Thread: when your phone finally rings....

This has been bugging me for awhile.
After all that effort and money put into marketing, networking, advertizing, etc, your phone finally rings, and you want to get booked for that party... right? Sometimes it's not easy.

I always find that there are 2 types of calls:
1. the caller says: "I am having a party / wedding / whatever for my husband / father / whomever and looking for a belly dancer. Can you give me some information and how much do you charge?"
I love these type of calls because it opens up a conversation, you have the chance to get more information, build a rapport, give a good impression, get the person to like you. I usually get booked on these calls right away, I hardly hear "ok, let me call you back".

2. the caller says: " how much do you charge for a party?" (you tell them your pirce) "ok thank you" and hang up.
They almost never call back.
I usually try to get some conversation going, but I don't want to get pushy or get on their nerves. I go into how long the performance is, but I still try to keep it 1 sentence.

My question is: how do you all handle these type of calls? Do you give them the price - as they asked - or you go into asking them a bunch of questions, or give information about yourselves before you give the price?

I was in sales for 14 years, and I had extensive training on the phone. It was always imperative that we do not give out the price, instead bring the customer in (whether it's in a gym, selling cars, renting apartments or whatever) because you want to build value for the price you are going to give. You also want to have a rapport with customer, get them to like you, etc. Or at least give them the price after doing all the talking.
But in our business there's nowhere to invite the customer, they can see my website, (pictures, video, all the info is there, they really just need the price).

So what do you do?Also my price is right where everyone else's is. If they call around, most people will charge the same as me, some higher, and maybe some lower, but I don't know too many of these- if anything they go down on the price after negotiating. But these callers don't even complain about the price, I have no idea if it was too much, or what.

I think they just wanted to see how much it would cost and it was too much for them.
Asking them how long of a performance they want etc.. might open them up a little more.

I would recommend getting their contact information before going into the details of performing. This way, if they don't call you back, you can call them and see what their hesitations might be (and try to overcome those hesitations).

well, I usually see their number. I am not a big fan of calling people back. (if I miss a call and they don't leave a message, sometimes I do call those back, but I'm taking about people here to whom I talked to already).

In my experience, if they want you, they will call you back. Over the past few years I did call some of these callers back, but I always felt like I am being desperate. (A couple of times I even knew which day the party was supposed to be ) so I said something to the effect that someone else wants to book me for that same night, so I just wanted to give them the first choice, since they called first (not desparate, not pushy, considerate, polite, right?) The answer ALWAYS, always was that they found someone else, or the party got cancelled, or they changed their mind altogether about the belly dancer. No one ever said "oh, yeay, I've been meaning to call you back".

I just feel like there's a connection between the caller being short=not getting booked, the caller being nice=bigger percentage of being booked. I am just wondering what I can do during that initial call, that might change things.

I also do pretty good through emails, because there I can say everything I want, and they either read it or not, but almost always I get hired and always hear compliments that I was professional and pleasant in my email and I was very quick in responding.

This thread sounds familiar. I received a couple of calls last week that could be grouped into the two categories:
1. information - questions about what they really want - price -get hired
2. what's you're rate - click

In my experience, the callers that are intent on knwoing your rate are usually pushy and not interested in you as a dancer. For example, I received four calls (I was in a meeting) and a voicemail. Returned her call asap, felt like I was interrogated in a very unpleasant way, then she said 'I'll call you tonight' and she never did. Usually people like her call me up at 23.30 from a bar to leave a vague voicemail.

I think the problem is that the caller has a certain mindset. You might try to change that mindset by being polite and offering extra information, but most of the time that already have their mind made up and there's nothing you can do about it.

Except market yourself for the people who are really interested in hiring a good performer. A professional website, pro pictures and mentioning performance experience is more succesful in attracting the customers that you want.

"My rate, which you'll find to be the going rate in this area, is X. I'd be happy to answer any more questions you have and to help tailor my performance to your needs."
"More information can also be found on my website (blash blah)"
I think that the more the economy tanks in America, the more you'll find people who are calling for the barebones price info

I never give out a price immediately.

"Well, it depends a bit on what kind of a party is and where it is. Can you tell me more about it? How many times would you like me to perform?" etc.

Even if you always have the same price, make them talk.

MEISSOUN

You are right to try to get them talking.
Salespeople have known for years that if the customer makes a personal connection to the seller, they are more likely to buy.

If they bluntly ask about rates, you could say "The rate varies a little, based on how we tailor the performance to your needs. I can provide you a full stage dance show, like you might showcase at a wedding or a big gathering, and I can also do a short performance for a small birthday party at a restaurant, and I can even lead the group in a dance lesson if you like. It also depends on where the event is held, of course, if I have to drive a long way. What kind of event are you putting together?

When she tells you (uncle Bob's birthday, my cousin's wedding, etc) you can follow with more warm conversation before moving on to rates:
"that's great! You know in Egypt it is very traditional to have a dance performer at a wedding." or "Oh, what fun! I'm sure your uncle will be so surprised! I usually try to get the birthday boy up to dance, too..."

You could also ask them first how they found you--did they see your website, have they seen you perform, etc. That might give a sense of their experience with you, and also help make more connections. If they say "I saw you dance at a show at XYZ restaurant," you can say "Oh great! I love that place. I have such a fun time dancing there, and the food is great. Did you enjoy it?" Or, "Wonderful! When were you there? Did you get up and dance with the band after the show?"

Some people just want a super cheap show. I think we dancers deserve decent pay, of course, but if you sense that you have a penny-pincher on the line and you are willing to bend that by a small percentage, and you tell them you are somewhat flexible, you might make the sale. You could say "Well, my usual rate for a 12-minute birthday party performance is $125, but I do occasionally offer discounts." You could agree to a $20 discount if she will agree to have you bring class flyers for her friends, or if she writes a testimonial for your website, for example. Thrifty people like the idea that they are "bartering" value for value.

And finally...remember that you won't ever land all the gigs that call.

same here, i give the same answer, i ask a few questions about the party, before i give a price.

Originally Posted by meissoun

I never give out a price immediately.

"Well, it depends a bit on what kind of a party is and where it is. Can you tell me more about it? How many times would you like me to perform?" etc.

Even if you always have the same price, make them talk.

MEISSOUN

Originally Posted by meissoun

I never give out a price immediately.

"Well, it depends a bit on what kind of a party is and where it is. Can you tell me more about it? How many times would you like me to perform?" etc.

Even if you always have the same price, make them talk.

MEISSOUN

Yep, this is what I do. My prices really do vary depending on what they are looking for, so it's impossible for me to give them my one "price" right off the bat anyway.

I don't give a price right away, but some callers are so focused on money that polite conversation is hard to establish. When you get into the 'it depends on the situation, for example...' and the other one keep cutting you off no matter what you say, demanding a rate.

Maybe it's a cultural thing that happens mainly around here, we're well known for being blunt, to the point and cheapskates

For me, it depends which kind of caller they are. Once in a while you get someone who just want the cheapest possible dancer. For people like that I give them the answer they want, and get them off my phone as speedily as possible so that they can continue calling every other dancer in california as found on google and craigslist.

For the other 99% of the world, I do what everyone else said, and engage them in conversation. From that point onward my practices diverge with the OP though, because I use a pricelist.

Count me in as one of the ones who answer "It depends on what you're looking for...".

Personally, one of the very first things I try to get out of the person is what date they need. There's nothing I hate worse than taking to someone for 10 minutes, both of us getting all excited about the gig, only to find that I'm not available that night.

Thank you ladies, this was great help!
I always knew how to handle a sales call, but in this business I thought I would sound too pushy/desparate, etc. And on top of that my teacher (who was a role model) always just gave out the price, and if they didn't hire her, oh well. Of course she had tons and tons of people calling her every day, so it didn't matter to her.

And of course this is not even desparate or pushy - if anything it's smart and polite. I just had to hear it from others. Until now I had this block, I didn't kow how to open up the conversation after hearing such a rushed, strong voice asking for prices. But now I see that you just have to start asking questions, like I used to it.
Thank you!

As a caller, I wouldn't find it pushy if you inquired about the type of party and how long I expected you to dance and what not. I would just think that your pricing varied and you needed that info to give me the price.

In the case of the terse ones "what do you charge?" Just tell them that it depends on their needs and you need a little more info first. If they really want to know the price they will tell you and listen to your price. It might also change the way they ask if they call others for quotes.

I never quote a price right away. I want to know what the occassion is, what type of venue, will I need to bring my own sound equipment, what kind of dance floor, is there a place for me to change, how long the show is.....

Most people have no clue what they want. Usually it's I want a dancer for an hour, how much do you charge? I subtly tell them what they want. An hour is way too long for most occassions.

Then I try to educate them on the difference in experience level and pricing in our area. "Yes, you could get a student or less experienced dancer for less, but do you really want to be embarrassed in front of your wedding guests? Your wedding video should capture great moments, not embarrassing one. ...."

Of course, some people will always just shop for the cheapest dancer and there is nothing you can do to dissuade them.

[QUOTE=norma;202857]...I try to educate them on the difference in experience level and pricing in our area. "Yes, you could get a student or less experienced dancer for less, but do you really want to be embarrassed in front of your wedding guests? Your wedding video should capture great moments, not embarrassing one. ...."

Norma, you hit it on the head! What a great way to put it. It irks me that a person will ire a bellydance student for a pro job...and then all those people go away thinking that bellydance is amateurish.

Another issue for the pre-price conversation is location/travel distance. Prior to inflated gas prices we always had set-fees for excess travel costs. Anything over 20 miles incurred an additional fee. We found it best to use an Interstate as a boundry marker. With gas more than doubled we have been forced to increase our fuel surcharges. Delivery services, airlines, trucklines, etc have added such costs. Dancers are no exception, we are also struggling to survive.

Originally Posted by meissoun

I never give out a price immediately.
"Well, it depends a bit on what kind of a party is and where it is. Can you tell me more about it? How many times would you like me to perform?" etc.
MEISSOUN

This is exactly what I do. Location is the first question (is the gas price really worth a trip 60 miles south of me). I run a troupe so I also ask how many dancers they want to hire... It does get the client talking, and at least when I quote and they don't want to pay, it gives them the idea that I am professional, I am a business person and as a professional my rates are going to be comperable with other professionals in my area.