely not...
I’m here to tell you that premium DJ clients – especially brides and grooms – love to buy, but they hate to be sold! If you find it difficult to book your premium DJ experience, it’s likely the solution will be found in: • Discovering a better way to articulate your real value • Considering the signature experience you offer needs altering to make it resonate more closely with your ava - tars’ deepest desires • Or possibly a combination of both 4.
Position Yourself As The Expert In ‘The One Thing’, So You Prescribe Not Sell I’m now going to use my company at start-up as the perfect example of what NOT to do! Way back in 2008, my website proclaimed me as an expert in both Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and Afro/Caribbean events. Take a moment to I believe success is replicable through a step-by-step process. The six influencers I’m revealing form part of it.
They made a massive difference to my DJ business and have the capacity to change yours. 2. TRIGGER THE LAW OF RECIPROCITY Your free gift must move the needle by adding value to your prospect’s event planning process. To be effective, it also needs to: • Be of low monetary cost to you, but high perceived value to your prospects • Position you as an expert and increase your likability factor • Be wanted and helpful to your avatar One way of achieving all of these is by sharing our knowledge.
Think how much time you could save Mr & Mrs Prospect by creating a customised timeline for their wedding day, offering step-by-step guidance through it. I can tell you, it delights brides in particular because it enlightens the planning process which diminishes the stress of the unknown. Here’s a reaction to the timeline information I presented to Stephanie & Ben - who went on to book the same day we met: “Hi Terry, Thank you so much for your time today, it was a pleasure to meet you and so useful to have someone actually explain to us the timeline of the day and the little bits that we wouldn’t have thought about!…” I do not doubt that the Law of Reciprocity played a massive part in winning this client.
Use reciprocity to pay it forward by exciting couples with your knowledge and experience. Send Mr & Mrs Avatar away from your meetings enthusiastically pre-living their day and viewing you as their agreeable expert; because experts who are liked and trusted get booked. RECIPROCITY MAKES YOU ‘STICKY’ It’s inevitable that you’ll be one of a few DJs on your prospect’s shortlist. If the other pros are just giving a price and talking ‘gear’ , can you see how reciprocity compels couples to return to you after looking around because they found no one better.
I call this being ‘sticky’ . Ask yourself ‘how sticky are you right now’? Distributed in the UK by Monacor UK ltd. 01908 217100 TWIST -40LED TWIST -40LED LEUCHTKRAFT compact LED moving head 1 x 40W RGBW LED 12 x RGB SMD 5050 8° beam angle Electronic dimmer PARL- LEUCHTKRAFT LED spotlight 1 x 30W RGBW COB LED 9 x 6W RGBUV LED (strobe) 21 x 0.5W White LED RRP ££ of awesomeness will always fall on partially sceptical ears... at least until they get to know, love (not like) and trust you.
The more prospects discover your business being positively talked about by large numbers of past clients, guests and other suppliers – both on and offline – the better, so upload your most moving testimonials on your website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other popular social media platforms. This is essential to success, as whenever couples are unsure about which supplier to hire, more often than not they will allow themselves to be influenced by what past clients say.
It’s for this reason, whenever I present to couples, the penultimate slide before price revelation is always an emphatic testimonial. Why? Because hiring a wedding creative is an emotional, not logical decision; couples use logic afterwards to justify the expense. So I want my brides and grooms in a highly emotive state when I reveal my price.
Furthermore, I want someone else to do that job for me. What follows is the testimonial I read out loud at meetings, but before I share it, I want to experiment with you… I want you to mark how you feel emotionally in this moment right now, and then compare it to how you feel on the other side having read the testimonial… “Dear Terry, Well, it’s a month now since our special day. Paul and I are back from our honeymoon and slowly catching up on things.
Hard to get back to work and laundry after being a princess for two weeks. But the feeling of love and the amazing memories still float through our days and in our hearts. Hard to express how beautiful and deeply meaningful our wedding was to us both. The love and joy seemed to just swirl around us all… … and so much of that was because of you!
Terry, we are so grateful that we found you. Your presence, smile, professionalism, steady calm, guidance, not to mention your first class Master of Ceremonies talents just made our day everything it was. We knew when we met you that we’d be in the very best of hands and indeed we were. Because of you, we could relax, and enjoy and just ‘be’ present and in the precious moments, and for that we will be forever thankful.
You are a star and, we hope, a new friend. Sending love and thanks, Barbara and Paul” So how do you feel now? consider the diversity of those two types of party… But it didn’t stop there… I shouted out loud that I was also an expert in kids’ parties, corporate and Christmas bashes, weddings, charity fundraisers, proms, balls and as many other types of event as I could think of! The reality was that I couldn’t possibly be an expert in all those categories and my marketing misjudgement inadvertently communicated one simple message: that I was a 'Jack Of All Trades and Master Of None!’ The reason I wanted to be known for everything was I did not want to miss out on any potential work and, superficially, it made sense, right?
But the opposite happened, and I struggled to get booked and when I did it was at low-to-average pay because customers saw me as a generalist, not an expert, and generalists get general pay. Let me ask you a question: if you currently position yourself as an expert in many things, are you struggling to get booked? If you are, this could be a key reason why. BE SPECIFIC: GO JUST AN INCH-WIDE BUT A MILE-DEEP Being able to 10x my fees and turn away more than 50 enquiries each year due to already being booked did not happen until I went an inch-wide and a mile-deep in The One Thing that I decided to focus on, weddings.
Specificity INCREASED demand for my services because brides and grooms knew they were hiring a wedding expert for their day, not a ‘Jack of All Trades’ . My fear that focusing on The One Thing would lead to nearly no work at all was utterly unfounded. And it made complete sense; upon research I discovered more than 4,000 couples marry in my county alone each year. 4,000!
There is no way I could service them all! It’s clear that there’s a SURPLUS of wedding work out there. Let me set you a challenge – if you also specialise in weddings, make it your goal to find out how many take place in your region each year, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Your key takeaway from this influencer is to learn how to think like a bride.
She does not care that you can do kids’ birthday parties, proms or anything else! All she cares about is the perfection of her wedding day, and she wants a wedding expert in charge and she’s willing to pay more when she finds one. 5. AMPLIFY SOCIAL PROOF Prospects expect you to say you are the best because they know you want their business, so your affirmations 17_BOSE_061_Chibi_7-625x10_M 12/4/17 7.125” x 9.5” 7.625” x 10” 8.125” x 10.5” n/a n/a 100 4c JD n/a 12/4/17 ©2017 Bose Corporation.
The Bluetooth ® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Bose Corporation is under licence. Ready to perform. Anywhere. Any time.
Introducing the Bose ® S1 Pro Multi-Position PA System Sound great anywhere with the S1 Pro system. With big sound, unparalleled portability, and Bluetooth ® connectivity, the S1 Pro is the ultimate PA, fl oor monitor, and practice amp that’s ready to be your go-anywhere and do-it-all music system. Get full product details at /S1 Any different? Did that ignite an emotional connection deep within you?
If it did, that’s what an emphatic testimonial can do for your prospects at your meetings. But the secret is that what I’ve just shared isn’t simply a testimonial. It’s something more! USE A MOVIMONIAL!
I consider the message that I’ve just shared to be a ‘movimonial’ . What’s a movimonial? Well, it’s a word I made up! And this is the definition I’ve assigned to it: MOV-I-MO-NIAL a testimonial that’s: i) been written by a client, ii) with empathy from the heart, iii) and has the power to move the reader, watcher or listener from a passive state, into an emotional state.
6. SCARCITY Things of limited supply are highly valued, which is why gold, diamonds, friendship and love are so precious that when found they are treasured and secured. If your signature wedding experience can only serve one couple per wedding day, turn limited availability into exclusivity and let Mr & Mrs Avatar know they have a once in a lifetime opportunity to have you as part of their wedding. If you’ve done a good enough job with the other five influencers I’ve shared, scarcity will speed up their decisionmaking process to hire because they won’t want to lose you to a faster booking couple.
So, post meetings, narrow down the booking window you leave open because if Mr & Mrs Prospect think for one moment you will be available in a month’s time they will procrastinate on their decision until then. That’s just the way many couples are. YOUR ACTIONABLE TAKEAWAY Nothing will change unless you become an action-taker, so create a checklist and ensure each of the six influencers are active and fully employed in your business. In closing, I’d like to point out that powerful as the six influencers are they are just one of many steps you’ll need to fill your calendar with bookings.
YOUR NEXT STEP? LEARN HOW TO FUSE THE SIX INFLUENCERS AND COMPEL BRIDES AND GROOMS TO BOOK If you want to take the next steps and find out how to compel brides and grooms to book, register for your FREE online Masterclass with me here: http://bit.ly/create-bookings (please type the link into your browser exactly as it’s written).
