I’ll commit to quoting higher rates. I’ll face the fear of rejection when a price-hunting prospect passes me by, and the fear that turning down low-budget gigs will hurt my bottom line.

To achieve this, I’ll believe just enough of my own press to settle my uncertainty, and focus on the benefits I provide to clients. I’ll also remember that having a handful of customized, high-paying gigs are better at building relationships than a string of cookie cutter, low-budget gigs.

Hi Barry, thank you so much for these videos. They have given me a lot of inspiration and have motivated me to keep pushing forward.

Both on this site, and getmorecorporategigs.com, you speak a lot about what it takes to book corporate gigs. As a magician, I admit I’ve been one of those green bottles, trying to appeal to the private and corporate show markets. I’ve done very few corporate shows. Obviously I’ve done much better for private shows because I wasn’t speaking the corporate buyer’s language. When I did do those shows, I was simply the entertainer, not some sort of keynote speaker.

Although I have to admit, when it comes down to it, I don’t necessarily want to get corporate gigs. When I look at a lot of other performers I see them tweaking their shows to fit the corporation’s message. I love entertaining audiences, but I don’t see myself as a teacher or pitchman who can articulate a message for them. I see myself as someone who inspires wonder, and loves using magic to bring people together. Sure, they may work for a corporate audience, but I feel like it works no matter who is watching.

So my question to you is, how to do I make myself appeal to different markets without feeling like I need to change who I am (or what I’m offering) to appeal to them? I want people to want to hire me because I am ME, a specific entertainer, not because I can articulate their message.

I’m not sure if that sounds like a selfish approach, but I assure you its not intended to be. It’s simply me trying to play my strengths as a magician, and making sure I don’t present myself as something I’m not.

Right now I will commit to setting a meeting up with a web designer so we can bring our site up to date. I will also place an add on line and interview for the office assistant position I have been wanting to hire. This week I will make steps in this direction and quit putting it off until I have time. I need it now so i will do it now.

I love performing in any venue, I get something out of each one that is a little different. Going from the dive bar to the concert hall I find infinitely refreshing. Working bars is more of a challenge, you have to earn the audience and the pay is miserable. It’s almost like busking haha! I love changing my show to fit a corporate audience. I love incorporating (pun intended) the client into my show. To me it makes the gig a lot more fun if I have something new to play with. I do a lot of weddings too and I probably make the majority of my living off of that sort of gig; but, it’s probably the least amount of fun, though challenging in another way because you always have specific things that need to happen and a chaotic environment in which they happen. I enjoy the challenge of it; but, wedding clients frequently want you to be more things than you are. I set up boundaries a few years ago and started offering DJs to our service so that I could accommodate the broader wishes of our clients. It has been a successful venture in that I now coordinate an array of entertainment for larger events from classical musicians to a DJ. But my performance is still a centerpiece of the events I end up booking. Every client that hires us raves about the service. I know we have a good product and I also have nights that I’m not working.

I’m going to make a pledge to try and offer better personal service though. outside of the gig. One of my issues is that I’m not great at following up with clients. Get me in a meeting with a client and I’m golden. Get me to set up that meeting and I’m out to lunch. I’m actually having a hard time narrowing my focus I guess. I enjoy the challenge of molding our services to the differing needs of clients. I’m going to have to think about it for a bit. I’m trying to be honest in that I feel like it’s not fear keeping me from focusing, I just don’t want to limit myself. Maybe there is an underlying fear of letting gigs go by. I’ve always been a hard worker and ten years ago I was doing over 300 shows a year.

A few years ago, after becoming very successful in the nightclub and bar market I started to get a lot more private and corporate events and I didn’t like it when I would lose a client because I was already booked. I wanted to be able to provide something valuable for them; use my expertise as an entertainer to act as a consultant for them and provide entertainment. I thought it would be easy to create a business out of that. Eventually I wanted to turn the name I had made for myself as an entertainer into a valuable reputation that clients could trust to provide great entertainment even if it wasn’t me per se. It has been very hard. I have found that people call me to hire me and when they find I’m not available they frequently aren’t interested in utilizing our service. Again, I’m also good at selling the gig and lazy when it comes to setting up the meeting.

Don’t get me wrong: in no way do I think this is an insurmountable obstacle! I will admit that it does take a lot of my energy and I am also guilty of the “wishful marketing” strategy of waiting for the phone to ring but I’m ready to change all of that. I am definitely going to have a difficult time focusing though.

I am also going to make this pledge right now. I’m going to go on my website and remove all of the distracting things that I’ve put up there to try and wow people with my diversity. I’ll make a start and go from there.

Sorry this post was so long.
David Patrone

This comment is actually more related to the first episode but still ringing in my head. Cut yourself off the media/news addiction. Wow…. you nailed me there. Huffington Post, NY Times, Daily Show and Colbert on occasion. Lot of time spent/waisted. It shouldn’t even be called news. News would be “Peace breaks out in the middle east”, “Corporate America agrees the greed has gone too far”. But I must admit I am sucked in. Food for thought.

Barry,
I have just finished watching the first two videos on your site; The Story Of You, and The Only Thing Clients Care About. I find them thought provoking.The point about trying to be all things to all people hits very close to home. I have been wrestling with that one for well over a decade.

I freely admit that even after watching the videos I still feel a bit of hesitation. However, when I clicked on the testimonials I saw three individuals there that IMMEDIATELY jumped out at me – Mike Rose, Tom Crowl and Fred Moore. I have known all of these men, and shared stages with them, for quite some time and they all have my highest respect. In fact, it was Fred who recommended that I view your videos in the first place.

For the last three years I have been working to redefine myself and I have undergone a very large shift in my point of view.
1) I want to talk WITH an audience, not AT them. I no longer want to perform FOR them but instead want to CREATE a shared experience.
2) I have found it is far more rewarding to build up and mentor OTHERS than to promote MYSELF. While I love every aspect of performing I no longer want to just sell MY act but instead I want to BUILD A dynamic, successful TEAM.
– and the most important change I have gone through . . .
3) I now ask myself each and every day, “am I going to show up or am I going to step up?”

I have spent far too many years believing in the field of dreams scenario. The hardest thing to admit to myself was that no one was going to pull up to my front door and offer me success. I was waiting for others to hand me my big break. My mentor told me time and time again, until I finally listened, that if you keep doing the same things that you have always done, you will keep getting the same results that you have always gotten. Stop waiting. No one is going to do it for you.

I have enjoyed reading the comments left here by others and look forward to seeing the next videos!

Barry,

Thanks for this great series. I learned a very important lesson, today.

My magic creates smiles and wonder. From baby brother to Grandma, everyone needs to enjoy the fantasy in the world. I feel certain that my performances help create this sense of the fun, the fantastic, and the connection possible between people. My web copy does not tell this story.

I know, now, that I need to bring the joy that my audience feels to my copy. That I need to share the joy I feel. That I need to make business and magic.

Thanks.

Jim

Barry, I’m starting to get the itch to make that change!

Hi Barry,

I really liked the idea or analogy of the medicine bottle. I think it my be called product differentiation. There were some kids selling lemonade on the street corner today and one said to me”, would you like to buy some lemonade?”. I said “nope”.

After driving away i began thinking. Had said to me, “hey mister, would you like to buy some super charged, high performance lemonade made with organic lemons, organic cane sugar and a twist of fresh squeezed orange?”, I would have reconsidered.

Now I am thinking after watching this video, how can I sell my Celestial Music concert series to Planetarium Star Theaters and really make a powerful statement. Maybe i need to focus on one type of event. Maybe I need to whittle down my offerings, shut down the books sales part of my sight and focus on one type of message.

I also thought about my email newsletters and targeting my audience more by offering quick easily accesable insights into scholarly music topics along with a free new music clip.

My big question is this – I’ve learned a lot of marketing from the other packages and I expect to learn some even bigger and better marketing from you. But the missing element in other programs is always finding the prospects to market to. The corporate leads, the contacts etc. I can have all the correct material and answers to the client. But if I don’t have the leads, I don’t have the clients.

Do you address this foundational need in the course?

Hi Barry,
Just finished the second video. Wow, what an interesting video. I learned that I have to put away my shotgun and take aim with my rifle to hit the target audience I feel can benefit from my presentations.I am going to attack the schools and local colleges and sell my services as a motivational speaker. I know that I can do a great job and use my magic to illustrate specific points of my presentation. Again I am 74 years old an still learning new tricks. Thank you.