It Helps To Care…Better Customer Service = Better Business

It helps to care.  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”  Great advice, but it applies to your business as well, especially if you are a DJ.  Think about it.  If you care, Imean really care about the people you are playing for, you are going to do your best, you are going to go above and beyond, and you are going to be happy to do it.  The crazy thing is, the more you care, the more questions you ask, the more of a perfectionist you are, the more you will enjoy doing what you do…and the better you will get at it.  Its not as hard as you might think, and it all starts with caring.  For example, if you are DJing a party for people from Romania, of course have Romanian music, but also take the time to learn how to say, “Welcome”. “Thank You” and “Dance” in Romanian.  Even if you mess up the people will realize that you tried, that you put in a little extra effort, and most importantly that you care. 

Caring is contagious, if you care about the gig, the music, your equipment, the venue, the hostess, then your assistants will care too, and so will your partners, and so will your receptionist, and pretty soon you will have created an organization that cares, an organization that does great business, and an organization that has a lot of buzz, and gets a lot of referral business.  All because you care, the people you play for will care more about you, if you happen to make a mistake, they are more likely to over look it, and if you do a great job, they’ll be more likely to recommend you to their friends.

It starts with a mentality, it leads to better gigs, more business, and happy clients.  It helps to care,

Organization is Your Best Friend

DJing is at least 50% organization and then 50% song choice.  It  is so crucial to know where all of your equipment is, where all of your back-up stuff is, like batteries for the wireless mic, extra CD’s etc.  That without organization pulling off a big or even medium sized gig would be impossible.  Not only do you need to know what CD’s or playlists to look in to find certain songs, but you also have got to know where all of your back-up equipment is, and where and how it will hook-up if at the last minute, as is sometimes the case, you need it.

There are very few professions, that require as much organization and preparation as being a DJ does. mainly because DJing is such an “on the spot” type of job, you get requests, you watch the crowd and change the music in response to how the crowd is reacting, are they dancing, are they into it, do you need to change something…new music, different lights, etc.

It is not easy, but the more you do it the more natural everything flows and goes, but initially and continually you have got to put in the effort to get and stay organized.

Keep your equipment and wires in pristine order and condition.

Make sure none of your CD’s are scratched or dirty.

Clean your Cd players regularly

Listen to all of your digital music to make sure none of the songs have any imperfections

In the case that you have someone else working with you, always double check everything with them, whether its the order of songs on a special CD, or a touchy knob on the mixer, its imperative that they know what you know if you want to put on a flawless gig.

The moral of the story, organization is a DJ’s best friend

All Jobs are Big Jobs

Treat every gig like it was your highest paying job yet.  In other words, always put your best foot forward, always give 110%.  There are several reasons to do this:

1.  You never know who is in the audience, one small job could lead to 3 bigger jobs, which could lead to a month’s worth of big high paying jobs….Which all in all could be worth more than any one big job.

2. Being lazy, and thinking you are “too good” for a gig or a crowd almost always leads to mistakes, which makes you look bad in front of the whole room, this sucks no matter who is in the crowd.  Even if you don’t make any earth shattering mistakes, if you don’t approach every gig as your chance to prove yourself, you are leaving yourself open to getting lazy and stagnating, which leads us to our.  Don’t just think you will be able to bust out your A-game for the big gigs if you’ve been lollygagging  your way through all of the others, you’ll find yourself rusty and ill prepared, a bad spot for anyone to be in, especially a DJ.

3.  The more you push yourself, the better you will get.  Instead of breezing through the small jobs, use them as a chance to experiment, try out new songs, new mixing techniques, new sayings on the mic.  Smaller jobs are the perfect time to really push the envelope, as far as your skills are concerned.  The more jobs you do and the more you really focus on being the best, the better you will be.  So when those big gigs do come around, you’ll be ready with your A-Game, because you’ve been practicing.

Always give your best, no matter what the size of the party or event you are working.  Not only is it great customer service, but its also the best practice around for your next gig.  Stay humble, stay excited. Always try new techniques to get the crowd involved and make them dance and have a great time.  You’ll see that when you’re giving it your best and the crowd is really responding, those can be your  best jobs; the one’s you’ll remember and grow from.  Its also a great feeling to know that you are the reason these people had a great party, it wasn’t the food, the location, or the crowd, it was you; the DJ.  And without you it would have been just another “blah” party.  But because you really tried, everyone had a great time, and it’s something none of them will ever forget.  All just because you  made the conscious decision to be the best you could be.  Now that’s what DJing is all about.

After-Action Reviews

It always helps to review your performances. After-Action Reviews can help you keep track of your own progress and growth, and are also a great way to focus your attention on areas you need to improve.

As soon as you get back from your event, immediately jot down the things you thought you did well, and the things you feel you need to work on.  Make a note of any equipment malfunctions. That way you can have the equipment fixed up and ready to go for your next event. And write down any comments the crowd, and clients made about your performance…good and bad, these comments will give you a view from the crowd, what they thought you did well, and what they thought you could do better.  Just remember that most people in the crowd are not professional DJ’s, so if they have any feedback, listen, but take it with a grain of salt.

After Action Reviews are an excellent habit to get into. Playing back the events of the gig in your mind, can help you get a grip on the areas that need improvement.  Focus your attention on those things that you need to strengthen, but also keep improving the areas where you are already good, that’s how you will become great.  Once you have all of your bases covered;  mixing, song selection, preparation, and crowd interaction, then you can begin to take all of these skills to the next level.  

We all have different levels of expertise, and some are better at MC’ing while others find their strength in mixing the music. If you consciously make note of your performances from every gig, you will begin to see improvement in all the areas you focus your attention on.  And eventually the pluses will outweigh the minuses, and you and everyone else will begin to take notice.

Details, Details, Details

The more prepared I am for my gigs, the freer I am to experiment with the music, the mixing and the crowd.  That’s because in my mind I’m not putting out fires that could have been prevented with a little preparation, I am free to think about what I am doing and what I can do to make it better.

 

5 Things You Can Do to Have Better Gigs:

 

1.  Make sure you have all the names of everyone you need to know. Write the names down clearly, and phonetically, so that when its go time, you won’t be struggling to read any names, and you won’t fumble over a name, or even worse mispronounce it.  Study the names before the actual introductions, practice saying them in the order they will appear.

2. Make sure you have all the music for the formalities. Take care to make sure you have all of the music for the formalities of the reception set-up in a way that is simple and organized.  I like to burn two CD’s with just the music for the formalities, that way if necessary a song can be mixed into, and if one CD starts to skip, you have a back-up CD.  If you’re working with an assistant make sure they know where the songs are, when to play each song, and what their cue to play each song will be.

3.  Know your crowd.  Make sure you have at least an idea of what the crowd will be like and what to expect from them, so that you can be sure you have at least some of the music they will request.

4.   Double-Check all of your equipment.  Make sure all of your gear is functioning properly, check the mixer, CD player, amp, speakers and lights to make sure everything is working.  Crank up the music and turn on the light s to make sure you won’t blow any fuses during the actual party.  make sure your CDs for the formalities are playing and that your CD players are working well.  If you have a CD cleaner play that to be double-plus sure the CD player is ready to roll.

5.  Always be early.  I like to show up to my gigs at least two hours early.  That way I have time to set everything up, test all of the equipment, and fix anything that needs to be fixed.  Having the luxury of time is a great thing, it frees your mind from the stress of rushing and can give you time to start to go through the gig in your mind, great preparation for putting on a great party.

 

I work for a great company Split Second Sound, and we have forms that the clients fill out which, cover all of  the specifics of the event.  I like to contact the client at least a week before the event to double check all  of the details.  Not only does this help you to have an idea of what the clients are like and what sort of party they are looking for, but it also helps the clients to see that you care about them and that you are a professional. This one phone call helps to lay the groundwork for report with the client that will only grow during and after the event.  After that first phone call you are not just some DJ, you are their DJ, they feel you are concerned about them and that you have a vested  interest in them having a great party, which of course you do.

   One final note on preparation for great gigs.  This is advice my boss, Vinny Esposito, gave me, and its priceless.  “Visualize each part of the party before it happens”.    By picturing the gig in your head before it happens, you will foresee all of the pitfalls that can occur. You will see how to best introduce the bridal party, and be prepared to find the preacher to give the prayer before dinner.  By seeing yourself at the gig, you will work through all of the potential problems and end up having a successful party.

Go DJ!

This blog is about my experiences, lessons, mistakes, ideas and successes working as a DJ for private parties, mostly weddings.  I will also be reviewing the different types of equipment and techniques used in the industry today.  This blog is a work in progress, just as my DJing is, everyday i am learning and trying new things, so if any of you have suggestions, feedback or ideas, I am always open.