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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
Upon receiving a request to perform at a team-bonding event,
I replied with my quote. In short, my quote message was the following: Package A 1 hour Close-up/Walk-around Magic. .... The price for this is $300. Package B 2 hour Close-up/Walk-around ..... For the 2 hour show, the price is $400. Which of the above options works best for you? -- The customer replied with the following: Package B at $350 sounds good. ...Saturday morning and would to have it [the event] back at hotel after dinner, say 9 pm. Can you make that? It is this Saturday. -- To be honest, I really need this booking and would take it for $350. On the other hand, I already set the value of Package B at $400, and the customer, apparently misreading my quote message, miscalled it at $350. How do I tactfully remind the customer that my price is $400? Or should I say that I can do it for $350, but without mentalism (or something similar)? |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
This is the problem with trying to quote or conduct business by email. You don't have the chance to present to them properly. I also don't see where your value has been established, maybe I'm missing something. Hopefully there was more to the exchange than this.
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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
Yes, there was more to the exchange, indicated by the "...."
between what I posted here. I posted the bare essentials here so that my quote message is not public to other performers. This was sent through a site similar to gigsalad or gigmasters, where there are disadvantageous constraints (such as the requirement to enter the price in a box along with your response to the request for service--in the first message you send to the prospect). I can see that this customer has viewed my profile on the site, and possibly went to my website. I can also see that I am competing (in this case) with 4 other magicians who have sent the customer quotes. The site also tells me that I tend to quote higher fees than my competition. It also tells me that the average fee for a magician through the site in this zip code (the customer's zip code) is $175. However, the "average" does not teach me as much as I'd like, since at least 4 out of 5 of my competitors/magicians on the site are responding to 5 year old birthday parties (and I don't have a show for those under 10 years old). I can see that the volume of requests for birthday parties age 2-9 is higher than the volume for older audiences, so that would skew down the average fee. I would not agree that "this is the problem" with conducting business via email, because I have been booking shows via this medium for a couple years now, and out of dozens of shows booked, this is the first such example I've seen of a customer "mis-calling" the price like this (which is the topic of this thread). |
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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
How does this sound?
"Thank you for giving me the details of the date and time. I am available at that time, however I'm afraid I can't offer Package C for less than the price of Package B. |
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WitchDocChris Inner circle York, PA 2614 Posts |
I've had this happen in person before. I just politely corrected them. "It was $300, right?" "Oh, $400. Thanks!" Never had it happen over email - which is my preferred medium, honestly, because it gives a paper trail to which one can refer and quote.
Christopher
Witch Doctor Psycho Seance book: https://tinyurl.com/y873bbr4 Boffo eBook: https://tinyurl.com/387sxkcd |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 21, 2017, Brainbu$ter wrote: I must say, now I'm confused. Package C? |
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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 21, 2017, Mindpro wrote: I must say, now I'm confused. Package C? [/quote] Yes, I'm sorry for the lack of continuity. In my original post, I trimmed my quote message a great deal so as to focus on issue at hand, and also because I'm a bit private when it comes to my actual quote message I send to prospects. In short, I offer three options in gradually increasing amounts. This prospect selected the third option and stated a price halfway between the first and middle options. Me: Thank you for inquiring. Option 1 = $100 Option 2 = $200 Option 3 = $300 Prospect: "Option 3 at $150 sounds great!" |
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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
The price of "Package C" is already discounted.
Maybe I should mention that. |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
If it were me, my response would be something along the lines of, "It looks like you can only afford Package A with your budget of $150. As a review, the 3 options and prices were... Would you like to book Package A at $100, for [Showtime] on [Showdate]?"
- Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
First off with all due respect you are missing the point entirely.
Nobody miscalled anything. $350 was never mentioned in the exchange. It was deliberately done to get you to knock off fifty bucks. Personally I never negotiate. It is that simple. My time is worth what it is worth. I don't explain or justify. I believe it creates confusion and it has you operating from a position of weakness. That is only an opinion, not a fact. Others build in room to negotiate into the first price. I just hate wasting the time.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
Thank you VERY much for your advices!
Here is what happened: ME: Thank you for giving me the details of the date and time! I am available at that time, and Package C ($400) was already discounted. It looks like Package A fits within your budget. Would you like to book Package A at $300, for 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb 25th? HIM: That is awesome. Let me get the address for you. How do we do payment? Cash okay? That is awesome. Let me get the address for you. How do we do payment? Cash okay? |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
This response concerns me, not many offer cash payment. He may low ball you again, I would ask for payment upon your arrival, not after your services.
With this person you should really get a signed agreement, before you go to the event. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
Yes, there are so many things about this deal, business approach and mentalities that very much concern me too.
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Mary Mowder Inner circle Sacramento / Elk Grove, CA 3659 Posts |
Some people just feel compelled to haggle or to project a pushy alpa attitude.
Some social groups used to be more apt to do the haggling thing as part of their culture but now local News Casts occasionally put on some filler piece about haggling or "it can't hurt to ask for a bargain" type stuff so even people who would not have tried it in the past feel that they are not doing their due diligence if they don't ask. I don't take it personally but I don't drop my price either(which is already low!). These people mean no harm. If they are trying the alpha dog stuff, I do react inside but I might not let them know. I don't want these shows or to deal with these people. Bullies don't make me feel very Magical. -Mary Mowder |
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RobertSmith Veteran user 330 Posts |
Quote:
On Feb 21, 2017, Brainbu$ter wrote: At this point, signed contract or no deal. |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Mary and Danny and I, are of the same opinion. I'm now retired, and, only work occasional "spot" dates, but, I quote a fair fee, and, I don't cut it. I am/was a professional, just like a lawyer, or doctor. --They don't negotiate, so why should I?
Karrell Fox had a call from a potential client, when he was young, and just starting out. (He didn't have an agent, yet.) The group was about a hundred people (in a Metropolitan area). He quoted the caller, IIRC, $400. The caller, hesitated. Karrell said, "I'm worth the price of a cocktail!" He got the date! People, are accustomed to buying a TV set, or a bicycle at WalMart. The item has a price. They, generally, are not accustomed to purchasing entertainment. --They may willingly pay $40 or $50 for a ticket to a concert or a football game, but, will haggle over entertainment at a party or meeting.
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
I had one person shocked by my quote who said "I wouldn't pay that much for Jesus".
I further shocked her by saying "well to be fair Jesus only has about 5 tricks, and one is a 3 day build to the payoff." For those of you still wondering, no I didn't get the job.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
I agree this was simply a way to get you to agree to do the gig at the price he wanted. It was online negotiation. I recently just was invited to be (found myself unexpectedly) part of an almost identical situation with another member here. I'm hoping they might chine in with their story as it could be beneficial to others here (if not I would completely understand why).
The problem is this is how many performers do business every day. These are the same ones that will proclaim "people only shop on price" or "they were only interested in price", etc. The reality of the situation is you are making it that way for them. You must always establish value BEFORE offering pricing. This is much harder to do and rarely done to a new prospect by email. Value is what THEY accept as value not what YOU feel is your value. I have had guys/ladies tell me "heck I've been doing this for 30 years, I feel I'm worth $750. That may be, but that is not the reality of the situation, not the reality to the prospect and just because you say you are worth $750 (or whatever) doesn't make that your actual value. Same for Gigmasters. When I hear these same arguments I cringe because you are allowing this to occur. Usually by the way you respond to the lead, your CTA, your follow-up (or lack there of) and how you communicate with the lead, what you say, how you present and position your service and so much more. This is exactly why it kills me when performers think they need "marketing" or a "marketing course" when they don't have the other components properly in place. This needs to occur before you should be thinking about marketing, Gigmasters or generating leads or prospects. Most don't truly know their value, how to create or establish value and what their perceived value is to the prospect. This is part of what I mean when I say you must operate from a place of complete honesty about yourself and your business. Most performers don't. When I hear "discount" the connotations are many, none of them positive or favorable to you, your credibility, positioning or your overall business (unless you are intentionally trying to be the low-baller, discount guy/gal in your market). In the story I hope gets told the performer quoted $375 the prospect said they would book them but only at $300 (which was still $50 more than they had budgeted for the event), putting the performer in a take it or leave it situation. I was asked what to do? To prove a point (actually several points), since a contract had not yet been signed, I contacted them on the performer's behalf. I spoke to them for 7 minutes. At the end of the 7 minutes my coaching student got the booking....for $450! |
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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
I just noticed something that may explain the odd price misunderstanding.
For all its merits, there is an unfortunate constraint in this website where the performer must enter a dollar figure into the box along with his quote message. I had made an error and put in that box $350, but the quote message I then wrote attached to that figure was a description of the three packages and their prices (none of them $350). So this entire issue was because of my error. |
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Brainbu$ter Veteran user Indianapolis, IN 326 Posts |
Now that Mindpro mentioned it, I probably should not use the word "discount" in my quote message.
I am not the bargain-basement, discount magician; and I don't wish to be perceived that way. |
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