[Dixielandjazz] Dixieland Booking

[Robert Ringwald]

One of the questions I almost always ask is, "What is your budget for entertainment?"  

Most of the time I get an honest answer.  If I don't, I usually get a feeling that they are not telling me the truth.  

I ask a lot of questions and guide the conversation and have real good luck with booking gigs.  I get between $250 and $300 for a single piano gig in, or close to town.  

I get pretty good money for the band gigs also.  

I have good luck on the telephone and via email -- Both ways.  

It really takes experience and salesmanship.  No one taught it to me.  I learned it through the years by myself through experience and by analyzing each contact.  

--Bob Ringwald



 
----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Walton Entertainment" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
To: "Bob Ringwald" <rsr at ringwald.com>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 8:36 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Dixieland Booking


> That's it Steve.  I used to have a yellow page ad and I got a lot of 
> browsing calls.  I lost almost all of them and I shouldn't have.  I just 
> hadn't figured it out yet.  I didn't do very well until I actually sat down 
> and wrote scripts in big print and posted them by the telephone.  I 
> practiced them until I pretty much had everything down pat and smooth.   You 
> don't want to sound like a telemarketer. My wife didn't like it much but my 
> batting average started to go way up.
> 
> In the last few weeks I sent out 125 post cards and booked six jobs off of 
> the mailing.  That's actually a little low but I booked every call.  I was 
> in the hospital for two weeks so maybe I missed some.  The best part is I 
> got two new venues.
> 
> I really think that if a leader is having trouble with booking and telephone 
> calls they should try it and yes price is the very last thing you need to 
> discuss and if you handle it right you won't get very many balks.
> 
> Another thing that Steve said that's so important is that you have to 
> control and guide the conversation.  The minute they control it you have a 
> strong chance of losing the gig.  This is often a subtle thing.  You need to 
> analyze every call that you don't book and figure out where it went wrong.
> 
> On price just ask them what their budget is.  One time I booked a convention 
> and I would have been happy with six or seven hundred dollars.  I asked the 
> question and found out that they had $1600.  I told them that it wouldn't be 
> that much and booked it for $1500.  They were happy as bugs.  They were 
> expecting to pay more.
> 
> BTW try to not do business by e-mail.  It's too stark.  I've only 
> successfully booked one job by e-mail and lost about six.  It's just another 
> version of how much do you charge? --- click.  They have all the power and 
> control, not you.  Get their phone number and call them.
> Larry
> StL
> 
> 
> -- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephen G Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
> To: "Larry Walton Entertainment" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 6:27 PM
> Subject: Re:Dixieland
> 
> 
>>
>> On Oct 11, 2011, at 5:27 PM, Larry Walton Entertainment wrote: (polite 
>> snip)
>>
>>> I learned that it was a good idea to write scripts to answer  questions 
>>> regarding this very question and others.  It increased my  booking.  The 
>>> two deadly questions are what kind of music do you  play and how much do 
>>> you charge?  If you answer these right off the  bat you probably won't 
>>> book the job.
>>>
>>> I have found that you must get them talking about their party -  guests 
>>> size and work in your answers as you go.
>>>
>>> Practice these responses until you can say it easily.  I guarantee  your 
>>> jobs will increase.
>>
>> Good advice Larry.
>>
>> Forty years ago, I helped write the AAMCO transmissions phone  answering 
>> script. We put it into a flip page booklet for the business  owner to 
>> follow. It was designed for the business owner to take charge  of the 
>> conversation. Instead of answering questions, the owner/ salesman asked 
>> the questions as he flipped the pages of his script  book. I'll bet they 
>> still use it.
>>
>> They were taught to answer the phone like this:
>>
>> Hello AAMCO, who is calling please?  (This is Ted Jones)
>>
>> How May I help you Mr. Jones?  (Well, my automatic transmission is  acting 
>> up)
>>
>> What kind of a car do you have? (It's a 1999 Toyota)
>>
>> And what is the transmission doing?  (it won 't shift into Reverse gear
>>
>> Etc., etc., etc. So the Transmsission shop took charge and asked the 
>> questions. Then after all the facts were gathered,  the guy would  agree 
>> to bring the car in for a FREE check-up. Only after that checkup  could 
>> the shop owner quote a price. And then, 3 levels of service we  offered at 
>> 3 different prices.
>>
>> We did the same thing with "objections". Put them on tabbed pages. Like:
>>
>> Why can't you quote a price over the phone?  (I don 't know precisely 
>> what needs to be fixed without diagnosis)
>>
>> And so on.
>>
>> Like the 7 P's Marine Drill Sergeants always quote: Proper Prior  Planning 
>> Prevents Piss Poor Performnce. As Larry says, it is a simple  thing to 
>> script out both music and price negotiations
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Steve Barbone
>> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>>
>> BTW, price is always the LAST thing I discuss with prospects. Must be 
>> that AAMCO training. <grin> In the case of the Society Party, I had 
>> previously been booked by a charity group she chaired and gave her a 
>> special charity price. Slightly cheaper than our regular price and I 
>> always tell charities note to quote this price to non-charities or  other 
>> people. She remembered and when we got to price she said.  "Whatever you 
>> charge us will be fine."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 
> 
> 
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