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jl17 Regular user 110 Posts |
Ok, everyone gets them, how do you stop them, or rather, how do you get them to book you? I personally use a 100% Money Back Guarantee to hook, line and book them. No other performer in my area uses it and I exploit it! I say, "No other performer will give you such a bold promise like I do. If you don't like the show for any reason you get all your money back."
Never once has anyone asked for their money back. I was terrified to offer that, but it works for me. Any ideas? |
Paddy Inner circle Milford OH 1571 Posts |
I was hesitant to use that because I heard of it from Dave Dee. But I tried it and like you said NO ONE has ever asked for their money back. I use it now when I need that extra little something to close the sale.
Peter |
Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
I think it is all a matter of style on the phone. I tell them I could give you the phone number of someone more expensive than me, but I would hesitate to recomend anyone cheaper than me, because I offer the best value for their entertainment dollar.
People price shoping are also looking for someone they feel comfortable with, so I tell them I'm not the cheapest, but they may be very disappointed with the cheapest magician. Al
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
jl17 Regular user 110 Posts |
Good point Al. I too, am definately not the cheapest, if anything, I am the most expensive. I would much rather do 5 shows a month at my rate than 30 shows a month at a lesser (much lesser) rate.
Also, the Guarantee thing does work. It is a staple in my selling. Agents always ask if I'll offer them the Guarantee, and I do. I first heard of it from Dan Kennedy (Dave Dee's mentor). |
Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
I am with Al on this. Offer a relationship......one they are comfortable with. That is what most price shoppers want anyhow.
I would be hesitant to the "guarantee". The reason is simply I despise being thought of in that infomercial state.....Ron Popeil if you will....heck if you want just offer the whole show for $19.99!!!! You have to make sure you know your worth and have the ability to communicate it to others..... Bottome line is if people feel they got a fair price for what they got they will buy agian.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
Bob Sanders Grammar Supervisor Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
I have no complaint with those who charge less. They know what their show is worth.
Bob Sanders Magic By Sander As an old booking agent, a favorite tactic was to say, "For $50 I will hold that date for you until noon Friday, just in case you don't find a substitute." That usually told you if you had a live prospect or need to clear the phone line. |
Deke Rivers Loyal user 216 Posts |
I don't like making the "Money Back" offer, not because I'd be afraid of someone acting on it, but rather because it sounds seedy & cheap; it seems to put you on par with something sold on late-night infomercials. It's suggesting that our profession is so poor that we need to entice you to use our services.
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MDS Special user USA 528 Posts |
I am kinda tossed on this subject. There are aspects that I agree with on both sides of the scale. I can understand what you mean when you say that it can make you sound cheap. I am not the cheapest performer in my market by any means. As far as I know, I am actually the most expensive. I also work the most or pretty close to it. I personally do not offer a money back guarantee. I mainly cater to the corporate industry and the upper middle class. For that reason, I really don't have the need to offer a guarantee. Not because I am afraid of it, but because I really haven't ever had the need for it. Even being the most expensive, 75% of the time I receive a TIP and probably 80% of the time I generate repeat business.
However, I feel that if you get a call and the fact that you offer a guarantee is the main deciding factor for the client on whether you get the gig or not, you should go for it. Just my opinion. Matthew |
icentertainment Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Joel Bauer has a 100% Guarantee- if it's good enough for him- it's good enough for me.
Everything nowadays has a guarantee, One of the main points is what are non magicians doing when they hire a magician they may be considering a Band, DJ, Comedian speaker so what are these guys offering in order to sell. I think the guarantee is one of the sparks of a sales flame but You gotta have a good act with the testimonials- these will sell better than a 100% Guarantee But I have always wanted to throw this one out 300% Guarantee- if your not happy I'll give you 3 times my price back (kinda scary if you stuff up) but it may come across as too good. |
malini Loyal user 219 Posts |
Deke Rivers, I concur. So much so I'm even going to go off in a tangent.
An offer of a '100%-money-back-no-strings-attached-no-questions-asked-full-guarantee' is a very American style of marketing. And yes, to me, it does seem smarmy; aggressive if you will, and tasteless. I wont do it for exactly the reason Deke said. I find it particularly suggestive that magicians are so deprived they need to do anything and everything to entice that prospect*. If someone needs a guarantee so they can get their money back if I’m really bad, I don’t want that money nor do I want to do that Show in the first place. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I’m above that. I'm an Entertainer. Not a smarmy Car Salesman who really needs that next sale to put food on his table. As to the comment above - I don't think a 300% guarantee sounds too good. I think it sounds 3 times as needy. To be honest, a lot of marketing techniques I see magicians use, appear cheap/crass and/or seedy. For example I've never been fond of the one-long-sales-page style littered with several hundred painstakingly listed benefits, endless bullet points, thirty testimonials, a complete lack of colour coordination and an unhealthy obsession with underlines/bolds/italics. It appears dated, needy and self-serving, more than anything else. I'm obviously in the minority here, as many of the presumably wonderful professional magicians who frequent these fora have their websites saturated in this style along with endless "guarantees". It works for them. Good for them. No worries. Say no more. My performance style is subtle, original and youthful, punctuated with a sarcastic dry wit. My branding - business cards, websites and conversing with prospects* is absolutely consistent with my style. * And at the risk of being slapped by the baby Jesus, dear God I hate and detest that word I always see bandied about -prospects-. It appears so demeaning and self-satisfying. I talk and refer to all my Potential Clients as Individuals - real people - and in the manner I would want to be talked to. |
drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Malini,
It sounds like you have a well thought out package. If your show, your personal style and your promotional materials are consistent, people know what they are getting. In America there are different styles of marketing for different audiences. If you are shopping for kitchen appliances on cable television, you get the bullet points, the guarantee, the bonus offers if you act now, and so on. If you go into a classy store to buy luxury goods (jewelry, expensive men's clothing, luxury automobiles) you get polite treatment and a low-key sales approach. The guarantee is implicit. The sales staff is there to ensure your complete satisfaction, and they don't clout you with a guarantee to close a sale. They also know that if you pay by credit card (not impossible even for an automobile) and you are not satisfied with the goods or the way that they have attempted to resolve a dispute, you can challenge the charge through your credit card company, so there is always a guarantee whether or not they wave it around. Different approaches for different goods (performers/shows) aimed at different audiences. If you are ever in Las Vegas, go from casino to casino to see how each one is carefully crafted to draw a different crowd. It's amazing. One has the RV and country music crowd, another has the soccer moms, yet another draws 40-to-50 year old professionals, and so on. They are all offering pretty much the same thing, but they are perceived differently. Yours, Paul |
Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Paul hit the nail on the head.......if your marketing through the yellow pages then a guarantee is a great thing....
IF your working for corporate clients is it such a good idea? I don't think so. I do not personally work kids parties so I have no idea what would be good or bad to try to offer.... 90% .....maybe more of what I do is because someone saw me already at a show. A guarantee is not at all necessary.....they know what they are getting so they are happy.....it really comes down to "do you have this date available?" a guarantee never really comes up.... maybe for direct marketing pieces for price shoppers it works......I can't say as I don't really work that way.....but do you really want to work for someone who has as that as thier main consideration for using your act?
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
James Munton Inner circle Dallas, TX 1199 Posts |
This is a great thread and I don't have time right now to wade in, but Malini got me intrigued with this:
Quote:
My performance style is subtle, original and youthful, punctuated with a sarcastic dry wit. My branding - business cards, websites and conversing with prospects* is absolutely consistent with my style I'd love to see your web site and find out how you do this. Would you mind sharing the url? Best, James |
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