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How to answer "How many people will you bring?"

J

jonas_24112

Jul 11, 2011
416
1
#1
Okay, so we've all heard the question, "how many people will you bring?" It's a tough one to answer and typically venues that ask it are not the in the A/B category any way.

One thing salesmen do a lot of is have "canned" answers for common questions they run into. I've been in sales for years and know fairly well how to handle customers questions, but on this one I'm not real sure. If I was to develop a "canned" answer for this, then here's how it may go. Any of you got anything better? (and please be serious, this may help some of us).

Club Guy: "So, how many people will you bring?"

Me: It's not a question of how many people we will bring, but how many will come back. If you pride yourself on booking good live acts and are known for good live music, then your crowd will like us, they will want us back, they will tell their friends, and their friends will come with them next time we play. And the next time, and the next time, etc., etc.

Or another play on the same theme:

If I told you that your built-in crowd will love our show, they will want us back again, and they will bring their friends next time. Would you book us?
 
#3
In the past my response would be to give a normal realistic estimate then respond with how many people will be there normally without a band to draw them in. If it isn't 3 or 4 times what we'd bring normally I tell them to keep the gig and book elsewhere. Burning out your crowd without getting in front of new people is wasting your time. If a club owner is asking about your draw right of the bat, 9 times out of 10 it is because his venue is dying and your crowd will be it when you are there.

Nowadays I am fortunate enough to play with an act that will draw people regardless of venue.... usually. Still get the occasional w.t.f. gig.
 
#4
If it's a last minute gig:
"Based on how little time I have to promote, I cannot honestly make any guarantees on draw. But, I will work my @$$ off to entertain whoever is there."

If there is more time:
"I will do my best to bring folks, but to maximize this for both of us let's see what we can do together to create some draw for that evening."
This will tell me whether or not that the venue will put in any effort.

At this stage of the game, I don't like to work with places that expect the band to do everything. It's rarely a good use of my time and usually indicates that there are other factors that are keeping folks from coming to the place. Also indicates whether or not this place will be easy to work with. A place with watered down drinks, no atmosphere, terrible food, rude staff, poor location, no advertising tend to be the kind of places that expect the band to do everything, and in the long run, it doesn't work out for more than 1 or 2 nights. Because in the end, your friends and fans will rather see you at a 'nice' place, especially if you are playing out regularly.
 
#8
I'd turn it around on them and ask them how many regulars they typically have on the night you're being booked to gig, get a number, and then give them a response based off of that. Personally though, I've played too many places that expect you to bring the whole crowd for a night. I'd rather try to land gigs at places that have a built in crowd from the get go, that way when our fans actually come out the place (hopefully) seems incredibly packed compared to what's normal.
 
#11
My band covers a large geographic area and we can't expect people to travel long distances to see us each week (especially with gas being $4.00 a gallon too). Whenever I get asked if we have a following I respond with, "Does your club have a following? Do you have clientele who come to your place because they like your club, the service, the food, the drinks, and the bands? Do people come there whether my band plays or not? Do you have a reputation for booking good bands? It's your job to promote your place and bring in people, it's our job to entertain them and keep them there." We always promote our gigs and have a very well established band that does quite a lot of gigs in high profile venues and events but I can never "Guarantee" a specific number of people will show up at any particular gig.
 
#13
Richland123 said:
My band covers a large geographic area and we can't expect people to travel long distances to see us each week (especially with gas being $4.00 a gallon too). Whenever I get asked if we have a following I respond with, "Does your club have a following? Do you have clientele who come to your place because they like your club, the service, the food, the drinks, and the bands? Do people come there whether my band plays or not? Do you have a reputation for booking good bands? It's your job to promote your place and bring in people, it's our job to entertain them and keep them there." We always promote our gigs and have a very well established band that does quite a lot of gigs in high profile venues and events but I can never "Guarantee" a specific number of people will show up at any particular gig.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like a great way to lose a gig. While it sounds like you're doing great, IMO club owners don't want to hear what "your job" is. They want you to bring people and sell drinks. At least around here....
 
#14
I think responding with any number is dangerous. If your number is "enough", you're setting yourself up for a potential failure to deliver. A canned response may not be satisfying, & an evasive one certainly won't. I like to remove ambiguities rather than promote them, so I ask what their expectation is. I'd rather have the venue be unrealistic at this point than me, or to allow anybody's unrealistic expectations to persist until gig time.
 
#17
One thing I've used is the demographic rather than pure numbers. We have a mature following who will buy quality drinks/food, rather than just nursing the same beer all night.
I agree with the above posts that poor service/decor/food/drinks doesn't make for return visits. We've played some dives and won't go back because of the above. We owe it to the fan base that we make them coming to see us enjoyable. The owners and promoters should too.
 
#18
fenderhutz said:
It's like asking a bartender before hiring them "How many of your friends will be drinking here nightly if I hire you?". Instead of "How are you at keeping people happy and sticking around?"
Click to expand...

Great point. I expect someone to answer with:

"But... but... if the bartender doesn't bring in enough customers to cover his salary, the bar owner would be losing money! Why would he hire someone who loses him money?!?"

:p
 
#19
JohnMCA72 said:
I think responding with any number is dangerous. If your number is "enough", you're setting yourself up for a potential failure to deliver. A canned response may not be satisfying, & an evasive one certainly won't. I like to remove ambiguities rather than promote them, so I ask what their expectation is. I'd rather have the venue be unrealistic at this point than me, or to allow anybody's unrealistic expectations to persist until gig time.
Click to expand...

I don't like to give numbers either. I've seen it bite people in the arse more than a few times. If you don't meet their number, they will use it as a reason to not book you again or cut your pay for the evening.

I think it's a good idea to get their expectation, if anything to see if it's realistic or not.
 

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