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AndrewBarbour New user 71 Posts |
I generally do not do discounts - however a about six months ago I broke down. I had one woman who had booked me for six community/corporate shows within the previous 18 months. She got her kids birthday party for free. I have not had more referrals from any single person as her since. She was a convert before - now she is an evangelist!
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Potty the Pirate Inner circle 4632 Posts |
Discounts can be a slippery slope. Personally I like to avoid "cheap" clients, something I learned a long time ago. For a number of reasons, it seems that discounted gigs turn out to be so much more troublesome than regular paying gigs, or maybe that's just me. I offer a standard 10% discount for registered charities. I always collect double travel expenses if things work out that way. On Saturday I have two gigs both in the same general area, both about 60 miles from home. They will both pay the full travel fee.
Very occasionally I will cut someone a special deal, but only if I really want to. for instance, a kid from a poor family who's DESPERATE to have me for his party. I tell such clients that they'll get a more modest show since they will pay less, and make it clear it's a special favour. Such folks normally volunteer a comment like: "I promise not to tell anyone". This only seems to happen about once every two years anyway. There is another very good thread going on about pricing. I mentioned there that you can offer your parties at HALF PRICE for families on a budget - they simply have to find another child to share their party with. |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-06-12 09:00, JamesinLA wrote: Not only do I give past customers (who have written a testimonial) a discount coupon as part of my thank you, I also have done it in advance on select occassions. If a (new) customer really wants the show, rather than discounting my fee outright, I can make an arrangement to have the discount applied to this show, if they promise to write a testimonial afterwards. I don't do this all of the time -- only when we are apart in amount by just a few dollars, they indicate that they really want my show, and they ask. Note - there is a difference between a prospect saying, "I like your show, think you are worth the amount, but can't quite afford that", and them saying, "I don't think you are worth the fee you are asking. I want to pay you less." If they are saying the second, they aren't saying they really want my show. If a (past) customer asks for a discount (very seldomly), I suggest writing a reference letter about the last show I did for them, so they can have their coupon. Like I said earlier on this thread, the customer has to "earn" the discount. Unless there is some "price" (not necessarily cash), they tend not to appreciate the "prize" (the real value of your show). - Donald P.S. If they ask for a discount (in the way I mentioned above), and the date is open, I will often do this technique I picked up from a Bob Markwood book. I'll say, "Let me check something,", get up, move around the room, rustle some papers or the calendar, pause for a minute or two before getting back on the phone and agreeing. The reason I do that is because I don't want to give in too easily, or at least come across that way. It is important for them to know in negotiating both sides are giving something to the arrangement, and that this is not your practice all of the time.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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ralphdean Loyal user Northern Ca 300 Posts |
Andrew, any one who has sent me six shows in 18 months would definitly get a free show. I consider that marketing.
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Potty the Pirate Inner circle 4632 Posts |
That's a good point you just made, Ralphdean. Clients who want to book multiple gigs are entitled to a discount. Still, I normally would only volunteer a discount if we were talking about 4+ gigs. Often I'll be asked to attend a kid's birthday party, and also a family gathering the following month, that kind of thing. If they ask for a discount, I usually knock £10 or £20 off. Donald, you offer a $50 discount, it seems a lot, unless your fee is pretty huge! I think the fact that you've given them some kind of deal is enough, so long as it's not a joke. I find foks are happy with 5 - 10%
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Doug -
At one time in the past, I have made the coupon for $25/$50, meaning that they can use it as either $25 towards a birthday show, or $50 towards a regular show. I detail the conditions on the coupon. Mostly, I have used these coupons as thank yous for non-birthday show reference letters. Birthday parties are only one of my five main markets. And yes, most times $50 off is about 10% of my show fee. I guess on average a non-birthday customer spends around $500 with me. Some non-birthday show packages cost more, and some cost a little less. I don't necessarily think of my fee as "pretty huge". It's a matter of perspective. Before you ask your next question, yes, my fees are above average for my area, because I offer an above average quality show. For many performers, offering that amount of discount might not be practical. However, it fits in with my personal business model. - Donald P.S. Not sure if I mentioned this. Generally, I don't tell customers in advance that I intend to give them a $50 coupon for their next show, if they write a reference letter for me. I just give it to them as part of my thank you, when they write the letter without any special incentive.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Gerry Walkowski Inner circle 1450 Posts |
To Donald & others:
I think all the responses so far have been very interesting. You have to understand, it’s not like I go around looking for the opportunity to offer every client a discount. I only do this if certain conditions are met, like: a.) I was already booked for my first or second show at my normal price. b.) If I get this booking it works out to my advantage either time-wise or direction-wise. Unlike most, my birthday party shows seem to be scattered all over the place. So to me it’s a bonus when you can have 2-3 shows that don’t have you zipping from one side of a county to an entirely different county. Donald, in one of your replies you stated, "However, sometimes you book a discounted show, only to find that another full-paying offer comes along later. (Steve Hart has written an article about this, titled "Your Golden Handcuffs".)" I understand what you're saying here and it does make sense. On the other hand, however, the dilemma is do you sit around and hope a call comes in for an odd time slot or do you become proactive and try and make things work out to your advantage? Sometimes by working with customers, by adding a discount incentive, I think you can make things work out to your advantage and squeeze in an extra show you wouldn’t have otherwise. If I’m already booked for a show and another person calls and they really want my birthday party show but I sense their hesitant because the time doesn’t work out according to THEIR PLANS, I will see if they can change the time of the party by offering them a slight discount to secure the booking. Or, if I’m booked for a particular county and another call comes in for another show in the same county, but on a different day, I’ll sometimes try using the incentive discount for the second show in hopes of getting them to switch days. If it works, I’ll make $25 less that day, but I’m also squeezing in 2 shows in the same county, which also means I’m saving on gas and wear and tear on my car. By using this method I can, AT TIMES, stack my shows so I’m making very good money on a particular day or weekend. Now in my original posting I said I discounted my show by $75; it was really $50 less. Normally I will not discount my show by that much. My thought was, in this one instance, is that the booking was at 4:00 PM on a Saturday (a time that I normally wouldn’t have shows anyway) and it was heading in the same direction I was heading after a day of festival bookings at my normal price. The people, in this instance were very nice and not really trying to talk my price down. All they said is that this is the first time they were hosting anything like this, they appeared to be sincere, and they said they only had $175, which again was about $50 less than my normal fee. My thought was do I walk away from the show because I was getting $50 less or do I pick up a quick $175 (CASH) on my way home. I opted for the $175. I don’t know if there is any right or wrong answers on any of this. If people try and talk my price down, I’ll walk away from the show because I just don’t want to work for people like that. Usually my price is my price. All I’m saying is that AT TIMES, a discount price might allow you to pick up a show, or stack up shows, you wouldn’t have otherwise. Thanks, Gerry |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Gerry -
I have a feeling that listening to Julian Franklin's CD set and workbook, "Viral Marketing", would be of help to you. He teaches you how to assess what is the right business strategy for you personally. As I said before, what is right for me, might not be right for you. He talks about grouping shows together in certain area, with a discount (off travel, etc.) if the customers work together to host events on common dates, etc. His examples were to do with library and school shows, but can be relevant to other markets. He also discussed whether the idea of being busy and working lots (even at a potential loss of some income by letting certain things eat into your expenses) is more important than making lots of profit by doing less shows at a higher fee and charging for travel (again, a personal choice). You can find out more about his product here. (When at the home page, click on "Products", then on "Business Building Tools For Performing Artists"). - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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