604-816-7727 Hi, it’s Mark Bossert from Top Local Lead Generation. We’re here with DJ Gary Waight from DJ Boogie Shoes in Vancouver. How’re you doing this morning Gary? Gary: Very good on this beautiful day, yourself? Mark: I’m good – yeah it’s a beauty day today here in the Vancouver area. So we’re going to talk about the most important questions to ask your DJ Service provider and I guess the number one question is, how early do I need to book? Gary: Yeah, that comes up quite a bit actually and I would like to go back to what I mentioned before and I find that the DJ tends to be the last services that people many book. They often don’t think about that when they’re planning their event and as I’ve mentioned before, your DJ event is the last defender presented during the evening and they can really make or break your event. I find that people get the food, the venue, the alcohol, the dress and the flowers in the case of a wedding, before even thinking about the DJ. But especially during the busy months such as November or December or even June through August whether it’s an event and/or a wedding event or party; those are very busy months and so if you leave it too long, you might not be able to find the DJ that you want. So the short answer is book your DJ as early as you feel reasonably comfortable, if it’s one year ahead that’s great, if it’s three months ahead that’s fine, however you might be quite stressed if you leave it one week before your event. I actually had a call like that a few weeks ago. A lady had wanted to book me as her DJ because of my karaoke services and my interactive services and she called me four days before her wedding. Unfortunately, I was booked and she did find a DJ eventually, but it wasn’t the one that she wanted. Mark: So plan ahead like everything for any event. So I guess the next question really is what happens in case of an emergency? Gary: That’s a good one, in the many years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve can actually count maybe half of my left hand for the amount of times where that actually has come up. It’s really good to have a DJ service that has connections to other DJ services, so that they can cover your event if they fall sick or some type of emergency happens or if they have other DJ’s that can cover as well, that’s a good one. For some couples, this is more of a concern to others and really you just have to talk to your DJ service to see if you can be satisfied with what the music service can offer in terms of emergency services. But it is a question that you should ask. Mark: So how does the actual process work? How do you consummate the deal? Gary: Well, consummating the deal is the final process. You always need to get a signed contract. I think I’d mentioned that before. A handshake or a high five is all well and good but your event is a business transaction so you’ve got to treat it as such. The DJ should have a contract available stating that what you have agreed upon, you as a client are often preparing a lot of other details for your event and with a contract, everything is in black and white. You can refer back to it when you get really busy in the details of what the DJ is supposed to do get fuzzy. This really helps a lot and along with that always give a retainer. This not only shows commitment on the part of you as the client, but also ties the DJ into your deal. This along with the signed contract is a pretty rock solid agreement. Another reason why you want to get a contract and give a retainer is those cheap DJ’s that’ll actually sign up with you and give you a high five – yeah ok we’re good – then maybe a few days before they get somebody willing to pay more for the same date and drop you like a stone. Then you’re scrambling around so, always get a contract signed and give a retainer you you should be good to go. Mark: What sort of questions should clients ask you? What are the important things that they might not think to ask that you would recommend that do do ask their DJ service? Gary: Well basically, really it comes down to you – what is important to you. I would suggest make a few notes before you meet your DJ, with things you would like to see at your event. Of course you may not receive all the things that are with the package offered but you know, everything is negotiable and you can alway talk to the DJ about adding more in terms of services if you require it.
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