By Jerry Bazata, “Money Answer Man”
As DJ business owners we all face the highs and lows of closing new clients, taking its toll on us 
both mentally and physically. Each day we are challenged to meet new obstacles, defend our brand and reputation and meet the competition head on, sometimes resulting in defeat. A day does not go by that I read on the many social networking and professional boards about competition, pricing and the lack of professionalism in our industry. Add in the emails and phone calls from prospects that are pricing shopping, don’t have a clue on what they are trying to ask you and the outright obnoxious inquires. The frustration level hits a peak and we are ready to throw in the towel, sell the equipment and practice that famous phrase; “Would you like an order of fries with that?”
Just last week, after losing my fourth deal of the week to the competition, not having messages and phone calls returned and dealing with a number of bumps in the road, I myself hit that low point in my business career. As I sat quietly thinking to myself, my daughter came in to share a Gatorade and ask me what was wrong. Just then I remembered her story of determination and drive to reach her goal:
My daughter, Isabella Bazata, who attends Wells Elementary School had a VISION and made it come true…..A research, writing and presentation skills project assigned at school resulted in “her” finding a famous person from Maine to whom she shares the love of the sport of swimming with. Isabella’s VISION was for the famous person to be her “visual” in school the day she presented to her classmates. Initial reaction to her was how could this ever happen however she began her search .After myriad number of methods and searching for 3+ weeks, Isabella found him and he is coming to Maine!
This person has not been back to Maine to see his family in 3 years - a 3rd grader is the catalyst to having him visit. During his time in Maine, he will speak at a school Assembly at Wells Elementary School and teach a swim clinic to Isabella’s swim team as well as a neighboring swim team at the Biddeford, Maine YMCA’s. “Ian Crocker”, 5 Olympic medals (years 2000, 2004 & 2008), two time World Record breaker, 13 medals at World Champs! A 3rd grader brings an Olympian to Maine
At that very moment, I realized that failure was not an option and that I needed to dig back into my basic tool box of sales tactics that would re energize my business development efforts.
- Pick up the phone and call a vendor you have not spoken to in the past six months, better yet go make a personal visit and bring them some cookies.
- Respond with a thank you note to each of the reviews posted on Wedding Wire and The Knot. Brides like the idea you just don’t take the reviews for granted.
- Mail out anniversary cards to the brides you performed for in 2013 and include a business card, asking them to give it to friend who is getting married.
- Refresh the pictures on your website and search engines. New Look- New Attitude.
- Change the message on your voice-mail, making it more welcoming and less like a script. If you are asking them for too much information, they will hang up.
- Reach out to another mobile DJ gain a new idea or tip for winning business.
Moral of the story, persistence and never willing to give up you can succeed; it’s an inspirational message to business owners like Mobile DJs.
As a post script: I took this message to heart and booked two new events this week and renewed three referral sources of which all have provide me at least one new lead.
