Negotiating in any situation is rarely easy. Whether you’re buying a car, hiring a service, or even buying a house, it is always tough to find that perfect point on the X/Y axis; balancing what you can afford with your desire for the item or service. It’s worth remembering, the same is absolutely true for your potential clients as a musician! In this guide, we will give you some handy tips for how and when to negotiate with clients.
The subject we are dealing with here isn’t what you should charge – that’s a very personal decision that should be based on lots of different factors. If you’re still working that out, we do have a Last Minute Musicians Blog that can help you figure out what to charge.
Finally, keep in mind that negotiation is always optional. You are well within your rights to pick a price point and stick to it!
Don’t feel obliged to offer ridiculous discounts or packages in the name of securing a booking – you may sometimes end up regretting it!
Responding to enquiries and cutting down on time-wasters
The first step in any negotiation will be when your potential client gets in touch with you (or visa versa). In an ideal world, someone looking for live music will reach out to your band or act, you’ll provide a reasonable quote, and then the client will accept it. However, this isn’t always the case! In this section, we’ll examine a few ways to help avoid unnecessary negotiation with clients who aren’t serious about booking.
Creating a simple screening process can take several forms, but you can usually set something up that will help you easily figure out whether a client is serious enough, and how likely they are to book.
This will help cut down on any clients who (for one reason or another) aren’t serious prospects, or just can’t afford your act. This will help you (and the client!) save time on wasted negotiation.
In the case of a private enquiry (that is, one not received through any third party) this will probably come through your website.
A simple “contact us” form can usually be added to your site, in order to help you get more initial information to base a quote on. For example, it is usually a good idea to ask your client for a brief description of the event, where the event is, and an idea of their budget for live music.
If your act is listed with an entertainment agency, then the chances are that you will already have been asked to supply a price list for them to work with.
If the client does try to negotiate, your agent will usually ask you if you’d be open to an offer. If you are, then (hopefully!) your agent will take care of the rest. That includes dealing with any enquiries that are completely unrealistic, which hopefully won’t even make it into your inbox!
An entertainment directory service (like Last Minute Musicians) will let you communicate directly with prospective clients, but will give you the option to add a guide price to your listing, helping to prevent any time wasters getting in touch.
Resolving their budget
Hopefully, you will send over a quote that’s within the client’s budget and it will be accepted. At this point, you might want to take a read of out blog on contracts for musicians. However, It’s at this stage that the client might want to negotiate.
There are several tactics to use here, and it will usually depend on several different factors. The most obvious way in which clients will try to negotiate, is by asking for a discount, perhaps citing some extraneous circumstance or their lower budget.
It is entirely up to you to decide how relevant this is, and, as mentioned before, you’re by no means obliged to offer one. That said, if the gig is scheduled for a quiet time of the year or during the week, a small incentive might be just the thing to clinch the deal. If your act does offer cheaper alternatives (such as acoustic day time sets or a reduced line up) then it may also be worth including these options.
Alternatively, you could always try offering something additional in their entertainment package, rather than a discount. While this might not be ideal, it might help you secure the booking, without specifically costing you any money.
For example, if your client is booking for a wedding, you might try offering a late night DJ playlist – something that is easily put together, but would be greatly appreciated. You could also offer slightly longer set times, say, two sets of one hour, rather than forty-five minutes, perhaps.
Sometimes, a gesture like this is just what is needed to clinch the deal, without reducing your fee.
A common enquiry that many bands get is for charity performances, looking for free or low cost entertainment. This is always a tricky subject, but again remember that you aren’t obligated to perform for nothing, just because it is a charity show.
You are a working professional, and if the venue, bar staff, tech suppliers and other services are getting paid, so should you.
You can learn more about this is the Musicians’ Union “Work Not Play” initiative. However, many bands offer a good discount to charities for performances, and if it is a cause that is particularly close to your heart, you can always choose to donate your fee back to the charity.
There are other advantages to charity shows, such as the potential to meet other, paying customers and promote your band, but these must be weighed up seriously before going ahead.
Justifying your fee
It is always important to sell yourself in your initial quote. Not in a way that is over-baring or comes off as cocky, but a simple line like “we’ve played at hundreds of events and would love to play at yours!” or even “our recent corporate clients include well-known companies like X, Y and Z” will help to let your customer know that you’re an experienced and professional outfit.
Additionally, it’s always a good idea to include a breakdown in your quote, letting your prospective client know what is factored in – travel, insurance, set up time and professional equipment, for example. A minority of clients might only think they are paying for the actual performance time alone.
While we might know differently, it is not always immediately obvious to someone who hasn’t had extensive dealings with professional entertainers. Including a breakdown of how you come to your quote helps them realise that there are many other factors involved.
If for any reason you didn’t include this in your initial quote, then it might be worth listing in your response to their negotiation request. If their counter offer is seriously undervalued, then you can also very politely remind them that you are a working professional, perhaps including a link to the MU’s “Work Not Play” guidelines.
Declining politely
In any negotiation, if an agreement cannot be reached, it is always best to walk away amiably. Be very polite in declining someone’s offer, as you never know when he or she might be able to afford your act in the future, and the last thing you want is anyone bad mouthing your service.
If you can, it is always good to recommend them another act that might fit their budget – perhaps a solo performer, another band that is closer to their venue or even an agency or directory where they can carry on their research.
Even though you won’t have secured the booking, you will still stick out in their minds as an example of good customer service for other occasions and any other acts you recommend are bound to be grateful. You might even find the situation is reciprocated in the future.
Useful free tools from Last Minute Musicians
Got any handy tips on negotiating with clients? What have you found works best for your act? Leave your advice in comments section below…
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