talkmagic.co.uk

Hey guys.

I have done a good few jobs in the past, weddings, walk around birthdays, dinners, bbqs e.t.c

however now I have had my first ever corporate offer.

160 people, at an Operatic Society dinner, and a potential offer of a second at a construction indiustry awards dinner.

Now, I have no idea what to charge at all for corporate events.

The bloke is head of an entertainments...thing, so it could potentially get me lots of future bookings...but I don;t want to price myself out of the market, nor charge to little and not look "qualified" enough. The guy has seen me perform in the past and loves what I can do...but once again, has only ever seen me "on the fly", in an informal situation (just when I was on holiday before". He said that he would like to book me for a "trial run"

So...what would one usually charge for 160 people walkaround corporate as a "trial run"?

I have never done anything like this before, and there is a first for everything!

Would I quote a price and then ask for travelling expenses on top of that as well? or charge a bigger price and say I'll travel myself? e.t.c

I have no car, so it would have to be train I am afraid.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Yours

Chris

I always quote expenses on top of...this gives you some way to negotiate without redicing the rate of your performnce.

For example...if he says you are a bit high...you can bluff a bit and say "you know what, I can knock of some of the mileage in the quote...I have family in the area and my wife will come with and do some visiting."

"Or I have a friend in the area and he had graciously said i can stay with home...so we can take the accomodations out of the quote"

I don't like to negotiate my "show" as I feel I have priced it accordingly...I will at times haggle my way through the expense portion to get my quote into their total budget range...this way they stil percieve my show to be xxx dollars. If you start negotiating rates, then expect to always negotiate rates...and you will struggle to establish yourself as a quality performer that is of great value at xxx dollars.

ask them what their budget is for someone like you. If they throw the question back say you can be reasonably flexible which is why you want them to tell you a price and then you'll tell them what you can do for the money.

If that doesn't work double your usual charges and quote them that and say 'is that acceptable ?''

An Operatic Society dinner, isnt really a corporate .

Ive been involved with the am dram world since i was a wee lad, and have been to many dinners.

From a performers point of view, They can be a tough crowd. Ill warn you now, many of them will know something about magic, because of the technical side of theatre.

As far as their budget goes, it will be very low, because most societys run at a loss, or break even at best.

and the construction industry is going through some very tough times at the moment.

(My brother in law owns his own construction company)

Like Dale says, this isnt a corporate do. Corporate in my eyes is working a trade show for a corporation. A dinner is just that - a dinner. Just treat it like any wedding/walk around event you've done before, because thats basically what it is!!

I dont like the idea of charging extortionate rates purely because your working for a company. OK, in my pricing there is a few quids difference in what I would charge for a company as opposed to a private party (in the same town) but there isnt that much difference. Work out your pricing based on how long it would take you to get round the 160 guests.

Hope my ramblings make some sense, im full of cold today and my head isnt quite tuned in at the moment

I'm the same as Mark, my basic price is my price, it doesn't really change depending on the client. I might add something to that to cover travel or any other expenses but I always factor those into the price that I quote and don't add them on as extras.

Yes, thats a very good point from the Lomster.

When quoting, dont say "thats £X, plus another £Y expenses, taking you to £Z". I always quote saying "Thats £XXX, inclusive of all expenses". That way you wont end up with your client trying to talk you down on your expenses by saying "ooo, I can get you a cheaper hotel, and ill will buy you a cheese pasty for tea instead of the Lobster Thermadore"

My client in my opinion doesnt need a breakdown of what my expenses are. I know what my expenses are through years of experience and wont be changing that to save someone else a few quid.

Mark

mmmm warm cheese pasty. I could eat one right now.

One small hint. If you use a PK ring make sure to keep it on all night, not just when doing a trick with it. Women in particular notice this sort of thing and find it strange if the ring comes and goes (unless it's on your left hand ring finger in which case they will assume you're a husband out on the pull!).

Mark Waddington wrote:Yes, thats a very good point from the Lomster.

When quoting, dont say "thats £X, plus another £Y expenses, taking you to £Z". I always quote saying "Thats £XXX, inclusive of all expenses". That way you wont end up with your client trying to talk you down on your expenses by saying "ooo, I can get you a cheaper hotel, and ill will buy you a cheese pasty for tea instead of the Lobster Thermadore"

My client in my opinion doesnt need a breakdown of what my expenses are. I know what my expenses are through years of experience and wont be changing that to save someone else a few quid.

Mark

I always add them on after; and when it comes to accomodations I don't pay and invoice them for it, I tell them what I need and they provide me with a hotel phone number, reservation confirmation number, and address...I know many of my cleints (trade shows in perticular) will have arrangements with hotels that are utilizing a booth at the show to exchange services and that way they don't pay directly for the rooms anyway. If they wish to pay, they can, but 9/10 simply exchange booths at the show for rooms for their entertainers.

If they choose to discuss my meal per deim...it is simple. They can provide me with food credits at the concession (which they often exchange as well) simply take my sandwich order and have a sandwich platter arranged for delivery at certain times through the day, invite me to the exhibitors banquet, as well as provide me access to the exhibitor's lounge which is usually stocked with bottled water, coffee, sandwich platters, fruit and veggie plates, as well as various meat and cheese trays.

I always open them up to the expenses...some choose to just pay and be done with it, others like to negotiate ways to bring the cost down on their end but still provide you with your needs.

Lady of Mystery wrote:I might add something to that to cover travel or any other expenses but I always factor those into the price that I quote and don't add them on as extras.

Curious question....does the difference of opinion on this have anything to do with UK vs Canada? Due to the sheer size our the country we live in we can have a quote that changes (total amount including listed expenses) by $1000 simply due to commuting. I don't want to add that it and give people the impression that my services are worth "$3500" when they are really worth "$2000 plus expenses"...that way they get an idea of the value/quality of performer they are getting.

A $3500 performer that lives in the area of the performance is much different than a $2000 performer that lives elsewhere and commutes...they are not comparing performances in apples to apples the other way?

Just a curiosity question....and while on the topic...what would be a longish km's commute to a show in the UK if you went coast to coast?

I've never really thought about expenses, for the gigs that I've done, I've just done a quite tot up in my head taking into account how far away it is, how easy it is to get there (I guess that falls into expenses), the time of day and what the gig is. With that I come up with a price that I think is fair, although I do add a little on so that I can give them a discount and make them feel like they're getting a good deal.

cheers for the help guys, I decided to charge my normal fee plus train fare...can't say fairer than that?