Entertainment Pricing guide
Insight on the biz - by Eric Howell Sharp.
So you are throwing a party and you want to wow your guests with some fantastic top drawer party entertainment.
How much should you expect to pay? That is the million dollar question, right? Before you begin your search for the perfect event entertainer for your party it would be wise to examine your budget. That will save you time and help you choose the right entertainment and the right professional performer. SEE OUR CURRENT PRICES
Prices run the gamut from a hundred bucks for a new-ish kids party performer to thousands of dollars for top drawer corporate and public event speakers, players, performers - those who can truly captivate an audience and keep them engaged and enthralled. So how do you know you are getting a fair deal? I have built my business over many years by strictly adhering to fair and competitive pricing. What's your opinion? Sharpo's Southern California Party Pricing Survey: Here are the elements that I believe should go into pricing. It is a juggling act. In sales I believe it is called the “Magic Number”.
The elements are VALUE, COSTS and WHAT THE MARKET CAN ACTUALLY BEAR.
Value:
When we look at value we must consider the experience you can reasonably expect to have. Will this act you are buying engage your audience? Will this program make you say “Wow!” Will it make you laugh or amaze you, enthrall you? Allow you to forget your troubles for a while? Will it transport you to a different time or place (metaphorically speaking). Will it create a memory you will cherish for years to come? Will it make you rethink and question some preconceived notions? Will it make you feel...something? If this is a gift to your guest of honor, will they be moved by this program? Will it be great fun!?!
How much is this live entertainment worth to you? Remember this is not canned or prerecorded and mass distributed. This is a live performance. A unique slice of life at this exact moment in time and space involving you and your guests - in your own home or wherever you are celebrating your most important moments with your family and friends.
How much value does this create for your life and to the lives of your party guests?
AND since value is measured fairly or otherwise with competitors’ pricing: How does the price compare to the other players in their field?
Now think of it in terms of box office too. If you were to go to the theater and pay for a ticket to see this show - how much would you expect to pay? Now multiply that by the number of people coming to your party. BUT wait. If most theaters hold a lot more people than the number of people coming to your dinner party you would have to consider the difference. For example, imagine for a moment that you would pay $25 to see the show at the theater and that the theater seats 100 people...and the performer being considered plays theaters like that more than occasionally... That means the value of the performance is potentially $2500. That doesn’t mean that the market can bear this price for that show in your home so you may be getting the bargain of a lifetime if they can actually work within your budget! (I’ll get back to what the market will bear in a bit.) Of course the night the professional performer is playing in your home they are unavailable to perform in the theater which could amount to a large loss of potential revenue. So round and round we go. Value is a huge consideration in how the entertainment business works at every level.
Also, most people want their entertainment on weekends which creates value too because it limits the availability of the performer. Those coveted performance times go for a premium compared to off days and times.
Costs: When we look at costs we must consider the entertainer as a small business owner. In order to provide this entertainment service, the professional performer must spend hours honing their skills and perfecting their performance in order to provide the experience you would expect in exchange for your hard earned dollars. Those hours of rehearsing, researching, practicing and perfecting their craft are hours and hours of unpaid work over many years. Then there is costuming, props, equipment, and other production related expenses. Then there is their website and marketing, gas money, licenses, insurance, professional association fees and dues, self employment taxes and all the other costs of running a business. If you want a full time professional entertainer then this must all be considered in the pricing.
What the market will bear:
What is your budget for the party? That is the key to the whole thing, right? It doesn’t matter what the value is or what the performer’s costs are - if the entertainment isn’t in the budget then that is all there is to it. Ultimately party and event entertainment is intangible thing. The performance - a shared experience is hopefully an affordable luxury. I believe - I know from years of experience - the party guests will remember the show long after they remember the meal so consider that before you exhaust the budget for food.
I hope this little article provides some insight as to how the party and event entertainment business works.
Click over now to my convenient online information request and I can send you a quote and availability for your event.
How much should you expect to pay? That is the million dollar question, right? Before you begin your search for the perfect event entertainer for your party it would be wise to examine your budget. That will save you time and help you choose the right entertainment and the right professional performer. SEE OUR CURRENT PRICES
Prices run the gamut from a hundred bucks for a new-ish kids party performer to thousands of dollars for top drawer corporate and public event speakers, players, performers - those who can truly captivate an audience and keep them engaged and enthralled. So how do you know you are getting a fair deal? I have built my business over many years by strictly adhering to fair and competitive pricing. What's your opinion? Sharpo's Southern California Party Pricing Survey: Here are the elements that I believe should go into pricing. It is a juggling act. In sales I believe it is called the “Magic Number”.
The elements are VALUE, COSTS and WHAT THE MARKET CAN ACTUALLY BEAR.
Value:
When we look at value we must consider the experience you can reasonably expect to have. Will this act you are buying engage your audience? Will this program make you say “Wow!” Will it make you laugh or amaze you, enthrall you? Allow you to forget your troubles for a while? Will it transport you to a different time or place (metaphorically speaking). Will it create a memory you will cherish for years to come? Will it make you rethink and question some preconceived notions? Will it make you feel...something? If this is a gift to your guest of honor, will they be moved by this program? Will it be great fun!?!
How much is this live entertainment worth to you? Remember this is not canned or prerecorded and mass distributed. This is a live performance. A unique slice of life at this exact moment in time and space involving you and your guests - in your own home or wherever you are celebrating your most important moments with your family and friends.
How much value does this create for your life and to the lives of your party guests?
AND since value is measured fairly or otherwise with competitors’ pricing: How does the price compare to the other players in their field?
Now think of it in terms of box office too. If you were to go to the theater and pay for a ticket to see this show - how much would you expect to pay? Now multiply that by the number of people coming to your party. BUT wait. If most theaters hold a lot more people than the number of people coming to your dinner party you would have to consider the difference. For example, imagine for a moment that you would pay $25 to see the show at the theater and that the theater seats 100 people...and the performer being considered plays theaters like that more than occasionally... That means the value of the performance is potentially $2500. That doesn’t mean that the market can bear this price for that show in your home so you may be getting the bargain of a lifetime if they can actually work within your budget! (I’ll get back to what the market will bear in a bit.) Of course the night the professional performer is playing in your home they are unavailable to perform in the theater which could amount to a large loss of potential revenue. So round and round we go. Value is a huge consideration in how the entertainment business works at every level.
Also, most people want their entertainment on weekends which creates value too because it limits the availability of the performer. Those coveted performance times go for a premium compared to off days and times.
Costs: When we look at costs we must consider the entertainer as a small business owner. In order to provide this entertainment service, the professional performer must spend hours honing their skills and perfecting their performance in order to provide the experience you would expect in exchange for your hard earned dollars. Those hours of rehearsing, researching, practicing and perfecting their craft are hours and hours of unpaid work over many years. Then there is costuming, props, equipment, and other production related expenses. Then there is their website and marketing, gas money, licenses, insurance, professional association fees and dues, self employment taxes and all the other costs of running a business. If you want a full time professional entertainer then this must all be considered in the pricing.
What the market will bear:
What is your budget for the party? That is the key to the whole thing, right? It doesn’t matter what the value is or what the performer’s costs are - if the entertainment isn’t in the budget then that is all there is to it. Ultimately party and event entertainment is intangible thing. The performance - a shared experience is hopefully an affordable luxury. I believe - I know from years of experience - the party guests will remember the show long after they remember the meal so consider that before you exhaust the budget for food.
I hope this little article provides some insight as to how the party and event entertainment business works.
Click over now to my convenient online information request and I can send you a quote and availability for your event.
