What's up gigging musicians, it's Jared Judge, and I just booked a wedding. So this was a fun one. This was a mother of a bride, who just called me asking for availability in September, it is currently April if you're listening to this later. So seven months out, the average that we book is typically five months out. But let me tell you the quick story about this one, and why I think it was a successful gig. So this person, She is the mother of the bride. And she had heard our group at another wedding, even a couple years ago, at a venue here in Milwaukee. And she was just so impressed with the group, which is awesome. This is a story really to emphasize the importance of showing up every gig and doing your best. And so she had heard our group at another wedding, and loved us, and asked the bride and groom of that wedding, who was that string group that you had at your wedding, we really have to have them at my daughter's. And so they told them the name of our group, they, this mother of the bride search for us on Google found us on Google. And then reached out to me about a month ago, just gave me a call, which we chatted we connected. And you know, my whole thing is that when I'm talking to a potential client, my goal is to connect with them really on a personal level, and make sure that they understand how we can serve their needs. This is a huge thing for me is like, being a gigging musician is not about me, being a gigging musician is about the people that I serve, which I serve the families of people getting married, I help them get the result that they want, which is beautiful entertainment, as you know, for the special day, the once in a lifetime event that they're having here. I also serve the musicians who play for me. And then I also serve the staff of the venue that we're playing at the caterers, the vendors, I serve those people. And so how that relates back to this is, you know, when I'm on the phone with them, my goal is to show them how I can serve them, which means the conversation I steer them towards, is asking them, what kind of experience they're looking for at their wedding. You know, this isn't just about me, me, me, my group plays this, my group does that. First I need to discover what kind of result are they looking for? Are they looking for, you know, a little more of a religious ceremony where they need some music to accompany you know, a Catholic mass? Are we going to be playing during communion? How many people are taking communion, we will time it out, time out our song to last through the duration of communion? Are they doing a unity candle? That way? You know, when the ceremony has an auditory pause, meaning there's no sound, the officiant isn't talking, the couple is walking, navigating through to a different table to light a unity candle. Do you need us to fill that awkward silence with some music. And so I'm always trying to discover what are the different emotional buttons to push with the client. And this isn't sneaky. This isn't like underhanded. This is truly trying to discover what their needs are, and how I can serve them best. And then of course, I have to demonstrate how I serve them best. And that's to me, I'm all about storytelling. So that's where I would tell them the stories of people who I've played for in the past. You know, getting back to the Unity candle example. I tell them, you know, we've played for many weddings, one of the weddings I remember most is this wedding that we did up in Green Bay at a brewery. And this couple was a very unique couple they they loved craft beer, and believe he was a stout guy, and she was an amber ale person would have been cool if her name was Amber, but I don't think it was. And instead of lighting a unity candle, they did a beer combination ceremony where they had glass, they each had a glass of their favorite beer. And then they had an empty glass. And instead of letting the Unity candle, what they did was they combined their beers into this other glass, and then they each drank from it. And without music, that moment would have been dead silent. It might have been people like laughing or gasping because it was such a cool ceremony. But overall it would be an awkward moment in the ceremony. And of course nobody wants awkward moments in their wedding ceremony. It ruins the flow. And it just kind of shakes. It's jarring. So it doesn't provide the the smooth flowing ceremony that people really want and deserve. And so that's where we talked about this before. And we planned it out that during their beer ceremony, we played their favorite song, we played the song that they like, dance to the first time, I don't remember exactly what it was. So I'm telling this story to show them, what are the stakes of not having live music, such as the awkward silence during that, and then what's the amazing result that they have when they do have live music. So for them, you know, they have an amazing accompaniment to this really unique, beautiful beer combining ceremony. And they can, the person I'm speaking to, can picture it, they have to have this epiphany themselves that, hey, if I have my wedding, it's gonna be awkward. Unless I have this really talented group that has actually done similar things to what I'm planning. I need them to fill the awkward silence with the kind of music that I love. So yeah, so this, this mother, the bride, she called me back today. And another lesson today is patience, and persistence. Because when she called about a month ago, they weren't ready to book. Because, of course, we're still in the middle of recovering from COVID. And so that's kind of been the big lesson here is that people, people are scared to book now. And it's because they're still not sure what the different regulations are. They're not sure what new strains of COVID are going to come out. They're not sure how fast the vaccines are going to be rolled out. And regardless of your opinion on that, you know, everybody has a different opinion on COVID. And we're not like that's not the purpose of this podcast to try to address that. But regardless, people are scared. And so as bandleaders as people who book gigs, we have to be patient for that, we have to recognize that we have to lean into that. And that's why, you know, some people are offering flexible date booking for their band, which, of course, is really hard to do unless you have a system in place. And so that's why I use BookLive Pro, because it's very easy to set a date is flexible, and just change it as necessary. postpone. But, so yeah, I guess the two big lessons here are one, patience and persistence and two, story selling. So how do you connect with the person who's calling you discover really what motivates them? Why did they call you and how do you tell a story that positions what you can offer as the solution to what they're looking for? So that's all I got for you today, guys. Thanks for tuning in. If you like this, please make sure to subscribe, like it, share it. And we'll see you on the next gigging musician podcast.