For those DJs booking private parties, it goes without saying that we operate in a referral-based business. This statement is also applicable to bar and club DJs who can get their foot in the door through a warm referral from the incumbent DJ.
Referrals are important in the DJ business because the service we provide is hard to describe by words found on a brochure or website. Rather, our service is something intangible that must be heard and seen firsthand. Those clients who used our services and loved them are in a unique position to rave about us to their friends, family, and co-workers.
Referrals have been an important part in the growth story of my own DJ company called Ambient DJ Service and launched in 2003. Initially, it was very hard to book gigs. In fact, in those early days I literally begged to DJ - sometimes for free - just so that my services could become more well-known. Fast forward to the present, I am booked solid and work over 200 events a year with referrals and repeat business accounting for about half of my total book of business. While I still spend a substantial amount on advertising, some very successful DJ colleagues rely solely on referrals and don’t spend a dime on advertising.
Below I discuss 7 proven techniques to generate referrals.
1. Talk to Everybody
In your everyday life, let other people know that you are a DJ. Pass a high-quality, professional-looking business card (we get ours at Moo.com) and speak passionately about your DJ business. Don’t limit yourself to friends and family - befriend the clerk at the corner deli, parents on the school PTA, neighbors, bartenders, and even surly gas station attendants. When passing business cards, pass at least two - one for the recipient, and one for the recipient to give a friend.
2. Network with DJs
Networking with competitors seems counter-intuitive, but trust me - it really works! Most desirable are other “single ops” (e.g. a DJ company with just one system). A single op has a limited inventory per night - so if they are booked, then they can refer the lead to other DJs like you. In return, you can refer prospective clients to this DJ when you are already booked or pay them a referral fee.
3. Approach Every Job as an Audition
Your goal should be to perform in front of as many people as you can and knock the ball out of the park as the DJ, each and every party. Do a great job, and watch the referrals flow! Turn off your smartphone at a party and truly concentrate on the mix, entertaining guests, and talking to people (see #1). At a party, there are many angles to pursue - speak with the banquet captain, waitstaff, bartenders, guests, photographer, event planner, florist, valet, etc. For example, at a recent wedding at an Elks Lodge, I befriended a waiter who in turn booked me for his September 2015 wedding at a premier North Jersey banquet facility.
4. Keep in Contact with Your Past Clients
Many human beings are innately selfish, spending nearly 100% of their waking hours thinking about their personal needs. Even if you did a spectacular job as someone's DJ two years ago, there is often a tendency for people to forget. Thus, it is your job to keep in contact with past clients and maintain “top of mind awareness,” particularly your “A-List” clients who not only buy more, but refer more. According to Jay Conrad Levinson in “Guerilla Marketing For Free” (a great book by the way), “many businesses generate 80 percent of their profit from 20 percent of their customers.” It’s also a fact that it is much cheaper to market to existing customers (who have your trust) than to acquire new customers. In the case of Ambient DJ Service, we send out quarterly email correspondences to our past client base with updates. Usually these emails help to shake the trees and generate immediate referrals.
5. Use Social Media to Generate Top of Mind Awareness
In my May column for the blog, I wrote about best practices for DJs on Social Media. To generate buzz and top of mind awareness, I strongly recommend that DJs consistently post high quality content on various social media platforms. These sites include but are not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, blogs, YouTube and Vimeo. Done correctly, Social Media will generate your business a treasure trove of referrals. In my case, I was able to win a residency at a premier bar based on a blog entry that I wrote and shared on Social Media called “Open Letter to the Bar/Club Owners of America.”
6. Get Inside People’s Heads with Mix CDs
Drilling deeper into the goal of creating top of mind awareness to generate referrals, consider an infrequently used but very powerful technique - the mix CD. A compelling mix CD passed to a friend or associate will get played in their car or home computer for hours and hours - allowing you, the DJ, to make a personal connection with the recipient. For example, a particular event planner who regularly refers our company’s services periodically comments how much she loves our annual holiday mix CDs. For more information about how to use mix CDs for marketing purposes, see my full article.
7. Ask for Referrals
You may be uncomfortable in putting others on the spot and asking for referrals. Don’t be. Ask in a nice, non-threatening way and be specific about the type of prospects you are looking for. Finally, take comfort in the fact that you will do an outstanding job for your new client.
In Conclusion...
Referrals are a powerful technique to generate business for DJs of all experience levels. Over time, the mathematics will begin working in your favor as the successful parties of your past generate the successful parties of your future. For those DJs just starting out, focus on doing a great job at parties and speaking to as many people as possible.
Gregg Hollmann, aka DJ Gregg Ambient, is an author, blogger, and full-time mobile DJ with a specialty in weddings. Connect with him on Instagram at @AmbientDJs or on the web.