When it comes to collecting great client feedback, nobody beats 5-star acoustic guitarist Matthew Cutillo (Amityville, NY). With an amazing 365 client reviews Matthew holds the record for most all-time feedback on The Bash. What's even more impressive is that these reviews are remarkably positive, nearly every single one of them are 5-stars (see for yourself here).
We wanted to recognize his amazing accomplishment but we also think that there are a few lessons to be learned from Matthew and his thoughtful, dedicated approach to interacting with clients.
Here's one tip we can glean from Matthew: his average lead response time is just one hour. That means that, on average, he bids just an hour after his clients first send him a gig request. That's pretty incredible and it gives a great first impression. Right off the bat, Matthew's clients (and potential clients) get the message that Matthew is a responsible performer who will put their needs first.
Matt explained his bidding strategy as follows:
"I respond to gig requests immediately. It may average an hour because the email doesn't always hit my
phone immediately. As soon as the email hits my phone I literally run to a PC and respond with a gig response,
then breathe deeply and instantly call the client, then I send them a personal email to the email address they have provided."
Lucky for you Matthew is happy to share his bidding/gigging knowledge. When he learned of this post, Matthew told us:
"I give my actual emails away in my book. People who email me can have free personal coaching in any aspect this, including access to all of my knowledge on the subject and my killer, updated email responses."
"What was that about a book?" you might ask. That's right, Matthew writes! He literally wrote the book on The Bash, the only one we know about (so far). It's called How To Be #1 on GigMasters.com and it's available as an ebook on a few little sites like Amazon.com, iTunes and Barnes & Noble. Now you won't find any scoops from us in his book but you will get Matthew's insight on how to build a successful Profile and rack up five-star client reviews.
Back in September Matthew dropped by Inside the Gig to offer some very specific gigging advice to his fellow performers:
Many entertainers think that their performance begins once they start playing. The truth is you are on stage from the moment you arrive at the event. This is especially true if you are playing at a client’s home. As soon as you get to the door, nothing you do will go unnoticed. For better or worse, you are being judged by the client and their guests and these are the people who will be rating your performance on The Bash.
There is more to earning great reviews than just playing a great show. If you want to be #1 (and since you are reading this you must want to be #1), you need to get great client reviews. To get great client reviews you MUST build a rapport with the client from the first conversation to the last.
You are at the event to make people feel good. End of story. Treat everyone you speak to with care and respect. Remember that the client is your boss for the next few hours and they have a say not only in your immediate pay, but also in your future success (the all-important rating The Bash).
Make the client happy. Make them want to sing your praises. Make them want to see you succeed because you helped them pull off an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime event.
Matthew has even given us dietary advice before.
“Do yourself a favor and pack some good food: a banana, berries, a sandwich, whatever you consider to be good food.
That's a lot of solid advice from one of our top performers. When you get a chance, have a look at Matthew's Profile, scroll through a few of his 365 client reviews and, if you are interested, preview his book on Amazon.com, iTunes or Barnes & Noble.
