by Jerry Bazata
Many DJs find it comforting to blame a slim Summer booking calendar on people being away on vacation or on taking Fridays off for a long weekend.
If you prefer being profitable over being comforted, here’s how you can make your sales sizzle and beat the heat during July and August or any time of year.
The key is to always be prepared for the next wave of clients by consistently taking those actions that lead to generating bookings. In our business, talent may be King, but marketing and sales are its mate.
Here are five action steps you can take to end each fiscal year ahead of where you anticipated your annual sales revenue to be. Play the game well and you’ll be working all summer long – but only if you want to be.
- Review Your Pipeline. How many potential events do you have booked versus how many do you need to meet the annual sales revenue you anticipated for 2010? If it’s less than you’d like, get busy advertising and marketing your services.
- Connect and Follow-Up. Breakfast appointment? Lunch appointment? Make sure that you have at least three contacts per day with referral sources as well as following-up in a timely manner with inquires through your website. The most important aspect of increasing sales is raising the number of times you can speak with or sit in front of a decision-maker.
- Earn More Referrals. Spend time every day building key relationships. Everyone’s favorite radio station is WII-FM (What’s In It For Me). Think about information that you can provide to your potential or existing referral sources that will make you memorable, and make them want to return the goodwill you’ve created in the form of referrals.
- Gain the Extra Edge. How do you spend your early mornings and evenings? Investing extra time engaged in business development activities could produce the “tipping point” of significant sales success for your DJ service.
- Become a Trusted Adviser. When you give helpful advice to a prospect that will help make their event more special, you are no longer a sales person. You are elevated to the role of being a trusted adviser. People buy from people whom they like and trust so, think about how you can create value for prospects, right from the very first contact with them.
For year-round bookings, be sure to set your sights on marketing, advertising and promotional activities that will make your sales sizzle!
How do you keep your Summer calendar filled?
Jerry Bazata – “The Money Answer Man”
Jerry Bazata (Maine’s DJ Jaz) has over 25 years of experience as a professional DJ entertainer. His firm, J & J Marketing and Entertainment, is a leading consultant to the event planning and music industries. Jerry is a published author and is recognized nationally as an authority on the disc jockey business. He is also Senior Vice President of a global financial institution. To learn about Jerry’s DJ company, visit MaineDiscJockey.com and you can email him at [email protected].
