By Dave Dee wwwdavedeecom
Copyright Notice
Copyright 1999 Dave Dee, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication maybe reproduced or transmitted or recorded by any means now known or to be invented in the future without the prior written consent of the publisher, Dave Dee, Inc. Requests for permission and further information should be addressed to Dave Dee, Inc., 335 Sable Court, Alpharetta, GA 30004.
Legal Notices
While all attempts have been made to verify the accuracy of the materials contained in this publication, the author assumes no responsibility for errors, omission, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein.
The purchaser of this publication assumes total responsibility for use of these materials and information. The author assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever on behalf of the purchaser or reader of these materials. The author unequivocally does not guarantee anyresults you mayor may not get as a result of following the recommendations contained herein.
Any perceived negative connotations of specific people or organizations is strictly unintentional.
Get the last marketing news and information delivered to you FREE by email every month!
Go to www.davedee.com and sign up for the FREE ezine!
Introduction
The more things change the more they stay the same. This cliche is true now more than ever especially for entertainers.
Most aspiring magicians, clowns, mentalists, speakers, jugglers, mimes(?!), still complain and moan about the lack of work. They still wonder why they can't get booked even though they have the greatest act on the planet. They still make excuses:
"I live a small town. There's not enough work."
"I live in a big city. There's so much competition."
"I'm just not lucky."
"I don't have enough money."
"I don't have enough time."
"My wife doesn't support me."
"People don't know real talent when they see it."
The bottom line is that is all B.S. plain and simple. It's all garbage. People make these and hundreds of other excuses, to make themselves feel good. They make these excuses because they don't want to have to blame the real reason behind their failure to make their goals a reality... Themselves.
You see you can't blame your parents, your spouse, your kids, your location, or the government, because when you blame those factors for your lack of success you're blaming all you've got to work with! If things aren't they way you want to them to be the person to blame is right in the mirror.
It's not a popular concept these days to take responsibility for yourself and your circumstances. But the bottom line, where the rubber meets the road fact is, if you don't take responsibility for you life starting TODAY, you will never get what you want or achieve your goals.
You are going to learn a proven marketing systems designed specifically for entrepreneurial performers. I define an "entrepreneurial performer" as a person who goes about booking themselves and does not rely on an agent. The marketing strategies contained in this program work. Period. No need to wonder or have a debate about it. They work. They've been proven not only by me and others entertainers, but by hundreds and hundreds of businesses outside of magic.
Let's stop paying lip service to the worn out saying that the bigger word in "show business" is the important one and actually start acting like it is. If you're going to charge money for your talent then start acting like a business. NOW. It doesn't matter if you're getting $50.00 for a show or $50,000. The business principles are the same.
WHAT THIS COURSE IS WOT ABOUT
This course is NOT designed to get you motivated and pumped up. People need to stop trying to find motivation "out there".
Susan Powter, creator of the Stop The Insanity weight loss program cut to the bottom line beautifully when she said that motivation comes from doing. You get motivated after you start taking action.
This course is NOT going to teach you any magic. None. You are not going to learn how to improve your act.
This course is NOT designed to make you feel "good". In fact, it may damn well make you feel downright uncomfortable. Why? I may strike a nerve with you. I may say something that you know is true but never truly wanted to admit to yourself. This is a very GOOD thing. Pain is often the starting point for making major changes in your life. Don't fight it. Embrace it.
This IS an in your face program. I'm not going to pull any punches. I'm going to be blunt and to the point. Best of all I'm going to give you a bunch of systems that will help you achieve whatever level of financial success you aspire to.
So let's stop the yapping and get to work...
MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS
Motivational speaker, Jim Röhn says to "Beware of someone saying that they have a new fundamental. That's like someone saying that they manufacture antiques!"
Fundamentals are old and proven. They don't change with the times. They are the key ingredients to success and because of this fundamentals must be practiced everyday.
One of the things that blew me away is when people would return my first course, The Ultimate Insiders Secrets Marketing Program, for a refund because they "already knew all this stuff' because "they were professional". They would often include a crappy or expensive brochure to somehow prove to me that they were indeed "professional". Ninety nine percent of these people weren't implementing any of these fundamentals that they already supposedly "knew".
You see, "knowing" something is not enough. You have to do what you know to be effective.
With that being said, let's go over marketing fundamentals for the professional performer.
1. You need to have a dynamic show. Goes without saying right? Then how come there are so many really lousy performers out there? We've all seen them. The problem is that no one believes that their show sucks. Every magician who buys a trick at their local magic shop believes that they are good.
My wife Tracey summed it up perfectly when she said to me, "The problem with most magicians is that they want to do the tricks that they like, not what the audience likes." She is right on the money.
My God, how many Copperfield clones do you think are out there? How many dead boring finger flingers actually charge money for their "talent"? How many magicians who are into the mystery and drama of magic try to do that stuff at kids' parties? The answer: WAY TOO MANY
Here's the problem. When someone hires a lousy band they don't naturally assume that all bands are bad BUT when someone hires a bad magician for a a corporate event, good luck if you're the next magician who tries to get hired.
Bottom line: Make sure you don't suck.
2. You need a Unique Selling Proposition. I started teaching the concept of having a "USP" to entertainers before anyone else. No, I didn't create the concept but I was the first to reveal it to performers.
It is one of the foundational building blocks to having incredible success as an entertainer and yet, even people who have my first course, don't have their own USP. I still get promotional materials that say crap like, "The Magic Of Joe Blow" or, the classic, "Magic For All Occasions". If this is still you I BEG you to stop reading this program and start working on creating your own USP.
Here are some guidelines:
A. Your USP should be short and concise. One or two sentences at most.
B. Your USP should point out a specific benefit of your show that is unique to you.
C. The benefit should be something your client wants and recognizes as a benefit.
D. Your USP should answer the question posed by marketing guru Dan Kennedy, "Why should I hire you as opposed to anyone else in your category?"
Here are some examples of good USP's:
"When it absolutely positively has to be there overnight. "
"Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less-guaranteed. "
"Scope leaves your breath smelling minty fresh. "
My USP is: "Customized after dinner programs that make banquets and meetings unforgettable and fun ~ guaranteed. "
Write down your USP here:
3. You need to constantly be marketing. When things start going well we have a tendency to slack off a little bit and that's when trouble starts. You must always be generating leads, sending out promo packages, making follow-up calls, etc. Always. You may not notice the effects of slacking off immediately but down the road your lack of marketing is going to bite you and bite you hard.
4. Consistency is the key to success. It's far better to do a little bit of marketing consistently than it is to do a whole bunch at one time and quit. For example, it's better to mail out 25 lead generation letters every week than it is to mail out 300 letters at one time and never do another mailing again.
5. You've got to give your marketing time to work. The desire for instant gratification is one of the major reasons people fail in life. They want success now. Sorry, that's not the way things work. You must market constantly and then give your marketing time to work. How long it takes to work depends on two factors.
A. The market you are pursuing. You will generally see results in the kid show market faster than you will in the corporate market.
You can place a lead generation ad in a parenting magazine one month and almost instantly start booking birthday party shows. Within one year you should really be cranking and doing as many shows as you want, provided that you have a good show and good marketing plan.
The corporate market is generally going to take longer. You may start seeing results within 3 to 6 months but you better count on two to three years before you are booked solid year 'round.
B. The amount of action you take. Obviously the more action you take, the more things you do, the faster you will get to where you want to go, provided that you are consistent.
Motivational speaker Anthony Robbins is a perfect example. When he was first starting out he discovered that most speakers present a program three times a month. He figured if the could speak thirty times a month he would gain ten years of experience in one year. That's exactly what he did. He spoke for free or for a low fee to any group that would listen to him and the rest is history.
Just as a farmer plants in the spring and has to wait until the fall to reap his harvest so must you give your marketing efforts time to blossom.
6. Always talk about the benefits of your show not just the features. Many people still make this error when writing marketing materials. They write about the features of their act.
Some examples of features would be:
I produce a rabbit.
I float the someone in the air.
I read people's minds.
I cut the CEO of the company in half.
A benefit is what your client gets from the features of your show. Examples ofbenefits include:
Your audience will laugh and have a great time.
People will remember the party for weeks to come.
Everyone will thank you for making the meeting so fun.
You will impress your boss.
Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with letting the prospects know about the features of your show. In fact, it's necessary. Just make sure you tell them what the end results of those features are going to mean for them.
7. You need to use testimonials. Sorry to hurt your ego, but people are not going to believe you just because you say your show is the greatest thing since vegetarian pepperoni (yeah, I'm a veggie). You need a LOT of proof to convince them and this means using testimonials. You can never have enough of them.
8. Staying in contact with your past customers. Most performers do a show and never contact that customer again. This is foolish! The same people will hire you over and over again provided you did an exceptional job the first time and you stay in contact with them. You should be mailing, calling, faxing, or emailing your past customers at least every other month, preferably every month.
Write down the 12 ways you'll contact your customers during the year: 1. _
Was this article helpful?