It is a tough process in finding a DJ. Below I will give you some tips at finding not only someone that is good, but someone who is cost effective for your budget needs.
The most common questions I always get is why are some DJ's a lot more expensive than others? Well the truth is there is really no standard cost for a DJ you may pay anywhere from $100 to $2000 dollars for a DJ, but finding a good DJ in the lower budget category is a challenge as well as a risk that sometimes people are willing to take in an ailing economy. Some of the DJ's will be excellent have another job and DJ for part time money, but you have to be careful that the DJ you hire has someone to back them up if they get sick or their equipment fails or if they are only using a hard-drive or Ipod for their music collection and it breaks down you may be looking at a wedding or party in silence if they have no back-up. Some people will go with a DJ because he or she has the lowest price only to find out that they are a run of the mill DJ company that employs random DJ's with little or no experience with a Wedding or Event. These companies will promise you the moon and the stars only to find out the DJ didn't show up for the event or was so bad they ruined the event. Most DJ's in the higher category are pretty good, but I have heard horror stories as well about DJ's that were expensive, so it's all in the research you do in finding that perfect fit for your event.
To get the best DJ and the best price for an experienced professional here are a few ways to accomplish your goal.
1. Make sure you always are able to meet with the DJ that will personally be doing your event, this is very important or if you are unable to meet with your DJ, see if there is any online Video's of them in action, speaking, getting people motivated, having a good time in the video as well as talking with them personally.
2. Refernces, Reviews, Testimonials from Past Client and Other Vendors, one of the second most important. This one has to be researched online as well to make sure that they atleast have a 90% good rating out there. I say 90% because no one can make 100% of the people happy all the time and sometimes I have come across DJ's writing good reviews for themselves to make themselves look better. So I would suggest also talking to a couple of actual people they did events for in junction with the reviews, so you have more than just a review online. Also look at the date of the reviews, if they are all on the same day, odds are they weren't posted by the actual client, unless they sent out emails on the same day for people to post reviews but in many events unlikely that this is the case. Really do your homework online to find every review you can by typing in the company name and location to see what's out there and if they are legit. You can try the BBB if you are unable to find any info, they may be brand new or changed company names.
3. An excellent sign of professionalism is when a company gets back to you the same day or atleast within 24 hours. If it takes them longer 48 hours to get back to you, normally not a good sign.
4. Always ask the hard questions, will you be my personal DJ, how many years experience do you have, are you insured very important if someone gets hurt at an event or there is some unforseen accident, do you have back-up equipment and a backup DJ in the event you are unable to do our event, can I call atleast 3 of your references, Do you have any video's of yourself in action,
Will you have back up music if your Laptop fails, can we meet with you more than once to go over our event information, what are your hours of availability incase I need to make a change to my event.
5. Find out what type of equipment they will be using. You don't want someone showing up to your event with an Ipod and a home stereo surround system. As long as they have equipment brand names like, Crown, Yamaha, Bose, Mackie, Denon, American DJ, JBL, Numark, Gemini and others, odds are they have sufficient equipment for your event.
6. Don't get sold on equipment, some DJ's will have great equipment and sell you on how great it sounds but they may be a terrible DJ. It's all about seeing them in action, feeling comfortable with your DJ, getting references and asking the hard questions.
7. DJ Scare Tactics A lot of DJ's go for scare tacticts, such as you may lose your date if you don't book with me right now. I always hated using scare tactics to get business, I always felt if they like what I have to offer than they will book with me and if I do get a request for their same date I will give them the courtesy of letting them know someone else has requested their date. I just find scare tactics very unprofessional.
8. Always go with a DJ that uses a contract. This protects not only them but you as well. It is always good to have something in writing.
9. See if the DJ company has a website, preferrably online planning forms, this many times makes it easier to plan your event and is usually the sign of a professional and music lists of what they will have on hand to help in the planning of your event.
10.Lastly, you want to have options with your DJ company, such as having choices of the DJ being very interactive or laid back, having additional DJ or not, having other options to offer such as lighting or other services. Always feel comfortable with your DJ and I can't stress enough the importance of References, Reviews and Testimonials.
I hope this helps in finding the Perfect DJ for your Event and if you need a DJ in Orlando or the Central Florida area you can always contact myself DJ Joe at 407-414-6239 or our website at http://www.elegantentertainment.org
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment