How to Cold Call for a Rock Show

Video Transcript

Hi, this is David Jackel on behalf of Expert Village and I'm here to talk to you about cold calling the booking staff of a club when you're booking a show. Now, cold calling is something that many people are afraid of because no one likes going on the phone and talking to someone they don't know and it can be embarrassing and awkward, but cold calling is a very effective technique. Because if you're not part of a network and you need to connect with somebody, you're going to half to take that first step and take the initiative. E-mail is always nice, but e-mail is also easy to ignore. So, when you call someone, you get in touch with them and then you can make that connection and then you have their attention. So, how do you cold call? Well, usually, clubs will have a number on their website for booking. You call the number and chances are you're going to get an answering machine, because people that do the booking have strange hours; maybe they are only doing booking two days a week or something like that. Leave a message. Explain who you are, what your music is like and what you can offer the club. And be specific because the club wants to know the important stuff, which is how many people you're going to bring in. And in cases, like this, it's very important to be very honest, because the clubs have heard it all before. Don't try to be slick, anything like that. If you can only bring in twenty people, say twenty people. If you can't bring in anybody, because you're trying to book a gig in Philly and you're coming from Boston, then say maybe five. Be honest with them, because if they like you and they like your music, maybe they'll cut you a break, but lying to them is a sure sign that's it's going to backfire later, because either their going to catch on right away and toss you out or even worse, you show up and they find out your estimate was wrong and then you get black-listed and never get a show again. If you do get somebody on the line, same scenario, talk to them, give them the facts and that's it. And offer to send them a follow-up e-mail, which you should do anyway. In the follow-up e-mail, you will have all you contact information, the same facts and links to your music, so they can hear you, check you out, and see what they think. After doing a cold call, allow two weeks for a follow-up. That gives people a chance to go through their regular work and see if they can find a date for you. After two weeks, it's ok to call someone, but don't bug them, don't harass them. It's good to be persistent, but don't be annoying. If someone isn't answering your calls and doesn't seem to be interested in the show you want to do, it's not happening, it's not worth bugging them. Just let it go, move on, find a different venue.

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