Not sure if this has been asked before but what magic do you do at trade shows? It's an area that interests me but I'm not sure how to go about it because I just don't know. Any advice?

Read Joel Bauer's book, "How To Persuade People Who Don't Want To Be Persuaded." Fast, quick magic that catches the eye and their bodies. Remember, a little group will turn into a bigger group...if you can keep their attention.

You may also want to check out Jim Snack's 'Success in Magic' course. He has some good info about trade shows, although that is not the primary focus of his course.

Check out dvd or video - The truth about trade shows by Eddie Tullock - great video.

Avoid the New Bill Goldman DVD because it's a lot of fluff and stories which won't help - there are some moments of good advice but you are better off with the Tullock ones.

I think (and this is my small amount of experience compared to heaps of others on this site) is that you are there to stop traffic by using engaging entertainment. There are many different styles and you must find one that works for you.

Some different styles are:
The close up worker - where you perform on ground level without a table and do sort of strolling.
The close up worker with table - very similar to above but allows you to do more routines.
Platform - working on a platform, performing larger more visible tricks, as Joel Bauer says eye level is buy level so this is good to be up higher.
Some performers do a large show once per hour and some do lots of smaller shows all day.

I use a podium with an 8 inch (or so) mini stage depending on the client.

I am in the process of buying a mini sound system as I have been hiring them up until now, with a head set microphone - you'll have to check at each trade show whether a mic is allowed, otherwise speak loud.

The kind off tricks I do:

Open with a money winning trick- In Australia - any kind of Gambling Routine
(3 card monte, 3 shells) requires a Department of Gaming & Racing license but if the "challenge" is presented as a mind reading stunt then there is no need for a license so I do a simple mind reading stunt with cards to initially stop traffic.

I hold the money up and say (something like) "Would you like to win $1000 right now sir" and then go into the performance.

Other tricks:

Some people like to incorporate the product into every trick and some do none and just perform and then some incorporate the sales trick into the last two effects as a closer.

I like to do my main selling as the last 2 effects that I do - plus I also add a few slogans into the other performances. Routines I do go for about 10-12 minutes and I do it constantly like Eddie Tullock.

Tricks that I do depend on the product but I will do:
My opening mind reading stunt.
More mind reading - comedy prediction.
If I do 1 big show an hour, I'll slip in a card stab with a huge sword and card fountain with the presentation - Do you have the edge in ________ which does play really good. It allows some audience to get up on stage and wearing a blindfold on a stage in the middle of a trade show which really gets peoples attention.

Some other effects depending on the product.

To close, you can just close with a trick and message or close with a giveaway.
Check out http://www.funinc.com for those - where you perform the giveaway and then invite them in to get one.

It can be more complicated than what I have explained - it's pretty much a nutshell explanation but I do recommend the Eddie Tullock DVD. The Joel Bauer book, How to Persuade People, is a great book but only the last chapter goes into his thinking about trade shows or platform pitching as he describes it.

Joel has a DVD with book Making Magic money or something like that and it's OK, the DVD doesn't fully explain tricks but is a very good read check out http://www.infotainer.com that's Joel's web site and if you need to be inspired, go to his web site and this is what you should aim at, which is what I do. (Although, I'm not there yet/)

There are many forms of entertainment for trade shows - I'm not the knowledge god or anything Actually, you should go to your nearest convention & exhibition centre and go in and have a good think about how your magic can benefit a trade show which is not attracting any customers.


Good luck.

David Welzman

I did trades for just five years. I loved it but wanted another challenge. I loved watching the guys with the mini stages and mic's but I went another way. I dressed like the sales staff, learned about the product, not just fluff...I knew the product and could demo it on request ( I sold a million dollar photocopy machine once in under 30 minutes with a five year service agreement ). I worked small groups and broke them up when I got a few dozen. Only a few times would I let the crowd go into the hundreds. Why? I wanted to see the badges and pick out the qualified folks.

I would do everything from the pockets and work close and low to draw them into the booth. I did lots of cards and a few coins and bills. I did stuff with CD-Roms and floppy disc's for the software folks and cameras for the film guys. I made my magic around them and it looked like it was magic made for them...not just an organ grinder or pretty girl to catch the eye.

I tried the stage and mic route but it's hard to stop folks when they see the mic...they usually think...oh crap I'm gonna be in a show..and they run. Having said that, Eddie Tullock, Joel Bauer, Seth Kramer, Danny Orleans and Giovani all use them and they rock...so what do I know? Only what worked for me ...

Cheers,

Shawn

Actually Eddie Tullock never used a microphone. Of course he had a very strong voice and didn't need one.

My own approach may or may not be of interest. It works for me but I don't necessarily say that it will work for anyone else.

I work all day continuously on a play by ear basis. I don't have specific times that I do the show. I am not in favour of doing only doing one or two shows an hour as seems to be the fashion nowadays. I keep an eye on booth activity and make sure that my demonstration is not a distraction and hindrance to the salesmen. I often think that trade show magicians don't always realise they can affect business on the booth in a negative way as well as a positive one. I expect this is why a lot of people only do one or two shows an hour. They perhaps realise that they can get in the way.

One disadvantage of a microphone if you favour the continuous demonstration approach is that the constant noise from such can affect your OWN booth and interfere with the work of the salesmen. You may have to turn it down or not use one altogether.

I personally gather a moderate size crowd. If you gather too large an audience you are in danger of blocking the aisles and triggering off complaints from other exhibitors. I do feel that customising the demonstration to the product in some way is important. However this is actually very easy and should only take about an hour or so of work to figure out. I really don't go along with the notion that it should take months of preparation as I sometimes see advocated.

I have also found the notion that you have to stand on a little platform behind a podium to be largely a myth. You can certainly do it this way (as indeed most trade show magicians do) but it really has no bearing on how well they can see you or how large a crowd you can draw. If you think about it street magicians never work on a platform and everyone can see them just fine.

If however you go the platform route then your material should be shoulder high and not use the table very much. I prefer not to be restricted in this way. If you are using the table a good deal as I do it then makes no difference to the visibility of your show. All a platform does is make YOU more visible. It doesn't do a thing for the tricks. In fact I suspect they can actually see you better if there is no platform. I remember once trying to view a trade show magician who had a large crowd around him. He worked in the usual platform podium method. I was right up close to him and couldn't see a thing he did on the table because of the crowd. I could see HIM clearly but that didn't do anything for me.I wanted to see the tricks.

There is something stupid about those podiums anyway. I think they deter people from coming to watch somehow. They are so tiny and stupid looking. I prefer to have the company order a 4 foot table and I insist they order a chair too. I know the idea of a chair is against standard wisdom but I don't care. I may use the chair when working or I may not. Usually not but I like to have it so that I can rest for a few seconds between shows.

I never prequalify because I plain don't know how to do it and it ain't my job anyway. I do however work a little more to the people that I consider to be decision makers and try to please them especially. I am constantly plugging the product anyway but in a humourous tongue in cheek way. Then at the end I encourage as many people as possible to come onto the booth and talk to the salesmen. I mesure my success not so much by how much laughter and enjoyment is produced but by how many people come onto the booth afterwords. I do believe I put them in a good frame of mind to be sold to.

With regard to the material you can use just about anything. I think it should be fast moving and attention getting. Thus Out of this World would not be a good trade show trick and much mentalism material unless it is fairly direct isn't suitable either.

You do have to be very sharp and aware of your surroundings though. Always on the alert for people to draw into your selling web. I think of myself as purely a running commercial to draw interest and stop people. The selling I leave to the salesmen.

Get - The truth about trade shows by Eddie Tullock great video

Eddie is the undisputed king of Trade show work. Or at least he was when he was in the game regularly.

He also tended to use a deck of cards and not too much else.

Don Alan did TONS of trade shows but none of his advice is available in print or on video. Don was from the school of thought that you should incorporate the products into the show. I remember him saying that business people are not "hip" so silly or hokey presentations are ok. This advice may or may not work still it was the early 80's. I tend to disagree with it in todays market though.

I approach it more like street performing. I gather a crowd, and then turn them over to the sales force. It is a numbers game. They will get a certian percentage of sales from the traffic. The percentage wont change, but if you have more people going through the booth, then the percentage is of a bigger number so it is a higher bottom line number.

I so like to use the company name or product name as much as possible.

I concentrate on gathering a crowd only. I work too many shows per month to learn the sales pitches for all of them individually. This is only the way I work,and it certianly does not make it right or best, only right and best for me personally.

Yep I agree,


Stop & Engage passing traffic

You can add an easy (ish) way of getting people's contact details with a giveaway

very simple- The giveaway is a trick, you perform the trick and then inc=vite everyone to get the trick (but they have to swipe their name card or hand over their business card to get one.


The power of the giveaway comes in when you sell it to their children- People will line up to get one for their kids.

But at the same time they work equally for the adults

Giveaways are at http://www.funinc.com but you can make them your self but the fun inc ones are professional quality and custom printed and a heck of a lot easier than sitting watching a video and making them yourself.


so stop & Engage traffic- You take on the role of Innovative signage which is also interactive.

The name if the game in Trade shows is numbers- The more numbers of quality leads for the company the better

so Danny is correct- the more people that stop at the booth the more quality leads a stand will get.


It is not impossible to qualify leads as you perform.

You just have the sales team standing by watching as you ask the group questions in between your tricks- raise your hand if you are looking at buying a red car today.


The sales team watches for who raises their hand- This is it you are the spear head, the sales team is the muscle- they push in to get the sale or the kill so to speak.

actually you are more like a net you capture the fish and the sales team goes through the net to find the fish they want and let the dolphins go


I love my metaphores

they probably don't make much sence but I understand them.

I like them too. Being from Florida, the dolphin struck a chord with me

I have always found that people from Florida like metaphores

Thanks for the advice above. I am considering entering the trade show market.