Howdy.

To jump right into it, if you are negotiating for an event on a specific date, and you get a call
for the same date at a time that would conflict, do you turn it down or accept it and stop
pursuing the other?

What would complicate it is the one being negotiated is more valuable, I would like to
hear your opinion, and what you do when this comes up.

Are you the one holding up the process or the other party?

I don't really charge different so it's first one to book.

Good to know.

The other party is usually the one that holds things up, for a number of reasons.
For example it has to be run by a committee, or a budget request. They might
also be shoppers.

The reason why the price would be different is a difference in markets, for example strolling at a
company party will probably pay more than timmy's birthday, but might take
longer to book.

When I talk with a customer, and they need time to make a decision, I offer to hold the date and time for 24 hours.

They have to let me know either way at the end of the 24 hours, otherwise I'll assume they aren't ready to book.

If they can't make a (quick) decision to book, then I ask for them to call back when they're ready, and we'll see if the date / time is still available.

I frequently explain, "All dates and times are booked first come, first served."

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Here's one previous thread that might be helpful (note - from 2007, so 16 years ago):

https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......c=209914

- Donald

I like the way Donald does it. You can't really hold dates, or be expected to, without some sort of commitment. Serious prospects will usually give you a promise of some kind.


Tom

Thanks for the post Donald, interesting policy.

The way most magicians work is you have one commodity. No it isn’t your show. It is your time. It is the thing everyone seems to get wrong. You can’t replace your time.

NO dates are considered booked until whatever criteria you put in place are met. If that is a signed contract or deposit and contact or whatever it isn’t relevant. Your personal criteria must be met, then the date is booked. It really never is a question. If they for whatever reason do not close the deal, the date remains open. By the way if you deal with any other professional markets this is how it works. Airlines, restaurants, plumbers and any service you can imagine Work in this fashion.

The hidden gem in your question is actually why anyone would work with such vastly differing price ranges? Again if your commodity is time, which it is, why sell it so cheap?

Don’t let a need for money Drive you to poor business practices.

Yes, that and the "if you are negotiating for an event" mention. What does this mean? Are your prices negotiable? Why are you negotiating on a price? This was the most interesting part of the post to me.

No, I don't usually negotiate price, only in regard to terms.

"Negotiate" was probably the wrong word, I'm referring to any time an instant
decision can't be made on their end. Such as my prior examples of needing
to run the decision by a committee, which is inconvenient. Or an event
planer who has to run every bit of budget by someone else.

Perhaps "discussing" might be a better word? my knowledge of the English language
is spotty, which is inconvenient, because that's all I speak.

I’m guessing that was supposed to be funny. I really hope you don’t do comedy magic.

So why with such vastly different markets?

I think that line is hilarious...may I "borrow" it?

Sorry I've been gone for a bit, my internet was conked out, it still is.

You can use that line if you want to for whatever reason, imgic, I actually got it from a guy I know named Rob Benson.

Why diffrent markets is a good question, I think anyone who performs for both kids and adults
probably comes across this at some point.

I'm using a "barrowed" device, so I'll write more when I get my internet fixed.

Ps, don't use CenturyLink.

Well hurry up!

That's what I said to the repair guy, he didn't.

I have two things I regularly target, "kids shows" which
are usually birthdays, and private events.

Private events being an umbrella term for a number of things, these
naturally tend to pay better than a birthday.

To throwout some not so random numbers, $600 for strolling at a company
party is considerably better than $200 from Timmy's birthday, but
I come across the birthdays a bit more often, as they tend to come to me.

From a monetary standpoint the kids' stuff costs little to procure, and
it fills the schedule.

Naturally, this can cause conflict in the schedule, obviously that can't
be helped.

The reason why I brought up the subject is a close call a few days back, a
company was considering entertainment for a kickoff event early next year.

They were "shopping" so there wasn't an immediate booking. Another less
financially rewarding gig came up for the same day, luckily, I worked the
hours so there wouldn't be conflict.

But I was wondering what other folks would do if there was. Take the thing
immediately available or hold out for the possibility of the other option.

Ok the booking thing is easy. ONCE your conditions are satisfied, the date is rock solid and you do it. Period. Until then, it is open calendar. It really is simple. If your conditions are not met, whatever they may be, then the date is not booked. Until you send a booking confirmation the date simply is not booked.

Why you would even consider doing shows for 3X less for any reason is beyond my ability to reason. If your question is should you wait for the larger paying show, then yes you should. BUT now YOU are the on in the other position. MAYBE they hire another magician for the lower paying show and you lose out.

But what reason could you have for not just going for the best paying shows you can get? How much could it possibly cost to produce a strolling show for a company? If you spent more of your time and money branding properly you would not get any inquiries for the kids parties at all. Take the money from targeting kids shows and put it into the other. It pays 3X more!

If you actually “need” the money from the kids shows then take them as you need. If you are trying to stop doing a certain type of show, for whatever reason, then the only real way to do so is to just stop doing them. It is that simple, and that difficult.

It's a little more difficult for me. I have to balance Palm Reading, Tarot Reading, Blues and Mentalism gigs. I can do three of them without the band but the band can't play without me. Often the band guys are negotiating price, rooms, per diem, length of performance, travel expenses and all of that... So it's not cut and dried. Money talks... I usually ask for 50% up front if it's not an agent I work with a lot. Basically ... You snooze you lose. If someone get's cut off I always offer them the next available date. These problems are one reason to have an effective agent.

Have you not also recently retired? It is a FAR different matter when you don’t really need the money to live.

The OP is at the very start of his career. He is trying to balance eating and paying rent with what shows he takes. This is the lense he must view life through.

If it is a bar or a venue offering the next available date may very well work. People who are having parties or corporate events it may not work for at all. The party or event is on X date and that is the deal.

Taking money up front is a GREAT policy. That type of thing is what I was talking about when I said once his “conditions are met”. Everyone has their own conditions that must be met to reserve a date. (I happen to think 50% up front is a great policy.)

It all comes down to if you are running your performing as a business or not. These answers become more clear when operating as a business and everything is done, decided and executed through this lens and the proper foundation created.

If you are just performing for fun, as an amateur, or only occasionally you can operate willy-nilly or on a gig to gig, booking to booking basis.

Its pretty simple in MY mind. If a customer says, “Lets book it!,” it’s a done deal. Its a verbal agreement and I am bound by that even if I have not had the time for them to accept my other booking protocols (confirmation letter, deposit, contract, etc.). If they do not give me a verbal agreement, I am free to accept any other offer I may have. I consider it nothing more than price shopping, as so many do. Most customers don't realize how many times this happens. I can't possibly hold the dates for every inquiry I get.

I just had this come up a couple of months ago.

Customer A calls asking about my availability and pricing. He said thank you and hung up.

Customer B calls and says I want to book!

Customer A calls (1 month later and week before the show date) and says I want to book! I said, “Sorry, I’m already booked.”

Customer A’s ASSISTANT calls the next day, not knowing I was the same magician they had already contacted, and says, “Are you available? Our magician cancelled on us!”

There ya go. That how most of us do it.

Often I will make a pre-announcement for markets such as the school market where I will say in an email that we will be opening up bookings for (inset whatever it is here - example - the 2023-24 school year for assemblies, family nights and fundraisers) on Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. PST. Bookings are based on routing and are on a first come first served basis.

When Monday comes the phones begin ringing for hours until about 4:00 in the afternoon. Of course schools are all requesting their preferred dates and are requesting my routing information and will often work it out or change their schedule to accommodate the date avails when I'm routed in their area. The same thing can be done for local or regional dates as well.

We will actually book 40-60% of the entire school year on this Monday and possibly some on the next day Tuesday if they couldn't get through (by phone which our preferred method) or if they responded by email that we couldn't get to on Monday.

The signed agreement is due back immediately, the deposit within seven business days due to their requisition process (if school is in session at the time, if not we extend a bit longer until office staff is back in school.) The signed agreement secures the date and time since we often book two schools per day an a.m. and p.m. time slots.

Many schools will even give us a deposit for next year's event when we are there for this year's event just so they are sure to get on our schedule (even without a determined date yet.)