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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
Over the weekend I was part of a business building workshop (for non-entertainers) as a guest and I brought this topic up and thought it would be interesting to see the responses from performers here.
So the question is, what does your business need the most? What needs attention or help with regard to running your business? In what areas does your business need assistance? Now please exclude the two commonly discussed issued here of "marketing" and "website/SEO". We know many need assistance with the tech issues and most performers will almost always tell you marketing (which I believe is a mistaken perception and mistakenly understood). So other than "marketing" and "website/tech/SEO", what areas of your business do you have difficulties with, do not understand, or feel you are not doing properly or giving the needed attention? What areas would you learn more about to allow your business to operate more efficiently or better? After some responses I will share some of the issues and concerns that came up at this weekend workshop as it will be interesting to compare them to the responses here. To many performers, there seems to be a breakthough for their business at a certain point. To get to such a point, I feel these answers will lead to the right direction and the eventually needed breakthough for most of us. To some performers they truly don't know what they're missing and what they need for their business, so this may be helpful to them on several levels. |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
I had one thing we added after many years that helped us focus. When we hired our general manager first thing he wanted to know was our mission statement. Not a slogan but a clear concise statement of purpose for our company. All decisions and choices are filtered through this.
It was able to better focus the company and all the employees and it was able to help with future direction. We seriously lacked those things.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
The first thing that came to my mind was: How to put into words my USP, so that it makes clear sense to others.
I think this also applies to ones mission statement though. If it is not stated clearly it will lose its' impact. |
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Mary Mowder Inner circle Sacramento / Elk Grove, CA 3659 Posts |
Charlie, can you explain USP so that it makes sense to me? LOL
The not up on the acronyms… Mary Mowder |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
A USP stand for Unique Selling Proposition (or Unique Selling Position). The point is clearly state what separates your business from others and makes your business special, specific and unique. This is used to clearly but thoroughly define your business to prospective customers, to be as specified and unique as possible, typically separating yourself from the others (hence the word "unique"). This should be different and unique for each of our businesses.
It's not about how great you are, how experienced you are or about quality or location. It is one or two simple but defined sentences that explain the unique benefits your customer will get by working with you. It’s focus should be on the benefits appealing to the customer and their needs what they receive by hiring you specifically. Popular USP by FedEx and Domino's Pizza are often cited as great examples. |
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thekidsmagician Regular user Bristol 118 Posts |
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On Oct 20, 2014, Mindpro wrote: Thinking bigger...always. And tracking the relevant numbers consistently. - Mike
Children's entertainer in Bristol - making children look AMAZING! - www.thekidsmagician.com
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Gerry Walkowski Inner circle 1450 Posts |
Hey Mindprom
I know you said you didn't want to go the marketing route but for what it's worth, I think getting consitent leads, especially from qualified individuals and groups, is right up there at the top of the list. Thanks, Gerry Posted: Oct 20, 2014 07:18 pm Sorry, I meant to type MINDPRO, Gerry |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
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On Oct 20, 2014, Gerry Walkowski wrote: I agree. For me, I need to do a much better job of leveraging relationships with established clients and interactions before/after shows. I would also like to better know how to obtain qualified leads for markets where I am currently not prevalent. My preference is to discover who my potential clients are rather than invest in them trying to find out who I am. I also do not currently have a formal way of tracking my business initiatives. |
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Nick Kolenda New user 44 Posts |
When I was still debating about becoming a full-time mentalist, by far the biggest obstacle would have been making the transition from part-time to full-time.
When I was graduating college a few years ago, I needed income to pay my bills. However, since I had been focused on school my entire life, I didn’t have a huge backlist of clients or repeat gigs coming through. I would've needed to get many, many shows in a short period of time - which would've been very difficult. Even though my career goals changed along the way, one thing has helped me tremendously in that regard (and could help other performers). That “thing” was writing a book for a mainstream audience. I launched my book, Methods of Persuasion, at the end of last year, and I’ve sold over 7,000 copies. It’s been very convenient passive income, and it could’ve helped me make the leap from part-time to full-time. It would’ve given me the income that I needed while I focused on building a client base. Even if performers didn’t sell that many copies of their book, just the mere fact of writing a book would be a huge help. Not only could performers use it for BOR sales at the end of their shows, but a book would also be a great stepping stone for gigs. You’ll be perceived as an “authority” on your subject, which would open the doors to more speaking opportunities. |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
Nick - very interesting post. Although many do not share such diversified skill sets to pull something like that off, you have given me a lot to think about with respect to developing ways to enlarge my presence in the markets I serve.
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Nick Kolenda New user 44 Posts |
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On Oct 21, 2014, charliecheckers wrote: I think that every performer (or at least mentalists) should acquire a skill set in a separate, yet related, area. With the right approach, this dual skill set could be a great USP, and it would help you stand out. I’ll give you an example. When I was in high school, I restructured my mentalism show so that I used psychology as the explanation for my demonstrations. In order to enhance the believability of my routines (and my psychology theme), I immersed myself in psychology research. I started learning as much as possible, and it even led to a Bachelor’s Degree in it. Psychology is pretty broad, but you could choose something more narrow. Since restructuring my show, I’ve narrowed my psychology focus toward persuasion and subconscious influence (and I’ve even presented some of my research at academic conferences). But there are other skill sets that you could choose. For example, intuition would be a great one. There’s a slew of academic research (from very credible journals) that explains the processes behind intuition and why/when it works. You could start studying that research and craft an entire mentalism show that seemingly demonstrates that ability. If you were to do something like that, you’ll get a bunch of benefits: 1. You’ll have a better USP, and you’ll be able to differentiate yourself more easily. 2. Your routines and scripting will be more believable if you become knowledgeable in that other area 3. You can become an authority and expert in that area. This will open the door to book sales, speaking engagements, and a whole slew of other opportunities that could help your business. |
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lou serrano Special user Los Angeles, CA 671 Posts |
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On Oct 21, 2014, Nick Kolenda wrote: Nick, You bring up an interesting topic, and although I agree with the premise of your post, there's one major issue I have with it. Whenever someone hires a speaker, it's usually to get valuable information on a certain topic, and the audience is looking to gain some valuable information from the speaker. (Granted there are exceptions to the rule). If a presenter is an authority on psychology, intuition,. etc, and then does a mentalism trick to supposedly demonstrate the point, then the speaker is doing a disservice to the audience. The speaker is basically lying to the audience. For instance, if the speaker said he was going to use psychology and intuition to figure out what items belonged to certain people, and then proceeded to perform a psychometry trick. In my eyes this would be wrong. Because the speaker is performing a trick, and not using psychology and intuition as he is claiming. In my magic shows I often perform mentalism routines. Within the context of my presentation I sometimes say I will perform a demonstration of ESP or something to that effect. In the context of a theatrical show where the audience is seeing entertainment, I have no issue with it. On the other hand, when I do speaking engagements, I never ever tell people that I will be doing a demonstration of ESP. Instead, I make it completely clear that I'm NOT using ESP and instead using other methods, which is true. I'm still able to link the routine to the key point I'm making. Here's the main reason for my stand on this subject. When you're viewed as an authority on your subject, and you lie to your audience by misrepresenting what you are doing in your mentalism routine by claiming that it's done by some means other than trickery, you discredit your entire presentation. If someone senses that what you are doing is a lie, than why should he believe anything you're saying? My thinking would be, if you're lying to me about this mentalism thing, you're probably lying about other things in your presentation. (By the way, when I say "you", I'm not talking about you in particular. I'm just using "you" in general terms.) Some people try to get around this by saying, "I don't claim to have any psychic powers, but I'll leave it up to you," or something to that effect, which is a distinction without a difference. I know we have now gone a little off the main topic, but since you brought this up in your last post, I thought I'd ask for clarification on your stance. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the point I just brought up.. Respectfully, Lou Serrano |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
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On Oct 21, 2014, Nick Kolenda wrote: I strongly agree with this and have believed in this strategy for years now. I learned and experienced this nearly 30 years ago when writing my first book. However, mine was never intended for mass consumption or the public, but rather specifically created and written for an exact purpose and exact audience that had all of the elements in my ideal customer profile. There are some advanced components I use with those I work with and one of the concepts I firmly believe in is separating yourself from the competition so you become the true only choice. This is one of the components (combined with others) that has proven beyond a doubt (when done correctly) to create positioning, branding and directly translates into both booking and a lucrative additional stream of income (another advanced component). Now just writing a book is not enough and does not necessarily make you "an authority", so there is much more to it than that on a basic level, but when properly understood and executed it can be a huge component in your business operational system, and assist you from constantly having to chase after the next booking. |
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Nick Kolenda New user 44 Posts |
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On Oct 21, 2014, lou serrano wrote: Lou, Thanks for your thoughtful response. I completely agree with you. If you’re hired to EDUCATE an audience on a particular topic, then it would be very unethical to perform a mentalism routine with the false claim that you’re actually using the supposed skill. On the other hand, if you’re hired to ENTERTAIN an audience (which have been 100 percent of my performances), then I have no issue with it. In fact, I think it would enhance the overall impact of the show. Plus, even though my shows are focused on entertainment, I always give a disclaimer (e.g., “I use a combination of psychology and magic, and I’ll leave it up to you, etc etc.). I think all mentalists should give some type of disclaimer in their shows. I know some people may disagree with me, but that’s just my personal belief. To bring it back to the original topic, this issue is another obstacle in my business. On one hand, I’m trying to position my book as a reputable and credible source (which it is). On the other hand, my background is trickery and deception. Those two components don’t mesh well together. |
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charliecheckers Inner circle 1969 Posts |
This thread is awesome! Great insights shared by Mindpro and Nick. Thanks for sharing your insights. I now have a better understanding on how I can further develop my USP which will in turn allow me to describe it more clearly.
I wonder why more do not jump in and post on a thread where we discuss that which they might directly benefit from. Nick - I actually see all your work (Psychology, Persuasion, and Mentalism) meshing together quite well. |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10585 Posts |
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On Oct 21, 2014, charliecheckers wrote: Because in my findings as I've mentioned before most entertainers do not know themselves what they need or is missing regarding the business aspect of their operation. They only think of things in the terms of their show and marketing, but there is a huuuuuuuge area in between that is often overlooked and not understood. This is where most courses and gurus always come up short, completely overlooking and typically missing this vital area. It is this that makes the difference in a business and where success (or lack of success) takes place. The one thing I hear consistently from not most, but every single performer I've ever worked with is that they had no idea so many elements existed and that these components must work in concert, in harmony to be truly effective and efficient. Once they understand this a whole new world of understandig and possibilities open up and become clear. They are steered to focus on the wrong things and often prematurely - websites, SEO, marketing, and worrying about things like gift bags, gifts, post cards or letters, etc. Once they start focusing on the wrong things in the wrong order a typical sequence of this begin happening that often takes them in a direction of frustration, self-doubt and disappointment. This is exactly why I specified in the original post to exclude marketing and websites/SEO. As we regularly see here these two are often the topics they THINK they need when in reality it's likely much more. |
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lou serrano Special user Los Angeles, CA 671 Posts |
Nick,
Thanks for clarifying your position. I think that clarification will be of benefit to others who read this thread. All the best, Lou Serrano |
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Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts |
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They are steered to focus on the wrong things and often prematurely - websites, SEO, marketing, and worrying about things like gift bags, gifts, post cards or letters, etc. Once they start focusing on the wrong things in the wrong order a typical sequence of this begin happening that often takes them in a direction of frustration, self-doubt and disappointment. Ahhhh ..... so you know me!! :8-) I've got a full-time job that I'm not going to quit. I have some lifestyle choices that are extremely important to me, and I will quit magic before I touch them. I'm in a small rural city in one of the lowest income and highest unemployment areas of the US. And I don't know enough about how to create a business strategy to prosper in these circumstances or where to go to learn how to set up a viable business structure. I get great ideas, but I have no framework to fit them into. I have markets identified, but no confidence to approach them because I don't know how to approach, present, and follow-through. I'm an introvert, hate "networking" gatherings, and hate having to sell. Schools and libraries are constantly bringing in magiciand from out of town for 2 or 3 times what I would charge plus travel; I've watched them perform and I can (usually) do what they do, but there is a world of difference in them and me. Frustration and disappointment -- I'd love to learn how to make this work. Ed |
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lou serrano Special user Los Angeles, CA 671 Posts |
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On Oct 22, 2014, Mindpro wrote: Mindpro, It sounds to me like you are talking about the three areas of "knowing". The first area of knowing are the the things you know that you know. For instance, I know how to speak English. I also "know" that I know how to speak English. The second area of knowing are the things you know you don't know. As an example, I don't know how to speak French. I also "know" that I don't know how to speak French. The third area of knowing are the things that you don't know that you don't know. I can't give you an example of the things I don't know that I don't know, because I don't know that I don't know them. They fall outside of the first two categories. It's IMPOSSIBLE to give you an example of the third category. I think one of the reasons people may not be contributing to this thread is that they don't know what they need outside of doing a great show and marketing that show. Which is where you come in. To enlighten, teach, and advise others about those things, if that's what you wish to do. Otherwise, everyone is left in the dark as to what you're talking about. I look forward to hearing about the ideas and concerns that you plan on sharing and were discussed in your workshop. Respectfully, Lou Serrano |
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lou serrano Special user Los Angeles, CA 671 Posts |
I figured I should also contribute to this thread by expressing my main concern in my own business. Outside of a few agents who send me work, I book all of my own shows. Most of my marketing consists of attraction marketing. Attracting the right kind of customers and getting them to call me. A small percentage of my marketing consists of seeking out and going after opportunities. My business partner is in charge of that job. When she gets a warm lead, she passes that lead to me, so that I can close the deal.
In order to expand my business in the way that I want, I need to focus on new areas of my business. For me, that has to do with the speaking business. Creating funnels, products, continuity programs, seminars, and coaching programs are just a few of things I need to focus on. Unfortunately, much of my time is spent closing deals for my magic business. My problem is that I feel that nobody else can do as good a job of selling my services the way I can. I am a master at selling my own services. In order to expand my business I need to eliminate myself from the booking process to free up time to focus on these other areas. How do I teach another person to do as good a job as I can do, and how do I trust that person to do the job? I actually know the answer to the questions, but it's still my main concern. All the best, Lou Serrano |
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