You Can't Take No For An Answer!
Nothing truly worth having is going to be easy so you'll have to roll up those sleeves and put in the work! It will take more than your pure talent and charm to pull things off. You will have to be one determined and driven force to be reckoned with!
Have Something to Give
Know exactly what it is that you have to offer - all of it! I mean go beyond your merchandise and your music, what makes you unique that others need to stop and take notice about? What exactly about your music and your band are you trying to get people to notice? Make sure it is the best you can possibly get it and then work on it some more. Be a stickler for the little things. When I am in the studio for myself or for another artist, writer or producer, I am a perfectionist in regard to what I am bringing to the table. I want what anyone to hear from me to be the very best , not for personal gratification but to produce the very best work for people to consume.
Bring that same energy to what you are doing! If you are trying to book a particular venue, make sure your live show is amazing! Figure out what your unique gift is and work at it to make it the best offer anyone has ever seen put on the table!
Ask For What You Want
You have a great band, a group of followers and all the things you've been busting your butt off to get and now you are looking toward the next step. Know exactly what you want and don't be too afraid to ask for it. Ask for it without shame! If you have put in the work to get you to a point where you are prepared to take the next step, you should not be ashamed to ask "gatekeeper" for what you want - no matter what their title may be!
How many times have you been told no?
Prepare For the Bumps Ahead
The word no will pass your ears way more often than anything else, especially when you are starting out. You have not yet proven yourself or your business sense yet so you are still wet behind the ears in others eyes. Just know that that is not restricted to a specific age range.
The best way for you to prepare for the bumps that will inevitably cross your path is to know what you are asking or looking for benefits the person or company you are asking! Everyone is not going to work from the kindness of their hearts because they have worked hard to get where they are and want to see a profit for it and/or they want to know you will be just as invested in a venture as they have proven to be.
Be ready to ask several times. Often you will find gatekeepers are busy, forget, or more often than not have filtered whatever proposition you have presented to them as unimportant. Your proposition or "ask" will continue to be pushed to the wayside and forgotten about if you don't bring it up again so do that! Figure out different ways to present what you are asking for. Don't nag or hound but give a gentle nudge and let it be known that you have something worth paying attention to.
Deliver
You finally got through to the gatekeeper and now you have a shot. Prove yourself! Take what you have to give and present it in such away that it completely blows people away! This is not the time to take a seat and relax, you've just gotten your foot in the door. Get the rest of your body in the room and show people why they should have given you a shot the very first time you asked. You'll make it a bit easier the next time you ask and open up the door for more possibilities because now that gatekeeper knows that you deliver.
Go out and hone your craft, go after what you need and let nothing stop you!
