Why Should Someone Hire You?

It sounds simple, right? Why wouldn’t someone hire you?

But this question is deep.

It’s more than just competition from other magicians. Too many magicians are laser-focused on what other magicians in their area are charging. The question should be, “Why should someone hire me over all of the other entertainment options?”

Think about it. Your clients have an almost endless array of choices. On top of all the other non-magician entertainment options, there are other ways to pass the time.

When I was working a lot of birthday parties, party centers were becoming more popular. Places offered one-stop party shopping. You could rent a room at a party center, bring a cake, and presto! Your party was planned. Before and after kids ate pizza (provided by the party center) kids could run around in the ball pit. Or play video games.

And after that, Bounce houses gained popularity. Why have any kind of entertainment? Let the kids jump around in the bounce house for an hour or two. Then feed them, open presents, and send them on their way.

But it’s true for other markets, too. Are you a corporate entertainer? Your job is even tougher. Why have an entertainer at all? Think about it.

At a corporate holiday party, you’ve got cocktail hour, the main meal, and speeches or awards. That’s 4-5 hours right there. Does anyone really need an entertainer to do a show to make an already long evening even longer?

And the traditional corporate entertainment is a DJ. Perfect, because those who want to dance can. Those who don’t can just skip it and just keep drinking. Then there’s karaoke, another music-centric entertainment option.

Everything I just mentioned is easier for the client than a show.

For a show, you’ve got to shut everyone up and gather their attention to get them to pay attention to a formal show. Close-up guys have it a little easier but convincing a client to hire you when you can only entertain a few people at a time is tough.

Don’t misread my intentions. I’m not trying to devalue what magicians do. I’m only pointing out how many other, easier options there are.

Congratulations, this long wind-up is the intro to my long-promised issue devoted to a USP. Short for Unique Selling Proposition, it’s a concept designed to get you thinking about why someone should book you over everything else.

You’ve got to establish why you’re a benefit to your client. That means understanding your client’s problems and presenting yourself as the solution.

And a USP also means you must present yourself as the ideal solution when matched up against the potential solutions in your niche.

That means you gotta stand out from mother magicians.

I remember listening to an audio recording of one of Dave Dee’s boot camps. He was asking one magician in the audience what made his show different from his competitors.

This magician flippantly said, “I do a good show.” That very well may be the case. There are an astounding number of bad magicians doing shows. In many ways, I remain appalled at what’s being offered by these folks as “entertainment.” But I digress.

Your USP cannot just be that you do a good show. Or you’re the “best.” In the wonderful book, 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, the authors posit that for a positioning statement to be effective, another company in that niche must be willing to take the opposite stance.

So, you’re the best. Someone else has to state they are the worst. No one is going to do that, except perhaps ironically. (I’ve long admired Peter the Adequate for a brilliant stage name.)

But the best won’t work. So how do you develop a good USP? It involves understanding two things:

1.   The needs of your market (which I already mentioned)

2.   What you do that’s different from anyone else.

This means research. Know your market. I’ve sung this song before, so I’ll give it a rest here.

And you must know what your competitors are doing. I’ll reveal how I created my first USP and how it got me started. Then I’ll give you an example of another performer and my recommendation to him.

Back in 1999, I was just getting started booking paid gigs. And I wanted to set myself apart from everyone else offering birthday magic shows.

I understood the needs of my market. I had already done my homework. I changed my company name from “Phantasms Magic” to the much more kid-friendly name of “Cris the Magic Man.” That new name opened so many doors for me.

But what was my competition doing? Most bragged about their bunny. Fair enough. Kids love bunnies. But I didn’t want a bunny. Because everyone had one.

And every magician talked about how hilarious and interactive their shows were. So that was out.

I already did a three-bird dove act. And I produced a hamster and a live fish. Eventually, for larger shows, I added my ball python and/or my ferret.

So, I leaned into it. In my marketing, I talked about how my show was loaded with a variety of live animals. Not just a bunny. A variety of live animals.

It was clunky, but it worked. Pretty soon I was busier than anyone in my area. And I know this because I’d go to the IBM meetings and hear guys bragging about having 6 or 8 shows the previous month., I’d mention I had 21 and you could hear a pin drop.

I eventually left all the live animals behind and focused on school assemblies. My USP focused on how educational and interactive my shows were. Truthfully, I could do a better job with it, but the sheer number of testimonials I had, plus my great website (with awesome pictures and graphics) did most of the heavy lifting for me.

Recently I’ve been working with another school assembly presenter. Great guy. And he does something unique. He has big chunks of his assemblies available for full customization. For an anti-bullying show, for instance, different schools will often have specific verbiage they use in school that they want students to know.

Sometimes they want me to incorporate these messages into my presentations. It’s a lot of extra work and I push back against it. I’ve got my show timed out and everything is smooth as silk.

But this other magician likes doing customization. So, I’ve encouraged him to lean into that as part of his school show marketing. I told him flat out he could use that to sell against guys like me.

So now I’ll end this issue of the newsletter the same way I started it.

Why should someone hire you?

By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:


1. Grab my FREE report for professional working magicians.


“Discover The 2-Word Secret to Eliminate Your Competition & Become Your Area’s Busiest Magician:” This report reveals a strategy that almost NO magicians are using (and the ones who are don’t use it correctly). Get your free copy by clicking HERE.


2. Get my website video training for under $10:


In this 2-hour video training, I’ll reveal exactly what your website needs if you want to succeed as a professional entertainer in the 21st century. Get all the details by clicking HERE.


3. Get a complete business-building plan handed to you on a silver platter.


Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how by clicking HERE.


4. Work with me privately.


Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

To find out more how I can help you book more shows at higher fees, click the button below to see my list of services.

© Copyright Cris Johnson, Inc.