What Are You Worth? (Part 2)
I recently wrote about the need to keep fees up and not to drop them in the recession and even though I’m staring down the barrel of a pretty quiet December I still think that dropping fees is wrong in the long term. The problem is that the majority of magicians out there are doing anything to get the work and prices are being cut left, right and centre and I can’t blame them. Also the younger performers who don’t have the overheads that some of us do and can afford to work cheaply are doing so and to be honest I can’t blame them either. The end result however will be that they will “kill the pitch”, (to use a street performing expression), quite literally cheapening what we do and turning the work of the close-up magician into a commodity that has little perceived value.
So far I’ve bitched a little and not really offered any ideas as to how we can combat the problems that this recession has brought to our profession, so I wanted to redress the balance a little:
- Introductory offers: If you are offered a 3 day trade show but the clients budget doesn’t stretch to your daily rate offer to work for 2 days paid and the last day free. The result is your daily rate is kept the same, (put it on the invoice) and the client gets a 30% reduction in price. This will avoid the awkward “but you only charged us £X last time”, when you present them with your daily rate in the future. The client needs to know that this was a offer to win their business not a permanent price drop. Hopefully you will add real value to their stand and they will be happy to cough up the next time round.
- Added value: If you have the chance to perform close-up but the client questions your fee, offer to do a 20 minute cabaret, or host their raffle, do something at minimal or no extra cost. This “added value” may be enough to secure the booking. Also see it as an opportunity to work on new material etc that way you win as well.
- Look for ways that you can advertise at an event instead of charging a higher fee. Will the client print your contact details in the program or menu? Can you have a pop-up banner display in the foyer of the event? Can you put your business cards in the goodie bags? There are usually opportunities to gain some extra benefit for yourself that you can offset against your fee. (These are not options I would normally suggest to a trade show client.)
- Multiple bookings: this is an obvious one, but if you can secure multiple bookings then you can afford to lower your fee. Ensure this is set out in your contract so that you don’t end up doing one gig at the lower fee when they promised you twenty.
There are lots of ways to keep your perceived value high but it involves JUSTIFYING any price reduction, not just taking a lower fee to secure the gig. Of course you need the enquries to be coming in and that’s a whole different ball-game. SEO, Google ranking etc. are key and not my strong point, (anyone?)
It’s tough at the moment but if you are in this profession for the long haul you need to be focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel and emerge stronger not cheaper.
Thanks to everyone who has commented on this topic.
Just for the record I have stuck to my guns on the whole and this December I have raised my fee (slightly), for new clients and so far it has been accepted. I am still working for existing clients at the same fee as usual but ironically this amounts to only 25% of the work.
Interestingly I was (in error), sent an internal email from a client who stated that my “higher fee” must be a “good thing”. Food for thought.
I’m a fulltime magician, with regards to fees I have carried on as usual.
It’s been a rough old year.
If you are still struggling my advice would be, don’t put your prices up.
Remember, we are not the only industry and individuals struggling. Therefore other individuals can’t afford to ‘pay more’. This is a global, persistant, financial problem.
Thousands of companies both big and small have closed due to their financial difficulty, many of these companies where the reason for this financial downfall. I feel sad for many individuals loosing their work. However, lets say good riddance to the companies whom helped create this mess..
It’s a crisis of authority.
These are hard times will make us. Not only entertainers but your local traders.
Joel.
Hi Peter
Enjoying the blog keep up the good work, Would like your thoughts regarding contracts deposits etc, Do you get any cancelations and do you press for the money and get paid if you do?
Thanks for the comments, it’s good to know some of what I write is being read.
I think one of the problems with the corporate close-up market is that client loyalty is not always there. To be honest even though I’m a pretty good magician I don’t know if a room of 300 would know the difference between me and the next professional close-up worker doing mix and mingle. The booker however (unless they have used me before) will, in the current climate, look at cost. If they can save £200-£300 to put behind the bar why wouldn’t they?
The advice Phil Jay gave Richard was great, and it would be coming form one of the highest paid workers in the UK. It made me think. Maybe now is the time to put fees up. Dramatically. You will certainly be differentiating yourself from your competitors and I’d rather be a £750.00 magician sitting at home than a £250.00 one.
Good stuff again Peter (and belated congrats on TMC CUC 09 win! I’ve been out of the country for months, but it was great news). I endorse your points and would encourage focus on the “coming out of the tunnel” element. Despite the current climate (“entertainment/hospitality” is always the first casualty of a recession – closely (ridiculously) followed by “training” as the soft under-belly to be cut; short-termism rules OK…), things will change. The critical point is the point in time when the money starts to flow again. All of us must stay as aware as possible of that time, so that we can re-establish (if you have reduced your fees at all) sensible rates for fees and weaning folk off any “special offers” or the like that we’ve employed. If we have any lag in our system during the inevitable recovery, it has the potential to damage full fees for a long time. Well done to Rob for your stance – I very much hope that it continues to pay off (literally!).
Puzzlingly & magically yours,
Laurie
All magicians and entertainers are going through a tough time at the moment. Anyone who says they are flat out is most probably telling a bluff.
It is unfortunate that the hospitality industry has taken a huge hit during this economic down turn. I can remember listening to radio 2 (I must be getting on a bit) and they were discussing the issue on whether corporations such as banks should be splashing out on huge events. Many listeners rang in saying the money they spend is ridiculous and companies should never be aloud to spend that kind of money etc. What people don’t realise is that hospitality is a HUGE industry with many hundreds of thousands working in it. If companies stop holding events; hotels, caters, entertainers, DJ’s even cleaners will all suffer. This of course will have a knock on effect making the recession worse.
There are also companies out there who have the money to spend, but are too scared to be seen celebrating during this difficult period, not realising that it’s that kind of attitude which is putting this country in to a deeper recession.
As for fees this has unfortunately become a very difficult subject at the moment. Private and corporate bookers are definitely ringing around a lot more than usual looking for the best price. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is doing it, but many more than usual. This has impacted my business FULL STOP and has made me think on many occasions about reducing my fees. Even reducing them drastically, as there are magicians out there who are now going out there for stupid fees. I heard a rumour that there is a professional magician going out for weddings and corporate functions for £100 and less. This is absolutely ridiculous. How the hell can you make a living on that?
I mentioned to Phil Jay about reducing my fees and he kind of summed it up in one for me. He said “What do you need to take home every month to make a living?” Lets say its X amount. So he said you need to do Z amount of gigs to get that money. Now if you were to reduce your fees by half, that means you would have to do DOUBLE the amount of gigs. So the question is ‘Do you have the enquiries to do double the amount of gigs each month?’ The answer to that is most probably NO…
I think we all need to ride this storm out, get to the other end safely and then eventually business will be back to the norm. But the other question is “Will business be the same ever again, once we are out of the recession?”
hi,
I like the way you think that’s why I always read your blogs with interest. I think a lot of magicians are doing some parts of what you suggest without realizing it!
Most magicians start off at a low price until they become competent and professional and find there feet. Once they reach a price that reflects there ability hopefully they stick to it and don’t deviate although there’s always room to wriggle. A small drop in fees should only reflect in situations when you can save on travel if its local for example, or charity gig often attracts a small fee or no fee at all. However you have to draw the line somewhere or we would all be working every weekend if it was for charity! But doing a gig for a poor fee just to secure the performance should never be considered.
Is there a recession for magicians? I’m not sure….
I think good magicians who do a good job for what their worth there probably isn’t a recession. But how do you know if your charging the right fee? ask yourself some questions…how many re-booking have you had this year? How many gigs have you secured from recommendations from previous gigs? That should resolve part of they way to establishing ether your cheap or asking to much! At the end of the day you know how good you are, so don’t do your self down because if some wants to book you they will!
Thanks Rob. I pride myself on being up on the information that’s out there so it’s great to have a new resource pointed out to me. Interestingly I was at a networking meeting and 2 people gave me advice – the traditional business man told me I should drop my fees, the creative person told me to double them – one saw the value the other didn’t.
Hi Pete,
I whole-heartedly agree with you on this, and your previous blogs. As magicians we need to need to continually be raising the bar and beating expectations, not just through adding new tricks to our repertoires but making the whole package we offer clients more professional.
I personally increased my fee at the beginning of 2009. This had given me flexibility to offer a “last minute” reduction in some cases or a reduction if the booking was local, but even after any reduction the fee is still higher than it was compared to 2008′s flat rate. Importantly, the client’s understood they were getting a discount and were appreciative for the small saving.
More importantly – reducing your fee doesn’t make the telephone ring!
Have a listen to this audio link. I’ve listened to it numerous times and it’s why I chose to increase my price, and keep it up, at the time when other magicians start dropping theirs.
http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/audioclips/The_Pricing_Expert.mp3
Looking forward to your future blog posts, and have a good (and busy) Christmas,
Rob