With the multitude of options available to event planners online, there is a lot of competition in the gig industry. It’s important to know upfront exactly what matters most to potential clients. Our UX Researcher, Pragya Bhatt, is on the front lines with our GigSalad users. In her interviews, she’s noticed the same three things come up each and every time – media, reviews, and pricing.
“Priorities for event planners are two-parted,” Pragya says. “First they get to know the vendor. Performance videos and pictures help them envision the performer as a part of their event. And recent reviews from past clients build trust and confidence to move forward. Once they know the vendor better, the second part is determining pricing and how it fits with their budget.”
With these priorities in mind, you can make some changes to your profile to improve your chances of landing the gig.
1. Quality photos and videos
Almost no buyer will move forward with a purchase sight unseen. Having quality media available can set you apart from your competition and give potential clients more confidence in booking you.
Your media should…
☑ Include photos, videos, and audio samples (if applicable) – quality over quantity here, so just choose your best few.
☑ Be good quality – upload high-resolution photos, well-edited videos, and clear audio samples.
☑ Show you in action – include live videos and pictures of you at real gigs so the client sees what you can do.
☑ Accurately represent your services – if you offer multiple things, your media should show off a little bit of each one.
👉 Read this: 5 (Almost) Free Ways to Improve Your Media
2. Reviews from past clients
Feedback isn’t just important, it’s necessary. Surveys show that 93% of consumers say reviews influence their decision to buy. They want to read first-hand experiences from previous buyers before they feel confident moving forward.
When it comes to reviews, you want both quantity and quality. Clients are looking for a lot of reviews, plus a decent overall rating (it doesn’t have to be perfect). When several reviews are present, clients will likely skim through and only read a handful. That’s where verified reviews come in handy because buyers tend to favor those over regular reviews.
👉 Read this: The Importance of Verified Reviews
3. Pricing information
The price is the first thing most people look for when they begin their shopping experience. Especially when they are going in with no knowledge or expectations of cost. This is often the case for first-time planners, which make up a good portion of the buyers using sites like GigSalad.
We know pricing your service can be nuanced and vary from event to event, so it’s hard to share pricing up front. But even a starting price or price range can help set the client’s expectations and ensure higher-quality leads.
👉 Read this: 4 Steps to Getting the Pricing Right for Your Business
Bonus tips!
The three things mentioned above are essential to even be considered by potential clients. But, bonus! We have a couple of extra tips that can help ensure you also land the gig.
Improve your content: Your written content can be as important as your visual content. From profile descriptions to saved messages, be sure everything is up-to-date, concise, and free of errors.
👉 Read this: Becoming a Better Writer for Your Business
Work on your sales pitch: Knowing how to sell yourself is the key to closing a deal. Work on crafting the perfect initial response, sending a fair and accurate quote, and practicing the art of negotiation.
👉 Read this: How to Write a Great Sales Pitch to Get More Gigs
That’s it. Just three things (well, and 2 bonus things) and you could be on your way to booking more gigs. 🙌
Heather is the Content Manager and a GigSalad veteran of 15+ years. She loves helping event planners create unforgettable celebrations and talent make a living doing what they love. When not at work, she enjoys reading romance and fantasy books, bingeing TV shows, playing board games, and spending time with friends.
Great information and insight as to what clients expect up front. Thanks
It would be great if Gig Salad could screen the requests to make sure the venue is compliant with Covid-19 safety rules and advisories before forwarding them to your vendors. It doesn’t do any good to forward a request for a Santa to attend a party of a 100 people if its illegal and the Santa would get a huge fine if he gets caught attending. I have had to turn down 90% of the gigs you’ve sent because they are illegal in the State of Oregon.
Hi Patrick, while we’d love to be able to do that, our platform was not created with such a functionality. Implementing something like that would mean a huge overhaul; one we aren’t prepared to take on at this time. As you mentioned, COVID-19 has presented lots of challenges to the entertainment industry, including the differing mandates on city and state levels regarding what types of gatherings are allowed. For now, the only solution is to decline leads that you aren’t comfortable attending. You’re never penalized for declining a lead, so we’d encourage you to do what’s best for your own safety and staying in compliance with your local mandates. Thank you!
All you have to do is say in the comments I have to follow covid 19 Safety protocol for the protection for me and everyone attending. Let them know that’s what your requirements are.
Very thankful for Gigsalad
Good day I would love to work with you guys but I never got a gig from you guys or I would sign with you guys thank you see what you guys could do ………
Hi Clifford, we’d like to try and help! Please email our Customer Happiness Team at help@gigsalad.com so we can look into your account. Thank you!