Thank you for all of your help this year! Let’s make 2011 the best year ever!
Video Testimonials have been the talk of the wedding community as of late. The challenge becomes when do you get them. Some people believe in the strategy of recording them just after the reception if you are working it or maybe sneaking the bride and groom off during the reception for a moment of congratulations and video. Personally I feel as if we are taking our clients away from precious moments with family and friends if we use this tactic.
Others still find it successful to do a post wedding interview. In this situation you invite the couple in for a post wedding interview shortly after they return from their honeymoon. Some believe this can be more credible as well due to the fact that the bride and groom aren’t showing themselves in an inebriated state and they’ve had time to reflect on the day as a whole and it becomes much more believable when they’ve had time to compose their thoughts instead of just saying “You Rock!”
The key here is to position video testimonials where it can have the most value for you as a company and your future brides and grooms. Ask each and every couple what advice they would give to newly engaged couples. They will want to help as they were just in that situation and can reflect back on being in that uncertain time of what to look for in wedding vendors. Most brides have come out of the euphoria of planning their wedding and will want to be back into the lure of everything wedding again too.
Tip: Hand out a DVD to newly engaged couples at your next bridal show with tips from you and testimonial and advice from past wedding clients of yours. The dividends will pay off for you when you give freely expecting nothing in return. Click above for a sample.
ArmDJs.com: Pass Options...
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Because of the…
(Source: armdjs)
Three Magic Words
Toastmaster has been a HUGE benefit to me in my professional career. I am constantly amazed at the diversity of people and subjects that are broached in my club. Although we have a small club, we just achieved our 20th member for the first time since, ever…we are very passionate and driven. Those are great qualities to find in any Toastmasters club that you search for in your own markets. If you are not yet a Toastmaster, I highly recommend it.
Toastmaster Maggie Nelson recently gave her Speech #9 in her Competent Communicator manual, and the speech was very inspiring and titled “Three Magic Words”. I’d like to share with you now those three magic words and how I feel they apply to our industry. By integrating these 3 words and philosophies into your presentation, you can dramatically improve your connection with your clients.
The first word is “Choice”. Choice is what our country was founded upon, the freedom of choice and equality for all. Choice is also important in your offerings to your clients. Do you give them choices or is it an “all or nothing” proposition? I’ve been on both sides of that fence in my career and Dean Carlson wrote a great article in last month’s Disc Jockey News discussing exactly this. The “Rule of 3” applies here as well. Give your clients an option of “low”, “middle” and “high”…and ensure that you still make a profit in each offering. For multi-ops, let your client pick their entertainer ahead of time and have the confidence to put their name on the contract.
Choice also applies to your sales consultation. Ask your clients what other “choices” they have made so far for their wedding. Why did they go with those “choices”? What was the deciding factor? This information can tell you a LOT about your client’s motivation and also the key to their buying motives and why they might or might not hire you.
Fairness is the second word in the 3 magic words equation. Think about the last customer service situation you found yourself in. Was the company fair to you…or were you left upset and frustrated? Explaining to a client that in order to be fair to everyone is WAY better than saying “It’s company policy.” People don’t care TWO RIPS about your company policy but it can help temper their expectations and ensure they understand if you HAVE to tell them no.
Let’s talk more about that. DON’T EVER start a conversation with a client with the word “No”. ALWAYS start from a positive. “Yes, however, in order to be fair to everyone…”By answering this way you don’t force your client on the defensive as soon as they hear the word “No”. They are hearing a positive first and are therefore will listen and understand what you are saying and will hopefully be more accepting of the situation. The best scenario for this in the DJ world is taking requests. “Yes, but to be fair to everyone who wants to dance, GWAR may not be the best choice while Grandma is still here.” J
Accountability is the third word and is your insurance policy on a promise. Checks and balances must be in place to ensure that what the customer wants comes to fruition. If no one is accountable and the customer feels that each representative of your company is “passing the buck”, or worse yet is stuck in “voice jail” being passed around to different representatives (DJ, Salesperson, Manager, Owner) then they will not be happy, will NOT refer your company and worse yet will spread a bad reputation about you around to all of their friends.
The key to accountability is to empower your people to handle situations BEFORE your customer reaches the boiling point. Make a series of small gestures that you can do to take care of the customer and ensure that they have to be given to you the owner for approval afterwards of how the situation was handled so that your employees aren’t taking advantage of your “freebies”. Maybe your DJ forgot to meet with his clients for a planning meeting, or worse yet you were late to an appointment. Empower that person to Immediately resolve the situation by profusely apologizing and sending out a $25 gift certificate to a favorite restaurant. This will head off any bad publicity that you may have received from this and put the client back in your favor again.
The magic paragraph that combines all of these words. “I just want to make sure you have choices so that someone who is held accountable ensure there is fairness for all.”
This article was spawned from a recent thread on DiscJockeyAmerica.com posted by a good friend of mine about the handling of an initial consultation. This time of year is for some the “poor” season for wedding vendors throughout the U.S., as there’s very little in income and demand for weddings in the colder climates. As a result of this, some DJ’s feel the “pressure” of having to sell to put food on the table, roof over their heads and gas in the car. It CAN be a LOT of pressure, especially if you haven’t planned and saved in the bountiful months prior to handle situations such as these.
How do you handle that? How do you handle the pressure…sweaty palms….thinking “I gotta make this sale…it’s the only meeting I have for the week or the day….how am I going to pull this month off?” I know it’s tough when you need to make a sale and you struggle with it more.
The above video is how Chris Farley handled it in the movie Tommy Boy. In sports, this thought process is called “pressing”. You are SO CONSUMED with the thought that your end of the sale, the $$$, that you lose sight of what will really make that sale for you and that’s providing the solution to the customer’s wants and needs.
Let’s look at the last time you bought something. What did you do? More than likely, you looked at two or three different options, compared and contrasted what worked best for you and then made a decision. Did the cheaper one ALWAYS win out? No. If the less expensive option ALWAYS won out, Yugo would still be in business and THRIVING today. You choose the item that provides more VALUE to you, the consumer, nearly EVERY time.
When you get down on yourself and start “pressing”, you don’t communicate your value to the client effectively. You are so blindly focused on the end result, money in your pocket, that you lose sight of what’s most important to both your new friend and you, HELPING them by providing a solution. Not just any solution, but the BEST solution for them. When you don’t provide your friend with the best solution for them, they look elsewhere (and rightly they should…wouldn’t you?). Now they compare, find someone cheaper to fill their need and you lose the sale.
I’d like you to consider a slight change in words but a BIG change in philosophy. I have one of my past clients, a bride named Breeze to thank for this epiphany. Her testimony is here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mevm9gFY8gw
OK…how do I stop this cycle? Easy. Clear your mind of everything before the appointment. You are helping this person get what they need. That’s it. They and you together will create their solution on a blank piece of paper and decide together whether or not it’s the way they should go. Doesn’t that sound much better? No losers…only winners. You may not be the right fit for each other, they may not book, but now you both are better for the experience you had with each other.
You’re NOT a salesperson. You’re a DREAM MAKER and a PROBLEM SOLVER. Provide your clients peace of mind and give them exactly what they want and people will be calling YOU instead of YOU calling them.
Work WITH her, not FOR her.
Slight change of words…big change in thinking.
Another pic from the MAPDJ 1 Day Event just a few weeks ago.
Tomorrow night I present an inside peek of “Creative Consultations” and a roundtable discussion via Skype to a group of Dallas DJs looking to improve their businesses. Thank you Aaron for inviting me…I look forward to it.
It’s official: Creative Consultations at MBLV XX!
I am proud to announce that I will be presenting an enhanced version to my well received seminar at ARMDJS “Creative Consultations - From Opening To Closing”
This seminar takes a look at the creative aspects that can be implemented in your consultations that will increase your “WOW” factor and make more sales, snowballing into LOYAL customers who wildly refer their friends to do business with YOU.
Email me in advance with the word “QUESTIONS” in the subject line to receive an advance copy of the Top 40 Questions to potentially ask at your next consultation.
I hope to see you there.
Did You Know Jeffrey Gitomer – Sales Guru – Used To Be A DJ?
Jeffrey Gitomer on improving your sales as a DJ
Creative Mixing at MAPDJ 2010 1 Day Event
I had a blast presenting to some outstanding mobile entertainers at the MAPDJ 1 Day Event. Lots of great ideas were shared from great presenters like Jason Jones, Kirk Holsin, Bill Hermann, Stevie Ray and Rick Brewer. Thank you MAPDJ for inviting me to be a part of your GREAT event. 
Bill Hermann doing his first music video beatmix EVER at MAPDJ 1 Day Event!
MAPDJ 1 Day Conference presents Mitch Taylor "Creative Mixing"
I will be presenting another “must-see” seminar for the entertainer looking to take his mixes to another level. If you want to improve your show, keep guests of all ages entertained throughout the night and create parties with LOTS of energy through music, this seminar is for YOU. Hope to see you there!
