After I read this post

https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......forum=15

I wanted to try one!

So I searched on "Comedy Club" around my area. I found three of them!

I send facebook message to their pages and two of them reply.

They ask for performance videos which I only have short "close-up" video.

I gave that video to them anyway. It is not an impressive video.

After finish my final exam, I am going to go to their club to survey and do some demo to the owner.

What do you think?

How do you sell your first time "mentalism"?

Generally my most successful strategies have been in person demonstrations.

I would never send a video I personally thought was unimpressive, though. Kind of counter-intuitive, there. "Here's something that shows me not being very good for you to judge me by."

Check Paul Draper's At The Table lecture. He talks about this. Really good and highly recommended.
The lecture's way too cheap so...

Thanks for the suggestion. I've listened to Paul Draper talk about this stuff in an interview (Well Attended Podcast I think?) and I've liked what I heard so far.

This made me laugh but, sage advice.

I agree the best sales tactic is to go directly to the person in charge of whatever venue you want to be hired and perform for him/her.

Don't say something about you that they can google. Try to be unique. Write a selling speech with one effect that do not appear in your show, and then present to them.Tell them about you and your show. Ask them about show, audience, stage, light, music, other performers and etc. Maybe you can excange your show for video of your perfomance and testimonials.

Videos work really well when you're trying to book gigs well ahead of time, for certain companies, or when they are not very close to you. I'm lucky in that most of my gigs are currently booked through people who either see me in person or already know me through other venues.

But if you're going to use a video, make it good. Hire someone if you need to, but if it's not good it won't do you any good to send it to someone.

Guys I send it to 3 clubs.
2 of them are interest.
I guess my video not that bad in their perspective. I just don't impress it myself.

Thank you for your advices.

I will update later 😃😃😃

Nothing beats in person demonstrations. But if you want to do a video, hire a professional videographer, and perform effects that create good reactions, and make sure to have these reactions on tape.

I feel the best thing ever written on closing and maintaining repeat bookings for a full time mentalist is David Thiel's "The Marketing Minded Mentalist".

With 25 years corporate sales experience, I can attest that David understands sales and contact management.

For the part-time pro, I think "The Approach" by Jamie D. Grant is excellent.

Because I've never had to do this full time, I consider it as an indulgence on many levels...
i

so I get to present myself as someone that is 100% under my own definition, so however I deliver what I want, it is as authentic as can be....but I am lucky to fulfil that without the fear of paying bills or making a full time living from what I am interested in/have a passion for...
nd
that doesn't mean I take it as a less-than serious business...so for me, bookings have taken place via word of mouth, close-up demonstrations and one-on-one readings.... these are my buy-in's...not saying this what anyone else should do...its just worked for me to varying degrees...

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Are you funny? Do you do comedy mentalism, since you are contacting comedy clubs?

Here is how it goes!

https://youtu.be/2deudVwZB8Y

Any comments are welcome

To be honest, at that time I didn't know what really comedy club and open mic night are.

I didn't do comedy mentalism at that time but recently I am performing comedy mentalism routine in comedy club as much as possible.

Comedians community(include all those three clubs owner) in my area knew me already. They are very kind and supportive.

One of them contact me after video and give me gigs every month.

An interesting question can be "How to not sell Mentalism"?

Mentalism is highly commercial and appealing to the modern market. Is just the performer´s task to offer it as proper value in the context.

This is interesting because there are two issues going on at once. Once is presenting mentalism at comedy clubs and open mic nights, the other is selling mentalism in general as unique entertainment.

Before trying to sell mentalism you would be best advised to learn the art and science of entertainment business and sales. As I discuss in many of my materials entertainment business sales and marketing is quite different from conventional business. Many performers attempt to operate entertainment business through conventional business approaches and techniques, without getting to deeply into this.

On a most basic level you need to present it's benefits and uniqueness and how to best utilize it to the client's/venue's needs, interests and/or profitability. Creating the appeal and value will be part of this process.

I partnered with a hypnotist and we are doing some shows together. 1/2 hour for me the rest his show.

Nicely done. You commanded the room. And, you're fun and funny.

I enjoyed it and it looked like those in the room also did.