Members DBR Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 We live in the last frontier of the S.F. Bay Area and are having a real tough time getting any kind of gig whatsoever around here. We see you guys are busy all the time. Do we need a sales rep? We are not wales folks. We do PR but really no sales. How do you go about getting gigs in your area? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members srp72ee Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 I would have expected the Bay Area to be relatively easy for finding a gig. What type of music? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 We do PR but really no sales. By PR, what do you mean? Could you describe your business and what kinds of comparable businesses are working around you, either successfully or unsuccessfully? By we are not "wales folks" I assume that you mean "sales folks". I don't think that could be true. Somebody in your business is in sales, but possibly just quite bad at it. For what it's worth, IME if you don't have someone in the business making sales, you're going to have a hard time "hiring" a salesperson-- in addition to maybe not knowing what to look for, you might not have good grasp of what the sales process looks like for your product. How have you gotten business so far, and what kind of business has it been? How are other businesses similar to yours getting business? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 Let's see, many of the venues have house systems, there are a LOT of sound companies of ALL sizes, there are more bands willing to play than venues to play in so that leads to the typical supply > demand scenario. Not the kind of market that you want to be a supplier in. The cost of entry into being a "sound company" (and I use this term quite loosely here) has gotten so low that the market is flooded with low quality but low cost suppliers that it puts the pressure on everyone and drags the prices down to below what any quality vendor can provide (other than the gigs where there is no cost pressure option and the standards are fixed high from the outside). SF is that market, as is So. CA, Nashville, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrcpro Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 Are you in the business of providing sound systems for bands or are you a band trying to find work? If it's work as a sound provider, get out and meet some bands where they work. Ask questions - who's looking for sound reinforcement, make old fashioned cards up and hand them out to everyone, talk to club managers, advertize on Craigslist... If you are a band with no contacts in the business whatsoever (and that's what it sounds like here) boy that's a tough one in today's economy. Everyone seems to be going with what they know. But it's still not impossible if you're willing to put in the work. You can start by pounding the pavement and setting up some auditions in rooms that you think you have a realistic chance of playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DBR Posted October 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 27, 2012 We are a sound company looking for business. We have done the legwork to clubs, bands, Craigslist, business cards, telephone sales, freebies. We have done it all. There are a few other sound companies around here. Most of the places either aren't interested in hiring good sound folk because they don't think we are worth it, can't afford it or they don't want to pay anything for us. Bands think they can actually do it from the stage and make it sound good, even though they know nothing about their own gear. Seen it, heard it, done it. As far as playing in a band, I am a Bass player and can't even find a band to play with. I've been trying like hell to put a Blues Band together just so we can be a host band but no one wants to pay a host band, either. These clubs around here all want entertainment but are not willing to pay for it. We are in it for the business, too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DBR Posted October 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 27, 2012 Nicely put Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman3001 Posted October 27, 2012 Members Share Posted October 27, 2012 We are a sound company looking for business. We have done the legwork to clubs, bands, Craigslist, business cards, telephone sales, freebies. We have done it all. There are a few other sound companies around here. Most of the places either aren't interested in hiring good sound folk because they don't think we are worth it, can't afford it or they don't want to pay anything for us. Bands think they can actually do it from the stage and make it sound good, even though they know nothing about their own gear. Seen it, heard it, done it. As far as playing in a band, I am a Bass player and can't even find a band to play with. I've been trying like hell to put a Blues Band together just so we can be a host band but no one wants to pay a host band, either. These clubs around here all want entertainment but are not willing to pay for it. We are in it for the business, too Can't speak for SF but I'll tell you how it is in South Florida. I play in a cover band and the cover band circuit here is pretty dog eat dog. First, bar owners don't want to pay anything. You're lucky if you can get $400 or $500 for a 4 hours slot playing four 45 minute sets. Lots of clubs are trying to pay $300 and even $250. As for sound, of course, none of the venues have their own sound guys or even PA systems so bands have to provide their own. Now, when you figure that a 5 piece band is getting paid $400, that's $80/person so after expenses like food, drinks, gas, etc... there's really not much left to hire a professional sound man that will provide a PA so pretty much every cover band here owns and runs their own PA. So when you have a club owner that's already balking at paying a band $400, and when he knows that the band will bring their own PA, there's not much incentive for the bar to hire a separate sound man and PA for the night. I know nothing about the sound reinforcement business itself so this may not be a good suggestion but would it be possible to look around for large events like air shows, 4th of July celebrations, "day in the park" type things that are put on by the city or by the chamber of commerce or large organizations like that? Here in South Florida there are a whole bunch of them. I also know that in San Diego there are all kinds of music festivals and events all the time too. Maybe there are things like that in SF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted October 27, 2012 Members Share Posted October 27, 2012 Bands think they can actually do it from the stage and make it sound good, even though they know nothing about their own gear.Yup - Welcome to our world As far as playing in a band, I am a Bass player and can't even find a band to play with. I've been trying like hell to put a Blues Band together just so we can be a host band but no one wants to pay a host band, either.Yah, forget the "pay" part, most likely never gonna be more than a partially subsidized hobby. I've been playing more this year myself as I was getting boored waiting for my DL1608 to finally ship . It's pretty easy to get a "band/jam" together if you have a space to practice in and don't completely suck - I'm in four now . If you can read jazz standards charts you can even jam with some pretty scary dudes - they ain't gettin' {censored} for gigs either . Had a trumpet player down last Monday that's gigged with the Temptations and Sam and Dave (among others) . Hit the blues jams and make sure you can at least play blues scales in "E" and "A" for the guitarists that can't play in multiple keys and F, Bb and Eb if you want to hang with the horns . If you want to not get condescending looks from the scary cats don't forget that there's 12 notes in them scales . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted October 28, 2012 Members Share Posted October 28, 2012 Last night I was bored and looked thru the CL musicians section. I found a soundguy who will bring PA for $25/hr min 4hrs and a band that will play for $75 a night. So you want to have a successful soundcompany? Stay off craigslist and out of the clubs. easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted October 28, 2012 Members Share Posted October 28, 2012 I suggest to develop a market rather than fight for a slice of an existing pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted October 28, 2012 Members Share Posted October 28, 2012 Skip the club circuit if you can. Late nights, bad pay, and questionable talent. I would try to hook up with some wedding bands, park and rec gigs, maybe some small corporate stuff if you can land it. Try to get in with some school systems. Do graduations and battle of the bands. Universities? Maybe you can't handle commencement or spring fling, but they have donor's dinners, alumni events, smaller student events. Some of my best and most loyal clients are schools. As far as sales, you need to learn to sell yourself wherever you go. Give yourself some tools including a slick website, business cards, maybe a brochure. A sound company's best marketing tool is word of mouth though. So when you do land that gig, be prompt, clean, personable and of course good at what you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldschooler Posted October 28, 2012 Members Share Posted October 28, 2012 I suggest to develop a market rather than fight for a slice of an existing pie. This is how I got started, I was doing sound at my house gig and was approached by bands and nonprofits. It opened doors to other gigs. I also tech for a few bands when they have large shows. They know I always show up early and I don't leave it everything is packed up. Just to clarify, are you licensed and insured? Are you running this company out of your home or renting a space. Do you have employees? What kind of gear do you own and how big of a show can you provide for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rbts Posted October 28, 2012 Members Share Posted October 28, 2012 If it is like this in S Florida, and SF - then I am not so ashamed of my own town - where (of course) it is very hard to make any money with "music". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KF650SB1000 Posted October 30, 2012 Members Share Posted October 30, 2012 Ask yourself, are you good enough to become a freelance tech* with any large production company in SF bay? *not a labor/case pusher If you are, bid against them on their gigs and then rent gear as needed from them. If you lose bid to them, then you still have a chance to work the event with them as your employeer. Its against the law for a company to share what the other bids are and who they are from. This business is all about networking and it takes times to become successful (as in making a profit at the end of month). We get a lot of business from the city by submitting bids when they put out proposal/quote requests. Also check with the hotels, convention centers and other government agencies. We supply sound for all kinds of events; corporate convention for 2500 in the Hotel ballroom to a small PA at the 150 person bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted October 30, 2012 Members Share Posted October 30, 2012 Are you somebody who knows their stuff 100% and can troubleshoot knowing what to look for and why the problem occurs? Do you understand completely the signal flow, levels, impedances, grounding schemes, power distribution and are reliable, on time and have a track record? If so, maybe a system tech position with a larger company is an option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted October 30, 2012 Members Share Posted October 30, 2012 Stay off craigslist and out of the clubs. easy. This. ^^^^ But to the OP: shoot me an IM with some details about your experience and maybe some references. While we already have some regular soung guys we work with, having someone who lives in the Bay Area might come in handy sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DBR Posted October 30, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2012 We are licensed, insured, out or our homeand no employees, as of yet. Thinking about hiring on a sales person. QSC HPR 153i x2 HPR 181i x1, EV ELX 112 x2, JBL/Peavey wedges x2, A&H Mixwiz, we can do between 300 & 450 people depending on the array or not. We do not own any Shure microphones but better, IMHO, Sennheiser, Beyer, AKG for the females, AT, DR and Audix. A 16 ch/100' snake, drums for backline and once repaired, a bass rig. We have enough microphones for a 5 piece drum kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted October 30, 2012 Members Share Posted October 30, 2012 Its against the law for a company to share what the other bids are and who they are from. That's not true. It happens all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DBR Posted October 30, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2012 Thank you for of your responses. Have been a great help and will take all of thee under advisement. You guys are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted October 31, 2012 Members Share Posted October 31, 2012 Out of curiosity, what approaches do you think (or would you like) a sales person would take to create business for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KF650SB1000 Posted October 31, 2012 Members Share Posted October 31, 2012 Originally Posted by DBR We are licensed, insured, out or our homeand no employees, as of yet. Thinking about hiring on a sales person. QSC HPR 153i x2 HPR 181i x1, EV ELX 112 x2, JBL/Peavey wedges x2, A&H Mixwiz, we can do between 300 & 450 people depending on the array or not. We do not own any Shure microphones but better, IMHO, Sennheiser, Beyer, AKG for the females, AT, DR and Audix. A 16 ch/100' snake, drums for backline and once repaired, a bass rig. We have enough microphones for a 5 piece drum kit. Your gear list is pretty limited and not versatile enough for corporate work. This is a rig I would typically see/sell for the small to mid Bars depending on the music style. I do struggle to see those tops covering 300-450 people; we take out SRX725/SRX728 and tickle the limiters in a 400 person bar. I could see >150-200 people with the current set-up. Also, there absolutely nothing wrong with Shure SM or Beta microphones.With your current rig, I would research the popular bars to see what agency is representing the bands. Then start asking the agency if they need any help; also I would then contact their bands to see if they looking for sound.There are a couple areas of improvement I would suggest to upgrade your current system which would make you more marketable. - Get matching monitors- Do you have any lighting? If not, something basic like a Chauvet 4Bar is better than nothing.- Buy a bigger snake; 24x8 footprint and at least 150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DBR Posted November 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 2, 2012 Let me explain our monitors...They do match...they are JBL speakers and components inside Peavey wedge cabs. As far as lighting, we are trying to partner up with a lighting company in our area right now. We can array the 153's and ELX's and you are saying the combination won't cover 200 people? We are offering a backline of drums and when I can replace a speaker, my bass rig. We would also like to add guitar amps to the mix later on. Thanks for your advice...taken under stride and will ponder it, seriously. If only we had the dough to do what you recommend. Without any gigs, we can't do Squat. That is our dilemma. Perhaps at this point we should sell out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldschooler Posted November 2, 2012 Members Share Posted November 2, 2012 Originally Posted by DBR Let me explain our monitors...They do match...they are JBL speakers and components with Peavey cabs. I think his comment was that the 4 monitors you own don't match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DBR Posted November 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 2, 2012 Originally Posted by scarecrowbob Out of curiosity, what approaches do you think (or would you like) a sales person would take to create business for you? Contacting and knowing what to say without being nervous, jittery, stumbling, bumbling or a babbling fool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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