Knowing your market well is paramount to success.  Knowing your market means knowing its venues and its local talent. Immerse yourself in the "scene." A simple call to a studio can often get you a chance to attend a recording session. This will help you learn the recording process and the differences between different recording studios.  Find out their prices, their specific equipment, and which performers record there.  After visiting a few locations, you’ll know which is the preferred recording studio in the area with the most up-to-date technology.  If a professional producer is at the session, watch how they interact with the talent and the engineer. Being a producer usually involves mediating between the talent and the technicians. Good producers get results by making everyone comfortable so that they can do their best. Be sure to sell your ability to bring in quality talent that makes the venue profitable.  Let the venue manager know why you’d like to book their location.  There is a great variety of information you can glean from a venue manager.  Determine the cost to book.  You won't negotiate prices for your talent, but gathering information here is important.  Not only can you get the range of cost from the single location, but once you’ve been to a few venues, you’ll have a better understanding of which are overpriced and which are values. Ask about their saturation.  Find out whether or not they are consistently booked and you can not only find out whether you’re able to fit in, but also if they are a popular location. See what nights are their busiest nights.  Figuring when they are the busiest will give you a good idea of when you’d like to book your performer(s). Query if there are any showcase events coming up.  Maybe a festival or something similar?  See if you can get into an event like this and put your act as an opener for a big name. Ask about any specific policies for booking agents.  If they have any minute detail that needs to be followed, forms to be filled out, days to meet with ownership or management, you’ll need to know all the details. This may seem like an obvious step, but you can gain very helpful information by talking to multiple performers at multiple gigs.  Hand out business cards and ask a variety of questions.  Ask them about their pay for a gig.  After a few answers, you should have a decent gauge on the going rates in the area. Ask where they refuse to work.  Learn which venues are considered too dirty or unprofessional to work in. Find out which places have the best acoustics.  Ask the musicians which locations they like the best.  Ask which place really belts out the sound.  This will help you steer towards the right venues and venue managers.

Summary:
Choose a market. Visit recording studios in the area. Talk to venue managers. Talk to performers.