I have had the benefit of working both as an agent and for agents. This has given me the unique position to provide some hints and tips for working with booking agents which I hope you find useful...

1) Think of your agent as a 'repeat customer' rather then your representative. They are prone to making mistakes, assuming things and losing interest in you and your product. They are also in for themselves, not for you.

2) Encourage loyalty by offering them 'special deals' (that meet your needs and policies). For example, send them a letter at Christmas, you offering them a 5% rebate if they book you for more then $5000 worth of work over the holiday period.

3) Don't send them a hard copy promotional kit with your contact details plastered all over it. An agent will not copy or retype your info and they certainly won't pass on anything with your address on it. Instead, email them a series of Word documents that they can add their price and contact details to. Have one for each service you want them to sell. All they need do is add their price and forward it on to the client.

4) If you are worried about a) over charging b) gig times being lengthened c) cancellations etc. send a contract to the agent prior to the booking. Like with other clients prone to changing their mind, a contract will make your agent realise they have to get all of the details clear. Like any business agreement if you don't have a contract you don't have a hope.

5) Let them know about upcoming public gigs but don't expect them to come. This shows them that you get regular work and are worth booking. This also keeps you in touch.

6) Here is a risky way of securing that first elusive booking from an agent. You might lose a gig but I feel it is worth the risk to secure regular agent work. When you get an email from a customer for a gig, send them information but then put the AGENT'S contact details and note saying "To book Tricky Nick call XYZ agency for a quote. Remember to ask for Tricky Nick by name." The risks are obvious but the rewards can be great. Also, it gives you a chance to test the honesty of the agent.

7) Dump dishonest agents. If they stuff you around, lie to you etc. then don't work for them. Tell them you are too busy, unavailable etc.

8) Cold call an agent and explain you are a magician who is looking for a band to support him on an upcoming gig. This gives you a chance to a) talk to an agent without YOU have to do a sales pitch b) talk about your show c) get a client's POV of the agent. If you REALLY need a band (or jumping castle or comedian or MC or DJ) then all the better!

9) Tim Ellis and others have suggested getting friends to ring agents and try and book you for a gig. After three 'fake' gigs (where YOU pay the agent the fee!) you become a regular for the client. I don't have the courage to try this but its a nice idea.

Excellent point Nicholas!

As an agent, I'm interested in your thoughts on this technique too:

We have set prices for all of our shows but we insist the agent takes their commission out of that fee and not add it on top. This means that if the client enquires about us with other agents or calls us direct, they are always quoted the same fee. That way the agent feels secure that they won't be cut out of the picture by the booker trying to save a few bucks.

(I've heard of some agents replacing a $10,000 act with a $5000 act and still charging the booker the same and pocketing the difference as their "fee". One magician discovered this when the booker told him he was "good", but "not worth $10,000".)

I have found that most low end agents ( and I can PM them if you want) don't tell you what is being charged- and they add their bit onto yours.

For that reason I don't work with them anymore they make you feel like a Juggler- low end entertainers.

I really only work with Ovations and Speakers Australia they are honest and let me talk to the customer.

The bulk of my work comes from me working my ass off in marketing.

Being a juggler doesn't make you 'low end'. Being a crap juggler does! Guys like Michael Moschen and Greg Kennedy are making more money then you or I will ever make by being the best in the business!

They are the exception rather than the rule

Sorry I meant Circusy acts- traditional street theatre, site act

To be honest - I have seen more bad magicians in my time then I have bad circus acts.

GEES Nick the two guys you mentioned are over sees in America- I'm talking about aussies
Look over the web sites of entertainment agencies and look at all the crap circusy performers out there

we have marty whos big and good and that's about it.

Lets keep it REAL

I imagine in Aus just like everywhere else in the world, you have a few good magicians and a lot of really poor ones that try to charge too much for at best a mediocre act. You'll also have good and poor quality jugglers, street acts and whatever else you care to name. I know for a fact that I'm working today as a juggler and getting paid £50 more than the magician who was doing the same job yesterday. I also know that my average fee as a juggler is higher than my average fee as a magician. I think you'll find that low-end consists more of magicians dressed up as clowns rather than anything else.

Nigel

Oh, and I also know street acts who earn much more than I do.

In Australia we have Terry Wells, Barry Bruce, Buster Juggler (a Café member), Laurie, Suction Man and James Lamont. Australia is also home to a National Institute of Circus Arts. In terms of fees, I've just finished a season at Floraide where BUSKERS were pulling in $500 for a 15 minute show! People were CHOOSING to pay them!

People often assume magic is 'kid's stuff' and blow it off without giving it a chance. I often get calls from people saying the same things that you've said David but in relation to magicians. Its not until they see a GOOD performer that they have a higher respect for the artform. I'm sure if you asked a layperson to name a great Aussie magician they'd say "that cass guy from the footy show" and have never heard of the rest of us.

No offence but what the heck is a stilt walker doing at a corporate event or a trade show

for that matter what's a cartoonist doing at a trade show.

up until now I have never seen a good circusy act except on TV I saw some cool jugglers but that's it.

for example just look at the entertainment agencies of sydney and then browse through their circus act and then name 5 good ones

Nicholas, good points. One thing a lot of entertainers overlook, however, is an agent-friendly website or webpage. This is a website that features your videos, photos and performance information...but is free of pricing and contact information. Agents will often link to your agent-friendly site which promotes your act.

Oh...and don't forget MY favorite big-money jugglers - The Flying Karamazov Brothers! What a crew!!!

Skip :o)

Their is a strange web site for entertainers in Australia- essentially you give them your booking info, Video etc and they place it on their web

Then Agents and speaker agents buy or rent for a year a membership which allows then to add links on their own site

the cool thing is the web layout changes for each agent so when you click on Nicholas J. Johnson from ICMI's web site- the page comes up looking like ICMI's web site, and if you click on Nicholas J. Johnson from the ovations site it looks like ovations web site-

Pretty nifty

What is a magician doing at corporate gig? drawing crowds, entertaining people, creating a sense of wonder and excitement. Same goes for stiltwalkers.

Posted: Oct 27, 2005 6:22pm
http://www.entertainoz.com.au/index.cfm?cid=10 lists Australian jugglers on their books. Look who comes in at number three!

Q. What is a stilt-walker doing at a trade show?

A. Drawing attention. Stilt-walkers have immediate impact, magicians have to work at it!

I dislike stilt-walking as I'm not that comfortable being that high but it is money for old rope. I learnt to use my dura-stilts in one afternoon and the pay can be very good. Therefore the ratio of effort to reward is much better than magic or virtually any other skill (the only other similar skill for time taken being fire breathing/eating).

The general public have 5 second mentalities and a good costume will impress them at least as much as a 15 minute magic act. I hate this being true but it is.

Nigel

The Entertainment oz site is an agency that you sign up for

they havn't even contacted me- I just signed up to get my name on every free advertsing and you tick the boxes to say where you want to appear- so I ticked them all- I don't juggle- it's not like entertainment oz has selcted me I selected them- go to their first paage and sign up for free.

(you can google these)
so try enhance entertainment, NHM Entertainment prideaux entertainment

these 3 are Meetings & Events Association of Australia members so you would think that they offer the top guys

As for Stlt walkers it's like T & A you get a look but that's it. They don't entertain because most have no training on how to be in the environment- they are canival folk at a corporate event- with no measurable impact on a stand


ask your clients that hire you for a trade show- How many people saw the stiltwalker and knew to come to this booth- and he'll say none

because a stilt walker is not engaging or interactive and you are in essence distancing your self from everyone more than any other entertainer

I do not see the purpose of a stilt walker at a Trade show- purpose being the key word.

Wow Australia has a LOT more entertainment than I tought it did. Trade shows too.

I took a look at Entertainment Oz. Sue-Anne and I are listed 4 times that I can see. We didn't even sign up...

I don't know what stilt walkers you've been watching, but the vast majority of stilt walkers I've worked with are excellent entertainers. They engage the crowd, they carry items that allow the spectators to interact with them, they partner juggle while guests walk beneath the "bridge" of bean balls.

Rule number one in street performing, for example, is to break the ceiling to attract attention. Appearing flagpoles, height juggling, tossing things into the air...people notice these things appearing "above the crowd" and curiosity drives them to investigate. What is higher and more curious than a 12' foot tall juggler? I see trade shows as simply street performances with fancy booths and a product to sell. The trade booth is competing to pull as much attention to their product or service as possible...much as the street performer would. Breaking the ceiling works here as well as anywhere.

At trade shows, each exhibitor's goal is to make their display stand out from the hodge-podge of look-alike cubicles. Retailers use street display signs to announce "Here I am!" and draw customers. Where do retailers put these street signs? At street level or above eye level? An entertaining, smooth-talking, interactive stiltwalker literally stands above the crowd and serves as an attraction for curiosity. And we know that curiosity attracts.

I agree that there are those folks who strap on a pair of stilts, don a flashy costume and shout "Hey! Look at me!" BOR-ING! On the other hand, IC, lumping all stilt walkers into your insulting and demeaning description as untalented, skilless hacks is offensive, disrespectful and has absolutely no basis in fact. A true entertainer can and will always find a way to interact with an audience, draw a crowd and sell a point whether from the street, a stage, a wheelchair or a pair of stilts.

Skip

You may be right

but the aussie stilt walkers provided by the entertainment agencies I listed above offer crap people who do where the stilts, look like they have bought clothes from a second hand hire place and have no audience interaction in the slightest.
Your right Hight is important- as Joel Bauer says "Eye level is Buy Level"

I guess for $50 you can't go wrong with a stilt walker