The Million Dollar Question (Part II)
The Million Dollar Question (Part II)
By Jeff Stone
What do you do for a living? That, you’ll remember from last month, is the million dollar question. We discussed the million dollar answer as well. You may remember that the answer was based on two things. First, how much time you have in your schedule, and secondly how interested you are in getting a gig.
If you’re schedule is too busy or you aren’t ready for/interested in making a magic business contact, then your answer will relate more to your full time job if you have one. Whereas if you you have time and want a business contact, then your answer will be along these lines:
- “I’m a magician.”
- “I’m an entertainer.”
- “I’m a corporate entertainer.”
- “I’m a public speaker.”
- “I do stand up comedy.”
- Etc.
You get the idea. That’s where we left off last month. Your job was to pick the answer that best fits your show and your personality. My job, this week, is to help you take your million dollar answer and turn it into a gig or at least a decent contact, so let’s jump in.
When asked what you do for a living, you answer with your million dollar answer. For the sake of “discussion” we’ll use the answer that I normally use: I’m a corporate entertainer.
The beauty of this answer is that it invariably gets a response like “What’s a corporate entertainer?” That’s the question you want. You want them to ask you to explain or to ask for details. If you use the line “I’m a stand up comic,” they won’t ask you to explain, but they will ask you where you perform.
This is just as good. Either way, the secret is to get them to ask you for more details. To answer their question, explain a bit about what you do, and most importantly the type of client you work for. You want them to be able to relate to the type of gigs that you are willing to do.
In other words, if the head of a fortune 500 company says, “What’s a corporate entertainer,” you don’t want to start talking about how clever your balloon sculpting is. You want to talk about corporate parties that you’ve done, or motivational magic shows that you do, etc.
How do you know what kind of person you’re talking to? You may not know that the person you are talking to is a CEO of a fortune 500 company, so how do you decide your next “move?”
Part of it is lucky guessing; part of it is observation; part of it psychological. If you happen to be a student of mentalism and cold-reading in particular, this can be very useful here. I worked in door to door sales for years, and I quickly learned that the big secret to closing the sale (other than having a decent pitch) was building rapport. The old cliche is true that you can call someone an S.O.B. if you have a smile on your face.
People who feel a connection with you are more likely to trust you and be open with you. So when I did door to door sales, I would scan the yard and driveway before knocking on the door. Then when the door opened, I would quickly scan the environment behind the person at the door. I would notice what kind of pictures were on the wall, what they were wearing, jewelry, etc.
Most of the time, there would be something that I could relate to that I would somehow slip into the conversation. For example, I noticed that someone had out-of-state plates on his car. The plates were from California. Well I used to live there, so I made some light conversation about California with him.
Me: “I noticed you have California plates. Did you just move here?”
Him: “Yes, last month.”
Me: “Really? I’m from California. What part of California did you live in?”
Him: “The Bay Area.”
Me: “Wow! Me too.”
Etc…
I’m not going to give you a script here, but you get the idea. Develop some chit-chat with them, and probe a little. So let’s apply this to the stranger on the bus, or at the gas station or grocery store line who asks you what you do for a living.
While talking with them, notice their license plate (if you’re at a gas station), or look at the clothes they’re wearing. Do they have a company logo on their shirt? Are they wearing a ball cap of your favorite team, or at least a team you can talk about?
Are they wearing a class ring, wedding ring, etc.
Based on what you see, you can take a guess at what they might be more likely to relate to. Again if you’re a cold reader, you know how to “get information” like this. If you’re not a cold reader, that’s ok. I’m not, but I still know how to gain a bit of insight into people by observing them, talking to them and looking at them.
It’s about practice. Often, they will volunteer this information as well. So back to the question: “What do you do for a living?” You respond with “Corporate Entertainment.” At this point you’ve likely spent a minute chatting with the person and you may have even asked them first what they do for a living. Once you tell them that you’re a corporate entertainer, they will likely ask what that is.
You then will need to launch into your 30 second commercial. If you don’t remember what that is, refer back to the November 2007 issue of No Stone Left Unturned. Basically you will explain what it means and what type of person might hire you.
For example, I might respond by saying “I’m the entertainment for company parties. I do stand up comedy and magic. I recently did a show for Blue Cross Blue Shield. I also do private parties. I just did a show for a couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.”
That type of response accomplishes a few things. First it answers their question of what is a “corporate entertainer.” Secondly it lets them know that I’m booked, that I get gigs. It also is a bit of name dropping, and finally, it lets them know that I also perform for private parties not just corporations. This is likely where you will get their interest.
When I mention the recent 50 year anniversary gig, they start thinking about people in their family with upcoming major events, or they might be a good contact for a company party. Either way, you’ve interested them. Ask them for their card, and give them your card.
If, during the conversation, they mentioned an upcoming event that might be a suitable gig, make a mental note. Then at the end of the conversation, make a comment like, “I’ll call you next month when it’s closer to your brother’s birthday.” Or “Give me a call in a month when it’s closer to your parents’ anniversary.”
Either way, as soon as you can, write down everything you can remember about the conversation and the event. Then give them a call near the event time period. Your call doesn’t need to be aggressive. It’s just a simple phone call:
“Hi Mike. My name is Jeff Stone. You gave me your business card when we met about a month ago at the grocery store. Do you have just a minute? I just wanted to call and say hi, and to let you know that I actually am available around the time of your Dad’s birthday party. You mentioned that he was an avid golfer. I’ve got a great routine that’s perfect for a golfer. He’ll love it.”
The above script accomplishes a few goals. First, before the goals, let me remind you that nowhere in meeting the contact or any previous conversations did you guys discuss that you will be doing a gig. You just said, I’ll call you when such-and-such event is approaching.
When you get on the phone a month later, you just go right into the assumption that the client wanted the gig. So the first goal of the phone call is to remind him who you are and the fact that he gave you his card. That’s a major key. He gave you his card. That implies in his memory that he was interested in speaking with you again in the future.
The next goal is to let him know that you remembered his event (birthday party, anniversary, etc). Next, you let him know that you are interested in performing, and finally that you have the “perfect thing” for the event.
All of these points will lead to questions by him which will head you down the path of booking fees and dates, etc.
Remember that not everyone you speak to will give you a card, and not everyone will take your card, but many will. Not all card exchanges result in gigs, but many will. Those that don’t will often result in referrals as well.
So in summary, the flow of the conversation once the chit-chat gets going is along these lines:
- They ask what you do for a living
- You answer with your specific “million dollar answer” – For Example: “I’m a Corporate Entertainer.”
- They ask you to explain
- You explain, give examples of recent shows, and mention other venues you do
- You ask for a business card and you exchange cards with them
- Call them in the future to try and book a gig
Next month we’ll discuss in detail various types of venues and how to go after them. You’ll be surprised at how many gigs are staring you right in the face without you even knowing it. Although next month’s issue is not a continuation of this one, it will contain information that will be very helpful in applying this month’s information. Until Next Month…
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