Why is he right, because he somewhat felt something you said? Do you realize that not one of your posts in this entire thread have had anything at all to do with the topic of this thread? This is all 100% personal agenda.

Some people are trying to have a serious discussion.

LOL. I got to give it to you. You are a funny man.

MindPro:
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *That* was worth more than many books!

DynaMike:
I'm not totally sure what I "get". But I think it might go something like this --

You (personally, not everyone) did not get handed this business. You had to work hard, take actions, fail and get back up - and repeat this several times - to get where you are now. You had to learn how to adjust to your abilities or lack thereof, how to figure out the market you wanted and deflect those you don't want, and create and deliver the package(s) you want to present for sale.

Along the way, you had to overcome some negativity, both from within and without. You made decisions to press forward into arenas that were challenging both to social norms and to your own "safety margins". You had to nurture, receive, and project a confidence in yourself that probably was not there when you started, and guard that against all the failures that are sure to come.

You had to raise yourself above the bottom two levels before you could reach clients at those levels. Your success is as much taking actions to improve yourself as it is taking actions to improve your business and performance skills.

Something like that?
Ed

Right. And put yourself in your customers' shoes. You are on the right track. I have confidence in you buddy.

(Sorry for the delay in returning -- hectic weekend.)


A few years ago, I had a Saturday birthday party booked and prepaid. Unfortunately, my gall bladder attacked me Thursday night! Friday evening (after *finally* getting out of the ER that morning and getting into a room with pain meds), I call the customer to explain that I'm going into surgery the next morning and won't be able to come. Of course, as I'm making the call, I fully understand that I'm throwing a wrench into their birthday plans and I'll have to refund the money.

The wife answers and she is berserk spitting mad!! Her husband takes the phone and is a bit more understanding - it's not like I planned this after all. But they are going to have to scramble at the last minute to find something else, and they need their money back immediately so they can pay for it. PayPal to the rescue!

It's very obvious, thinking back on this and placing it against the backdrop of Maslow's, that how I viewed this on my "needs" was quite different than they did. I'm not even sure the customers were aware of how basic of a need they had let this become. A birthday party is supposed to be one of those things that you can let go of, as long as you're breathing, safe, and with family. I was feeling the shaking in the bottom two at the moment, so letting this go was not a big deal for me. But it apparently impacted them much deeper.

I guess that's one reason why I've held so many "sales programs" at arm's length: it's like they're trying to teach you how to convince your customer a birthday party magician is a basic component of your need for peace, sanity, and strength in your social fabric. It's not - my entertainment may be the main event at your party, but if it doesn't work, you and your kid are still alive! And so I have a hard time understanding people who view this as their life-blood for that moment.

Ed

Ed, if you know another magician in your area, you can find out from him if he is interested in being your backup. He might want you for his back up too.

??? Do you just post the first thing that pops into your mind? Do you even read the topic of these threads?

Absolutely without a doubt! This is why I've said continuously, the way people view, approach and purchase entertainment is much different that other conventional types of business and purchases.

Your perspectives towards this are quite conventional and casual. This is disconnecting you with your customers. You said "A birthday party is supposed to be one of those things that you can let go of, as long as you're breathing, safe, and with family. I was feeling the shaking in the bottom two at the moment, so letting this go was not a big deal for me. But it apparently impacted them much deeper". People book/purchase entertainment for special occasions, for some of the biggest days and events in their lives. Try telling your perspective to a parent who has to disappoint their child (let alone the rest of the family and friends), try telling that to a bride whose entertainment cancels of her most special and long-awaited and anticipated day of her life, try telling that to a venue that depends on entertainment as their livelihood to stay in business and pay their employees, try telling that to a promoter who took out a loan or refi'd the house to produce an event. Entertainment is much more important and significant that you seem to view and approach it.

Your view of it it in the bigger picture of life is understandable, but the first rule of entertainment business is understanding the entire picture about your clients, customers and prospects. This is not how they perceive it. This is extremely important to them. It is extremely personal and emotional for them, I don't think many entertainers get what it truly means when someone selects you for their event. They are putting trust in you. You are accepting this major responsibility for this and their expectations. This is one of the reasons why I will always argue about these guys that think automated bookings via your website is the way to go. It puts the entertainer at such a disadvantage and not in control of the entire situation, it negates them of the personal relationship that should be at the foundation of the booking and it just makes it a job rather than an event and responsibility. So much is absent in the greater picture. It also voids them of the full understanding and responsibility to the client, their needs and understanding.

As entertainers, we need to understand this greater and fuller picture...or don't be an entertainer! On top of all of this, booking entertainment is both highly psychological and emotionally-based. Without a full understanding of this, there is no way you can succeed at truly serving your clients. I don't care if your a kids party entertainer and your client are family/parents, a booker for a casino or resort that have entire campaigns, divisions, management and promotions based upon you and the acts you book, wedding couples whose family have spend thousands of dollars and the bride's entire life planning for this special day,

As entertainers we are much more to these people than just someone who does a craft. More than just doing your tricks. This is something every entertainer needs to understand.

Fortunately, I have never in 40 years missed or had to cancel a gig. I once spent $3,800 to get to a $1,400 gig and went through hell and high water to get there. The old adage "the show must go on" and "whatever it takes" are more than just cute industry-related sayings. They are a true understanding of the entertainer's responsibility.

I think this is not taught in any guru courses. There are more dynamics and elements to buying and selling entertainment than most ever realize or fully understand.

This is what beginners and part-timers need to realize. Just because you are deciding to only work "once in a while" or "on the side because you have another job, means absolutely nothing to your client. They are still hiring you as a skilled professional. They expect (by default) a professional job from a professional entertainer. They have the expectations and are placing the full responsibility with you. In many of these events the entertainment can make or break the event. It may also be the (or one of the) greatest expenses). It comes with the greatest expectations. So as a performer you can't hide behind "well I don't do this full-time or full a living." That means nothing to the client. That's simply just a justification for your lack of professionalism, true understanding of the business and disregard for the responsibility that comes with and had been placed upon you by accepting their booking.

This is also why unlike Mike's grand wisdom, simply giving the gig to another entertainer is terrible business and a compete avoidance of the responsibility, trust and understanding of the client's perspectives. Not to mention it also positons you as an interchangeable commodity, which is a model of business I would not want anything to do with.

So the truth of the matter is if the client believes it is a "need" it is in fact a "need" and should then become or be treated the same for the performer serving them.

So it really comes down to the art of empathetic communication: being able to listen to the other person and "feel" what they are saying at a level deeper than just the information.

I learned that in every conversation, each person has four conversations every time they speak:
-- what I said
-- what I meant
-- what you heard
-- how you felt

And the same four dynamics as the other party responds. If the response received seems way out of sync with the statement I just made, the other person probably received concepts and emotions far different than I intended to convey. Likewise, if I walk away from an exchange with someone I don't know (like a first-time potential client) and I do not clarify with basic statements and imagery exactly what the conversation did and did not say, then there may be a potential time bomb waiting to detonate.

(Most newly married couples go through the process of sorting this out. Hopefully, they learn to resolve it ....)

Okay - I think it's beginning to dawn on me why my thinking and approach never got the results I hoped for. I would imagine that this will also play out into future business relationships - if you understand exactly what these people are needing (not just asking for) and you over-deliver, then you get a delighted customer who just might tell someone else. On the other hand, if the best they will say is "yeah - he was okay" because you didn't get this, it might be more about the pre-show communication than the actual performance.

Does that sound right?
Ed

You are on the right track, Ed. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you do not listen to those who get jealous because someone else thought of a better answer. I only laugh at them.

I completely agree that one should go out of the way to show up for the obligation. But I am not naive enough to
think that a ‘real’ emergency can’t happen to any of us.

Sometimes you have to drop your own ego and put the customer first. Having someone take your place in an emergency
is a great idea (Mike’s suggestion) and would be very much appreciated by the parent I’m sure. Most people understand
and will work with you in a real emergency when they see you are doing all you can do.

As important as the event is, it’s still a magic show at a birthday party, not heart surgery. It can be replaced with
another magician, a clown, or some other type live entertainment. Or if nothing else, you could have a friend takeover
a video of your show, a few magic gifts for the kids, an extra special gift for the birthday child, and everyone a free
ticket to your live show at another date. It’s also important to assure the parents that all the extras will not cost them.

Being prepared by giving it some thought ahead of time is the key.



Hiring a magician is about like choosing a fast food place. They all have good fries when the other one is closed.

Tom

In the big picture it's always about the communication and relationship rather than the performance. Rarely when a client leaves having just booked you and feels great, excited and confident about doing so, is it about your performance, but rather more about the trust, relationship and understanding they feel you have in them and their event and their confidence in that they have made a wise choice in selecting you to make the concepts they think of in their minds become a reality. If you can exceed them beyond their wildest thoughts or imagination (over delivering), so much the better.

"Not just what they are asking for" is exactly one of the points I always try to make here. What they THINK they want, is usually not at all what they want once given the right and proper perspective, education and understanding of a more all-encompassing picture. Performers often tell me price is often the most important factor to their prospects. I couldn't disagree more and have often proven this to those I work with. Truth be told, for kids parties, there is always one thing more important (#1) than price, your talent, experience, references, length in the business and all of the other things most commonly thought of. Don't ask me because I'm not telling. However, it is up to you to properly introduce and present this understanding and perspective. They will not ever get it on their own yet once you present it, money becomes secondary if not even further down on their list of concerns. But over the last 35 years, every single time I demonstrated this to a coaching student or consulting client, it as proven to 100% correct, without fail.

You must take control and create this perspective. Again it's done trough providing information and education in the right perspective. Once you do, they look at you from a whole different perspective and you automatically begin to understand their REAL interests, needs, priorities and concerns.

The performer that "gets it" is the performer that gets the business and the edge over others. It's not about sales, selling, add-ons, or most other things performers think, it's about understanding and relating, which is the foundation of relationship business.

Glad you're taking something from these posts.

The idea of Maslow's Hierarchy makes sense on paper but in practice it has been found that it's not so linear. It's been found that all areas of the pyramid are vital for human well being and not everyone has the same requirements. The Hierarchy doesn't put into account individual differences and the model is no longer featured in many updated developmental lifespan psychology classes
That being said - I wouldn't read too much into this model but if it helps you understand things better by all means use it.

Point is to find out why people are buying.