i aggree with you. the problem is if you raise there someone else who going come in cheaper. i do this and it works.if i want a client i do the frist event at no charge i dont even discuss price till after i do the job. and 9 out of 10 times i have gotten the account. i have done this about 15 times and its paid i even got one customer to pay me 4 times what he was paying after i showed him the huge diffrence between 4 speakers on sticks(for an audence of a 1000) and a 4 box turbosound tms 4 rig with 5000 watts of power .the only problem was the lack of power available we poped the breaker 3 times during the show. the following week we arrived to have a brand new 100 amp panel installed by the towns electician. the rest of the shows went flawless
For some clients, quality and service is more important then the cost.
Those are the clients I want to have anyways.
I just had one client tell me last week he no longer bids his job out. I'm on my 8th year with them this year-- he knows he gets a great price from me, but more importantly it will be done well, and on time, and they don't have to worry about it. We're just about to hit five figures for this year's production, for a one day event. It's a long day, with 5 different sound systems and a good sized crew, but they're super happy with us and our service.
I've got a buddy that has had people approach his clients and offer to do the gigs cheaper. And the clients tell them no, because they are happy with my buddy and the work he does.
So it's about the relationship with your client.
Ray