It's a sales call. If you run a venue, people make sales calls all the time. Liquor suppliers. Food distributor reps, paper suppliers, cleaning supplies and more.
Being able to sell something effectively (like your band and your music) is not something you are born with, it is a skill that you learn. How good you are at it depends a lot on how good a teacher you have. You can flounder around for years and not develop basic skills and good habits. (Sound familiar?) Or, you can learn the basics from a master. A lot of people think of used car salesmen and telemarketers when they think of sales. That's pretty far from the truth.
Let's make a musical anology. Suppose you go to a "Battle of the Bands" and the rules require each band to play the same three songs. One of the five bands is dull, lifeless with no energy. Technically they are fine, but no groove, no soul. The band you really like may be almost as good technically but you love them. They have class, style, energy and enthusiam! Winner!
You can go to any coffee shop, but you go to Bizzaro Roasted Coffee because you like the cute little witty chick that makes that monring ritual fun and something to look forward to. You will see this in the really good waitresses and waiters all the time, the ones that consistently make better tips. . It's not just food, it's performance. It's show business!
The first thing you will see in a book explaining the basics of working as a magician (I have the Tarbox series) is a discussion of "patter". The performance the artist makes is carefully timed and structured in the trick or routine. There is no 'ad-lib', they have it down to a science and that science is directing your attention and focus as part of the conversation.
There are key things you should know about what to do and what not to do in a selling situation. Most of the key aspects focus on the concept of "closing". Building agreement positively. And thus, achieving your goals while delivering a quality product or service that the customer will appreciate and want to make a repeat buy on or an arrangement for.
All that hoohah being said, you do want to achieve your goals. Don't you?
If I could give you an inexpensive method to learn the skills necessary, you'd take the intiative and learn those skills, wouldn't you? After all, you want to book those gigs, don't you? You love giving a good performance, don't you?
Hell yes, of course you do!
Take your pick of media, I like the CD's for the car as I have a bit of a commute.
Mastering the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins. Learn it. Love it. Live it.
I read this book when he first wrote it and it made a tremendous impact on my career and sales skills. I sell seafood for a living. Some people sell barrels of oil or jet airplanes or hotel rooms or paper bags. The products are usually remarkably similar from vendor to vendor.
People buy from people. I do a lot of emailing and cold calling like everyone else. But the sales calls that are the most effective are the ones where you walk in, look the customer in the eye, shake his hand and smile. Old school, I know, but you have the chance to demonstrate that you are a pro, know your stuff and mean business.
In order to achieve that, you have to be able to hold the buyer's attention and have a great delivery in your conversation. Tommy teaches you how to do that. I've made more than a career out of it.
The best fifteen dollar lesson you will ever pay for. Buy it. NOW!
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