The Business of Performing

Did you hear? We moved URLs!

2009-12-04T17:50:00.003-06:00

I don't really maintain this blog any more. I visit every six months or so just to remind you that we have a new location. Visit:

www.JulianSpeaks.com/blog

for all the updated info that you've been missing!

Forget Success - Embrace FAILURE!

2009-07-12T10:37:00.002-05:00

The video below just might be the most inspiring, fear-inducing, and truthful five minutes you'll experience this year. It's not me. I get scared just watching the video. That's one of the things I love most about it.

Since I was a young pre-teen I've trained in the martial arts and for as long as I can remember I've always been the first to volunteer when it came time to spar, fight, or be the guy that the instructor uses to demonstrate a new technique.

When a visiting black belt comes to the school where I train Jiu-jitsu I'm always willing to roll with him no matter his size or experience. One day someone in class asked me "Aren't you scared?"

"Sometimes"

"Do you really think you can take that guy?" he then asked.

"I hope not" I replied, "because every time I lose I learn at least two things. I not only learn a new technique that can be used to win, but I learn about a weakness in my own defense".

Too often we strive so hard for success that we develop a fear and loathing of failure, when in fact, failure is one of the most important secrets to success!

For the past three months I've been studying a video of Danny MacAskill that many of you might have seen already on YouTube. If not, here's a link to this incredible video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o

When we watch sporting events and we see the thrill of victory.

But we almost never get to see all the pain, and sweat, and frustration, and perserverence and failure that it takes to get to game day. We never get to see it because it is tedious, and scary, and intimidating, and emotionally draining. We never get to see it because it is very time consuming and boring and repetitive. And because victory often starts at 5 AM when many of us are still asleep.

Watch this video and bookmark it. Study the first 1:20 because you get a glimpse of what Danny puts in to become the talent than he has. You still can't see all the broken bones, all the stitches, all the scraped knees and elbows. You only get to see a few of the bicycles he's destroyed in his quest for excellence.

Pause the video at 3:05 and notice the path that he's worn up the side of the tree. How many times do you think you have to attempt something to wear down a groove in the side of an oak tree?

We'll probably never know. All we know is the amazing things he does in the 22 seconds immediately after.

I don't aspire to become a great bicyclist, or even a world-class martial artist. But in the things that are important to me I have allowed myself permission to fail. I have allowed myself permission to get out, scrape my knees, and fall down in front of people I care about. For the things that are important to me I have given myself permission to expose myself to ridicule. I have accepted that failure is almost surely part of the path, but it is not, and WILL NOT be my final destination.

What are you going to do today that scares you? Whatever it is, I give you permission to fail while trying as long as you promise to try again after you fall.

Business of Magic 6

2009-06-18T05:16:00.004-05:00

As many of you know, for more than six years now I've been writing a monthly column in "The Linking Ring" (the world's largest, most widely distributed trade journal for professional magicians).

Distribution of the magazine is limited to the membership roles of the somewhat exclusive and secretive society, The International Brotherhood of Magicians. For those of you who are not members but would like to hear the business advice I've been providing the world's top performers and entertainers I've recorded the various articles over the years and released them as audio products.

The most recent edition (Year Six) is now available as an instant, digital MP3 download. I work purposely to keep the total time of the recording under 80 minuts so that if you want, you can burn the recording to CD, if you prefer that format. Here's the button to buy the MP3 if you want.

Year 6, instant MP3 download with no shipping - $12

Years 1-6 (8 HOURS!) instant MP3 download, no shipping - $59

Alternatively, you can visit my website http://www.julianspeaks.com/ and click the link to products. There you'll find most of my 20+ books, all my CD programs (including Business of Magic years 1-5 AND the entire set of years 1-6 as a "Boxed Set" discount in both downloadable format as well as CD that we can ship to you).

We've Moved!!

2009-04-04T14:44:00.001-05:00

This blog has been relocatd to:

http://JulianSpeaks.com/blog

These four trends WILL affect your livelihood…

2009-02-05T21:01:00.003-06:00

There are several trends that you might or might not have noticed that are changing the economic landscape right now. These trends WILL impact your livelihood. For those who see them and understand them and know how to use them to their advantage, the impact will be profitable. For those who are caught unaware, the impact could be disastrous.

I’m going to openly share my personal and professional strategy for dealing with these trends, but first I think it is important to expose the changes that are already affecting your business.

1) The first of the trends is the pervasive encroachment of technology into every aspect of our lives. Things that used to be too ridiculous a concept to even include in a science fiction story are now mainstream toys. Think about the computing power in a typical smart phone compared to what NASA used to get men to the moon.

2) The second trend is a shift away from owning “things” and toward “experiences”. Kids today think of CDs as antiquated and bulky. You don’t want the LP, cassette, or CD, you want the MUSIC. The CD was just the best tool (at one time) to deliver that music and now it is no longer the best tool. CDs can get lost, stolen, or scratched. But the music in a digital format can remain viable forever and transfered to whatever medium is the choice of the time. This trend goes far beyond music into other forms of entertainment and information distribution as we shall see.

3) The third trend is that of the Green Movement: regardless of your beliefs about the cause or even the existence of global warming, it is lunacy to ignore the rising trend toward having a lessening impact on the environment. There is a LOT of potential here for you to capitalize on this trend and I’ll share some ideas with you.

4) The fourth and last trend I’m going to discuss today is the ever-present concerns about the current economic situation. Again, regardless of your personal experience or your belief about what the future holds, you simply cannot ignore the concerns of most of America during this time, and the economic situation ranks #1 in the minds of most Americans right now.

Real quick, I want to share with you a strategy that I’m implementing that I think will take these four factors and use them to my advantage and by extension, you will also benefit.

I’m currently in the process of converting all my information products into digital format so that CDs have become MP3s, my books have become e-books, and DVDs are becoming .MOV files. This not only embraces the technology as it exists today, it also reduces waste, eliminates the carbon footprint involved in delivering physical products in trucks burning fossil fuels, and because there is no shipping costs, those savings are passed on to the consumer in a lower overall product price.

But there is this invisible hurdle to overcome: For those of us born before 1984 (the year 1984, not the book 1984) we still have an emotional attachment to holding physical product. I remember how much I resisted direct deposit checks because I wanted to touch the paper to know it was real. I want to HOLD the CDs to know I have purchased something even though the plastic and paper is NOT what I am really buying.

So, here’s what I am doing...I’ve created a package of some of my e-books, and some of my MP3s, bundled them together and am “selling” them at a total cost of ZERO dollars. It’s like a chance to practice the new economy from beginning to end, with absolutely no risk at all as there is nothing to pay for.

What you do is go to http://JulianSpeaks.com/freegift.html and you will see the “Add to Cart” button. Click that and you will see that it is a zero dollar item. You will also see all the files I’ve included in that bundle. Some of you may already have some of this stuff but no one has all of it.

You’ll “check out” but it won’t ask you for a method of payment. Instead you will be asked for an e-mail address where you want the link sent. This should probably be the same e-mail address you use to get my monthly newsletter, but you can use whatever you want.

Within a few seconds you will have the link in your e-mail account to download all the files. See what you think of digital products. You can burn the MP3s to CD if you really want the plastic. And you can print out the PDFs if you really want the paper. But I think you’ll like the direction these trends are taking my business.

In a few weeks I’ll be sharing more about each of these trends and how you can take strategic advantage of each of them in your own business.

But right now, visit http://JulianSpeaks.com/freegift.html and feel free to tell a friend about the site as well. My goal is to open people up to this technology and open them up to what I offer as well and I think this little “sample pack” is a good way to start.

A Quick Simple Question...

2009-01-28T14:12:00.003-06:00

The other day I went into a fast food restaurant that will remain nameless just because some people will probably take this article the wrong way and I don’t want a good business to suffer because of it.

I ordered a simple combo-meal that included a drink and fries. The clerk, who happened to be a manager named Julienne asked me “Medium or Large?” It was such a quick and innocent sounding question that I almost answered before thinking.

“No, a small will be fine, thank you”. She completed my order and as she handed me my receipt and tray of food I asked her a question that she clearly didn’t feel comfortable answering.

I asked her how many of the people accepted one of her two options and went with either medium or large. She said she didn’t know. I pushed until she admitted that it was at least 85-90%.

This simple upsell adds either 59 or 99 cents to each meal ordered. As each combo normally runs about $5-6 that’s a 10-20% markup on EACH meal sold. The best part is that it costs the restaurant almost NOTHING to fulfill delivery. A slightly larger soda costs them a penny or two in syrup and fractions of a cent for a larger cup. The difference between a small and medium sized fries is non-existent. Only the cardboard box changes size. Basically the same amount of product fits in each size box. The large holds a little more than the small but even then, you’re talking about potatoes: just about the cheapest food product on the planet.

So for virtually no cost at all they are able to increase their revenue by 10-20% just by asking one single, very simple and almost automatic question. The secret is to ask the question systematically, to EVERYONE who orders a combo meal and to ask it EVERY single time.

I’m still trying to work out exactly how this principle can be applied in my business. There is something about the assumptive quality of the question and something also about the two-options format. But basically it is a simple question.

Do you do birthday parties? Are you willing to do Goodie bags? (I do the former, but not the latter). Maybe you could add a simple question like “Do you want us to handle the goodie bags for everyone or are you going to put all those together yourself?”

Not as clean as “Medium or Large?” but it gets that conversation started. I’ll bet that’s got to be worth a few thousand dollars a year for the right performers.

Or, if you do awards banquets you might ask “Do you want to include enough magic tricks for every seat at each table or just one trick per table and let everyone kind of share it?” Most event planners might not have even thought about the idea of including magic tricks for the guests, and when they find out that you can provide quality, PRE-SELECTED tricks for less than $2 per person you might just be able to bump up your revenue for the night by a pretty significant amount.

I welcome your thoughts on this. Remember, I'm not just talking about ways to increase revenue. There are countless thousands of ways to do that. I'm talking about doing it with a question. A single, very simple, question that is asked near the end of each transaction.

What is YOUR question for 2009?

That time of year (Not Goal Setting!)

2009-01-08T06:59:00.000-06:00

All the marketing experts right now are writing about how you should be setting goals this week. So there is no need for me to beat you over the head with it. Instead I'm going to give you something they aren't: real-world, valuable, solid, easy-to-implement advice that you probably haven't heard before.

How novel.

Every January I try to go through my various web pages and update the copyright notice to reflect the new year. This does four things:

1) It automatically extends my copyright on the material on my web site for an additional year. This is important, but it is really the least important reason for doing this as by the time the copyright expires on the material that is posted on my web site it will probably be of little real value to my surviving heirs anyway. The more important reasons follow...

2) It lets viewers know they are seeing an up-to-date web site. Personally, when I see a website that proudly boasts that it was "recently" updated and the date mentioned is 3 years old, I really wonder why they mention it at all!

Seriously, if you aren't going to regularly go in and change the copy on your web site, that's fine. Just don't be silly enough to put a DATE on the web site letting everyone KNOW! People appreciate up-to-date information when browsing the web. You don't want to publicize if your information hasn't been updated in years.

I renew the copyright date on my website, even if the copy doesn't change as it lets the reader's know that I am still actively involved in running the business and that I am attentive to details.

3) The third reason is that when you go in and look at each individual page as you adjust the copyright date it sort of forces you to actually read the copy that you've posted. You'd be surprised what things you will find when you read your own web site. From information that is no longer accurate, to misspelled words, to references that date the site even more than an old copyright notice.

As an example, there was a competitor of mine who also performed motivational school assembly programs in Texas. Her programs claimed to address specific issues covered in the state mandated test in Texas, however, she was calling the test by a name that hadn't been used in Texas for almost FIVE YEARS!! I had to wonder how many opportunities she lost simply because her web site was promoting her ability to help students pass a test that had been phased out half a decade previously.

These are the silly sorts of mistakes that can cost you more than not having a web site at all!

So go in and read your own web site. Each page, one-by-one. Update the copyright years if you have them, make sure that all the other references are up to date, and keep an eye out for other opportunities to polish up your site going into this new year.

4) And for the last, but possibly the most important reason to update your web site copyright dates: search engines (e.g. Google and Yahoo) love current information. They can tell when the web page was last updated and that weighs heavily in your search engine rankings. They can't tell how much information on your site has changed (maybe it was nothing more than "2008" becoming "2009") but they weigh current information far more heavily than information that hasn't been updated in a year or more.

Subtle Differences

2009-01-04T07:42:00.000-06:00

So what's the difference between hosting after school magic workshops and performing some other type of ancillary program like reading reward programs, summer library shows, or science night programs?

The answer lies in how the ancillary programs integrate into your primary business model. What is your CORE business? What is the REASON your business exists from the perspective of your customer. Clearly, the business exists to make a profit for YOU, but in order to do that you have to serve CUSTOMERS. What is your supreme service?

For me, and the people who've made lots of money doing what I teach, the latter examples in paragraph one integrate perfectly with our supreme service while the idea of an after school magic workshop becomes something of a distraction from our primary purpose.

Does that mean that it isn't valuable to the client? No.

Does it mean that after school magic workshops would not be profitable? That is NOT what it means.

Then WHAT is the difference?!

To understand you need to understand what I consider my primary purpose is; what my core business is based upon. If you understand this, then the difference is crystal.

Let me go make sure the guys in this room get it. I'll post again tomorrow.

The Path Less Chosen

2009-01-03T07:50:00.000-06:00

I'm just finishing breakfast and about to kick off the fourth annual, and FINAL incarnation of the Business Building Workshop for Magicians and School Show Performers.

I've been having a lot of fun with it over the years but felt the need to end this chapter, but I am going out with a bang.

I am revealing everything that has helped me and others create rather phenomenal growth in the niche market we've chosen. Some stuff will probably look familiar but most is quite contrary to traditional thought.

For example: Last night we talked about the idea of hosting after school magic workshops. In such a setting you work after school hours, teaching magic to school age children. A great way to create spin off business both in the schools and for birthday parties, right?

Well, not according to what we'll be covering over the next few days. Instead, we'll be working on running DEEP with a client, rather than broadly covering all their various needs. Not a right and wrong thing so much as it is a choice about efficiency.

Gotta go! Time to stop typing and start talking!

My Conference Starts in a few hours

2009-01-02T22:29:00.000-06:00

Actually, the conference started this evening with an informal get-together in the hotel lobby. Not everyone showed up, but for those who did, we had a pretty good little brainstorm going. One of the things we brought up was the idea (not new or original) of after school magic workshops. Over the next few days we are going to try to develop something around this idea that I hope will help ALL of us grow our businesses, even if we choose not to actually teach magic workshops after school.

But it is very late and I have to get up early tomorrow and work out before I begin lecturing. I'm not sharing this post with the entire list, but if you are on an RSS feed or drop in to the site from time to time, you'll want to check back frequently over the next week as I will be posting at least once a day until the conference ends.

Gift: Seth Godin Audio Book

2008-12-28T18:25:00.003-06:00

My last post about achieving goals created a little controversy, in part because I stood to make some money. So to make ammends to anyone who was upset I am giving a gift to everyone.

Okay, actually I'm not the one giving it. Seth Godin is. And the real truth is that it's not even my idea. This gift was first given to me by a friend of mine from South Africa named Marcel Oudejans who is one of the savviest guys I've met in a long time.

He told me about the free download on his blog. So, to return the favor to him for sharing with me this resource, I'm going to have you get the link from HIS blog, not mine. Of course, he doesn't profit from this either, but hopefully you'll like the stuff he writes and start following his blogs as well as mine.

Either way, enjoy the Seth Godin book. I know you'll enjoy the price ($0)

http://www.performmarketing.co.za/resources/create-tribe.html

Just for the record, you will have to follow a link from Marcel's blog to get to the free download and you'll need to download some free software from Audiobook in order to process the download. It is all very intuitive and easy and will take less than 4 minutes.

It's worth it.

I'm sorry I started this controversy...

2008-12-14T10:34:00.002-06:00

There was a little bit of controversy generated ten days ago when I recommended a product for which I get an affiliate referral fee. It was suggested that my recomendation might have been influenced by the few dollars I might make in affiliate fees.

I wrote a response to the idea and you can read it as well as all the other controversial comments that flew back and forth on my business building blog. Just scroll down to the previous entry, read it and then click where it tells you the number of comments. You're welcome to add your own, positive or negative, if you want.

But my wife suggested that rather than TELL people about how effective the program is, why don't I SHOW them something irrefutable.

Warning: if you touch this link you will see pictures of me with no shirt on..do so at your own risk!

See for yourself: http://JulianSpeaks.com/bragging

How I make money while I lose weight

2008-12-10T08:22:00.004-06:00

Over the last six months I've lost about 40 lbs and added about 5 lbs of muscle mass. People notice and they ask"What are you doing?"

I remember asking the same thing of people who I had noticed were losing weight and the answers were never what I really wanted to hear. I got all the usual responses:

"I cut way back on my portions" (yeah, but I LIKE food!)
"I spend an hour on the treadmill every morning" (I don't have an extra hour every day!)
"I eat only bacon, cheese, steak, and sour cream" (If I had the discipline not to eat bread I'd have the discipline to just eat smaller portions!)
"I gave up meat, sugar, white flour, and all forms of dietary fat" (oatmeal, yum.)

So what did I do that was different and what in the world does ANY of this have to do with growing a business?

Just this...

Last month I gave a talk in Philadelphia about how too often we focus on incomplete behavior circles. Our attitude affects our behavior, our behavior affects our self-image, and our self-image affects our attitude. We never seem to address the entire circle, but rather just parts of it. So we get people who tell us to "eat less and exercise more" (good advice), or to "recite positive affirmations about the person you wish to become" (good advice), but rarely are we exposed to the importance of completing the circle.

So how did I lose 40 lbs of fat and add five lbs of muscle? How is my answer different from all the other answers you hear?

I reprogrammed my self-image. I BECAME a different person and then the affirmations and behaviors flowed naturally and almost effortlessly. This sounds a little "fruity"maybe but think just a minute about this:

What could you do if you had all your current knowledge and skills but were also: supremely confident? If you naturally and instinctively chose healthy foods in the right portions? If you applied yourself with laser-focus to every task you attempt so that you get far more done in far less time? How would your life be different if every goal you set wasn't a chore, but seemed to unfold automatically?

Here's how I did it and if you're willing to give it a try I'll give you a free gift just for attempting it. After years of research and study in behavior modification and human development I found a company that has created one of the greatest tools for improving lives that I've come across. Simple in concept, but so amazingly researched and well thought out that it impressed me from the first time I read about it. Once I listened to the first CD I was completely convinced.

Check out this link to Reprogram Your Brain and get yourself a gift this year that will pay you back a hundred times over...10,000 times over during the next year.

Everything this company sells comes with a money back guarantee and here's what I'll do because I believe in the product so much and I want all of you to see if it doesn't work for you as well. If you spend at least $50, forward the e-mail receipt they send you to me at julian@julianfranklin.com and include your mailing address in the e-mail. I'll then send you a CD of the lecture I gave in Philly about other ways you can work to redesign your life from the inside out. You pay nothing for the CD,I'll even cover the shipping.

No matter what your goals are, you have nothing to lose and your whole life to gain.

By the way, if you are interested in just purchasing the CD of the lecture I gave in Philadelphia last month, it's available for $25 on my web site at http://www.julianspeaks.com/.

Powerful Presentations

2008-11-03T07:24:00.003-06:00

I read a great article last night in the November issue of Fast Company (p. 87 if you subscribe to that magazine).

It was about building good Powerpoint presentations and was written by Dan and Chip Heath (the guys who wrote Made to Stick, a great book about developing messages that stick with your audience).

So what does a Powerpoint presentation have to do with performing in front of a live audience? EVERYTHING! The same principles apply and the same mistakes are made by 99% of the Powerpoint presentations as are made by 99% of the people calling themselves entertainers (predictable, routine, and boring…)

Even though the article I read is about Powerpoint presentations, it is really about creating ANY sort of presentation that results in RESULTS. You have heard about people saying "Show, don't tell" but yet most of the performers presenting school shows, library shows, reading programs, motivational programs, sales programs, trade show routines, and gospel presentations are NOT getting RESULTS because they are not truly communicating their message.

Instead they are just decorating it.

"Show, don't tell doesn't mean to include a world map on your slide about "thinking gloabally". That's decoration, not communication. A good idea doesn't need visual drapes" say the Heath brothers in this article.

Instead they give the example of a VP discussing the amount of paperwork required of their department store outlets (519 pages every two weeks).

"This is two weeks' worth of the audit documentation that's required of our stores. You've all heard the phrase that the road to hell is paved with good intentions?" The speaker then shoved the papers across the table "Well, this is the road to hell."

No Powerpoint presentation needed. No graphs, charts, or statistical spreadsheets could convey the information better than 519 pages fluttering to the ground in front of a group of shocked executives.

And if you're a performer who has ever worried about getting caught using a sleight, or questioning whether or not your audience was paying more attention to the method of your performance rather than the words and message you were trying to deliver, let me assure you that the people in the audience mentioned above were NOT wondering if the paper was recycled. Nor were they speculating about whether or not the printing on the pages was actual documentation or just some random text to make a point. They didn't have a nagging desire to go up after words and count the pages to make sure there were exactly 519.

No, this audience was impacted. They got the message, plain and clear, with no distractions.

Three years ago I released a program titled "Developing Educationally Significant Programs" and it has become my best selling product to date. It is about this very topic. It is about creating programs that make a difference in the lives of your audience. It's about doing more than entertaining. It is about changing lives.

The trend in magic is to figure out a way to force your message into a routine that you've already done a hundred times. Superficial research, don’t learn anything new, just take a standard effect and force your square message into that round hole. How many things can these three pieces of rope represent? The three bears, the three wise men, mind/body/spirit, earth/wind/fire, and on and on and on and on.

But these object lessons don't illustrate the message. Instead they just decorate it. Professor's Nightmare is a great piece of entertainment and there are lots of great ways to create interesting patter for that trick to make it more relevant and entertaining. But while an added message might increase the entertainment value of that particular piece, the routine does NOT return the favor when it is added to a meaningful message.

Whenever a magic routine is crammed into service that routine almost never increases the educational impact of an important message.

Why? Because it doesn't convey information. It's just "decoration". And quite frankly, the fact that it is such a good trick and such a nice routine often makes it a DISTRACTION. Rather than an audience listening to what you are saying, they are concentrating on what is happening and that is only very loosely tied to the real message you are trying to convey.

Now re-read the presentation that the Heath brothers wrote about in their Fast Company article (quoted above in italics). Can you imagine the hairs standing up on the backs of all the necks in that room when the speaker shouted "This is the road to hell" as he shoved the massive stack of papers?

Wow! It couldn't get any better...unless he had 3 pieces of rope each a different length, one representing too little paperwork, one representing too much paperwork, and one representing just the right about of paperwork...

Developing Educationally Significant Programs is $79 and includes a manual, two audio CDs, and performance rights to all the pieces included in the program. If you are someone who is hired to change and influence your audiences rather than just entertain them (this includes gospel presenters, trade show workers, school show presenters, motivational speakers, and library performers, among others) then you MUST have this program.

Click HERE to find out more about it. Learn what it takes to really set yourself apart from the crowd. It's more than unique patter. It's about understanding what it takes to make a difference. It's about understanding what it takes to develop educationally significant programs.

Why are GPS Owners so Evangelical?

2008-10-13T14:30:00.005-05:00

There are those who own GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation systems and those who don't. No matter which group you belong to, you have probably noticed that the GPS owners LOVE to tell others about how great GPS technology is. It's like they can't stop talking about it!

Have you ever wondered what it is about the thing that makes the owners of it feel like they have to tell everyone they know about it? More importantly, have you ever asked yourself how you could follow some of these same ideas in regards to your business and get your customers to relentlessly hound their friends, peers, and co-workers on your behalf?

One of the first things to note about GPS technology and how it relates to your own business is that GPS is NOT perfect. Anyone who has used it quickly learns that it often sends you on a route that is slower and/or longer than the one you would have chosen. It frequently thinks there are roads where none exist, and as each day passes and new roads are built, it remains completely ignorant of the improved roads.

Yet despite these shortcomings, people still rave. Perfection is not a prerequisite for incredible loyalty. Whew!

As a long time GPS owner who started as a reluctant skeptic to those "first adopter" friends of mine, I can give you some insights on what IS important on the path from skeptic, to customer, to loyal evangelist.

First of all, a GPS offers a fair service at a fair price. If you only travel in your own city, then a single city map might be all that you need, but if you frequently (or even infrequently) travel to other cities, then the cost of the various paper maps could quickly match what it would cost to purchase a reasonable GPS unit. This is how I first got sucked in.

But once the GPS makes the sale, THEN it really begins to deliver. You see, most businesses work hard to make the sale, then deliver what they promised and move on to the next prospect to convince. But not GPS. No, she's a different girl. (yes, I do have mine set to the girl voice-British accent if you have to know).

So I bought my unit several years ago and was looking forward to having a map of all cities easily accessible and I wouldn't even have to flip pages or re-fold impossible origami.

But my girl started showing off a little bit. She calculated my ETA. No longer would I have to wonder when I was arriving. Now I could know almost down to the second. Even on trips where I KNOW how long it takes, if I stop to eat or get bogged in traffic, my GPS adjusts the ETA to reflect my new arrival time. That's really cool.

So, I decide to get something to eat and she tells me she can find places close to my current location, close to my destination, or along my current route. She can also filter restaurants by my choice of food, can find gas stations for which I have credit cards, and even provides me with their phone numbers so I can call to make sure they are open and even ask for their current price on regular unleaded if I cared to price shop.

I learned that I can ask her to find businesses that I sell to along my current route and can drop in to hand off some sales literature or talk about a booking.

None of this is possible (or even IMAGINABLE) with a paper map.

She finds shortcuts that I never knew existed.

She provides me multiple ways to search for things, so that if one way comes up a dead-end, I can shift gears and search other avenues. And, yes, the driving puns in that sentence were intentional.

The computer allows for multiple languages and voices which is cool. It has volume control so that you don't HAVE to listen to her babble "recalculating...recalculating...recalculating" over and over. But if you have a long stretch of road, having the volume up means that you will never again miss your exit. She gives you plenty of warning that you will need to "Exit right in one mile".

That's another thing. On a paper map as you approach an intersection you might know that you need to go to the left, but do you turn in FRONT of the overpass to go over, or do you go UNDER and make a cloverleaf? GPS owners don't wonder, they drive it like a local.

In short, it is about over delivering in little ways. The GPS doesn't microwave popcorn, or record my favorite TV shows. It just does what it promises and gives a little bit more.

The newer GPS units continue to over deliver by creating 3-D maps, and changing the little triangle that represents MY car into actual renderings of cars that you can choose and change at will. Is that worth the $200-$400 that a GPS unit will set you back? No. But if you look at ALL these things, it begins to become very attractive.

How can you over deliver in little ways, that don't cost you anything significant, and probably in ways that your customers haven't even thought they would want or need? How can you over deliver in simple ways but yet, once you deliver at that level, your competition becomes as irrelevant as...paper maps?

I've never done this before

2008-09-18T15:21:00.005-05:00

We went through the eye of Hurricane Ike and got virtually no damage, but check out this picture of what happened to our neighbor half a block away! It’s crazy that the same wind blows and less than a quarter of a mile separates our homes but the difference is between complete devastation and virtually no damage at all.

But we did get SOME damage and that funny story is going to make some of you a LOT of money. Here’s how…

We moved into this house six years ago. The previous owner had built a half fence between the driveway and the back yard. My wife liked it because she felt it kept our daughter from getting into the street. I hated it because it looked cheap and homemade. I wanted to buy a wrought iron gate across the driveway. I argued that it would look better while accomplishing the same goal of giving our daughter a safe place to play.

Well, in our house I get to make some decisions, but not all of them. The half fence stayed up.

Until hurricane Ike came through...

Ike cost us a fence, but saved us a fight.

Now I need your help. Here is how you can “contribute to the hurricane relief fund” while helping yourself out, too.

I don’t want hand-outs. In fact, I won’t accept them. There are people out here who legitimately need help and our family was fortunate enough not to be among them. I don’t want to belittle their plight, but I do want to make an offer that I’ve never made before.

I have run specials on certain products from time to time. It is rare but I’ve done it. Personally I don’t believe in holding sales as they teach your customers NOT to buy, but to wait for a sale instead. Sales upset your loyal customers who paid full price. So I’ve never had a sale and vowed I never would. I think it is bad business.

But I need to get a wrought iron gate across our driveway THIS WEEK and it’s going to cost almost $4,000. Quite frankly, I don’t have four grand tucked in my sock drawer. August is my dead month and the four days of school shows I had booked for last week all had to cancel due to the storm. Next week's shows are "slow pays" so I’m not expecting another bank deposit for several weeks at best.

So I’m doing something I vowed I would never do.

I’m running a sale. On EVERYTHING. From my best selling book “Kid Control”, to all my marketing systems like “Viral Marketing” and “Developing Educationally Significant Programs”. I’m even offering the discount on the Business Building Workshop I’m holding this January.

FINE PRINT: The sale is a blanket 25% off of EVERYTHING you buy from me. No other discounts or specials apply. Everything comes with a money back guarantee but the guarantee is only for the money you actually paid for the product. You cannot buy at a discount and get a refund at full price. The sale will last for seven days or until I sell enough to pay for the new gate, whichever comes first. The coupon code automatically expires at midnight on Friday, September 26th but if we get enough for the gate it will end sooner. I expect it to be done before the weekend is through.

If there is anything you’ve been thinking about ordering from me, do it NOW. You can always get your money back later as my guarantee is iron clad.

To get the discount, shop as usual at the web sites below. Upon checkout enter the coupon code: Ike. When you then click the "recalculate" button you will see your discount.

http://julianspeaks.com/ <-- business building products, magic tricks, audio programs, books

http://kidshowbusiness.com/ <-- The Business building workshop (DON’T miss this event!!)

http://JulianFranklin.com/coolstuff.htm <-- books and posters for my school show clients, buy you might want to check them out as well.

If the coupon code doesn’t work it means that the quota has already been met and the sale is over.

We're Doing Fine

2008-09-15T16:54:00.000-05:00

In the aftermath of the hurricane, I just wanted to post a note to let you know that we are doing okay. There was no damage to the house, the family is doing fine, and except for the inconvenience of the loss of our electricity, we have enjoyed a quiet weekend at home. We are eating very well, as we have grilled everything that has thawed since Saturday morning (thank goodness for gas grills!). I don't think we have eaten this many "meaty" meals in a long time, but it has been interesting to see what we had in the freezer.

My daughter was very excited about the lack of power on the first day since she would be able to use her flashlight, but the novelty is beginning to wear off, and, like her parents, she is ready for normal again.

Our phone lines still work, and we have one old fashioned phone that doesn't require electricity, so we are still running the business as much as we can. With no electricty, we have no access to the internet, so we are unable to receive or send e-mails, but be assured we will get to them as soon as the power comes back on. Feel free to call us. We've got nothing else to do!

You may remember that I have written before about how much I use the computer but that we still have to have paper in the office. This week we are glad to be old fashioned! And those guys and gals who live and die by the electronic calendar, well - I'm going to miss them.

Professional Development

2008-08-19T11:12:00.003-05:00

There are so many amazing advances in medicine now that things we once thought were incurable are now dealt with as outpatient surgery. It seems like every week there is a new advancement in medicine from new vaccines to laser technology to new discoveries in chemistry and medication.

For this reason doctors are required to spend a certain amount of time each year in continuing education and professional development.

So are real estate agents, school teachers, and a host of other respected professions.

But as performers and entertainers there are no laws or requirements for us. Instead it is our duty to seek out our own professional development. The good news is that for those who do, it gives us a bit of a competitive advantage over other performers who do not.

I just returned from one of my favorite conferences called KIDabra. It is an international organization with people attending from the UK, Australia, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Croatia, Canada, and all over the United States. Every time I return from this annual event my head swims with ideas, inspiration, and renewed energy.

Later this week I'll be attending the TAOM convention in Dallas, Texas.

At the beginning of October I'll be lecturing on the Creativity At Sea Cruise.

It's still not too late to register for Eric Paul's Super Conference November, 14, 15, & 16. I'll be lecturing there, too so I hope to see some old friends and meet some of you in person.

Lastly, of course, I'm ramping up for the final ever Business Building Workshop, a 5 day event where we focus exclusively on performing in schools. For years I've made my living working only in schools and public libraries in my local market and for the past several years I've been sharing my systems about how to do that.

This will be the last year that I offer this information. It happens in January. It is more than you've ever spent on a magic conference but it is less than an equivalent amount of classroom time at a local community college and it will provide you with FAR more value than any college course.

If you can't sign up for my event, at least go somewhere! There is something that happens at live events that you can never capture by reading a book, listening to audio programs or even talking on the phone.

It is at events like these that we are able to share ideas, learn about what is new in our industry, and share best practices. Events like these are what move our profession forward.

If it's good enough for your doctor and for your kid's school teacher, it's probably good enough for you, too.

But I'm new in this market

2008-07-23T06:48:00.005-05:00

I got this e-mail last week:

Dear Julian,

I just read your post on “How to do a drop-in sales call” with great interest because I am about to embark on such a task, but you have two assets I lack at the moment: experience in the target market and current clients.

In your sales pitch example, you already have an established library show business and you are telling the potential client that you just finished one show and are on your way to another. Also, because your business is established, you have a lengthy roster of satisfied library clients. Great.

But I’m just branching out into the daycare market. I have a lengthy list of satisfied birthday party clients, but a very short list of satisfied commercial clients. Also, unlike you, I am NOT all booked up this year.

Finally, although I have what I consider to be a pretty good web site, I do not have any printed material to offer to a potential day care client.I’d be interested in your suggestions about how to approach these start-from-scratch calls.

Sincerely,
Larry Lipman

MY RESPONSE:

First of all, printed material can be pretty simple to create. A cover letter printed out on a laser printer or ink jet printer that has bullet points of what you offer along with a price might be all that you need, particularly for the day care market (always call them "Child Care Facilities" when you visit as some places such as Montessori schools are quite offended by the term "Day Care").

For any type of educational market make sure that your sales letter has no spelling or grammar mistakes! I know there are other marketing experts who say that grammar doesn't matter, but in the educational market it is suicide.

Determine what value you are bringing to the group. If you are promising just a fun magic show then you should be able to do fairly well in the summer time at day cares. But if you can provide an educational program that's still really fun then it will be even easier. What will the kids learn? How will you KNOW they learned it? How will their parents KNOW they learned it when the kids go home that evening?

A day care director (like any business owner) is interested in more customers, more customer loyalty, and making life easier. If the place is fun the kids want to come back. And if they are learning then the parents want them to come back. And if you take care of all that, then you make the director's life easier.

These are just simple marketing concepts that need to be thought about before you go in the door.

Now, to your real question, which seems to be: What do you say when you don't have a bunch of customers already? The answer hinges on what you come up with from the previous paragraphs. Try this as an example of what I would do if I had to go back in time to when I first started and all I had was one "fun" show and one "educationally significant" show (which was also quite fun!), based on Texas history with a cowboy theme.

"Who is the director here?" (people answer this much more readily than "Is the director in?" which screams "SALES CALL")

"Where is s/he?"

"Hi. My name is Larry Lipman and I perform fun, educationally based assembly programs for schools and child care facilities like yours. I've had the opportunity to perform for many of your students and even for the president of the United States twice but I haven't had the opportunity to perform for you. [BTW: Larry actually has performed at The White House on two different occasions, so for him this is true, if it isn't for you, you would not say that, but the point is to use what you have]

I know you're busy, so I wanted to drop this off in person so it doesn't get lost among all the other things you're working on, but I'd love for you to look it over and see if you have any questions, then give me a call if you'd like to schedule a fun, hassle-free assembly program for your students that will have them rolling on the floor laughing so hard they don't even realize that they are learning facts about ______ , ______, and ________ [fill in the blanks, use all 3 and no more].

"My fee schedule is on the letter I just gave you, but if you are networked with other facilities, or if you can be flexible in your scheduling, then we might be able to group book in the area and save some money off that price."

[Now, if you want to move toward the close, which, in this case I would recommend, you might ask...] "Have you ever brought in a paid presenter for an assembly program like this before?" Then just let them talk and in the process they will ask the questions they care about and each one you answer brings you closer to the sale.

It'll Do Motel

2008-07-14T07:22:00.001-05:00

At least this hotel owner makes no misrepresentations about what he is offering.

How To Do a Drop-In Sales Call

2008-07-08T06:12:00.001-05:00

On 6/11/08 I wrote about using a GPS to help find and schedule opportunities for drop in sales calls. In that entry I also promised to cover what you might want to say when you actually drop in. So here goes...

First, you have to know that I have a core belief about selling. I believe that people love to buy, but don't really like to be sold. Because of this belief, my sales calls are very low-pressure. It's similar to what Dan Kennedy calls "Take Away Selling". So what I do is go in with a packet that contains a brochure or catalog that clearly establishes me as serving THAT particular client. For me that’s pretty simple since I only serve schools and libraries, so my brochure reflects that specialty.

If you have a more generic brochure that outlines all of your many talents and services, you should consider adding an additional piece of literature that positions you as an expert in a particular field. I believe that it is much better to find a niche and drill deep than it is to try and please everyone.

But if you insist on spreading yourself thin, at least have a few different cover letters and testimonial flyers that demonstrate you can serve the specific type of client you are prospecting. For example, if you are targeting restaurants, have testimonials from other restaurant managers, have photos of you doing strolling magic for people sitting in a restaurant environment, and have a list of benefits geared toward a restaurant owner or manager. Make sense?

Let’s use my business as an example of what I would say and how I would do it. We’ll start with a true example from last Wednesday.

EXAMPLE 1: I had two shows booked. The first one was at 10:30 AM and the second was at 2 PM. They were about 30 miles apart. After finishing at the first, I programmed the destination for the second into my GPS and then found 4 libraries that were on the way from one to the other. I added each of them to my route itinerary.

I stopped into the first prospect library, still wearing my outfit from the show I’m doing this summer and I brought in a brochure (which has lots of testimonials sprinkled throughout), a page of testimonials from other librarians with a headline that says “What Your Peers are Saying About Julian Franklin”, and a poster from this year’s show.

I walked in and asked for the children’s librarian. When she came out I introduce myself as follows:

“Hi. My name is Julian Franklin. I’m a professional library show presenter and I just wanted to come in and introduce myself to you. I just finished a show at the Deer Park Library and am on my way to the library in Needville and I saw your sign on the way. Do you ever bring in presenters to help promote your summer reading club?”

She answered as my prospects usually do in this situation: nervous that I am going to hard sell her. She began explaining that she already had all of her programmed lined up for this summer.

I said “Oh no! My schedule is totally booked for this summer. I’m booking for NEXT summer and I'm not trying to get you to book anything right now. I just wanted to introduce myself. Here’s a brochure that sort of describes what I do. This is a list of some of the hundreds of testimonials that I’ve gotten from clients like you. And this is a poster just so you can see how I help promote your event.

"When you book I provide as many of these as you want. I know you’re busy and I’ve got another show in Needville that starts soon. Why don’t you look that stuff over today and then call Deer Park when you get a chance and Needville later on and ask how my show went. They both hire me year after year and I’d love to add you to my schedule for next year, too. I know you’ve got a lot more to worry about right now than next year’s performers, but when you are ready to book for next summer, I hope you think of me and call some of my references to make sure that you are getting the best performer possible.”

Then I leave and go to the next library on my list.

Some sales gurus will suggest you push the prospect to cement a close right then and there, but I prefer a softer touch for my particular market. If your show is good then your other clients will sell you for you. I will point out that every now and then they will try to go ahead and book you for next year just because I dropped in, but it is only about 10% that do it on the spot.

Clearly, this would work in a similar way if you were targeting restaurants for example. On a Saturday as you finish a lunch time strolling engagement and are on your way to a dinner time gig you could stop into a similar restaurant on your way and speak briefly to the manager.

EXAMPLE 2 (completely made-up dialog since I don’t target restaurants): “Hello. My name is Julian Franklin and I am a professional performer who specializes in helping restaurants like yours manage larger numbers of patrons during peak times while also bringing in additional business during slow times. I just left [Name of competitor restaurant] and am on my way to [name of other competitor restaurant] and I thought I should at least drop in, introduce myself and give you some information about how I increase revenue for local area businesses like yours.

"This is a brochure that describes who I am and what I bring to the table, pardon the pun. This is a page of testimonials from managers of other restaurants like yours who have hired me to help them pump up their bottom line. This last piece is a letter that outlines exactly what I do each week to either bring in people during your slow times or help facilitate wait times during peak periods. Or both. If any of this interests you, call me at this number (point to number on the brochure) and we can schedule a free trial run. It doesn’t cost you anything at all, it’s just a way for you to see if I can deliver on my promises. Try before you buy. Don’t you wish you could do that with your employees?”

Then leave and as you walk out, write down the name of the person you spoke to so you don’t forget it. Also write down the phone number of the place (most GPS units will have that information as well, if not get it from the phone book or from the restaurant before leaving).

Now you have the ability to follow up with a phone call a week later.

This 1-2-3 combination of personal introduction, informative promotional literature, and a follow-up phone call is nearly irresistible.

It also puts you MILES ahead of anyone who is just doing a 3-step mailing campaign. And because you are doing it while you are driving that route anyway, it doesn’t cost you any extra gas and only 3-7 minutes of your time for each prospect you visit.

One Secret to Creativity

2008-06-19T05:09:00.000-05:00

If you want to grow your bank account, you have to grow your brain. I think anyone can afford to buy a great business book to inspire you to develop new systems to grow your business. If not, go to your local library and check them out.

But one of the best ways to grow you mind, ignite your spirit, and really get yourself jazzed up about making things happen is by attending some sort of mastermind group. They take many forms from regular meetings with a group of locals, to short term meetings like conferences and conventions, but one of the most revolutionary ideas I’ve come across in this arena is the idea of having everyone meet on a cruise ship. Tim Sonefelt and Barry Mitchell pioneered this idea with their “Creativity at Sea” workshop where you pay one flat fee for the conference and you get EVERYTHING.

Talk about a cost effective event!

• No hotel expense (normally $120+ per night X 5 nights = $600).
• No meals as the cruise ship provide 24/7 gourmet dining (equivalent meals would cost $200 per day, but even at just surviving on fast food, you’re saving $30 per day X 5 days = $150).
• No lecture notes to buy. Tim and Barry made every speaker provide their lecture notes and then the guys printed and bound them at THEIR cost and provide them to attendees for FREE. At $20 each, times 10 or so sessions, that’s $200 you can spend on something else.
• No entertainment expenses. The cruise ship provides nightly entertainment as well as lots of daily activities for everyone.

I attended the first CAS cruise last year and was very excited to attend this one as well. Even as a speaker I pay to attend the event! Why? Because the guys want to keep the costs down for the attendees and because it is such a darn good value.

No kidding, I’m bringing my wife, my daughter, and my in-laws this time. It is simply too good of a deal to believe.

THIS?
Conference: $395
Hotel: $600
Car Rental + Fuel: $250
Meals: $150 – $1,000
Entertainment: $200 - $400
Lecture Notes: $120 - $200

Total cost of trip: $1,715 - $2,845

Or THIS?

Creativity at Sea: $600

You’ll never look at conventions or conferences the same way again!

Simple Sales Call Tool

2008-06-11T06:04:00.001-05:00

My last column was about taking action to grow market share during tough times. Let's look a some real world ways to make that happen in a powerful way that doesn't break the bank.

Let's start with something cheap and highly effective. If you can’t (or won’t) do this, then any real effort will also be beyond you and you’ll just be one of those who lose market share while others take it from you.

The idea is simple and involves nothing other than materials you already own and a VERY modest investment of your time. There is only one specialized piece of equipment, but you probably already own that, too.

What you do is program your GPS on your next trip to find all potential clients between your current location and your final destination. This is done in different ways on different GPS models, but basically you select “FIND” or “GO TO” and there should be an option to select “Near my current route”.

You then select the type of business you want to target and use the trip as an excuse to drop in and leave a packet of information with those clients.

GPS units are getting very sophisticated. They can find schools, public libraries, country clubs, restaurants by the food they serve, hotels, convention centers, and a host of other categories.

Browse the functions on your GPS and see how you might be able to use this $200 investment to pay for itself in ways that you might have never imagined.

I might go into detail about how to handle the sales call in a future article. If you are interested let me know. There are different tactics for different markets, and for different personality types. But even if all you do is hand deliver your promotional material as you pass by you will be surprised at how effective this can be for your business.

Growing in Lean Times

2008-06-04T06:27:00.002-05:00

I started performing magic professionally in a serious way in 1999 but my business really took off in the eleven months after the 9-11 attacks. While everyone else was complaining of lost jobs, a failing economy, and tight purse strings I was hiring family members to help me deal with all the business that was coming in.

Fortunes are made during difficult times and the difference between struggling to hold on and ramping up for rapid expansion is as simple as understanding that people don't change. People want the same things they always did. People want to enjoy life, be comfortable, and continue life as usual. Oh sure, people say they want "change". Politicians live selling "change". But change for the sake of change is NOT what people want, people want consistency.

So, if you want to survive…forget that. If you want to GROW your business in the coming 12 months here's how to go about it. Remain consistent. Demonstrate your strength.

You don't need to slash prices, you don't need to raise travel fees to compensate for rising fuel costs and you definitely don't need to cut back on advertising. Instead, what you need to do is to keep delivering a quality product or service and work on demonstrating your strength.

How? Ramp up your marketing. Print and mail an extra post card. Run an ad in a magazine that you know your buyers read. SaurageResearch.com recently reported that 47.2% of consumers say that magazines are more likely than other media to get them to do an online search compared to broadcast television (42.8%), newspapers (42.3%), and cable television (34.9%). The fact that magazine advertising is about the least expensive of those is just a bonus.

Review your web site. Does it inspire confidence in your ability to deliver? I'm not talking about inspiring confidence in your ability to perform the task you sell, but in your ability to actually DELIVER what you promise when you promise it. There is a BIG difference between a competent plumber who shows up some time on the day he said he would and a competent plumber who shows up at the exact scheduled time wearing clean clothes and a smile.

When times get tight, people notice the details more. They don't stop spending money, they just stop spending it haphazardly. If you are at the top of your game you will GROW market share as your weaker competitors fall off the vine. The difference is about inspiring confidence and then delivering on that implied promise.

But I guess inspiring confidence will have to be the topic for another time.

By the way, I went to this new format for the newsletter where I send out a brief teaser to let you know what the article is about. If you want to read it, you click the link to come here and get the rest of it. Too many people were complaining about the newsletter getting blocked by their increasingly totalitarian SPAM filters and rather than edit what I want to say (or add a bunch of symbols to break up important words in an attempt to trick the computer), I figure I'd just try this and see how it works.

You will also be able to now access and review past issues easier as well as comment on articles

Being Popular

2008-05-21T16:36:00.002-05:00

In one of the regular magazine columns I write each month I promised my readers I would post a summary of an article I had read, clipped and saved several years ago.

Unfortunately, after making the promise I cannot find that article ANYWHERE! But I'll recap as much of it as I can remember. I have read the article several times and remember most of the points. It was about being popular, which is something that is very important to children and adults alike. It is also something that is an important part of living in a society.

HOW TO BE POPULAR

1) Smile. Smile all the time. People like to be around happy people and nothing says happy and easy to get along with quite like a smile.

2) Recognize others. People like to be recognized. Dale Carnegie suggested that the sweetest sound to a person was their own name. But even something as simple as seeing someone you know and saying "Hey, man! How's it going?" or even just a wave. These actions validate other people and they remember you as someone who values them.

3) Compliment others. Do not confuse compliments with flattery, which is empty or over-the-top. But when someone gets a hair cut or wears a new outfit, compliment them. Don't fawn, just a simple "I really like the way that looks" is about all it takes.

4) Ask for help. It is a strange principle of behavioral psychology that we are more endearing toward people we have helped than we are to people who have helped us. It seems backwards, but when you ask someone for help you gain their friendship. The key is making the request simple and easy and NOT asking for favors repeatedly.

5) Listen to them. Show interest in them and their interests. Again, Carnegie talks extensively about this in "How to Win Friends and Influence People". The way to be interesting is not to work on being interesting, but to work on being INTERESTED.

6) Lastly, do what you promise or don't promise it in the first place. Too often people think they can win friends by agreeing to anything that is asked of them even when they can't possibly deliver. What actually happens is that you end up alienating people who feel you let them down. People are much more accepting of someone who politely declines in advance rather than failing to deliver.

That's why I'm writing this from memory and trying to get it posted as soon as possible!

Selling on Price

2008-05-07T18:49:00.008-05:00

Everybody loves a good deal. Sometimes this means a great product at a good price. Other times it means a good product at a great price. I have learned over the years to prefer the former rather than the latter, but that's a topic for another article.

This is about selling yourself on price. I hear so many performers lamenting the new guy who "undercuts" them. No one can undercut you unless you are the low-price leader. And if you are the low price leader, then you INVITE undercutting.

Take for example, how excited I was when the "$1.00 Bazaar" opened near my house. Any magician will tell you it is a great place to go to find inspiration. The dollar store inventory constantly changes because they purchase their stuff from people who couldn't sell it in a normal store. This is usually because it is of poor quality, flawed design, or of very dubious value, but again, I'm getting side tracked.

So I shop there and am pleased with the fact that the junk I’m buying never costs more than $1.00. This is a very good thing, because generally it is not worth any more than a dollar and sometimes I think I get ripped off.

So you can imagine how elated I was when a new store opened up across the street with a big sign advertising "Nothing over 99¢".

YEE-HAWW!

And they claim the best selection of low quality merchandise in all of Texas. Yes, that's a mighty big claim because there is a LOT of low-quality merchandise here in the largest state in the continental United States.

"Giant 99¢" didn't fail to deliver on their promise of a great selection of unsellable refuse. On my first visit I was awed by the incredible selection of wall-to-wall junk and not a single thing was priced (or worth) a single penny over 99¢.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering, "How in the world could things in Texas possibly get any better for the bargain hunters?" But some of you already know the answer….

Yes, that's right, we got our very own "Mr. 98¢" store! The grand opening was spectacular! They had day-old donuts, tofu hot-dogs on stale buns, and one of the least expensive entertainers in the city. He wasn't there when I arrived 20 minutes after his show was supposed to start. And he still hadn't arrived when I left 45 minutes later, but the store manager held pretty high hopes that he would eventually show up. You know, provided he wasn't involved in another DUI or something.

So I drove home with a smile on my face that nothing could shake. I found a new resource for invaluable merchandise (actually it's really more "unvaluable" merchandise, but my spell checker won't let me use that word).

Then it hit me as I was driving in the warm glow of satisfaction (or was it the warm glow of the faulty chemical glow sticks I got twelve for 98 cents that had leaked all over the backseat?). Regardless, I realized this was much more than an amazing retail phenomenon; this was much more than a resource for discontinued and recalled items at below cost; this was a business model like none other.

Finally I realized how an entertainer who had nothing of real value could finally compete. By simply lowering your price you can create the unique position of being the absolute cheapest entertainer in your area! What kind of a FOOL would possibly compete against you when you held such a low-value, low-profit position?!

And even if they DID compete against you (as "Giant 99¢" did against "$1.00 Bazaar"), you can simply turn the tables on them and lower your price even further (like "Mr. 98¢" did to "Giant 99¢"). The possibilities are limited only by the number of divisions in your government's currency!

As I con-templated the vastness of this marketing strategy I passed a store that clearly understood the concept. They were beating everyone to the punch. They were selling everything for just 79¢!

Unfortunately they wound up going out of business. I wonder why?

Pizza Place Let Down

2007-11-13T07:15:00.000-06:00

I wrote once before about my favorite pizza place. I wrote about how they KNEW how to make pizza but didn't know much about marketing and I was worried that they might not last in business even though their product was top notch and the service was great.

Alas, my foresight proved accurate and they were bought out by a fairly well-known franchise chain (Double Dave's). Gone was the buffet I so fondly remember, gone were the specialty pizzas I had fallen in love with, and gone was the customer service I had come to expect.

Of course, we gave the new owners a try before we jumped to these conclusions. We tried on three different occasions before just giving up. Once, we visited on the one day they have a buffet, just to compare them, but there was nothing on the buffet table. No pizza at all.

The buffet line was scheduled to have opened 30 minutes previously but there was no pizza.

There were employees standing around. And there were people standing with empty plates waiting for pizza. But there was no pizza.

They seemed to have enough employees to take everyone's money for the buffet, but not enough to actually cook any pizza.

When the first pizza did actually come out, it was immediately gone, of course and I wondered "Did they not EXPECT to have people wanting pizza on the buffet when they advertise a buffet?"

Why would they not have pizza FINISHED when the buffet is supposed to START? I don't think it takes a degree in Restaurant and Hotel Management to figure out that if the buffet starts at 11:30, you don't wait until 11:45 to start cooking pizza.

Oh, well, another great business killed by poor marketing.

It makes me wonder what would happen if you took a serious craftsman and paired him for a while with a great marketer who would then LET the craftsman do what he does best while the marketer taught the craftsman everything there is to know about how to make money plying his trade.

I guess I don't really have to wonder because I've seen it happen over and over. Every year master craftsmen in the art of magic fly to Houston for an event where they learn everything there is to know about how to create amazing businesses doing what they love.

The results have been quite impressive. Check it out at www.KidShowBusinss.com

Hotel Rip Off

2007-11-08T06:16:00.000-06:00

Last year, after we completed the Business Building Workshop we began looking for another hotel to hold the event. We were happy with the hotel we used, but felt that a larger meeting room would serve us better.

After searching for several weeks for a location that was convenient to food options so that attendees do not need to rent a car, we found a location that I thought would be perfect: The Comfort Suites on N. Texas Ave in Webster, Texas.

We went in on March 13, 2007 and spoke with Sales Manager Gina Garcia and negotiated a room rate that was LESS than what we were paying at the previous hotel.

We called a few months later, on May 11, 2007 just to touch base and make sure we were still on. We were told that Gina no longer works there but that Usman had our information on the computer and we were set to go.

But as we came down to the wire, and it became time for guests to begin registering for their hotel accommodations, suddenly the new manager (Jennifer) claimed she couldn't find any records of our reservations. Out of the kindness of her heart she was willing to accommodate us at an increased room fee, but would not be honoring the negotiated price.

"Why not?" I asked

"This is the rate. If you want it, you can have it."

"You don't care that we had an agreement with you and two of your previous managers for a set rate for a very important event?"

"This is the rate" she repeated "If you want it, you can have it."

"You mean that you are going to loose 120 room nights over $10 per room?"

"That's what I'm prepared to do, yes."

"Okay, because that's what you just did."

I refuse to do business with someone I can't trust. So now we are back at the original hotel, paying what we would have paid with Jennifer, but instead we are dealing with someone with integrity.

The truth is I would be willing to pay MORE per room to know I'm dealing with someone with integrity.

20 rooms, times 6 nights, times $90 per room is $10,800. That should get me a free meeting room but I negotiate a lower room fee for my attendees instead so I end up paying $350 per day for the meeting room which is another $2,100 they lost.

So, Jennifer (as if she cares enough about what her customers think to actually read this), in an effort to get an extra $1,200 you instead lost $13,000 and you lost a customer for life.

Between work, vacation, and attending conferences I spend over $7,000 a year staying in hotels. I can assure you I will NEVER stay at a Comfort Suites or any of their related franchises (Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban, EconoLodge, or Rodeway Inn). Jennifer has not only lost $13,000 for her employer at THAT branch, but in my mind she has damaged the reputation of the chain as a whole and will continue to lose them money long after she has been fired.

Post Office Confusion

2007-11-06T06:05:00.000-06:00

One of the simple axioms of business is "Make it easy for your customer to spend money with you".

Those making executive decisions at the US Post office have apparently never studied business or marketing. They might (though doubtful) know something about engineering or calculus and might have even discovered the most ingenious formula ever created to distribute the postage fee in a fair and equitable way.

But in the process they have made it IMPOSSIBLE for both their employees and their customers. This is a recipe for disaster.

Up until a few months ago we weighed all our packages and letters here at the house, put on the proper postage and sent it out. The only time I had to go into the post office was to drop off packages that weighed more than 16 oz. But because it was easy to calculate postage I would have them ready to go and I could simply drop them at the counter.

I even wrote about this in a recent column in "The Linking Ring", but that column was put to paper BEFORE this new Postal rate changes.

Now the regulations are so confusing that even the postal employees don't always know what to charge or how to assess fees.

Now it doesn't matter just how much the envelope WEIGHS, you must also know the dimensions. Bigger envelopes get charged on a different scale. VERY large envelopes are called packages get charged on ANOTHER scale. So now there are THREE price scales and you need to know where your envelope falls.

You also need a spreadsheet to help figure out which combination of stamps will get you to the proper postage fee without going WAY over, but without being even a penny under. Before you only needed First Class stamps and Post Card stamps. The cost of an additional oz. was one more post card stamp. It was fast and simple. Not so any more.

To make matters worse, classifying envelopes, large envelopes and packages is not at ALL intuitive. You might have a big envelope but it is still considered "small" because the dimensions are proportionate in a height X length ratio, while a smaller envelope that is more square shaped will be charged as if it were a larger envelope.

Get it?

Me neither and it gets worse.

If your envelope is just a LITTLE bit too tall and you fold it over so that it meets the regs, you still pay a premium for folding and taping down the envelope.

If you have a metal brad that is used to close the flap on the envelope you pay an extra 33¢. If you don't USE the brad, but instead tape the flap OVER the brad, they STILL charge you as if you used it! So now you have to rip off those metal brads or pay a 33¢ premium on everything you send in those envelopes.

If your envelope meets the criteria for a "large envelope" but it is padded, then it automatically jumps to becoming a "package". It doesn't matter how much or how little it weighs. It doesn't matter if it is flexible enough to pass through their machines. If it has padding, you pay more to send it.

So, has all this new regulation make life easier on postal employees? Of course not! (Ask your local counter clerk if you doubt me).

Has it made life easier on the customers? Of course not!

Has it generated any new revenue for the Postal service? I don't think so since many of the prices to ship things have actually gone DOWN.

That's right, this is the first time that the post office has RAISED their rates in a way that resulted in LOWER fees which is a questionable practice in itself. But I don't care about saving 4¢ on a 3 oz. letter if it takes me an extra minute to find the right combination of stamps to make that work.

I don't care if I can save 7¢ on a 5 oz. large envelope if I'm not allowed to pad it, or if it takes me 5 minutes to go through a checklist figuring out whether it actually IS a large envelope of if it is a regular envelope. Or maybe it's actually a package? No, it WAS a package, but I used the letter opener to pry off the metal brad so now it is back down to a large envelope...I think.

Now I have to spend time waiting in line at the post office for stuff I never used to have to wait for. The lines get longer, the employees have to work harder, the customers are more frustrated and confused and profits are going down.

This is a TERRIBLE decision to make in a time when technology is threatening the US Postal Monopoly like never before. E-mail really put a pinch in their first class mail operations starting several years ago. Fax machines, FedEx, UPS and other competitors are squeezing them from the sides and have been for quite some time.

This is part of the reason why I am working so hard to convert all of my products to digital formats so that rather than sending a book, I can e-mail a PDF file. Rather than mailing a CD, my customers can download an MP3 file.

The Postal Service is BEGGING us to change the way we do business. They really seem to WANT us to abandon them for easier, faster, and less expensive technologies. They are behaving like the dinosaurs they are, and if they are not careful, they may end up extinct.

Oil Change Rip-Off

2007-10-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

I put a lot of miles on my truck. Usually 30-40 thousand every year. I also drive my vehicles until they have at least 250,000 miles on them before I sell them. In order to do this I need to maintain them because I MUST have reliable transportation.

The problem is that I don’t know very much about cars.

So I take my car in for an oil change every 3,000 miles, which is about every 4-6 weeks in my household. I have been faithfully taking it to a local place, even though they force me to buy a car wash every time (actually they raised their rates by $6 and gave me a “free” car wash, but the end result is the same).

I paid the increase because I could trust them to keep my truck maintained. Until last week.

What follows is an edited version of a 4 page letter I sent to the new owners of the business. There are a few business lessons to be learned here.

When I visit your shop every 3,000 miles I get new oil. But I am not buying oil. I am not even buying convenience or speed. I will admit that if your service were not convenient and fast, I would not buy from you, but these things are simply the price of entry. They do not distinguish you from any other fast oil change place, of which there are MANY as I’m sure you’re aware.

No, you sell something far more valuable than these things. It has nothing to do with the car wash or perfumed spray or even the magazines we get to read while waiting on our car to get done.

Could it be Expertise?

You know exactly what to check and you systematically check everything each time I come in. You check on things I would have forgotten to check on. You check on things I don’t know how to check. You check on things I didn’t even know existed!

But it is not oil, speed, convenience, or even expertise.

You sell something that NO ONE else can compete against you with because it takes YEARS to create. The best part is that it is a FREE resource for you and you can sell it over and over a thousand times a day and people like me will pay a huge premium for it, though it costs you nothing.

You sell trust.

I have been coming to your Kwik Kar location since the very day it opened four years ago. I have been patronizing Kwik Kar franchises since I began driving. My current truck has over 210,000 miles on it, and my previous vehicle was sold once I racked up 260,000 miles though it ran like a dream. My wife just bought a new mini-van after her car reached 235,000 miles, though it also ran perfectly, we simply needed a bigger vehicle for our growing family.

These high-mileage cars are from all different makers (Ford, Isuzu, and Toyota). In fact the only thing they have in common is the regular service provided by the trusted advisors who work in your bays.

And because of a relationship that spans more than a decade and almost $15,000 in oil changes over the past few years, I feel compelled to tell you why I will never be doing business with you again.

You once employed a man named Ed who no longer works for you. When I came in I would drop off my car and tell him “Do whatever you think it needs”.

Most times I would come back and it was just a routine oil change. Often Ed would call me on my cell phone and recommend one service or another and I would always ask him “If it was your vehicle, would YOU do it?” and if he told me “yes”, then I immediately approved.

But he was no longer working at your location as of about six months ago or so. I was disappointed, but continued to come in, hoping to gain that sort of trust with another employee.

Three visits ago I was asked if I wanted new wiper blades and I was very glad to have been asked because I had been meaning to replace them but never thought about it until it was pouring rain. So I had that done.

The fee was steep, but I expected that, and didn’t have a problem with it.

However, a few weeks later when the wiper blades proved almost totally worthless I was very frustrated. This priceless resource called “Trust” had just been damaged. I paid $10+ for a wiper I could have bought at Wal-Mart for $2, but I got something even worse, because it didn’t work worth a flip. On this day you didn’t sell me convenience you sold me INCONVENIENCE and you charged me a premium for it.

I vowed I would never buy wiper blades from you again, but continued to get my car serviced by your technicians.

The most recent time I needed my oil changed I was out of town and sent my wife in to take care of it for me. Unfortunately I failed to voice to her my concerns about trusting you and your company as much as I once did. Your technicians managed to sell her $123.95 worth of “services” including “Max Oil Up Charge” of $10 (what the hell is THAT!), Gumout Engine Flush for $35 (that had just been done 3 months/7,921 miles earlier on 6/11/07), TX7 Engine treatment for $25 (that had just been done 3 months/7,921 miles earlier on 6/11/07) and of course, 2 new wiper blades because the ones you sold me last time were completely worthless.

Needless to say, I was irate when I got back home and found out that I had failed to warn my wife about what might happen. However, I truly was not expecting things to get THIS bad, THIS quickly.

Congratulations! You have mastered the art of the “Up Sell”. You can sell a trusting spouse on worthless services that her husband just bought a few weeks before.

Unfortunately you have failed miserably in the art of the “Re-Sell”, the art of understanding “Long Term Customer Value”, and the unbelievable power of having a customer trust you so implicitly that they give you the keys to their car and tell a service technician “Do whatever you think it needs” and never blink an eye at what shows up on the invoice when he comes back.

You miss out on the value of having someone trust you so much that they tell everyone they know about how comfortable they feel working with you. You have exchanged that for someone who will LOUDLY proclaim to everyone they know how they were taken advantage of by someone trying to meet a quarterly deadline or some other very short-term sales goal. I will readily and regularly tell others about how quickly several years of trust was destroyed with a few poor decisions by an ambitious sales tech.

Should I continue to patronize your business with a “Buyer Beware” state of mind? NO WAY!! I don’t WANT to scrutinize every step you make waiting to see if you are trying to pick my pockets. If I was going to put that much energy into it, then I would change my OWN oil! The fact is, that I don’t know that much about cars and I WANT to find someone I can trust. I need someone to tell me when it is time to change the belts, flush this fluid, add more of this, and replace all the various filters in the vehicle. I simply CAN’T second guess a technician. I can only find a new one, whom I can trust.

I am upset about having to search out a new company. You have made this VERY inconvenient for me and it further frustrates me.

By the way, this business is the Kwik Kar located on Scarsdale Blvd in Houston, Texas.

Creative Advertising and Testing Direct Mail Concepts

2007-09-13T17:44:00.000-05:00

Phil asked the following question about my "Look Twice Advertising" lecture notes and CD set that he had ordered and reviewed thoroughly:

Q: My question is about testing a creative marketing piece. How would I go about it? If the idea flies but I only sent it to half my list, then it seems like I missed out. Most of the ideas are a one time shot I would think. If you used, for example a message in a bottle every time it fit the theme it would loose its impact. So I don't get how to test the concept. Would I mail it to half my list and a traditional sales letter to the other half? Or would I mail 2 different creative ideas at the same time?

A: That is why I mentioned that I approve of the IDEA of testing, but don't always actually test. When I did my message in a bottle mailing it was only 300 or so mailings and just did them. I think a mailing needs to be at least 200 in order to have any real value, so if your mailing list is less than 500 just mail to them all and hope for the best.

If, on the other hand you are mailing to a larger list (my elementary school list is close to 4,000) then I mail a test to my public libarary list (300) and then if it works, I might do a bigger mailing to the schools. But remember that this "test" is actually a REAL mailing that I'm doing in the hopes of making money booking shows. So the test should make money too.

Still, I would probably do a "test" of 500-1,000 just to see what happens. You don't want to invest a mailing of 4,000 when each piece costs $2 to create and send, only to learn ($8,000 later) that it really only brought in $12,000 worth of work. That's not good return.

Also, you have to figure out that if you can get a 5% response with a $1 mailing, that's better than a 10% response with a $2.50 mailing. Sometimes it is better to just mail to a larger list with a lower response campaign.

Granted, there are other advantages that come from doing a creative advertising campaign that I mention and explore in "Look Twice Advertising", but we have to remember that the MAIN purpose is to MAKE MONEY BOOKING SHOWS!! The rest of the stuff should be gravy on top. Gravy as a meal is a poor substitute for steak!

So, that's the long answer. The short answer is to mail to at least 200 in order to get a feel for the effectiveness and then evaluate how much you want to invest in a campaign to a larger list. Even then, it is often better to send in waves. I find this "wave" mailing to be effective for several reasons:

1) it keeps us from spending $10,000 on postage in a single month...

2) it keeps the phone calls rolling in steady rather than all during one single week. My wife (who manages the office) would much rather have a steady stream of phone calls throughout the week, all year long, rather than 500 calls in a day and then nothing for weeks on end.

3) different people are open to buying at different times. If you mailed to everyone and it landed on a single day that just happened to be bad for some reason or another your mailing would have been in vain. Think about a mailing that hit mailboxes on Sep. 11, 2001.

But remember that things can be bad for a long list of reasons that you never even thought about: is this a state mandated testing date in schools and you didn't know? maybe it's a state wide conference of all your potential clients, or maybe Oprah talked about the importance of spending money frugally the day before and all your clients are big Oprah fans. There are lots of reasons mailing can go bad and they might have nothing to do with anything you did or didn't do. Mailing in waves helps hedge against this risk.

My 4 Unbreakable Money Rules

2007-09-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

I have four Unbreakable Financial Rules. You don't have to adopt them, but I have seen lots of people lose money and friendships that they never would have lost if they had followed these four rules. I've never broken them.

They aren't my original rules. I've gathered them from different books and speakers I've heard. Different people offer different rules, these are the four that, in our house, are immutable.

1) Never co-sign for anyone, for any reason at any time, no matter what

2) Never borrow against the equity in your homestead unless it is for enough money to COMPLETELY replace the homestead with a debt-free alternative homestead that you would be content living in full-time

3) Never borrow against or prematurely cash out any retirement or college savings account

4) Always pay yourself first, even if it is only a few hundred dollars a month. That is, no matter how bad things get, make sure that you put at least a little bit into some sort of savings or investment account.

Repairing New Things

2007-06-04T08:36:00.001-05:00

I am now starting my second week of performing a brand new show, and no matter how much I rehearse at home before hand, the show always changes dramatically during the first 20 performances in front of a REAL audience.

I was discussing this with Tim Sonefelt and Barry Mitchell and as soon as I told them that I finished my first show they both said "So, are you heading straight to the hardware store, or to Wal-Mart first?"

It was funny because I WAS headed straight to the hardware store. I also had a list of things that I needed to do once I got home. Most of them revolved around fixing things that were BRAND NEW.

I have a small "beach tent" in the show and the rubber covers on the ends of the tent poles came off when I disassembled it the very first time. During the show I discovered that a box I use to produce items (seemingly from nowhere) had a major flaw that I fixed with a hot glue gun.

These are easy repairs, but I wonder why the manufacturers (who obviously know more about their products than I do) couldn't just spend a few extra pennies and make the things at the factory in a way that they would last past the first use or so.

There is a part of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) that stipulates products have an implied warranty of merchantability. This means that, regardless of whether any warranties are stated or not, if a manufacturer sells something he is obligated to warranty that it is AT LEAST good enough to do what it is designed to do.

This seems like a "Duh!" statement and a law that wouldn't really need to be on the books. But it is a regular thing for me to buy something and immediately try to figure out how to repair it BEFORE I use it, so that I don't have to deal with it breaking in the middle of a show.

This is why people who understand quality don't mind paying a bit more. If you buy cheap, you're still going to pay a lot. You'll just have to endure the hassle of paying for it after it breaks on you. And you'll still end up with a cheaper version.

Get Ready for Tax Time!

2007-04-08T07:48:00.000-05:00

Here's an idea that is pretty much guaranteed to get you some television time.

Get out the yellow pages and log onto the internet searching for newspapers in your area. Find mailing addresses, fax numbers, and contacts to send press releases. You should easily be able to find at least 2 or 3 papers even in very rural areas that serve your area. But also seek out local news stations for all the networks and any local cable access stations.

Write a press release announcing that you will be doing strolling magic at the post office on the evening of April 15. You want to create a very catchy title. If you think you can improve on the one provided, fine, but you may want to save yourself the time and just use the enclosed press release as is. Otherwise, feel free to use this one as a format upon which to create your own press release. Include a photo if possible, even if you have to stage it to look like a live performance.

The idea is that every year they do a news story about people paying their taxes at the last minute. You could be a new slant on that old-hat story.

Recommended Reading: "Free Publicity" by Jeff Crilley. This book was written by a newscaster who was tired of people sending in crummy press releases. It details step by step not only HOW to write a great press release that will get you free media coverage, but also WHEN to submit the release, HOW to behave and speak once you get your coverage, and shows you WHY the media outlets NEED you to send in good press releases. They are starving for your story. They WANT to put you on the air, you just have to package it for them in the right way.

Next week you'll be doing your strolling magic for people paying taxes. You need to get ready by going through your magic closets and drawers and pulling out any money tricks that can be done standing up. As an example, you can do the six-bill repeat talking about how all you made last year was 1,2,3,4,5,6 dollars. Then you had to pay 1,2,3 in FICA taxes which left you with 1,2,3,4,5,6 dollars. But then you had to pay 1,2,3 dollars in Social Security taxes, which left you with....you get the idea.

Here's the sample press release. Feel free to use it as you like.

For Immediate Release
Contact Name: [YOUR NAME]
Contact Number: [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]
Contact E-Mail: [YOUR E-MAIL]

MAGICIAN MAKES TAX WORRIES DISAPPEAR

Magician [YOUR NAME] decided to do something a little different this year by making everyone's last minute tax concerns disappear. If you will be paying your taxes at the very last minute, you might want to ask [YOUR NAME] if he can make your tax bill disappear. [YOUR NAME] will be at the [YOUR MAIN POST OFFICE] to help entertain taxpayers as they line up to file their last minute returns.

"I can't make a tax bill disappear" says [YOUR NAME], "But I do try to ease the stress that last minute filing has, especially when it is accompanied by the long lines at the post office."

[YOUR NAME], who primarily performs at [YOUR USUAL VENUE] says that he enjoys the opportunity to perform for people like himself. "I work hard and as a small business owner, I totally understand the frustration that comes from the whole taxation process. But as a citizen, I appreciate the contributions each member of our community puts back, not only in the form of the taxes they pay, but more imporatantly, in the work they do every day to provide products and services to our community." says [YOUR NAME].

"If I can make a few people laugh while they are in line, or go home thinking more about how I made their dollar bill float in their hand [OR WHATEVER EFFECT YOU THINK YOU MAY DO OR WHATEVER YOU HAVE A PICTURE OF] than they do about the huge check they had to send in to the beaurocrats in Washington, then I know I have done my job."

[YOUR NAME] provides this service for free, but it is only at the [YOUR MAIN POST OFFICE, and make sure they are open late on tax night] and only on the evening of April 15, from 8 pm until midnight [OR WHATEVER HOURS YOU DECIDE TO WORK, but it is strongly advised that you don't get started much later than 8 or you will NEVER make the 10 o'clock news, which is something that you really want to strive for] Now, if we can just get to him to make our paychecks double and our tax bills disappear, we'll be set!

Another Phone Mistake...

2007-04-07T07:53:00.000-05:00

In January I wrote about how so many marketers WASTE their phone message with a voice that totally cancels the words that are said. If you say "exciting" but your voice is BORING, then your message is cancelled. If you are funny and enthusiastic, let it be heard in your VOICE, not just your words.

But there are two other answering machine/voice mail mistakes that I hear people make all the time and I want to make sure that YOU are not making them. Take a moment to call yourself and listen to what your customers and prospects have to listen to before they are allowed to leave a message.

NOTICE: This is entirely different from pressing the "Hear Message" option as I'll explain below!!

MISTAKE #1: Don't waste time telling people how an answering machine works. There is no need to tell ANYONE that in order to leave a message they have to wait for the beep. Answering machines have been around for over 30 years now. We ALL know how they work. Worse is that most voice mail systems AUTOMATICALLY add a very long message telling listeners how to...

"press one to page this person now [long pause] press two if you would like to send this person a text message now[really long pause] if you would like to leave a message [DUH!] wait patiently while I mention seven other functions that no one uses and THEN I'll play the beep, but not a second sooner."

You can turn this option off and I highly suggest that you do. There is no need for it, and it wastes everyone's time. I truly believe the cell phone companies do it because they know it adds a minute to every single phone call made that doesn't connect directly. The result, after literally BILLIONS of cell phone calls made each day, is a noticeable increase in revenue. You don't have to participate nor do you have to force your customers to participate in this invisible scam that steals more than cell phone minutes. It steals everyone's valuable time as they listen to pointless instructions. Disable this function on your voice mail!

MISTAKE #2: Not telling people alternate ways of getting the information they want. People have become accustomed to instant gratification. If you can't serve them immediately they either move on to someone else or lay aside their conversation with you to get to at a later date. That later date might not come. Your answering machine message should mention your web site at least as well as alternate phone numbers if you allow customers to call you on those lines.

There are lots of other little things you can do to improve your answering machine message, but most are a matter of preference and specific goals. These two things (combined with using a positive and enthusiastic voice) are NOT options! Implement them today!

--Julian Franklin
www.JulianFranklin.com <--My school show site
www.JulianSpeaks.com <----Business and Marketing Advice

Self Capitalizing Gratuities

2007-04-01T13:35:00.000-05:00

The Houston Zoo recently had an offer that they would give you $1 off your admission during spring break if you came to the zoo via Houston Metro (our bus system). This, in effect, paid for some, possibly all of your transportation to the zoo.

Why would they do this during the busiest week of the year? I mean, every spring break, they have more people than they can even get into the zoo. Why would you offer a discount to anyone during your PEAK season? That's when most companies RAISE their rates.

The answer of course, is that the offer was a self-capitalizing gratuity (SCG). This is a term for discounts that actually pay for themselves through the increased revenue they generate.

As an example, let's look at The Houston Zoo during spring break. We are members of the zoo so we don't pay admission at all, but we also don't visit during peak days and times. However, we spend a lot of time in the museum district where the zoo is located (we are also members of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Natural Science) and can tell you that during peak times, every parking spot within miles is long gone.

So what usually happens is the parking lots fill and then the streets fill and then people begin parking illegally and the parking tickets begin to flow and people change their plans and go to the beach 60 miles to the south instead of fighting all the traffic.

By encouraging people to visit via public transportation, the zoo is able to free up parking spaces for those who didn't know about the discount or couldn't take advantage of the opportunity for some reason. The zoo, you see, can hold far more patrons than it's parking lot can hold cars. So when the parking lot is full, the zoo still has plenty of room for visitors.

Some have suggested that the zoo remove the 280 granite blocks that form the courtyard and replace that area with a paved parking lot. While this would help the zoo on a small level it is not as cost effective as the implementation of a well-crafted SCG.

Be careful not to confuse SCGs with SLGs (Self-Liquidating Gratuities). SLGs pay for themselves, but don't generate ADDITIONAL income. For example, when you offer a discount for a library system that books you for two shows instead of one, you both benefit. But the additional show is effectively done at a discount.

This is not a problem but recognize the difference between having something pay for itself (SLG) and having an offer than brings in 100% pure profit. SCGs are self-CAPITALIZING, in that they bring in only pure profit. When the zoo offers a discount for someone who rode the bus, that patron is (in effect) pure profit since if they would have come in a car they would not have been able to enter the zoo at all. There is no additional cost to the zoo to have that patron enter so their entry fee thus has a zero cost base.

When you further calculate the average concession sales that each customer makes, you can see that SCGs are a great way to grow a business.

If you are considering new ways to grow your business, think hard about how SCGs can help you out.

--Julian Franklin

Another Harry Potter Idea

2007-03-10T07:26:00.000-06:00

On Feb. 1st, I posted an idea about performing for the upcoming book release and related movie releases of the Harry Potter series.

Another idea that recently crossed my mind is that on July 31st, Harry Potter (the fictional character) celebrates his birthday (the same day as J.K. Rowling) and there are thousands of fans who celebrate along with him (and her I suppose). This might also be an opportunity to get out there and work your new wizard show.

--Julian Franklin

How do you pack your shows?

2007-02-14T08:16:00.000-06:00

A good friend recently e-mailed to ask "How do you pack your shows?"

My Lefler table has all the props that I use in more than one show such as The Axtell Magic Drawing Board (it's in four shows and I don't want to buy four of them, though I do have one as a back up that I keep in my office). I also keep brochures and catalogs in the Lefler table and a plate easel that I use to display certain things. The plate easel is in 2 or 3 shows. I keep a sponge cake in the Lefler table, even though it is only used in one show, but the box that I pack that show in won't keep it from getting smushed, so I keep it in the Lefler table instead. I also keep a small electric fan for hot summer months, a small extension cord, a multi-tool screwdriver, a big gob of ticky-tack, and a few other things that I could need at any given show.

In addition, each show has ONE other box or container. Some have two, but I prefer to have it all in one box. Color Your World, I cram everything inside the doghouse igloo that I use as a dragon cave. In Arctic Express, it all fits into a big plastic tub. In The Wild West Reading show, it all fits into my "time machine" (a giant mirror box where the mirror drops flat). So this is a pretty good system, though it does have minor flaws in that I occasionally have to buy two or more of the same prop if it is in different shows.

For example, I use a rabbit wringer in 2 shows, but I don't want to carry around a heavy, breakable rabbit wringer in my Lefler table, so I bought two of them, one for each show. I have dozens of thumbtips in different boxes (if I need one, I pack two just in case, so I have at least double the number that I actually need).

Sorry it was such a long answer to your question but I wanted to give you an idea about how I pack. Normally certain things stay in my truck 24/7 unless we are going on vacation somewhere. My sound system, the Lefler table, the speaker stands, the two side tables, and a custome made box that holds my mic, virtual soundman, wireless mic unit, power strip, extra batteries, minidisk player, etc. These things all stay in my truck almost always. Then all I have to do is take OUT the box that holds the props for the last show, and replace it with the box (or maybe two boxes) that contain what I need for the upcoming show.

New Harry Potter Book

2007-02-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

If you haven't heard, the new Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) is set to be released on July 21st.

If you don't already have a wizard themed show, you might want to consider creating one. If you have one, you'd be crazy not to begin working it.

The truth is, that almost any magician can get work late on the Friday night of July 20th as all the raving Harry Potter fans line up for hours on end waiting for the stroke of midnight, when the bookstores can begin legally selling the latest and final installment in the Harry Potter phenomenon.

So why would you care?

If you can't see the value of performing in front of a group of people who are THIS interested in (no, beyond "interested in" into the realm of "fanatic about") wizards, magic, and illusion, then you need to go back and study the fundamentals of marketing.

The most important element in good marketing is having a good "list" of potential buyers for what you offer. Imagine them all coming together in a way where only the most sincere wills stick around. This is exactly what booksellers across the country and around the world will be doing for you this summer. They will be luring out some of the BEST prospects for wizard-themed parties and magical entertainment that you can find.

Now, the fact that they pre-qualify them by making them stay up until midnight is great, but even better is the fact that they group them geographically. Go to the bookstore closest to you and you are going to find the prospects who live closest to you.

As if this were not enough, they will actually PAY YOU to market yourself if you do it right. For an idea about how this might work, visit my web page devoted to this sort of party at http://JulianFranklin.com/wizard.htm

Clues in your Voice

2007-01-28T12:32:00.000-06:00

I've written before about the little clues we leave all the time. I'm talking about the subtle clues that customers and prospects pick up without us knowing, often without knowing themselves.

Many of these things we can't control or even identify, but MANY of them are within our control. I was reminded of this as I read an article in Psychology Today about the science of voices. Among the facts that can be revealed through our voice, the November/December 2006 article suggested that people could guess a persons height, weight and age as accurately from listening to their voice as from looking at their picture. Voices can reveal intimidation or confidence. Voices (according to the study) can even reveal sexual promiscuity.

I was reminded of the study where people were asked to listen to the muffled voices of several different doctors as they spoke. They couldn't understand the words, but they could hear the voice inflection, tone, and speed of the speakers' voices. With amazing accuracy the participants in the study were able to determine which doctors had been sued for malpractice and which ones had been sued more than once.

I still shake my head when I call a performer who doesn't have an answering machine. HELLO! this is 2007, not 1987. If you STILL don't have some type of answering machine don't even bother running ads or pretending to run a business.

Just as bad is when I call a performer and hear an answering machine message that is pre-recorded at the factory in a false robotic voice. How in the world can you expect to inspire confidence in callers when they don't even know if they have the right number? You should identify your name and your business as a minimum.

I remember once calling a performer who answered the phone is what was obviously a fake accent. When I told him who I was and why I was calling him, he laughed and said "Sorry, about that. I didn't recognize your number on caller ID and thought it might be a bill collector". No wonder he has to dodge bill collectors. How can you get any work when you answer the phone like that! And since any number he doesn't recognized gets this treatment, that means every calling prospect gets the same thing. Scary.

Almost as bad is the performer who, in a very flat, almost monotone voice proceeds to read his self-written script in a dry, monotone voice as he tells you that his shows are the most fun an audience can have. But he even sounds bored talking about it! If you are fun, then it should be revealed in your voice. Not in a contrived way, but in a very natural, truthful way. If you are fun, let is show in your voice.

The fact is, your true feelings ARE revealed in your voice. This is why it is hard for some people to raise their rates. If you don't feel like your program is worth it, then you will have a hard time "faking it" when trying to sell your show.

This is NOT a suggestion to come up with some "funny" gimmick for your answering machine (although that might work for some). Rather, it is a suggestion to listen to your answering machine and try to hear it for the first time. Does your voice inspire confidence? Does it communicate your personality?

Again, I'm not talking about the WORDS you say, but your VOICE as you say them. This is hard to get, but it is worth the effort.

Just recently we got a call from an agent who wanted to represent us. But this woman's voice sounded like she was auditioning for the Saturday Night Live skit as "Wendy Whiner". The words seemed positive and upbeat, but the nasally, whiney sound, coupled with a depressed tempo caused my wife to tell her that we simply weren't interested in having her represent us.

It wasn't the voice of someone we wanted representing what we do.

100% Guarantee

2007-01-17T14:06:00.000-06:00

Your business will grow dramatically when you offer a guarantee. There is risk for customers to buy from you when they don't know you and when they have no reason to trust you. By creating systems of "risk-reversal" you eliminate one of the biggest concerns prospects have (Will this product or service live up to my expectations?)

The biggest concern most business owners have about offering a guarantee is that they will be ripped off by unscrupulous customers. However, if you talk to anyone who has ever implemented a guarantee policy will tell you that such incidents are very few and far between and the increase in business more than off-sets any "rip-offs" that do happen.

That being said, I occasionally do business with people whoI suspect ordered something with the full intention of returning it after having read and/or even copied the information.

Recently though, I had someone who really took it to the next level. This is an actual photograph of a package of stuff that I shipped to someone. There were several items in the package including several CD programs as well as some printed manuals and a few books.

About 5 weeks later it came back to me IN THE SAME ENVELOPE I originally sent it in! Upon recieving his order from me, the recipient carefully cut open the envelope and saved it while he listened to and read everything I sent (and duplicated it, I suspect).

A few weeks later he then packaged everything BACK into the same envelope that he had kept safely on a shelf I guess. He inserted a note that said only "This material did not meet my expectations so I am asking for your no-questions-asked money-back guarantee". He then taped it up (maybe using the neighbor's borrowed tape dispenser?) before marking the package "Return to Sender". This way he didn't have to pay for any postage or packaging.

Now, it could be suggested that the material truly didn't live up to his expectations. I will tell you with pride that my material is NOT for everyone. I am well aware that not everyone will be pleased with everything I produce. I EXPECT that. It doesn't hurt my feelings. In fact, some of my very best customers are people who have returned items to me for a refund.

I guess it was the fact that there were more than five distinct items in the original order and it seem odd that NONE of them met his expectations including the widely acclaimed book Kid Control. This, combined with the curious fact that after 5 weeks of reviewing the material, he still had the original packaging, meticulously slit open on one end which made it remarkably convenient to re-ship the whole thing at no cost by simply scribbling "Return to Sender" in several different places on the front of the envelope.

You have to wonder about people who will go to such laborious and creative ways to rip people off. I suspect that if they worked half as hard to try and legitimately grow their business they would probably be successful beyond their dreams. I mean, you have to admit the guy was resourceful and creative.

But if you happen to see any boot-leg copies of my stuff for sale on E-Bay, let me know!

--Julian Franklin

Clean Up Your Web Site

2007-01-14T16:22:00.000-06:00

Every January I try to go through my various web pages and update the copyright notice to reflect the new year. This does three things:

1) It automatically extends my copyright on the material on my web site for an additional year. This is important, but it is really the least important reason for doing this as by the time the copyright expires on the material that is posted on my web site it will probably be of little real value to my surviving heirs anyway. The more important reasons follow...

2) It lets viewers know they are seeing an up-to-date web site. Personally, when I see a website that proudly boasts that it was "recently" updated and the date mentioned is 3 years old, I really wonder why they mention it at all!

Seriously, if you aren't going to regularly go in and change the copy on your web site, that's fine. Just don't be silly enough to put a DATE on the web site letting everyone KNOW! People appreciate up-to-date information when browsing the web. You don't want to publicize if your information hasn't been updated in years.

I renew the copyright date on my website, even if the copy doesn't change as it lets the reader's know that I am still actively involved in running the business and that I am attentive to details.

3) The third reason, and probably the most important is that when you go in and look at each individual page it sort of forces you to actually read the copy that you've posted. You'd be surprised what things you will find when you read your own web site. From information that is no longer accurate, to misspelled words, to references that date the site even more than an old copyright notice.

As an example, there was a competitor of mine who also performed assembly programs in public schools in Texas. His programs claimed to address specific issues covered in the state mandated test in Texas, however, he was calling the test by a name that hadn't been used in Texas for almost FIVE YEARS!! I had to wonder how many opportunities he lost simply because his web site was promoting his ability to help students pass a test that had been phased out half a decade previously.

These are the silly sorts of mistakes that can cost you more than not having a web site at all!

So go in and read your own web site. Each page, one-by-one. Update the copyright years if you have them, make sure that all the other references are up to date, and keep an eye out for other opportunities to polish up your site going into this new year.

Just Finished another Workshop

2007-01-11T06:28:00.000-06:00

I just finished hosting my second Business Building Workshop for children's performers. The turn out was good (just shy of 30 participants) and re-enrollment was for next year was VERY strong with over 75% re-registering on the spot, even though we didn't (at that time) have an exact date or really even know where we would hold it (we were thinking of Philadelphia, PA, but decided to stick with Houston for logistical reasons).

The success stories are already coming in with some people earning back their entire fee after only two days back in the office. That's pretty significant, since the fee to attend the conference is no small investment.

But for those serious about taking their performance business to a whole new level, it is something you simply can't miss.

Visit www.KidShowBusiness.com and register before midnight on January 25th and you not only get a discount off the registration fee, but you also get to spread your payments out over 12 months with no interest. This makes the whole thing very easy to manage.

--Julian Franklin

Promotion

2007-01-01T15:22:00.000-06:00

This is the last in a series of four articles about the "Four Ps of Marketing". Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. This is the article on Promotion; what most people think about when they consider marketing.

Promotion is the factor that most people try to work on when trying to grow their business. It is much easier to assume that your sales are low because people don't know about your product, than it is to face the fact that it might actually be caused by the fact that people DO know about your product.

Too uncomfortable to think about.

Better to just assume that it is the marketing that needs work, not the actual product or service.

Still, for many, it is true.

My daughter loves to eat at Cici's Pizza. I find the food there tolerable, but my wife calls the place "Feces Pizza".

So we were pleasantly surprised when we went to a birthday party at a pizza place that is CLOSER to our house and the quality is FAR superior than Cici's. The ingredients are PILED on and the crust is really nice. They also have a much wider variety of pizzas to choose from. They serve beer there, which I like, and the price for the buffet was only 50¢ more than Cici's Pizza.

So on our way out I asked the manager how long they had been opened.

"Three years."

WHAT!? How could this place have been here for THREE YEARS without me ever even noticing it before? How could I have driven past here on my way to a less desireable restaurant HUNDREDS of times and never known what I was missing?

Why didn't I know that their pizza was better?
Why didn't I know they serve beer?
Why didn't I know they offered a better buffet at only pennies more per person?

The answer is: Poor Promotion

Just because you are better, or faster, or cheaper, or closer, or easier to work with, doesn't mean you will get more work. You have to be able to tell the story in a way that people will listen to and remember.

You also have to make an offer that is so compelling that you prompt people to take action. Next week I'll post about my new favorite restaurant (even better than the pizza place) that I have known about for years but just recently decided to try and have been back several times since and told many, many people about it and continue to do so.

Why didn't I visit the place sooner? I had no compelling reason to.

You have to give your prospects a very compelling reason to take action.

This is all part of Promotion.

Place (or Position)

2006-12-21T11:44:00.000-06:00

This is the third in a series of four articles discussing the Four Ps of Marketing: Pricing, Product, Promotion, and Place. This article is about Place.

The idea of placement was recently brought home to me as we shopped for Christmas gifts. My daughter is four and a half and this is her first Christmas to get really excited in advance. She's still young enough and innocent enough that she only asks for one present.

Last year she asked for a snow globe. That's all she wanted. And when she saw a mountain of gifts under the tree, she turned to us and said "Ohhh! I don't believe it! He got me a SNOW GLOBE!" She fished the snow globe out, turned away from all the dolls and the tricycle and toys under the tree and walked away to wind up the music box at the bottom of her snow globe.

So, when this year she asked for a "Barbie Snow Cone Maker" my wife and I began searching diligently. We had seen the ads that run during my daughter's TV show, but we couldn't find the thing. Wal-Mart didn’t have it. K-B Toys didn't have it. No stores at the mall had even heard of it.

What value is there in spending millions to advertise a product that no one can buy?

So I took my daughter to the toy store and asked her to show me the snow cone maker that Santa was going to bring to her. We finally found a snow cone maker that was NOT a Barbie product (nor even produced by Mattel).

"Yeah," she said. "That's a good snow cone maker".

So Mattel spend millions of advertising dollars to sell their competitor's products. And the only fault was not having their own product placed where we could find it.

Microsoft, on the other hand knows exactly how to manage placement. Not only do they know how to place their product on store shelves, they even know how to place their product in the minds of the consumer, which is another aspect of placement.

Let's look at each facet seperately, starting with placement in the minds of the consumer.

Microsoft has the amazing ability to tell the same lie every year and still have people believe it. Every year they "leak" information that leads consumers to somehow believe that there won't be enough of their new video games to go around.

If you had a product that you sold for $350-500 and it only cost you about $8 in plastic and $4 in Asian sweatshop labor to produce, and you had the strenght and pull of Microsoft behind you, and the knowledge and experience of Microsoft, and the bankroll of Microsoft, and the distribution systems of Microsoft, don't you think you could get that product to market in time for the largest selling season of the year?

Of course!

So why do people fall for this year after year? Why do they go out and buy ten of them and try to sell them on e-bay? Why do people get on e-bay and buy them at inflated prices when they can get them at department stores or on-line?

Because Microsoft is good at telling the story of scarcity. Microsoft is good at getting their product into a certain "place" in your mind. That placement is one of being VERY desireable and NOT very available. And so, even though you know it is a lie, you just don't want to take the risk. This is mastery of placement.

Of course, the other side of that is actually having the product to deliver. Microsoft manages this as well. They don't want shelves over flowing with their product because that shatters the myth that they already created. So they keep a steady stream of product flowing.

Never an abundance, but never completely sold out.

If we don't have it in stock, we'll put your name on our waiting list.

What excellent Positioning.

Product

2006-12-17T06:48:00.000-06:00

This is the second in a series of four articles discussing the Four Ps of Marketing: Pricing, Product, Promotion, and Place. This article is about Product.

A friend was telling me an interesting story yesterday that really exemplifies the concept of understanding what you really sell.

He was at an outdoor festival and there were two balloon twisters there. As a performer and balloon twister himself he made the time to watch the two men work. There was a decided difference between the quality of work the two men produced.

"Balloon Bob" was able to create really amazing works of art from a few latex balloons and the occasional scribble of a Sharpie pen. "Pretty-good Pete" on the other hand, was not quite as fast, nor was he able to create balloon sculptures quite as intricate or creative as "Balloon Bob".

Important Point: "Pretty-good Pete" was really more than "Pretty Good". He was a VERY competent twister. He produced beautiful work very quickly, which is critical in an outdoor setting like this. His work was by no means "sub-standard". In fact, as the story was told to me, "Pretty-good Pete" was actually far better than average. He just wasn't as good as "Balloon Bob". And when they were side-by-side, it was easier to notice.

But here is where the story gets interesting. After only a few minutes of watching, my friend noticed that Pete was handing out 2-3 business cards for every ONE card that "Balloon Bob" was handing out. Why were people asking Pete for his card more often than for that of "Balloon Bob" by such a large factor?

The answer wasn't discovered until my friend went and stood in each person's line. After waiting in line for 10 minutes, "Balloon Bob" asked "What can I do for you?"

"Can you make Elmo? My daughter loves Elmo." And within a matter of a few seconds the man had created a very similar likeness to Elmo, handed it to my friend, and then looked past him to the next person in line and asked "What can I do for you?"

My friend then went to stand in Pete's line and before he even got close enough to hear what Pete was saying, he was hearing the people in line talk about Pete...

"He is SOOOooo Funny!"
"He came to my birthday party and did magic tricks. It was hilarious!"
"He was at my party, too!"
"I saw him at my school. Everyone was laughing so hard!"

By the time my friend got up to actually speak to Pete, he already knew what the difference was, but he completed the experiment anyway. The line went a little bit slower because Pete would talk to each person as they stood there waiting for their balloon.

Much of his banter consisted of stock lines, but they were all new to the kids standing there. And Pete delivered them with a smile and voice inflection that made it sound like this was the very first time he had ever had this conversation.

"Where is your daddy young man?" he asked my friend with a grin.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could make a Little Mermaid for my niece".

"Sure. How old is your niece?" he asked as he began selecting the balloons he needed.

"She'll be five in February".

"What a great age! Are you here with any children today?"

"No, just my wife and I. She's shopping at the vendor booths, and so I thought I would come over here and check out the live entertainment".

"If you call this entertainment, you need to get out more!"

And on this went while he deftly tied the balloons together in what looked remarkably similar to a mermaid. As similar as two or three balloons twisted together can look.

======================

"Pretty-good Pete" understands what his product really is. It isn't "The Little Mermaid". It isn't "Elmo". It isn't crazy balloon hats or swords. These are PART of his product.

But what he is really hired to do is to make the guests at the event (WHATEVER the event is) have a better time. Balloons twisted together in innovative ways is one component of that. But equally important is his ability to relate and engage his guests and clients, and make them feel like they are really enjoying themselves.

His conversations might have been a natural result of his personality, or they could have been something he forces himself to do through repetitive practice. It doesn't matter. Either way, it is a very important part of his success. It is a major part of his marketing.

Pricing

2006-12-14T17:35:00.000-06:00

Last week I told you I was going to be doing a series on the Four Ps of Marketing. This entry is about Pricing.

Too often people assume that pricing is simple. It all comes down to supply and demand like they told us in Economics during our senior year of High School. If you aren’t getting the number of shows you want, lower your price until you get as many as you can handle.

The reality is that pricing is MUCH more than how much you charge. We will ignore the fact that (contrary to what your HS Econ. Prof told you), people almost NEVER buy based exclusively on price. I’m not going to get into how to raise your fees, how higher prices often INCREASE responses, etc. (Although I do have an article about it on my web site at www.JulianSpeaks.com, just click the link to "Free Stuff")

Instead, we’ll go right into the fact that pricing is much more than just your fee. If you want to break out of your rut, you need to think about “Pricing” as much more than just your fee. Pricing can include almost ANY fee the client pays in order to secure your services and/or any compensation you might receive in exchange for your services. And these two are not always the same.

Just to clarify what I’m talking about, your corporate client might need to rent risers for your performance at the annual awards banquet. That’s a cost to the company and is thus part of your “pricing” even though you never see that money. Conversely, when you sell magic sets at the back of the room after a scout banquet the money from those sets is not a direct expense of the scout group, but arranging the opportunity to sell is part of your pricing.

Pricing also includes how you structure your fee (per day, per hour, per show, custom quote for each event, etc.) Does it vary depending on the venue? Does it vary depending on who the purchaser is? All these things are relevant factors to your business model and you need to think about them from the perspective of the BUYER, not from your role as a seller. What does your prospect think when confronted with your pricing structure?

Mileage and travel fees are also included in your pricing. Under what circumstances do you charge these fees and how do you assess them? In some areas it would make you look like an amateur NOT to charge them, and in other venues it might make you seem like you are “nickel and diming” the client. This is something that deserves some thought.

What discounts (if any) do you offer? What stipulations, if any, are attached to getting the discounts? Discounts can often motivate hesitant buyers to take action, but if not used properly they can give the wrong impression. You should have a very clear purpose when using discounts if you decide to use them. But regardless, be aware that discounts are a component of your pricing.

This is all pretty complicated stuff that really does take some time to think about. If you don’t, then you are leaving all these factors to chance. With something so critical as to be considered one of the four cornerstones of marketing, all aspects of your Pricing deserve your rational and strategic thought.

--Julian Franklin

I’d Like to See Your Marketing

2006-12-01T21:26:00.000-06:00

A friend from out of state called me recently and suggested that we get together. “I’d like to see your show, but I’d really like to see your marketing” he told me.

“My show IS my marketing”

It reminded me of the cover page in one of the four manuals I provide to the workshop attendees at my annual Business Building Workshop held each January. The first page has only one sentence, bold and large font:

Everything you do is Marketing.

One of the fundamentals of marketing (and it is taught in even the Jr. High courses on business) is the concept of “The Four Ps”. Pricing, Product, Promotion, and Place.

Yeah, but that’s too elementary. I mean, if they teach it to Jr. High kids, it can’t be very worthwhile. I want the “secret”. I want to know the secret words that I can put into my direct mail piece that will triple response rates. I want to know the closing sales tactic that will boost my closing ratio on the phone to 90%.

I want to know an EASY way to grow my business that doesn’t involve introspection and self-examination. My ego is too fragile for that sort of work.

Okay, here it is. The four Ps are easy. But they do involve the ability to remove yourself from what you have been doing for the last few years and try to start with a blank slate. That’s tough for most, and impossible for many. But if you can do it, you can make some real serious growth in your business and you can do it in a way that results in long-term growth, rather than temporary spurts of activity.

So once a week or so, for the next few weeks I’ll be posting my thoughts on ONE of the four Ps. Each week we’ll look at another of the Ps until we’ve covered them all.

In the meantime, remember that everything you do is Marketing.

--Julian Franklin

Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?

2006-11-14T06:19:00.000-06:00

There is a certain romance to the “hunter/gatherer” lifestyle. You wake up in the morning not knowing exactly what you’ll eat, or even IF you will eat. It is only through your skill and determination that you are able to put food on the table each day.

But if you can get past the need to have that sort of drama in your life, the farming lifestyle has a lot to offer. A farmer wakes up and with almost complete certainty know EXACTLY what he is going to eat and exactly how much of it. A farmer has almost complete control over which crops he grows, which animals he raises, and how many of them he decides to take care of. In other words: fate, destiny, luck, and fear have little place in a farmer’s life.

I’m not talking about REAL farming or hunting. I’m talking about how you run your business. You can run it like a hunter, where each day you have to set your sights on a new prospect and hope that you are able to make the close. If you spend a disproportionate amount of your time marketing then you are probably a hunter. If you have to constantly revise your marketing materials you are probably a hunter.

Farmers on the other hand sow their seeds and then watch as a handful of seeds explodes over time and becomes enough food to fill a grain silo. When every show you do systematically and automatically turns into two, three, five, or ten additional shows, then you are a farmer. If your marketing expenses keep dropping year after year and your income keeps growing by at least 20% each year, then you are probably a farmer.

I’ve had the good fortune of working with several excellent performers who kept their bank vaults full because they were great hunters. But once I showed them how to become great farmers, their worlds were changed just as dramatically as when mankind left the Stone Age to enter modern society.

Right now performers find themselves between the busy month of October and the lucrative month of December, and as many hunter/gatherers tend to do, they sit by the campfire eating and enjoying life with no thought as to what will happen during the slow months that always come.

Farmers would NEVER allow their family to eat seed, no matter how hungry they were. To eat the seed is to doom your family to hunger. That is one of the differences between hunters and farmers.

If you are ready to take the first step toward securing a strong, CONSISTANT income for you and your family; If you are ready to wake up knowing that you have shows on the books for years in advance; If you are ready to stop spending so much time marketing and more time actually performing, then take some of those October and December profits and invest them like a farmer does his seed.

I have a workshop where you can learn ALL of what I do to keep my schedule booked years in advance (see http://julianfranklin.com/schedule.htm ). The fee is not cheap, but it is guaranteed. If you don’t make ten times your investment in the first twelve months, I will fully refund the entire purchase price.

You owe it to yourself and your family to at least find out more about the program, so go check out http://KidShowBusiness.com. You can sign up right from the web site if you want, or you can call my office if you have any questions.

I look forward to seeing you in January!

Do Your Lips Move?

2006-11-06T07:07:00.000-06:00

Shawn e-mailed to ask: Do you do "lips closed" real ventriloquism or the open mouth with a distinct puppet voice thing? Just curious as I am adding puppets in to my act.

I do some of both. It depends on the puppet. With Axtell's Magic Drawing Board, I think the illusion is much better if I can keep from moving my lips too much, so I try my best to do good ventriloquism. One puppet I have is a "whisperer" so that I don't have to worry about it at all. And my other performing puppets fall somewhere in between.

All things being equal I think it is best if your lips don't move, but each of my puppets has a distinct look and I want them to all have a distinct sound. In otherwords, all things are never equal. I'm not talented enough I guess to make the range of voices I want when my teeth are clenched, so for some of them, I don't even try. I think that not moving my lips would be nice, but getting the character I want and having him be able to say the things I want in the way that I want is much more important. To me anyway.

If the puppets are animated, interesting, and engaging, and you look at them when they speak, then the audience will all be looking at them when they speak. If your show is entertaining, they will forgive you on the rare times when they do catch you.

And there is something strange that happens when you stop caring if they see your lips move: THEY stop caring if your lips move. Instead they realize that since you aren't trying to hide it, they don't have to try and catch you. So they focus more on the storyline and forget about whose lips are moving anyway.

2006-11-01T05:50:00.000-06:00

The second way to use a blog to grow your business is to use it as a way to let your customers, clients, and prospects get to know you better. If you've ever read my "Business of Magic" column in the Linking Ring you probably know that I believe people buy from those they know, like and trust. A blog is a great way to get people to know, like and trust you.

When you update regularly people are driven back to your site on a regular basis to check up on what you are doing. If your entries are short and interesting people will check back with you on a regular basis, like their favorite soap opera.

Hopefully you'll be back once a week or so to check out new marketing ideas and business building concepts as I post them here on a regular basis.

Start a Blog

2006-11-01T05:42:00.000-06:00

You could start a blog and use it as your web page. Ideally you update your blog on a regular basis. I mean, that's one of the principle ideas behind a blog is that you regularly post to it. But not all people do.

I know a few people who create blogs and leave them as static web sites. If you already have a web site then this isn't an idea of any real value, but if you are currently using a web site with a very long URL (like www.members.aol.com/houston/freesites/username) then you might be better off getting a blog with a better URL. You can still get blogs with great names if you go to www.blogger.com

The Close is really just the Opening

2006-10-25T19:23:00.000-05:00

It was 9:18 in the evening when the doorbell rang. That's pretty late for uninvited guests, but when I looked through the peephole I saw a distorted image of my neighbor, so I opened the door.

Turns out, it wasn't my neighbor at all. It was a lady trying to sell vacuum cleaners, and she quickly launches into her sales pitch while my wife is trying to dress my daughter for a bed time that passed 18 minutes ago.

Now, normally I'm a sucker for a good sales pitch. I think all salesmen are at heart. But I've dealt with this vacuum cleaner thing before. The thing is, our entire house is floored with hardwood and ceramic tile. Even the bedrooms and closets are all floored with hardwood. There is not a stitch of carpet in our house other than the welcome mat and a throw rug in the master bedroom.

So when she finishes her brief spiel I say, "Good luck, but unfortunately we don't have any carpet in our house at all. You are standing on the only carpet we own."

She doesn't bat an eye. She continues as if I were a bad actor who forgot my lines and the real lines were "Tell me more!"

"It only takes 20 minutes for a complete demonstration" she tells me with a smile as fake as my sister's diamonelle ear rings.

"A demonstration of WHAT?!" I asked, now more than disappointed in her complete lack of concern for my needs, than I am irritated that she has interrupted our daughter's bed time routine in order to try and sell me something I cannot use, and demonstrate it on carpet that I simply don't own.

I really try not to be rude to sales people. I love to hear a good pitch. I study them. I love to be sold because I love to FEEL the psychology that goes into it. I love to analyze what I'm feeling and why. You can get a doctorate in marketing for just a few hundred dollars spent buying things sold by good sales people.

But this lady was not good. She was offensive. She didn't care the least about what I needed or how she could help me. All she wanted was to make the sale at any cost.

And the cost would have been mine.

This sort of vampire marketing might be effective when you are just trying to make a sale and then skate town. But if you are serious about building long term relationships, getting re-bookings, generating good word of mouth, and ultimately building a long-term, sustainable business model; If you are interested in spending your time doing something other than going out every day, pestering people, lying to them, and struggling to sneak past their defenses so you can hoodwink them into buying something they don't need then getting out to cash the check before they put a stop payment on it, then you need to realize that "the close" is not the end of the process.

It's just the beginning.

Reaching Critical Mass

2006-10-16T22:09:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching an episode of "Studio 60". I'm not a big TV watcher but there are two shows I try to always watch: <>Saturday Night Live and <>CBS Sunday Morning. Because I like SNL, I also try to catch the new "Studio 60" which parallels SNL pretty closely.

Anyway, on "Studio 60" tonight, they had Sting as the performing artist. Curiously enough he was also on TV just a few hours previously on Sunday Morning. On both shows he was presenting music from his new album. This is no coincidence.

But Sting is a very intelligent man. He knows that it is much more valuable for him to appear multiple times in rapid succession than to trickle in through various media over the course of several months. I can only imagine that Sting is making other appearances in other media across the spectrum if he appeared in two of the only three shows I watch each week, both in the span of a few hours of each other.

In fact, a quick Google search for "Sting music" revealed <>11,700,000 sites. With over 11 million web sites devoted to him and his music you would think he could just release an album and it would be a hit. But he's a businessman. As much as he presents himself as a pure artist, he is very business savvy. In fact, the very act of presenting himself as a "pure artist" is in fact a very conscious business decision, but that's a topic for another post.

Sting knows that you don't make an announcement and hope that everyone heard it. You also don't make an announcement and then wait a month to make it again. You announce it over and over and over in every medium you can find in as many ways as you can create, with a rapid succession so that you reach a sort of critical mass.

How to apply this lesson in YOUR business: Remember that you can increase your efforts by 50%, and increase your exposure by 50% but wind up with 100 or 200% more results. The more you work, the more you work. It "Snow balls", with each exposure growing the impact of the next exposure.

Think about ways to reach this "critical mass" where your results grow disproportionately from your efforts. This is what Malcolm Gladwell calls "The Tipping Point" and it is a concept that holds amazing power when you understand how to use it in your marketing.

--Julian Franklin

Business Card Idea

2006-10-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

I am a big believer in having other people sell my show for me. So I create systems where my customers become my unpaid sales force. I covered this in some pretty good detail in my Viral Marketing system. Here is another idea that I recently encountered that fits that same sort of strategy.

I have always felt that photos are better at stimulating conversations than logos are. Few people will ever ask "What company does this logo represent?" in reference to (for example) a magnet on your refridgerator. But when people see photos, particularly interesting photos, they often ask "Who is this?" or "What's happening in this picture?" People like to know about other people much more than they want to know about corporate logos.

So I'm at my parents house last week and I see a business card magnetically attatched to their fridge. It was a very typical photo business card layout, with a full-color head shot on the left side, and contact info on the right side. But what really caught my eye was the fact that it was a picture of a VERY young child, no more than 7 or 8 years old.

The busines was one that was clearly NOT owned by a 7 or 8 year old. So anyone looking at the card HAD to ask the obvious question...

"What is this kid's picture doing on this guy's business card?"

Now, the guy who designed the card really dropped the ball because he didn't have (or didn't provide to my parents) a compelling (read viral) story to tell. He could have created a story that was funny enough or interesting enough to be worthy of telling and re-telling. It isn't that hard. Here are a few examples of stories that would have really inspired me to spread this guy's business story:

1) That's a picture of the guy who started this business taken when he was 8 years old. That's the year he first started doing this line of work.

2) That's a picture of the CEO of the company. Really. They set up the corporation and made their kid the CEO. He's a natural genius and supposedly they are doing really well under his guideance.

3) That's the 37 year old man who runs this business. When he says that his product makes you feel years younger, he's not kidding!

The point is that with a little bit of thought you can create simple systems that virtually FORCE people to talk about you. If you plan a little bit, think a little bit, then you will provide them with something compelling to say when they do talk about you. This is how you CONTROL word of mouth. This is the difference between typical word of mouth (in which you HOPE and PRAY that people will talk about you and that they will say nice things about you) and Viral Marketing where you FORCE them to talk about you and you tell them EXACTLY what to say when they talk about you.

The results are amazing. You literally create armies of unpaid sales people who gladly and regularly tell others about you and continue to sell your shows for years and years.

--Julian Franklin

Flaky Performers

2006-10-08T12:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Saturday. It used to be such a huge day for me as I often would perform magic shows at 3-5 birthday parties every Saturday and usually another one or two on Sunday. I stopped advertising birthday parties about three years ago, when my daughter was 18 months old. I knew she would begin ballet, and have kindergarten plays, Girl Scout events, and other such weekend things that I wanted to be a part of.

I still do a few birthday parties each month but they are all repeats and referrals. I don't accept parties unless they've seen me perform before. This keeps most of my weekends open, but still allows me to go out and do a few birthday parties. I love doing them, I just like having family time on the weekends, too.

So anyway, I was surprised to have someone call me and ask me to help them out. It seems they got a call from someone who hired a magician who decided at the last minute not to show up. This guy was trying to help them out by locating a performer for them.

This used to get calls like this almost every Saturday. I often thought it would be a profitable business to run an ad that said "Don't Hire me! Just keep my number handy for when the guy you DO hire doesn't show up". I would imagine that a performer could keep very busy with nothing but this tag line.

Here's a little secret, if you care: You charge a fair price and then do what you promise. You answer the phone when you can and return calls promptly when you can't. You mail what you say you are going to mail and you show up when you say you are going to show up. You then do what you said you would do and voila! Before long you have a growing, viable business model.

Not much of a secret to success, is it?

But when you watch what so many others are doing, you would think it is a secret.

I recently met a guy who truly understands this. He acts as an agent for other performers and offers his customers a very unique guarantee. If one of his performers doesn't show up, not only do you NOT have to pay any fees, his company will actually PAY YOU the fee you were scheduled to pay.

While this is no substitute when you are a parent with a six year old who is crying because the magician never showed up at his party, it must seem rather reassuring to a client.

Make it Easy to Spend Money With You

2006-09-30T08:09:00.000-05:00

Why do some businesses make it so hard to spend money with you? I recently returned from lecturing in the Dallas/Fort Worth area at a clown convention. Now, I have to admit, this was my first clown convention and it is quite a site to see a room FULL of adults with white faces, orange hair, and rainbow colored clothes, but for most of the convention they were just plain old folks.

Okay, maybe there were some who were a little bit weirder than normal, but not as weird as some of the magicians' conferences I've attended. And no where NEAR as strange as some of my family reunions, but that's another topic.

The point is that there were some really good questions they brought up. One of them was about contracts and deposits.

Performers (and this seems to be true for clowns, magicians, musicians, jugglers, vents, and almost any other performing artist group I've talked to) seem to have a phobia about having people cancel gigs on them. So to protect themselves they want to have customers sign contracts and/or submit non-refundable security deposits.

The problems I have with this are multiple. First, performers are some of the flakiest business people on the planet. I've come to believe that the greatest threat to most performers' business is their own apathy and carelessness. The client has a much greater (and statistically more justified) fear of you not showing up than you have of them canceling for no reason at the last minute.

Secondly, unless you make it very easy to pay a deposit (such as accepting credit cards AND PayPal) then you just create one additional obstacle for your customers to traverse in order to work with you.

Thirdly, I wonder if anyone has ever, or would ever sue a birthday party mom over a cancelled party. I certainly wouldn't. I wouldn't sue a school or library that cancelled. And if I'm not going to sue, why would I create a contract anyway?

Lastly, you put a huge hindrance on working with certain types of customers and clients. Some of the people who are in charge of hiring you are not allowed to enter into written agreements and so the authorizations (and thus the buying decision) is then passed on to someone higher up who might not have the same priorities or relationship as the person who really wants you.

I'm not saying that deposits are bad or that you shouldn't use contracts. I even believe that having customers work a little bit to get your business isn't a bad thing either. But I do think that if you want to grow you business you should strive to make it easy for them to spend with you.

Please don't e-mail me with your thoughts on why you do or don't use contracts. I would love to hear other opinions but this is a BLOG. That means, if you have an opinion, click the word "comments" below this posting and post your own comment so that everyone can read it. You can do so anonymously.

When is Profit Bad?

2006-09-28T07:49:00.000-05:00

Aside from money that is stolen or gained through fraud or deciet, is there any time that an honest, fair profit could be a bad thing?

I think there are at least three instances when I believe that a fair, honest profit is a bad thing and here they are:

1) When the profit is less than you could have earned doing something else more closely related to your core business. One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is failing to engage in their highest return activities. For me those high return activites are marketing and performing. That's why I don't get to post to this blog as much as I'd like to (even though this blog is a form of marketing in itself). When you spend hours working to build something that you could have bought for a few dollars, that is not a good investment of your time. You can say that it was profitable because you saved a few dollars, but if you could have spent that time in a higher return activity you would have earned even more.

This also happens when we work to please a client who drains our resources and cuts into our profits. When you have a customer who constantly haggles on price, demands that you stay longer hours, asks you to do things that you didn't originally agree to, you can either fulfill those requests or not, but recognize that additional work at lower pay is a lower value activity. You can make a profit, but you shouldn't aspire to cultivate clients like this.

2) A profit is bad if it is earned at the sacrifice of future profits. We shouldn't be doormats to our clients, but even worse is gouging them or taking advantage of them. If we fail to nurture our customers and clients they have no incentive to return and do business with us again. I would rather make a little bit less on this sale and know that I will keep the customer for at least a few more years than to worry about going out and finding a new customer to replace the one I abused. The local printer I work with inhereted the business from his father who still does business with MY father and now I do business with this same printer. He's not the cheapest, but he treats us fairly, holds our hands when we need it, and is always honest. I remember several occasions where he told me to go to another print shop who could do just as good a job at a cheaper price. He lost a sale, but he kept a customer for GENERATIONS!

3) A profit is bad if it is made at the expense of your integrity or happiness. While it is important to treat our customers with respect and dignity, it is equally important to treat ourselves with respect and dignity. If you have to do something that you aren't comfortable with, then the profit isn't good. And this doesn't have to be as nefarious as it might sound. If you are a birthday party performer who doesn't do balloon animals and a client wants you to do them, you can either learn to do them (not a bad option) or you can simply tell him that you are not able to do them and offer to find someone who can do that. But you needn't feel compelled to change your business model simply to please a client.

--Julian Franklin

What Was He THINKING!?!

2006-09-22T19:47:00.000-05:00

People ask me how I have the ability to update two blogs every week (sometimes two or three times a week), write a monthly magazine column for The Linking Ring (the most widely distributed magic magazine on the planet), write another regular column for The Funny Paper, perform 700+ paid engagements each year, and still have time to lecture, write books, record audio products, host an annual conference, and all while vacationing at least 6-8 weeks each year.

The answer is that I am constantly thinking in terms of "articles" and occasionally I convince friends and business associates to keep their eyes and ears open as well. I train people in my group well.

So I have a guy who attended my Business Building Workshop last year who called me today to tell me about something that happened in a parking lot. He saw a truck with what seemed to be at least $2,000 worth of graphic design artwork on the vehicle. Graphic window tinting, custom paint job, the whole nine yards. It all promotes promotional items such as imprinted key chains, coozies, and monogrammed shirts.

So my man walks up to the guy and tells him he want some shirts monogrammed. My man hands him a card. The guy hands him some quality coozies, a few key chains, and a business card printed on a piece of perforated card stock.

What's wrong with this picture?

The guy tells my man that he's got $5,000+ of equipment (and starts talking threads per inch and some other criteria that no one outside of his industry has even the sleightest clue what he means), clearly has thousands invested in the graphic design work on his car, and then talks about the high quality of his work. But then seals the deal by handing my guy a pretend business card!

Professionally printed business cards are about $25 for 500. If you can't invest in your business what you would drop on a large pizza, then you have no business being in business.

I have a new thing I'm doing where I've spent thousands on nationwide advertising for those who want to do blue and gold scout banquets. I offer people the chance to buy in at $79 and I have guys who call, ask some questions, think about it, think some more, and eventually just drop it.

In my mind I'm thinking "It's $79. You spend more on cable television each and every month but you are worried about whether or not this will result in several thousand dollars worth or business or "just" several hundred. Stick your head back under the rock because I don't want people like you involved!"

Why would you run 25 miles of a marathon and then quit a mile and a half from the finish line?

Why spend so much money on your equipment, your car, your professional image and then destroy it with a home-made card that could have been produced in quantities of 500-1,000 for less than a tank of gas?

This is even MORE true for a guy who claims to offer the ability to promote yourself in a professional way.

So here is the question for YOU: What corners are you cutting that simply shouldn't be cut in your line of work? If you are a trade show performer then your clothes need to be top of the line. If you are a clown, maybe not. But if you are a clown, you better have a very funny web site and answering machine.

Please don't spend thousands creating one impression and then destroy it trying to save $50.

--Julian Franklin

Customers Don't Care

2006-09-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

In one of my writings I made the comment that customers don't really care about your problems. They don't want to hear about your excuses. They are not interested in your woes.

It doesn't make them callous or heatless, it just means that when a person or company hires someone to provide entertainment, that is really all they want to get out of the transaction. They usually aren't looking to get wrapped up in your soap opera.

A birthday party mother wants to celebrate her child's birthday, not mourn the break-up of her kid's magician. A corporate event planner wants to pull off a fun evening for the group and isn't the least bit interested in hearing about your impending divorce and how your soon-to-be-ex caused you to show up thirty minutes late. They just want their show and they want it with a smile.

This point was really brought home to me when a friend of mine from Georgia called recently to tell me about a mutual friend of ours who heard, quite unexpectedly that his wife had contracted cancer and it was in the later stages. They gave her less than a month to wrap things up. It turned out that was an over-estimate and she just passed away yesterday.

So several professional performers in the Atlanta area contacted the performer and agreed to not only cover his engagements, but to allow him to keep the money from the shows. When he was told on Thursday that his wife would probably not last through the weekend he called them up on their offer.

So this friend of mine called the clients and explained the situation and informed them that rather than abandon them, he would be filling in for the party, honoring the previously agreed upon fee.

And here is where it gets weird, even for someone as jaded as I can sometimes be.

One of the clients asked if she was going to get a discount for the show since she had contracted for two performers (the husband and wife worked as a team). My friend told her that he normally charged more than the agreed upon fee, but that he was honoring it. Still, rather than fight about it, he agreed to lower the fee to about half of what he normally performs for, with the intention of pulling the difference from his own pocket so that the original performer would not know about it.

In other words, my buddy is going to go in, do a show with no compensation and then reach into his own pocket and pull out another $50 to fill in the shortcoming of this woman who wants to re-negotiate a fee with a man who is watching his wife and business partner die in his arms.

But it gets worse. As he's driving to the show he gets word that his friend's wife has lost her fight. But the show must go on and he arrives at the house, does the show to the delight of the kids in attendance.

After my friend finishes the show the lady hands him an envelope with his payment. When he got to the car and opened the envelope it contained a $20 bill. He went back up to the house and asked what it was.

"That's your tip. You did a fantastic job."

"Thank you. What about the payment?"

"I'm not paying. I contracted for a clown and you weren't a clown, you did a magic show."

"I know. I'm sorry. The clown you hired just died of cancer. Of course, they didn't have to provide anything at all. They could have just called and told you they weren't showing up. But they tried. I'm sorry she picked such an inconvenient time to die. As you can imagine this is even more troubling for her husband than it is for you. But why don't you keep this money, you obviously need it more than I do."

"Julian," he told me later, "I had to leave because I was afraid if I stayed even a minute longer I would have ended up in jail. I was so disgusted with this lady's complete disregard for what had just happened."

And it gets even worse.

The lady actually got on the phone and called the original performer to leave a message on his answering machine to tell him how unhappy she was with the service.

Just what a man who has lost his wife needs to deal with.

In memory of Gleeka the Clown. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with you Aragorn.

BLOG vs. WOM

2006-09-13T16:49:00.000-05:00

I subscribe to a lot of marketing newsletters and got one today from a group I really like. But the gist of the article had, what I consider a flawed premise about how Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM) differs from concepts like blogging. Here's a direct quote from the article to let you know where I'm coming from...

"...The vast majority of marketers report interest in WOM, more than are interested in podcasts, RSS and even blogs, according to research released this summer by Epsilon..."

Now, my thought is that blogging IS a form of WOM. That is, since WOM is about getting others to talk about you, creating an active, interesting, compelling blog is a major componenet of a WOM campaign.

How can you contemplate a WOM component that exists by itself?

If you do you are casting the entire thing into the great beyond and hoping that the word that is spread about you is good.

To be sure, a WOM campaign MUST begin with quality product and exceptional service, but if that is where it ends, then you are missing a huge boat. You have to remind, prompt, and constantly reappear in the lives of your customers and clients.

Blogging is ONE way to do this. Not the only way, maybe not even the best way, but if you eliminate it as being something OTHER than a component in a WOM campaign, then you sell it short.

That is not to say that blogging is ONLY about WOM either. If it is, then it becomes nothing more than a running advertisement that no one wants to listen to. You have to create something worthwhile, which brings us back to the original premise of having a good product and great service.

I hope you like this blog. If so, come back soon.

And tell a friend, too.

Dolly's Dixie $tampede (part 2)

2006-09-10T15:07:00.000-05:00

Last post was about how Dolly Parton manages to create an experience at The Dixie Stampede that has visitors not only wanting to go back, but telling everyone they know about it in a way that makes the listener not only want to go there as well, but even makes them want to tell OTHERS about the experience! This is "viral marketing" at it's best.

But Dolly is no dummy. She knows not only how to get people in the door, but also how to extract money once they get there. The stadium seats just under 1,100 guests. The Friday we went there were 3 sold-out showings. Most nights there are "only" 2. The tickets are about $35 each, you can do the math.

When you walk into the place you cannot enter the dining room until you get your picture taken. If you have a young child they will shoot a picture of the child alone as well as with the adults. You don't have to buy anything, but you get your picture taken anyway. You are standing on a green back ground which let us know that we were going to be superimposed onto some scenary other than the entryway to The Dixie Stampede.

Then you enter an area where there is a "pre-show" going on. In this room you can buy peanuts and drinks. The drinks are served in little plastic boots which makes the kids BEG for them. They could care less if you served them water, they want that little plastic boot drinking cup. More than half the patrons had drinks or peanuts or both. I have no idea how much the drinks cost since there were no prices posted, even on the drink menu! By the time you waited in line to ask how much, you were already mentally committed to buying. It was a very clever psychological tactic.

Now, you have to also remember that you have to buy your tickets in advance. This means that when you come through the door, most people are mentally starting at zero. The tickets have already been bought and paid for at least 5 or 6 hours before, so when a family of four comes in, they feel like they haven't even started, even though they are already $140 down before their picture is taken. That's another very important point, and they are able to do it over and over again throughout the evening.

This breaks the pain of payment down into more manageable chunks. If you told them it was $250 for the evening families might balk. But if you get a little here and a little there, $20-50 at a time, it's almost painless.

So you first come in and see the pre-show, buy drinks and peanuts and then, after a while the pre-show ends and everyone is herded into the stadium. Totally different room, and another psychological balance sheet erasure.

Now, the show itself is fun and they do a great job of getting everyone involved by stomping their feet, yelling and shouting for their "team" etc. There are so many great psychological principles wound up in this that I can't even begin to list them all, but "being a part of something big" and "euphoria from endorphins released during yelling and stomping" are two big ones.

Now, everyone is happy, they want to remember this fantastic experience and along come these people bringing photo folders with your pictures in them. The pictures are $10 each but you have to buy them in sets of 2.

So there we are standing in front of the great Smokey Mountains from a vantage point we've never actually been to, and another one of us standing in front of the backdrop used in the show we just saw. I really didn't want the picture but everyone else was buying them as fast as they could whip out their twenties. My wife insisted on getting one, too. There's a few lessons in that last sentence that I won't go into.

The real genius of this is making the kid(s) stand separate from the adults for at least one shot when taking the photos. With the nuclear families today, there may be a parent who doesn't want a picture of the other adults in the child's life, but does want one of the child. When grand parents take their grandkids out I can easily see them buying one set of pictures for themselves and the other set for the kids to take home to mom and dad.

Smart.

Now it is time to leave and so we file out slowly. Every single person leaves through the same exit. It's the exit at the OTHER end of the gift store. So you have to take these kids who are high on energy and adrenaline and wheel them through a store full of toy horses, t-shirts, and all manner of glittery treasures.

Good luck getting through that gauntlet without lightening your wallet. Besides, it was a complete change of room, feel, lighting, and staff. It was like being in a totally different place and so without being aware of it, you tended to sort of "start back at zero" again.

I'm sure there were other "money-getting" strategies and tactics at work that I missed. I guess I'll have to go back to experience it again in order to catch them all. I'll see how many people I can get to go with me.

Dolly's Dixie $tampede

2006-09-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

Several months ago my wife was watching an interview of Dolly Parton and liked it so much she gave me the synopsis (I don't watch very much TV). In the interview Dolly apparently did a fantastic job of coming across as the perfect blend of simple country girl and shrewed business mogul. It seemed like a contradiction, but my wife assured me, Dolly pulls it off with perfection. So, on our most recent trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. to attend the annual KIDabra Conference where I've been a lecturer every year for the past few years, my wife decided that we would eat dinner at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. It was quite an experience, and an interesting lesson in "money getting".

First of all is the uniqueness of the experience. Unique means "One of a kind", and Dixie Stampede fits the bill on at least two different levels.

On one level it is a dining experience like no other. You eat in an indoor, air-conditioned stadium while below are horse races, wagon races, pig races, ostrich races (with human riders!). The food is served in a way probably unlike any meal you've eaten before (more on that later) and you are seated to either cheer for The North or The South as the entire experience is sold as an opportunity to settle the Civil War dispute once and for all.

The very premise qualified as "one of a kind" but it goes even deeper when you realize that, since the entire evening is a "contest" between the two sides, with points being earned by audience members on stick horses, as well as staff members riding on horseback, and even by racing pigs, so that each show ends up a little differently. Some times The South wins, sometimes The North. Sometimes it is neck-and-neck and sometimes it is a landslide. This makes even repeat trips a new experience and truly every single meal there is "unique".

The food is served with no silverware. The soup bowls have handles on the side so you can sip it. The main course consists of an entire Cornish hen, half of a baked potato served as a plain "wedge" so you can eat it with your hands, corn on the cob, and for desert you get a pastry. No table ware to wash, but I think the real brilliance is not in the savings from replacing lifted tableware or the soap saved from not having to wash dishes. The real value is in the marketing that becomes "viral" as people tell their friends and family about eating an entire meal with their hands.

That's a story that people remember and it is something that is different enough to make listeners want to learn more, and even want to repeat to others. That's the real essense of "viral marketing", not sending SPAM e-mail.

Okay, that's all I'm going to write about the Dixie Stampede in this post. Later this week I'll come back and share with you the real nitty-gritty. I'll share with you the various vacuum hoses they had invisibly tucked into everyone's wallet and how they were able to extract a great deal of money that Friday afternoon and leave everyone in attendance smiling about the whole thing.

"Undercutting" Part 2

2006-08-29T08:11:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I posted about setting prices with confidence but I wanted to readdress the issue with a greater focus on pricing for profitability.

The original question was about how cheap a person can set their prices without upsetting their competitors (in this case, people who are also surely friends as well). My answer was not to worry about upsetting them, but to price at a level that reflected your skill and confidence.

But I also said that you have to price for profitability.

And when you calculate profitability there are a lot of things that are almost always missed.

It is not uncommon for a birthday party magician to charge $100 and think that he's making as much as his doctor! I mean, $100 an hour is GREAT money! But it fails to recognize that it isn't $100 profit. It's $100 GROSS. Here's how you calculate how much you really make:

Deduct the cost of all the balloons, confetti, lemons, candy, clown makeup and make up remover, and other consumables you used in the show (about $5)
Deduct the cost of having your clothes cleaned ($5)
Deduct the cost of travel ($5-10)
Your props don't last forever. Most won't survive more than 100 shows without some major repairs or modifications. Calculate the cost of repairing and replacing your props at a rate of about 1% of the prop cost per show (about $10-25)
Deduct the cost of marketing necessary to get the shows. When I tracked my birthday party advertising, I knew it took about $25-35 in advertising to book a show. ($25-35)

After deducting all your expenses you are left with NET INCOME. In this case about $20-50. Now you have to deduct the income tax you owe, at about 25%. That leaves you with $15-38 in net profit.

First inclination is to the say "Still, $15 an hour is pretty good pay". Except that you aren't making that much per hour. The work is not the work. The work is getting the work and getting to the work, and getting set up for the work. Performing is the only fun part of the whole thing!

Usually you have to leave your house AT LEAST an hour before you are supposed to start performing so that you have time to get there AND have time to set up. It will take you an hour before THAT in order to pack your stuff, load your props, shower and dress. Once you are done it will take you another hour to get home, unload, and get cleaned up.

That's 4 hours total.

Which means that you are making somewhere around $3.25 - $9.50 per hour. That hardly pays for a deck of cards!

In short, don't worry so much about undercutting your competition. Worry more about undercutting YOURSELF!

"Undercutting"?

2006-08-26T08:58:00.000-05:00

I don't want people to think I'm undercutting them. How much should I charge so that I don't upset the full-time performers in my market?

----------------------------------------------------------------

The whole notion of "low balling" and "undercutting" is something that gets me riled up. I am a firm believer in the free market. If people want to charge less than me, I couldn't care less. If they want to charge more than me, I couldn't care less. This is America and not only is the idea of different price levels American, the very idea of NOT having price variation (i.e. "Price Fixing") is decidedly UN-American and against the law!

There are a few factors that should come into play when establishing your price but these things should not be a factor:

· What your competitors think
· Your own guilty feelings about earning a profit

Too many people feel that earning a profit is somehow unethical. I've heard people apologize for their prices and then add "But I'm not making any money on this". Why would anyone be in business if they weren't earning a profit? Why would anyone think they need to apologize about earning a profit? You have a moral obligation to earn a profit! If you don't earn a profit then the rest of us have to support you with our taxes.

You need to earn and save and invest and you need to do without apology.

YOU and YOUR CUSTOMERS determine your price. I've found that the people who complain the loudest about "undercutting" are usually the cheapest performers in the market.

It only makes sense. If they are worried about price it is because they are competing on price. If they are competing on price, then they are among the cheapest. Which means they are "undercutting" everyone else who charges more! Ignore them. Price for profit and price with confidence.

For more on pricing, visit my web site: http://JulianSpeaks.com

There are articles on establishing your price on the link to "Free Stuff". You can also sign up for my free business building newsletter. Once a month I send out a newsletter of articles that were too short to become a full-fledged article in the magazine for which I write, or were too long for a simple blog post.

More Scout Banquets

2006-08-20T21:43:00.000-05:00

Every February and March cub scouts across the country celebrate their annual "Blue and Gold Banguets". These award ceremonies are often enhanced with some form of live entertainment such as magic shows, juggling, and clean family comedy.

If you are a performer who works these events, the only problem, from a marketing standpoint, is the fact that it is impossible to get a mailing list of scout leaders. So you are relegated to buying a yellow page ad and hoping that a scout leader sees you and thinks to call you for entertainment.

But I recently came up with another idea that I think is much better. I don't KNOW if it is any better. It might prove to be a total waste of time and money, but it's worth it to me to find out. I feel that if it is even a fraction as effective as I think it will be, then it will be more than worth it.

Here's the idea...

I acquired a web site called www.MagicBlueAndGold.com and took out an ad that will run from October through February in Scouting Magazine. The ad cost me almost two thousand dollars, and most of the calls will come from outside my area. But I didn't write the ad for ME. I wrote it for US.

The ad is a generic ad that drives the scout leaders and decision makers to the web site where they select the area in which they live. They are then given a link to the performer(s) in that area who are members of the site. The links go straight back to YOUR site.

You handle the phone calls
You are responsible for handling all the paperwork
You sell your show
You decide what to perform
You decide what to charge
You keep ALL the money you earn. There is no commission or fee from the bookings.

All you do is pay a small set up fee to help cover the cost of the ad and the web site.

Not for everyone, but if you are interested in learning more, visit www.MagicBlueAndGold.com and click the link at the bottom of the page that says "To learn more click HERE".

--Julian Franklin

$200 for a 20¢ Cookie?

2006-08-14T06:17:00.000-05:00

I overheard a very interesting conversation recently. Two women were talking about which hotel they should stay at during their next vacation. The two hotels they were contemplating were both 5-star hotels in a location that had to have charged $200 per night.

"I really like the Such-and-Such Hotel" said the first lady.

"Me too," said her friend. "But, the Hotel So-and-So has those free cookies in the lobby."

"OH-MY-GOSH! I totally forgot about that! Yes, you're right. We have to stay at the So-and-So."

And just like THAT, a several hundred dollar decision was made based on less than 20¢ worth of cookie dough.

Whoa!That's pretty amazing if you think about it, isn't it? How little, tiny, insignificant things can not only be the icing on the cake, they can actually be the entire reason for buying the cake. And ironically enough the details often don't seem (on the surface) to have anything to do with the actual product or service being sold.

Face it, in what way does fresh baked chocolate chip cookies reflect the quality of a hotel? The cookie dough was bought frozen from Otis Spunkmeyer and baked in a little toaster oven that automatically turns off at the right time to avoid any mistakes. It shows no real skill, no insight into culinary adventure, and offers no clue as to the comfort of the beds, or the amenities one pays for in a hotel.

But it is a critical clue in the essence of hotel management. It is a symbol of "hospitality". It tells the guests that they are welcome members of a family. "Here," the cookies say without words "Reach into the cookie jar and help yourself. Just like at Grandma's house"

The cookies strike a nostalgic reflection to warmer times in more comfortable settings.

Yes, everyone loves fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, but that's not really the point. The point is not the cookies themselves as much as it is what they represent at a more visceral level.

What little, tiny, inexpensive things can you do that will make a difference in the experiences of your customers and clients? What is it that you sell, at the core? If you think hotels sell beds and a TV then you might have no idea why anyone would stay at any hotel other than a Motel 6.

Q: Why would a person pay $200 a night (or more) for a bed and a TV?
A: Hospitality.

The question you need to ask is "What do I REALLY sell?" and then figure out the answer. Once you do, THEN you need to figure out how you can better demonstrate that, elevate that, and package that for your customers and clients.Little things mean a lot.

--Julian Franklin

P.S. If you like this blog and the articles that get posted here, you should subscribe to my monthly business building newsletter. It is free and filled with trends, advice, examples, and ideas for improving and marketing your business. To get your FREE subscription just visit www.JulianSpeaks.com and sign up. We will never sell or rent your name to anyone for any reason and you can unsubscribe at any time by simply clicking a link at the bottom of each newsletter. It only goes out once or twice a month so go get your free subscription now, before you miss another issue.

Movie Review: Hoodwinked

2006-08-13T13:17:00.000-05:00

Hoodwinked is an animated motion picture that is an example of everything children's entertainment should strive to become. The movie is based on the Red Riding Hood story re-told as a modern tale. But it is SOOooo much more.

For starters, there are many layers of humor that strike adults as well as children. This is nothing new in children's entertainment, but it is done particularly well in this movie.

What I really like about Hoodwinked, however, is the very inventive and creative way that the story is told from several different perspectives as a "mystery" seems to unfold in the telling. As each character's story is told you aren't sure if you are getting closer to the truth or farther away.

And then, just when things couldn't get any weirder or funnier, the story comes to a conclusion that makes sense of everything in a very satisfying way. I won't say anything else because I want to preserve the "whodunit" for those who haven't seen the movie yet.

I will tell you that you will enjoy this movie, even if you have no children. It is funny and engaging in a way that few movies are anymore. If you are a children's performer (as I am) then you owe it to yourself to rend this movie and study it. Notice how the humor is kept clean and yet riotously funny? Notice how the reference to pop culture are tossed out without much fan fare, to be enjoyed by those who get it, but not to become stumbling blocks for those who didn't? You don't want your audience to spend time wondering about the joke they didn't get.

Particularly, pay attention to the creative way that an old, worn-out tale (Little Red Riding Hood) has been given new life through a little bit of creativity and imagination.

--Julian Franklin

Saying "Thank You"

2006-08-11T12:33:00.000-05:00

I am a pretty big believer in saying thank you. I don't always do it, but I try to. When people send me e-mails about my monthly business building column in The Linking Ring magazine, or some of the books or articles I've written, I try to reply with a thank you, even if it just says "Thank you for taking the time to write".

Just recently I was treated to a thank you that really reminded me of how valuable a nice thank you can be. I had a product that had sold out. I was no longer producing them and someone called asking for one. It was a $500 item but they were all sold out. I told him he might be able to get one if anyone ever returns one (I offer a lifetime, money back guarantee on everything I produce), but I told him I had never had anyone return this particular product before.

As luck would have it, someone did ask for a refund and I was able to get one of these items back in stock. Further, he happened to e-mail me three days after it came back asking if any had been returned. I told him it must be destiny and after checking to make sure everything was there and in pristine condition, I sent him the marketing system.

Two weeks later an overnight delivery company delivered a package from a chocolatier in France. Inside the insulated box the dry ice had evaporated. My wife and I excitedly broke the wax seal on the ribbon, then carefully peeled off the rich wrapping paper. Underneath was a beautiful wooden box that, when opened, revealed a tiny collection of some of the most delicious confections I'd eaten in a very long time.

I'm proud to be an American, but no body does chocolate like the Europeans. Their chocolate has flavor, not just sugar, cocoa, and corn syrup. This stuff was divine.

So this guy paid for the marketing program. I didn't give it to him. He paid me for it. He paid for shipping. And then he sent me a thank you.

It's not the first time someone bought me a gift for the help I provide in growing businesses, but it was the most recent and I thought I would share it with you.

I hope he doesn't read this entry because he might figure out how many bonus points he's earned with me.

--Julian Franklin

P.S. Since this happened I had another copy of the product returned and like fate some else called about a week after it came it and bought it. I no longer have any in stock. I've also had several requests for my licensed assembly programs which I no longer offer to the public. This is not a matter of inventory, they are simply not being sold at this time. For a complete and accurate listing of my products, you can visit www.JulianSpeaks.com

Should You Sell 'Back of Room' to Kids?

2006-08-05T11:18:00.000-05:00

How do you feel about back of the room sales? I've seen a few performers do it and I've heard that it is a great revenue source, but I just don't feel comfortable "hocking" from the stage when I've been paid to perform. I also worry about having the kids start bugging their parents for a product and having that ruin a perfectly good mood that I had created. What are your thoughts on this?

---------------------------------

A few things real quick about BOR (and I could literally talk about this all day because there are a hundred little nuances).

Appropriateness: The BOR items need to relate to what you are doing. Books are very appropriate after a school or library presentation (and in fact are usually well received at almost any venue because parents like to see their kids read more). Magic sets are an obvious tie in after a fun magic show. A DVD teaching magic would also work well. Show posters, autographed pictures, and t-shirts are common at larger events.

Profitability: You need to be able to AT LEAST double your money on everything you sell or it isn't worth carrying around. This is usually the foundation of retail. In fact, it is such a standard operating pricing method that it is actually called "Keystone" pricing. I wrote about this in an article on pricing that's posted on my web site. But suffice it to say that your prices should be at least twice your costs, with only a few exceptions.

Pricing Points: Lastly, you don't want to charge $2.50 for ANYTHING! If you did, you would also have to bring along a wad of $1 bills and five rolls of quarters so you could make change. Pricing Points are very important in retail and even more important for BOR. People think in terms of $20 bills. Everyone has a $20. When selling big items, make the price breaks at the $20 marks. For smaller venues and smaller items, you want to break at $1, $5, and $10. You do NOT want to be making a bunch of change. Again, you can check out another article I wrote on pricing, also posted at www.JulianSpeaks.com under the link to "Free Stuff".

When I sell my $6 book, I also sell a $4 book to go with it, and I sell a $1 picture, but the picture is free if they buy both books. This makes for a LOT of $10 purchases. It's an easy price point, and the free gift of the picture helps make the decision even easier.

I also like books because they promote reading. I am a big proponent of children reading more so it makes it easy for me to sell those books and not feel the least bit guilty. I know that every kid who buys one of my books is doing his brain good.

Now, about "pitching" from the stage and ruining a good mood you had created.

If you are performing in a school, day care, or other venue where children don't have parents on site, there is no reason to even mention the product. If you didn't arrange for them to buy the product beforehand, then they won't be able to get it. Kids usually don't carry around that level of disposable income.

If there ARE parents present, then your decision to sell from the stage is a personal matter. When I speak to adults I always offer a product at the back of the room. If people enjoy your show they want a souvenir. This goes for children as well as adults. I don't think you have to worry about ruining a good mood by offering souvenirs. Anytime parents take their kids grocery shopping, to the movies, a ball game, carnival, or almost any other venue outside the home, there are offerings that children beg their parents for.

Parents have come to expect their kids to beg and in fact, some parents use the intensity of the begging as a "barometer" of how much the child actually wants the item. I would imagine that it would be a strange and irregular occurrence to have someone upset that you offered a product to purchase.

Optical Illusions in Advertising

2006-07-27T19:50:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of optical illusions. I think it sort of goes hand in hand with doing magic. Anyway, I came across an ad by Clearasil that uses an optical illusion and I wanted to share it. The caption at the bottom says "As soon as black spots appear, use Clearasil".

This ad works because the illusion relates directly with the product it attempts to sell AND it is cool enough that people want to share it. You also can't escape the reference to the product.

Too many ads are created for television that have people laughing and talking about it the next day at the water cooler, but no one know what the ad was selling. These type commercials win awards for the agencies that create them, but they drive the companies that hire them to the poor house. Creativity should only celebrated when it adds VALUE.

Sometimes value can be added in ways that are not measured in dollars and cents. But when a company hires an ad agency to generate product awareness and thus increase sales, that CAN be measured in units and dollars.

--Julian Franklin

P.S. I got this image from the blog of a friend of mine in India. You can check out his original post here: http://smokecanopy.blogspot.com/2006/01/clearasil.html

Sometimes Being 'Positive' is Just RUDE!

2006-07-23T11:22:00.000-05:00

Why do some people seem to go out of their way to make others feel frustration, discomfort, or anxiety?

In early July my family and I went on a four day vacation and stayed at a Bed and Breakfast that was built in the 1840s. It was a very fun place with no phones, no television, and no internet. Like all my vacations I turned my cell phone off. It was a nice break and felt a little bit like going back in time.

One morning we were having breakfast and the staff had cut up a very nice fruit cup and put a dollop of yogurt on it. I would have preferred it without the yogurt, but it was a nice addition to the continental breakfast.

I heard the staff member offer a fruit cup to a lady nearby and she said "No." Even my four year old daughter has learned to say "No, thank you", but I really didn't pay much attention until I heard the staff member ask "Are you sure?" and the lady looked at him and said, with spite in her voice "I'm positive".

Is it really that hard to say "No, thank you. It looks wonderful, but I just won't be eating it." It seems simple enough. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive.

I would imagine that the lady didn't consciously set out to be rude, but sometimes we are so in the habit of speaking in certain ways that we don't even notice how we sound. A good friend of mine and fellow performer told me that for almost a decade he worked in what he called "an environment of exteme emotional toxicity", and he assured me that if I had known him at that time we would not be friends.

He said it was quite surprising to him how much his attitude and outlook on life changed for the better when he finally quit and went to work as a performer.

--Julian Franklin
www.JulianSpeaks.com

Do You Think Like a Gambler?

2006-07-19T19:03:00.000-05:00

As a business owner, you have to be a risk taker, but this is much different from being a gambler. A risk taker takes CALCULATED risks with a large postive chance of payout. He risks on things over which he has at least some control. This is different from a gambler's mentality.

I am not a gambler. I get no pleasure from watching my money vanish so quickly. Fortunately I have never had the good fortune of getting "lucky" and winning a large amount of money with little or no effort. If I had, maybe I would like gambling more.

But there is something I call "Gambler's Mentality". It is something that I think gambler's share along with certain business people. I think it is a detrimental way to think. It is based in fear and fear-based decision making is almost never the best position to work from.

The gambler's mentality goes something like this "This isn't working well, but if I keep at it a little bit longer, my luck will change and I'll make up for all these losses"

The two pricing models I wrote about a few days ago are both variations of this way of thinking and are why I don't use or recommend either pricing structure from that article. Rather than set unrealistic goals and then systematically lower them until you are desperate, or conversely, systematically raising your rates by the week hoping to find someone desperate enough to pay your inflated fees, why not quote a fee that is fair to you and then gladly and graciously accept it when you perform the show?

A gambler bets $10 on a long shot and ends up winning $1,800. Rather than being happy he screams "I should have put down $20! I always bet $20! Why did I only bet $10!?" This is Gambler's Mentality.

When you book a job and three weeks before the show someone offers you three times the fee to flake out and do their event instead, you should not even be tempted. You can't have a gambler's mentality if you want to build a long-standing business. Don't get greedy. Set a fair price and gladly and graciously accept your fee with no guilt and no wondering how much more you might have gotten.

JOKE: The secret to wealth is simple…Buy low and sell high.

MORAL: You don't have to buy at the LOWEST and sell at the HIGHEST.

--Julian Franklin

P.S. Be sure to visit my web site at www.JulianSpeaks.com. There are free business building articles, an opportunity to sign up for a free monthly e-newsletter filled with busines building tips, and of course a chance to pick up some of my books, CDs, and marketing systems if you are interested in really growing your business quickly.

Negotiating Strategies when Pricing Services

2006-07-14T13:16:00.000-05:00

Last week I posted on pricing your services, and then I promised you I would tell you about a different school of thought when it comes to establishing prices and negotiating the best price when selling your services.

This post is offered only as a differeing opinion, it is NOT the philosophy I suscribe to when it comes to pricing.

My clients often end up booking a show a year or two in advance in order to secure the date they want. There is a strategy behind this that I want to encourage. Others disagree, including a good friend of mine.

My friend suggested that when they book far in advance you should quote a higher fee since it takes greater risk for you. That is, you have no idea what wonderful opportunities might arise in the future that you would have to pass up in order to honor this committment. As the date gets closer, he suggested you could start lowering your price, until if they call the week before and you don't have anything planned, you might offer a deep discount just to keep from sitting at home doing nothing.

Sorry. When I occasionally get a day or even better (and even more rare) a group of days with nothing booked, it is a welcomed respite. I love to perform, but I also love having time off to spend with my family. If anything, I would RAISE my prices if they call at the last minute!

In fact, I would tend to be more obliged to give a discount for future bookings (I don't however), but I would sooner give a discount than charge a premium. Why?

Because, when clients book in advance it sets a precident for other clients to follow. It provides a sense of security for my family. It means I am working with a client who is organized and prepared, not scampering about at the last minute. That almost always means fewer headaches for me.

Having clients book a year or two in advance also eliminates a certain level of advertising and marketing that would otherwise have to be invested to fill those dates. For example, this summer I booked 81 summer library reading programs without sending out a single direct mail piece, making a single out-bound telephone call, or in any other way marketing the program. Just repeats, and word of mouth.

That is a significant savings on marketing and advertising expense.

--Julian Franklin

How Much for Veal Cutlets?

2006-07-07T22:06:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I wrote about bartering and what you might consider accepting for your work. There were a few private comments that suggested it wasn't the best business practice to leave "money on the table" so to speak. That is, a prudent business person might want to negotiate in a way that ensured they got the maximum amount for their time.

I disagree.

What does this have to do with veal cutlets? Here's the joke.

A lady walks into a butcher shop and asks how much the veal cutlets are. The butcher says "Eight dollars a pound".

"The shop across the street sells them for six dollars a pound", the lady says.

"So why don't you buy them from him?" the butcher asks.

"Because he doesn't have any."

"You should shop here lady. When we don't have veal cutlets, they're only $4.50 a pound!"

My question is: Would you rather have your dream price in theory or a fair fee in your pocket? Price fair and you can keep your customers happy and coming back, you also never have to stress about quoting a fee. You state it up front with confidence, and you will be surprised what happens.

I have a friend who has a different set of ideas about this and I'll share them with you in a few days.

Bartering on the 4th of July

2006-07-05T06:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I wrote a post about swapping your services in exchange for in-store credit. I posted that entry at the close of a 4 day vacation. We try to make sure we are always at home on the Fourth of July and on New Year's Eve because we have a neighbor who LOVES fireworks.

We always get treated to a light show far better than any professional show I've ever seen. That's not an exageration, and I've got the photos to prove it.

Sort of.

The fireworks are launched at such an intensity that most of the photos come out looking like a ball of fire. The smaller volleys make better pictures.

Anyway, what does all this have to do with marketing? What does this have to do with bartering services? Just this.

My neighbor owns a retail store that is a prime location for a fireworks stand. Every year he rents his parking lot to a distributor who sets up a booth. But rather than taking money for the spot, he trades out in fireworks. To the tune of several thousand dollars worth (retail).

It is a great deal for everyone involved, particularly the people on our cul-de-sac who get to enjoy one of the best fireworks shows ever in the comfort of our front yard, and it doesn't cost us a thing!

Trading Labor for Store Credit?

2006-07-03T17:34:00.000-05:00

Gideon, a new subscriber to my free monthly e-newsletter recently wrote to ask about an opportunity he has that presents something of a delima.

"A large electronics store is offering me $XXX in-store credit to twist balloons for four hours during a large sale. They have hired me before for more money, and really liked my balloons. I really want the job for better connection with them and great advertisement for the tens of thousands of people attending the sale, however I don't want the cheap reputation, especially with such a large and wealthy cooperation. I have thought about using the "honorarium" system you talked about in "Viral Marketing" with the endorsed mailing, but would it work for competitive businesses (they only have one location)? What do you think I should do?"

There is nothing wrong with accepting gift certificate or store credit in exchange for your work as long as you will use the store credit. However, you should remember that most retail establishments get their inventory at a mark-up of AT LEAST 100%. That means, that for every $100 in store credit you get, it only costs the retailer $50 out of pocket. A dollar is still a dollar from YOUR side of the deal, but it's only 50 cents for them.

For this reason, if you are going to accept store credit, you can almost always negotiate a higher fee, at least 25% higher and usually up to 50-75% higher than your original fee.

So if you quoted tan original fee of $500 [a randomly selected number, NOT the original quote that Gideon made] and they came back with "We'll pay that in store credit" then you counter with "If' I'm getting store credit and I can only spend it here, I'll need $725" (note the use of the word "need" not "want").

They may counter with something less than that, but more than your original fee, or they may offer partial payment in cash and part in store credit.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: if you feel good about the deal, then it is a good deal. I wouldn't worry about getting a reputation of being someone cheap. I would expect that you would more likely get a reputation as someone savvy who wants to work and is easy to work with. That's not a bad thing.

--Julian Franklin

P.S. If you want to subscribe to the same free e-newsletter that Gideon subscribes to, that goes out each month, visit www.JulianSpeaks.com and sign up. You can cancel your subscription at any time and your information will be kept confidential at all times.

P.P.S. Gideon, this is such a great question and it came up today in a conversation I had with an old, trusted friend of mine as we discussed pricing. I'll tell you about our conversation in my next blog entry. Come back later this week.

Which Marketing Systems to Buy?

2006-06-26T18:18:00.000-05:00

Keith, a reader from Georgia e-mailed asking about how to determine which marketing programs or systems to purchase.

When it comes to marketing materials, there are different "levels" if you will. There are basic marketing books that will help you design a business card, build an effective web page, learn basic sales technique, etc. This is also the sort of material you can get from the book store or even the public library. Everyone should have a good foundation in basic marketing, promotions, and sales.

Then there is a more advanced level of training. This is usually very specialized and runs very deep. Examples would include entire books (even SERIES of books) on the subject of copy writing (writing words that sell, whether in a sales letter, a web site, a brochure, etc.) or a set of tapes or CDs on closing techniques.

Then you can get even MORE advanced, which means MORE specialized, and usually also means more expensive! You can access information specifically for a particular industry (such as real estate agents or performing artists).

The thing to watch out for is that as a program becomes more and more specialized, the market for that product shrinks smaller and smaller. The result is that writers will (either consciously or unconsciously) begin sliding back towards a more fundamental text.

Example: imagine a marketing course specifically for magicians (very tight and rather small group) that teaches the reader how to create and sell a program to schools, and libraries, and birthday parties, and trade shows, and corporate events, and scout banquets, and weddings, and cruise ships, and restaurants, and festivals, and church functions, and so on, and so on. Can a single program really do all of that? Yeah, but it probably has to back track into the basics in order to do so.

It doesn't make the program bad, but you need to realize that is what you are getting. I am a firm believer in understanding and applying "the basics". But I think if you are offering a focused program, it should be advanced applications and should try to foucs on how the given industry is unique.

I try to avoid this and as a result I get programs that are very specific in a particular tactic (such as Viral Marketing, which is six hours of audio and a thick workbook all on how to stimulate and control word of mouth marketing), or I get programs that are comprehensive but only for a particular niche market (such as my "Dominating Libraries" program which is no longer available, but sold for $495 and took you step by step into how to completely own the public library scene in your market).

In doing this, my sales per unit are smaller, my cost is higher, but I think the product has a better value for SOME people. If you need a more entry level understanding of marketing then my stuff might not be for you. But that's why I write my magazine columns, and post advice on various web sites, including free reports from my own web site www.JulianSpeaks.com

What to Expect Here

2006-06-22T09:05:00.000-05:00

I write a monthly column on the business of magic in a magazine for professional performers called "The Linking Ring". I also lecture, have written almost 20 books, publish a free monthly newsletter, and a produce a weekly e-zine for paid subscribers only called "52 Weekly Steps to Success". You can also find my thoughts on web sites and list servers around the world. But primarily I make my living by performing for children. I perform between 500-800 paid shows per year but work only 200-225 days per year.

In the process of writing and lecturing, I get a lot of questions and comments from readers. I've decided to share their thoughts and questions along with my repsonses so that others can benefit from a shared sort of network.

I hope you enjoy it, and if you want to submit a question, feel free to e-mail me. My contact information can be found at www.JulianSpeaks.com