In the gig economy, clients and customers have unprecedented access to performers and service providers. Just a few years ago, an event planner would need relationships or a friend in the business to find an entertainer for their event. Now, hundreds of options are just a click away. Quoting the right price is crucial to landing lucrative gigs and being able to make a great living.
1. Know your competitors
In the crowded gig market, you need to know what the other providers in your sphere are charging. A common practice in real estate, for example, is to look at “comps,” comparable properties and prices in the neighborhood. Good agents always know what a property can reasonably expect. Take the time to research what comparable acts and companies are charging for their services. The two most critical mistakes any business can make is to either underestimate or overestimate your value.
Pro tip: Don’t request bids for fake events or ask clients for a dollar amount of their other bids. This is frowned upon and violates the community of entertainers, providers, and performers who are trying to make a living doing what they love.
Instead of being sneaky about choosing your price point, use more upfront tactics instead:
- Ask your colleagues, mentors, or friends what they charge in order to get a reasonable sense of what your services are worth.
- Ask clients questions like “What is your budget?” or “What are you expecting to pay?”
- Take time to research online in forums and Facebook groups.
2. Determine your costs
Be the master of what it takes for you to provide your service. Create a list of every conceivable cost to your company and factor everything in when creating the bid.
Simply put, if you don’t know your own costs, you won’t know what to charge and you will lose money, period.
A vital aspect of this is the soft costs that could easily be overlooked. Don’t forget things like:
- Vendor or site insurance. Your booking agreement needs to clarify who will pay this.
- Transportation fees. Establish a per-mile fee that you can easily explain or share with the client.
- Ongoing business expenses. Rent, utilities, extra hires, extra equipment you may need to rent are all costs that eat into your profits.
As you master your own budget, you become aware of additional expenses that you may be able to streamline or even eliminate to lower your overhead and increase your profits.
3. Name your price
Once you establish the market and strengthen your grasp of expenses, set the price. It’s a dynamic dance between profit goals, market, and expenses. It may take a few trials to get this dialed in, but the most successful pros know these numbers by heart.
Providers should choose a price that is competitive but fair. Factor in all variables including experience, talent, effort to make the event happen, and other intangibles. Your initial price quote needs to reflect the amount you need to make to feel positive and excited about the event.
Offering multiple options and price points helps potential clients feel like they have a voice in the process and gives them the power to make choices they will feel positive about.
Another idea that often comes at this point is the idea of doing gigs for cost or donation of services. Doing gigs for charities or non-profits feels good and generates a lot of good will, but only if you feel positive about the experience and you are committed to offering your services. Check out this post about doing charity gigs.
Be very careful before you agree to provide any service for low or no cost “for exposure.” It’s a bad idea to devalue your own product and undercut the market for your colleagues.
4. Learn how to negotiate
Once you offer the first price, be ready and willing to negotiate. Don’t be afraid to price just high enough so that if you need to come down, you are still comfortable with your profits.
If the client rejects your first bid:
- Ask the questions from earlier like “What is your budget?” or “What were you expecting to pay?”
- Kindly and graciously educate them on the cost of doing business.
- Be patient with them as they learn the market.
- Offer scaled-down or more cost-effective options if you are able to do so.
- If they can’t pay the full amount, ask for permission to sell merch or other products to recoup the costs. For example, if you’re a band playing a corporate event, set up a table for product sales.
You are responsible for your profits and expenses. By owning the information and taking control of the process, you can do what you love and make money doing it!
Make a living doing what you love with GigSalad.
Loves music, reading, and binge-watching TV and eating pizza with his wife. Has three amazing kids. Believes that life is about questions, not answers.
I don’t agree that “competitive shopping” is bad. How else will you know what similar acts are receiving? Simple answer, You won’t.
Can GigSalad give us anonymous quote numbers from similar acts? For example, if we bid on something, provide us which quote got the gig and what all the other quotes were. Even if I don’t know who the other vendors are, I can use the data to address your point #1 – Know your competitors. Maybe I consistently quote 25% above others…and maybe I’m ok with that. Or maybe I’m usually under and still not getting the gig – so I should update my profile. Having this type of analysis is invaluable for this business. It would also give you a leg up on Gigmasters who refuses to do it (yes, I already asked them).
Thanks.
Hi Roger, yes we can provide you some averages! Just reach out to us at help@gigsalad.com and let us know your category and location. Thanks for the question!
Good blog although just common sense, but hopefully it will show some of the “I’ll take the gig no matter what it pays cats” to do a little homework.
The biggest issue I have found with pricing gigs for venues like restaurants and bars is that too many musicians are willing to play for nothing just to say they got the gig. Very often we are our own worst enemies. So the only option is get down in the mud with them or keep your dignity and integrity.
I get weekly corporate gigs where I get anywhere from $100 – $150 per hour but yet it is very common for venues in my area to pay that amount or less for 3 -4 hours. And yes they are many musicians (mostly new to the game) standing in line to take those gigs. It blows my mind.
Danny,
Good feedback!
Mobile Holmes
When you ask a client “what your budget”, what can stop them from saying a price 20-30% less than the last performer in your genre they hired?
You should be sure about your rate, and not ask the client what you rates should be.
I’m hoping this platform is not just facilitating a battle to the bottom.
IMHO
What is the response to the savvy Buyer who KNOWS if they give their high budget number, you’re going to probably ask that and instead want to hear your number first?
many years i asked an entertainment director,
“what is your budget?” and she said to me,
“it’s none of your business.”
Great post. The advice is spot on, and took lots of us years to figure out on our own. I wish I’d had advice like this when I was starting. New pros take note. Thanks
Good article. Thanks for sharing.
Ah, in a perfect world, that advice is spot-on! However, in So Cal, it’s extremely difficult to work with the client, or even ask questions, before getting the gig. I really strive to offer my clients the absolute best show their money can buy, and to give them options from which they can choose (big band, small band, track show, sound and light company, etc), I copy and paste videos, pictures and give brief descriptions of the shows, (because they rarely look at the profiles here)… I even offer to build the show to suit their budget, IF they’ll only reply! Problem is, while I’m sitting here waiting on a response, “Johnny Boombox” with a bad wig and Halloween costume has already quoted they’ll do a 4 hour show for 100 bucks… in effect creating an unrealistically low base line by which the client will judge all other quotes. Over time, this continues and the quality of the performers, and ultimately the clients’ expectations, drops lower and lower. I hate to see “the race to the bottom”…but it’s already begun! As a professional performer, you have to take a stand to hold firm and get your rate, and realize you will only land a few gigs. Or just move on and leave the site to all the “Johnny Boomboxes” and the clients who value low price over quality. I’d hate to see that happen…
Usually when a church or venue asks what do I charge I say in return that I am willing to try and work with their budget. So far after performing and ministering they have gone above and beyond of our agreed fee.
This helped, thank you.
Hi Willie, we’re glad to hear that! Thanks for reading!