Why promoters do well when everyone else is struggling…

I’ve seen this before. 

In the early nineties the UK was in the grip of a nasty recession and hospitality was suffering. 

For a brief time, I was working in a 3,000 capacity ‘big old boiler’ in Bristol, complete with twin scene nightclub and dual banqueting suites.  It was a monster. 

As such it was hard to fill, so when an enthusiastic and talented young promoter approached the company and said he could fill it on two nights every week they almost snapped his arm off at the shoulder. 

And fill it he did. 

I remember counting the box office with him every Friday night at 1:30am – he always had a big smile on his face when each week I handed over to him more money than I made in 6 months.  It almost felt like he was  robbing us. 

So how did this young guy fill the venue?  Well, as with most things that are successful in business, it required a lot of effort and hard work, but it was a very simple formula. 

He was very well connected to the student population by speaking to the right people all of the time and constantly flyering student areas.  I mean this guy was relentless.  He was out flyering, on his own, from 8am every morning until 10pm every night, in all weather. 

It was back to basics, good old fashioned ‘shoe leather’ at its finest and he cleaned up. 

You see there always exists a place for a good promoter in hospitality because we all rely on footfall and people that can drive footfall will always be valued. 

The trouble is, most owners in hospitality can’t (or won’t) attract the talent needed for good in-house promotions, either because they don’t recognise it, or they aren’t willing to pay enough to get it. 

The truth is, it’s not that hard to promote well, it just takes time and effort! 

So where do you fit in?  Well, the fact is that for owners, managers and operators who are willing to take the blinkers off and focus on winning customers back, right now there’s plenty of opportunity out there despite the doom and gloom that most in our industry are constantly spouting. 

I know this is true because I work with some of the best operators and promoters in the UK who are expanding rapidly, selling tickets at a phenomenal rate and even working on filling other large hospitality businesses as promoters. 

So, whilst the rest of the industry is whinging, these people are coming in just under the radar and cleaning up. 

Take the first step to joining a new way of thinking by taking action now.