random musings with specific intention from a mobile DJ
When you ask a me “how?” or “what’s the real difference between a $5000 DJ and a $1000 DJ?” what is it that you’re truly asking? Are you asking me if there is a switch you can flip so that 6 months, 12 months, 24 months from now you can be experiencing similar “success”?
Or, are you asking me to talk with you about the days where I’m Continue reading “What Are You Really Asking?”
Here are the top 10 reasons I can’t wait for Mobile Beat Las Vegas 2015!
10) Not having to choose which seminar to attend. This might sound odd… but I always have the feeling I’m missing something good after deciding which seminar to attend at a traditional DJ conference (one that hosts multiple seminar tracks at the same time). I am truly excited for the single, but very high quality track, that Mobile Beat has adopted for 2015.
9) (Hopefully) finding a case for my Pioneer DDJ-SX. It needs to (somehow) sit comfortably on top of my SKB Mini Gig-Rig though. I’m honestly not sure what I’m looking for. Maybe it’ll jump out at me when I check out what is consistently one of the greatest exhibit halls at a DJ conference.
8) The influence of Bill Hermann & Jason Jones. I’ve never before witnessed such effort put into producing a conference with this number of unique nuances from the sound & lighting production, to the conference layout to the variety of seminar presenters. I’m all about creating unique experiences for my clients and therefore, can’t wait to enjoy the influence that Bill & Jason of the Entertainment Experience have had on this year’s production of Mobile Beat!
7) DJ Jazzy Jeff. ‘nough said.
6) Wearing my new shoes for the first time. I’ve been wanting to buy a pair of Fluevog’s for nearly two years. This might seem really weird… but I’m pretty pumped to try them out!
5) The flashing lights and cool beats! We’re all gear heads a little bit (or a lot!) right?! I can’t wait to experience the unique show production that’s being brought to Mobile Beat this year. The lighting design that artistic director Jeremy Brech is creating for the show and the coolness that DJ Jason Jani will be bringing to the production with his skills behind the booth are rumoured to be setting the stage for a new style of DJ conference.
4) Meeting and answering questions of prospective Wedding Entertainment Director® applicants. In addition to conversations in the hallways, I am going to make myself available as much as possible for DJs that want to chat about the process to earning their own Wedding Entertainment Director® accreditation. Please message me via email or Facebook and I’ll do my best to make some time for you if you’ve got questions about this uniquely rewarding process.
3) Learning from Penn Gillette. The guy is worth over a hundred million bucks and he’s earned it by entertaining people for a living. He must be doing something right… and I’m gonna find out what it is!
2) Experiencing Mark Ferrell speak (again). My life took a very good but dramatic turn towards the “you-don’t-know-what-you-don’t-know” when I first heard this man speak at my very first trip to Mobile Beat in 2011. I wonder what will happen this time…
1) Networking & building business friendships. Some conferences are better at “this” and some are better at “that” but regardless, the one highlight (IMHO) they all share is the opportunity to create new business friendships that will, without a doubt, shape your career as a mobile DJ.
For more information and full conference registration, please check out www.mobilebeatlasvegas.com
What are your reasons for attending Mobile Beat Las Vegas 2015? What I am missing from the above list? What are you most looking forward too?
~ Dave T.
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12 months ago this week, I accomplished a task I’d been actively working on for the entire year prior and truly, since 2 more years before that. After many, many hours of training and working diligently at my application, I earned the credential known as “Wedding Entertainment Director®” (WED®). Since the WED Guild’s recent acquisition by the American Disc Jockey Association (EDIT: The ADJA no longer manages the WED Guild), there has been a lot of activity around new, motivational leadership and there has been an incredible interest among DJs who are now starting work on their own applications. In the last three months, three DJs have already earned their new WED® credential and there are many, many more whose applications are very close to completion.
The reasons for putting forth the time, energy and effort that a fully completed WED® application requires are many and they often vary with each individual. Some are looking to step away from the term “DJ” as it has been watered down too heavily by “non-professionals” in their markets. Others want to become part of the uniquely talented family that the current WED® membership represents so that they might more easily share ideas and inspiration with those individuals. And still others want to become something “more” then they currently are by fine tuning their current performance and polishing how it is they do business.
For those who are unsure what a WED® is all about or if it is truly for them (and it honestly isn’t for everyone), consider my story: When I first attended the Mobile Beat DJ Show in Las Vegas back in February 2011, I found myself sitting in an “open house” for the WED Guild®. Not having any idea what it was about, I arrived with an open mind and listened to this guy named Peter Merry talk about…I honestly can’t remember what. What I do remember though, was looking at this “application” that was required if you wanted to earn the title Wedding Entertainment Director®. I felt like a complete rookie. I didn’t manage my business or events with anywhere near the detail or talent level they required. I knew this was going to be a challenge. Even though I’d had many years of experience as a mobile DJ, what took place over the next few years was a personal quest to elevate myself to a level of professionalism, personalization, creativity, proficiency and most importantly, performance that I’d never reached for before.
By the time I finally acquired the right to refer to myself as a “Wedding Entertainment Director®”, one of the greatest benefits of becoming a WED® had already landed upon me. As I slowly advanced towards applying to become a WED®, I became a far greater, more polished and better version of…ME. This directly translated into increased demand for my services, increased income levels, and increased respect among my local area of wedding professionals.
As I began the process of requesting the professional reference letters from wedding vendors that the application requires, it soon became evident how much better respected our industry would be if there were a greater number of Wedding Entertainment Directors® to choose from. One such vendor that I spoke with about the concept of a WED® responded by asking, “You mean I could just refer all of our clients to hiring a certified Wedding Entertainment Director® and then we wouldn’t have to worry about what type of DJ is coming in the door?” After I confirmed that for her, she said, “That’s awesome and it makes so much sense!”
Now you might find yourself saying that your clients aren’t asking for a Wedding Entertainment Director®, so why would you pursue it? My response would be that you’re right… they aren’t asking… YET. But if you have the talent level or, better yet, are willing to work towards elevating yourself to a greater, more polished, better version of you, then why not become the leader in your market? Pursue it before someone else in your market does so that YOU get to become the market leader in your area. People in your region may not have known about uplighting or photo booths, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t purchase those services when the idea was presented to them.
Those who put themselves through a WED® application WILL come out better business people, better DJs, better MCs and better overall performers. I’ve had the pleasure of watching this become reality time and time again through the application committees I’ve worked on and of those who I am currently mentoring towards their own fully completed application. I have yet to see an individual who did not come out of this process a better entertainer. Every DJ whose “road to WED” I have been a part of, has had many things (sometimes little, sometimes big) that they were required to work on, which in the end made them a stronger DJ/MC.
A DJ’s skill set is reviewed, revised, critiqued and accredited by a respected group of industry peers who have also submitted themselves to the same challenging process. Every successful WED® applicant has been held up to a standard that exists no where else in the DJ industry. Hiring a Wedding Entertainment Director® provides peace of mind to a bride & groom that they are hiring a DJ/MC whose overall skill set has been “approved”.
This peace of mind that a Wedding Entertainment Director® carries with them into conversations with prospective weddings clients nearly always translates to better earning potential for the DJ. In most cases, Wedding Entertainment Directors® are some of the highest paid DJ/MCs in their market, and in some cases, their country. While attaining your own WED® credential doesn’t guarantee better earnings, it will certainly put you on that path and if you apply yourself correctly in all of the areas that are required to earn a better living as a mobile DJ/MC, you will receive it!
Years of experience often hold very little value for this process because what it comes down to is a DJ’s level of professionalism, personalization, creativity, proficiency and performance (which can truly be acquired in only a few years for some individuals). There is no such thing as being “grandfathered” in because of years of experience. Until every detail that the application is designed to measure has been approved, only then is an individual given the designation of Wedding Entertainment Director®. It is that fact alone, that ensures piece of mind in the publics’s eye that this is not a membership organization that someone with 10, 20, or 30 years of experience and $200 for a membership fee can simply purchase. This is something that is earned.
Whether you put yourself through the full process or not, A LOT can be gained by simply reviewing the application and applying the elements listed within it to your business practices and event performances. Think of this as another tool, at no direct financial cost to you, that you as a DJ can apply to what you do. You will benefit, but most importantly, your wedding clients and their guests will receive the gift of enjoying a better experience then you currently offer. Yes, believe it or not, you — all of us — can be better and can offer better.
If you simply want to network with a tight-knit uniquely qualified group of DJ/MCs, or if you are looking for a unique selling proposition (selling yourself as a Wedding Entertainment Director®), or you simply want some advice and suggestions on places where you can do things better, then starting work on your own WED® application might be something worth pursuing. But don’t let those things rise above what is the greatest benefit to the entire process…and that is, the better version of you that comes out in the end for the direct benefit of your clients and their wedding guests.
The experience my clients and their guests now receive as a direct (and indirect) result of my successful road to acquiring the WED® designation is far more then it ever was before.
“It was truly a wonderful experience. We have received nothing but very positive comments about the wedding day. Your attention to detail was unbelievable, you did not miss a thing. Your positive thinking, hard work and endless energy set the tone for a night we will never forget. I could not have wished for a happier day for my daughter. Thank you Dave. You are a magic moments maker.
Being from a small town, a wedding entertainment director is not something that I was used to, and I questioned the need for one. After having worked with you Dave, I do not know how anyone would want to try to do a wedding without one!”
With enough of us, the conversation between a soon-to-be-bride and her best friend might one day go something like this: “Are you just going to hire a DJ or are you going to hire a Wedding Entertainment Director®?”
Is that a dream? Yes.
Is it a long ways off? Maybe.
Is it possible? Absolutely, no question about it.
Interested? Need more info? View the WED® website and application here.
And for another outstanding piece of writing on what becoming a WED® is all about, please see this blog post by Ohio’s first Wedding Entertainment Director®, Anna-Jeannine Kemper Herman of Something New Entertainment.
~ Dave T.
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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.
All content of aDJthought.com may be available for reproduction for commercial purposes (print, website, email newsletter, etc.) but a request must be filed to receive approval for such use. Thanks!
What is the difference between a DJ/MC who simply announces the cake cutting (and then forgets it) and a DJ/MC who informs, guides, directs and engages the audience into the “why” about a cake cutting? Based on my experience, the difference is generally somewhere between $500 and $3000.
Today’s “cake cutting” at a wedding is often an overlooked and unimportant photo-op moment. Yet still, people continue to spend $300 – $1200 on a cake for this often “overlooked and unimportant” part of a wedding reception. In some cases, that’s more money than many DJs charge for an entire (very important!) evening of disc jockey and master of ceremonies services.
Personally, I had never considered the cake cutting to be much more than a “photo-op” until I attended the MarBecca Silver Level Master of Ceremonies workshop. It was there that I discovered an opportunity to host the ceremony of a cake cutting in a way that would inform, guide, direct, and more importantly, engage, my audience at a wedding in a way they’d likely never experienced.
In that workshop, Mark pushed each of us to learn about the history and origins of the wedding cake, the significance of the cake cutting ceremony, and he then encouraged us to find unique and creative ways to tie some of that information into how we hosted cake cuttings at our weddings.
Since then, the formerly “overlooked and unimportant” cake cutting often comes up in consultations with prospective clients. And of course, the cake cutting ceremony almost always takes place at my weddings, but it now occurs within an entirely new context then before with added direction and new meaning for everyone in attendance.
In fact, the cake cutting will be taking on an even larger role in what I do with my 2015 weddings. For the final planning meetings with my 2015 weddings couples, I will be purchasing and bringing a cake to that meeting so that we can practice how the cutting will take place at their wedding. This will also make for a fun way to celebrate that we’ve now wrapped up the majority of the planning and further add to their experience working with me. (And of course, this helps better prepare them for wedding day itself.)
The reason I opened this blog post with the $500 – $3000 comment is because as a DJ, and in this instance more importantly an MC, the effort you put into learning about wedding traditions and the effort you put into hosting moments such as a cake cutting will directly reflect on your pay scale as a mobile wedding DJ/MC.
If you’d rather “announce and play the cake cutting song” or announce that they are cutting it and then “back up & shut up,” you can. There is nothing inherently wrong with that.
But do not mock the DJs who might do more then that. More than likely they are being compensated very well for their additional efforts. When done well, those efforts result in making weddings more engaging and more meaningful. In the end, this leads to more positive word of mouth (free marketing!) and more reasons for that DJ to get what they’re worth as a mobile wedding DJ/MC.
And isn’t that sweet?
~ Dave T.
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This is lengthy… so grab a coffee, an apple, some popcorn or whatever else might make you happy for the next 10 minutes.
I’d like all of us, as a group of well respected professional mobile DJs, to accept more responsibility for the outcome of what is traditionally known as the “sales meeting”.
“In exchange for telling the truth, the prospect is disrespected.”
And so reads one of the lines in one of my all time favourite blog posts written by Seth Godin. I’ve read and re-read this post so many times and shared it with so many DJs that it’s virtually become a part of who I am. For the purpose of this post, here on aDJthought.com, the above line will lead into why I believe you’re responsible for the sale, not the prospective client that you’re meeting with.
How many times on multiple DJ Facebook groups have we read words that insult the decision of a prospective client? That decision often being, not to hire a particular DJ (often the one writing those words). I’m not honestly sure I can count that high.
The greatest influence over whether a prospective client will be sold on your services is no one other then YOU. Of course, there are many other variables at play as well, but the single largest influence in the sale is YOU and your ability to convince them that you’ve got something of value to offer. Please understand that this a completely separate topic from whether they will actually purchase what you are offering (although the relationship between the two, being sold and actually purchasing, is imperative).
A client being sold on what you do isn’t the same thing as someone purchasing from you. I’m sold on a lot of different things that I don’t purchase. While I may realize the intrinsic value in something and go on to tell everyone I know how great it is, this is a very separate idea from actually buying it (I might not be able to afford it, might not need it or even want it).
The difference between being sold and actually purchasing: Imagine having a $5000 budget for a wedding photographer and finding two different photographers that fit within the budget. They both produce beautiful outstanding work that you sincerely appreciate. After meeting with both, you are sold on both of them, not finding any fault in the way they price themselves and recognizing they both create beautiful work. But in the end, you choose the one whose work holds more of an “art appeal” to you with wide open negative spaces popular throughout their imagery. You were sold on both, but only purchased from one.
If you take on the responsibility of ensuring the sale of what you do, it’ll dramatically increase the likelihood of someone actually deciding to purchase from you.
I was once at a local photographers home for a wedding vendor Christmas party. As I was engaged in conversation with the staff member of a local decorating company, she goes on to tell me that the single biggest regret her and her husband shared over their wedding which had taken place just a few months earlier, was that they hadn’t hired me for their wedding. I was slightly taken aback by that comment as I didn’t think we’d ever spoken before that day.
She went on to say that they’d spoken to me briefly at a wedding show the year before and decided, based on what I’d said, that I wasn’t worth the price I was asking and instead, chose to go the route of a far less expensive DJ. She wasn’t sold on what I had communicated. I felt terrible for her.
The DJ they booked had apparently showed up at the wedding in clothing that was far to casual for the occasion and was no where near as pleasant to work with as they’d hoped for. The DJ was their single biggest regret of the wedding.
I sincerely apologized. Yes, I apologized to them.
She insisted that it had been their fault for not choosing better, for not looking into their options in a more detailed fashion. I insisted that wasn’t the case. I explained that from my perspective, I had been given the opportunity to share with them why I was so valuable and obviously failed miserably in doing so. I felt responsible, at least in part, for the displeasure they experienced at their wedding with the DJ they hired. I apologized in part, for some of the discomfort she’d felt with the DJ they’d hired.
Seriously… what DJ does this? Would you do this?
I think you should.
I had been given the opportunity to sell them on my services. But the truth is, I had just started absorbing what people like Mark Ferrell, Bill Hermann, Randy Bartlett and Peter Merry were promoting about the worth and value of a DJ. The major disconnect was that I SUCKED at communicating my worth. A wedding couple can not be held to fault for a bad wedding decision if the vendor they’ve given a sales opportunity to can’t do so in an intelligent, clear and concise language that works for everyone involved. Seriously, why would we think otherwise? To borrow once again from that Seth Godin post I mentioned above,
“Given what they know and what they believe, the prospect is making exactly the right decision.”
I was the conduit through which they could have known and believed different and better things. I failed in properly accepting the mission they’d given me the moment we first said hello at that wedding show.
Since that day, I’ve been on a mission to educate myself as much as possible with methods, processes and ideas that help me communicate my worth to prospective clients, whether they actually purchase from me or not. My goal, with every couple I’m meeting with for the first time (that I truly want to work with) is to get one of two responses: 1) They want to hire me, or 2) they were sold on the value of my work, but hiring me simply isn’t the right decision for them (for any one or more of a variety of reasons). An example of what that #2 response might look like, from an actual couple I met with, may look like this email they sent me following our meeting:
“Thank you again for meeting with us. We really enjoyed it.
While we believe your services are worth every penny 🙂 we think that we cannot fit the services into our budget (We’ve debated a lot about it though!). We will definitely pass around your info though, and keep you in mind for our social (if it’s not new years eve, I think you said you were booked!).”
Mission accomplished in my books. This goes hand in hand with something I quoted from Gary Vaynerchuk recently in which he says, “make people who aren’t your customers wish they were.”
Not every couple will buy from you and no, not every couple will fully realize your value. But the number of couples that will realize your value, has far more to do with you and your ability to communicate to them. It has far less to do with the bias and previously held views they might have about a DJ because, if you’re good enough, you can shatter all of their preconceived notions about what a “DJ” is.
Within the international mobile DJ community, we are very lucky to have Mitch Taylor of Taylored Weddings who takes the time to share with us the most effective ways for communicating our value to prospective couples. I’ve learned more about selling my services as a mobile DJ from Mitch’s “Creative Consultations” seminar then any other single 1 hour segment of my life. Having listened to it over and over and over again, I’ve been able to raise myself to a level where I can comfortably say that 90%+ of the couples I meet with, understand and appreciate my value (even at 5-1/2 times the price of my “market average”). If I had to further break that down, I would estimate that of that 90%, a solid 90% of those couples commit my services for their wedding.
Who’s responsible for selling your services? You are. You’re responsible for the sale, not them.
Is that a lofty statement to make? Sure it is. But so is the phrase “reaching for the stars” and look how often that goal has helped people achieve success.
Argue against it, and without a doubt, you will be right. But argue for it, and there’s no telling where you’ll end up.
Actually, I can tell you where you’ll maybe end up… with Mitch Taylor at an all day workshop intensive designed to share with you all of the principals needed to make this a reality for you. It’s taking place on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Based on my own successes learning from Mitch, I can not endorse this workshop more strongly. I know of other DJs who have already made plans to fly to Winnipeg from the U.S. to attend which should speak volumes to you about the value that Mitch will be sharing in this one day experience. Flights to Winnipeg are cheap, relative to the increased sales you should experience as a result of learning from Mitch.
A soon-to-be wedded couple has reached out to you and basically said, share with us why working with you might really benefit us. If you place enough importance on that conversation, which I believe is an incredibly gracious opportunity given to you, then you’ll create far more believers in your worth and value then skeptics.
I invite you now, to become part of the belief that we are responsible for the sale, not them. You are the only thing standing in the way of that very concept. I can’t think of a downside, but let me tell you, I’ve experienced the upside.
I’d like all of us, as a group of well respected professional mobile DJs, to accept more responsibility for the outcome of what is traditionally known as the “sales meeting”.
How we all do that will vary greatly based on our resources (time, money, commitment to our business, etc.). Here’s a hint though and a great starting point:
For more information on the incredible opportunity Mitch has set up with his “Sales Is Solutions” workshop, click here, sign up and I’ll see you there!
~ Dave
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