Biz Booster Hot Tip!

I thought I’d offer 3 best practices for the New Year that you might make part of your routine this year and for years to come. The new year is off and running. Holiday travel is winding down and winter is about to kick into high gear. Are you ready? Adopt these 3 best-practices and you will have an advantage over other artists vying for the same gigs. Practice Gratitude: One sure-fire way to build great relationships in business and in life is to demonstrate your appreciation to those with whom you interact. From the business perspective, that might simply mean remembering to send Thank You notes to bookers, presenters,…

It is not always about the fee. I've negotiated for gigs and the fee was the least important part of the negotiation. Sometimes the peripheral items you can get thrown into the deal turn out to be far more valuable than the actual fee. But first, you must know what peripheral items are valuable to you before you jump into any negotiation. And remember, each negotiation is going to be unique, so the peripherals in one situation may not be the same in another. So how do you handle that? It's all about preparation before you negotiate any deal. Take some time to really understand each situation and what you…

Trying to close the deal too soon? Booking gigs is really like selling. That could be why so many hate to do it. Selling conjures nightmare images, scare tactics and used car lots with cigar smoking, suspender wearing salesmen. Scaaaarrry!!!! Boo! And that's why I teach the strategies I do, so you can take the scary out of the process and use the process to close more deals and get more great gigs. One thing you may be doing to thwart your efforts is to rush the process and try to get too close the deal way too soon. How often have you thought, "I'm going to book some dates…

Booking a gig to book a gig or fill a date just doesn't cut it! Artists I speak with are always moaning about large blocks of empty dates on their calendars. So that quick-fix-fill-a-date booking mentality just won't provide the kind of career longevity and booking ease you probably desire. What will? Booking momentum comes from strategic planning and taking a big picture view of your career. When you plan for the long-term, say, two years out, you can create some momentum by determining the reason you are booking each tour. Having a reason for each tour adds incentive, the urgency for the presenter or booker and the booking momentum…

Picture this scenario.You are finally talking fees with the booker and you stated your fee as $1500. They come back with $1000. Now I bet you are thinking that you'll just offer to split the difference and make the final fee $1250. If you do that, the deal is done and  that's what they are hoping for.So what is a better approach?First, before you even mention your fee, I hope you have made your case and established your value so when you state your fee, whatever it is, it has some leverage behind it, some weight.I also hope you have gathered all of your facts, like venue size, ticket pricing,…

I’ve been writing and recording Biz Booster Hot Tips for 4 years now.If you’ve been following these Hot Tips, I hope you have found some valuable information to incorporate into your business. Now I’d love to hear about your success and I’d love for you to share your success with others so they may learn from your efforts.If you have a success story, please post it below so we all may see how you’ve taken a Biz Booster and put it to use in your business.Thanks for sharing.Jeri

This Monday I sent out a Biz Booster that focused on your greatest challenge. Today, pianist Laura Dean shared her reaction to Monday's Biz Booster, and I just had to share it with you. Here's what Laura wrote: Dear Jeri, On Monday, your Biz Booster Tip asked us to identify the one thing that is getting in our way of being truly successful. After some thought, I was able to identify that one thing and thought I would share. It is the organization of tasks that I have to deal with: writing and emailing press releases, sending contracts, staying on top of my marketing material, rehearsing my shows, booking airline…

In a recent Biz Booster Hot Tip:  Creating Your Own Niche Market, I shared some ideas about how you might discover the benefits of booking performances in a specific niche. Right after that Biz Booster ran, I received a wonderful success story from a Booking & Touring course student. Sharman Petri describes how her artist, Gabrielle Louise, has tapped into her niche market to expand her bookings. Here's her story: "I thought I'd relay a quick success story that ties in with this week's niche booking Biz Booster.   I book performing songwriter, Gabrielle Louise. In the past eighteen months and over 50,000 tour miles,  Gabrielle has spared the atmosphere of…

Joel Laviolette of Rattletree Marimba shares his success story after using a Biz Booster Hot Tip from July 21. Maximize Your Tours-Part Two: Monthly Media Methods. Hi Jeri, Thanks for your hard work and gift to the music community! I've been meaning to write to let you know that the tip that you gave in response to my question about touring in the same markets and how to build success was great. You mentioned getting in touch with non-profits. Well, I have three gigs lined up in which we'll be giving "awareness" to the non-profits (Ha! I am providing them an "exposure gig" with no pay! The tables have turned!!).…