Creating Client Loyalty

“He’s HERE!”

Mary runs up to me full speed, waving her hands in the air excitedly. She wraps me in a bear hug and squeezes me tight.

A moment later, she looks at my friend Rodney and says, “Oh, I’m so sorry Rodney, it’s just that Cris and I have such a history.”

As Mary beckons the two of us into the school, I drop a bombshell on her: “Mary, I want to come back next year.”

Her eyes widen and she exclaims, “REALLY?”

After I nod my head, she bolts down the hallway to tell everyone that I’ll be performing for them next year.

Mary is a client I’ve served for at least 14 years. Last year after our annual post-grad show for graduating seniors at her high school, I told her I intended to retire. I decided to fly my friend Rodney in from Texas to do the show for her this year.

I had no intentions of going to the show. After passing her off to my fellow hypnotist Rodney, I figured she would be angry and not want to see me. But when Rodney checked in an hour before his arrival for the show, he announced I was coming along.

To my surprise, Mary was thrilled and couldn’t wait to see me. (By the way, this show was last weekend, and the reason why the newsletter came out a day earlier and had more typos in it than usual. I was rushing to get it done before Rodney’s flight arrived.)

While not every client I told I was retiring last year reacted as Mary did, many of them had similar reactions. Many more than I would have guessed. Each was equally excited to hear I was staying in the game, at least part-time.

If you’ve never experienced reactions like this from clients, I can assure you it is humbling. And it made me wonder.

What’s the secret to getting reactions like this from clients?

This is my long-awaited issue of The Professional Magician’s Life newsletter devoted to The Attractor Factor.

If you’re unfamiliar with The Attractor Factor, in a nutshell, it is the belief that we manifest what we focus on. To guarantee our success, its proponents promise, all we have to do is focus on energy on the goals we want to achieve.

Entire books and courses have been devoted to this concept.

I find the whole thing fascinating and have seen it happen in my life. But I’m not religious or metaphysical. I have a hard time believing in something without hard data to back it up. Yet I’ve seen it happen repeatedly in my life and in the lives of others.

So, what’s going on?

Not surprisingly, over the years, I have developed a theory of my own to explain this phenomenon. First, a bit of science. Ever hear of the Reticular Activating System? Also known as RAS, it’s a gangle of nerves in your head that serves as pattern recognition hardware.

If you’ve ever bought a new car and then suddenly started seeing those cars everywhere, that’s your RAS at work. Or an example in the here and now…were you aware of how your feet feel before I mentioned them in this sentence?

That’s also your RAS.

At any given moment, we have hundreds or thousands of stimuli competing for our attention. To keep from getting constantly overwhelmed, we can only focus on a small handful of things at once. Your RAS helps direct your focus, so you ‘notice’ things that you’ve been thinking about.

Back to the Attractor Factor. What I believe is happening is simply because of your RAS, you ‘notice’ more opportunities in front of you to attain your goals. Focus on how much the world sucks or how angry you are that all the local $50 magicians are gobbling up the shows, and all you’ll notice is how angry you are that all the local $50 magicians are gobbling up the shows!

So, in my life, how do I get the Attractor Factor working so well that I often have clients hogging me in gratitude when they see me?

It’s doing a lot of big and small things correctly.

While I always say my website is my biggest business asset, it’s not the only thing. A good website will only get me booked once. After that, it’s on me to deliver the goods. So how do I do it? Here, in no particular order, are some of the secrets of my success:

·         I focus on markets I enjoy being in as opposed to those magicians see as more “prestigious,” IE no trade shows for me.

·         I took several semesters of speaking and acting classes to improve my performing skills.

·         I’m not a “Magic for All Occasions” guy.

·         I know what my markets want from my shows.

·         I know my onstage character.

·         I know my strengths as a performer and use those strengths.

·         I implement a plan to target those potential clients.

·         I keep my website looking great visually and “under the hood.”

·         I update my marketing methods to reflect the changing times.

·         I create systems to book those shows (contracts, follow-ups, etc.)

·         I use effective communication, so my clients know what to expect and when.

·         I use advanced rapport-building skills so my clients not only like my shows but also like me as a person. (This is advanced level stuff and will be available soon in a separate training.)

·         I see what’s working and use it.

·         I see what isn’t working and change or eliminate it.

·         I choose tricks that best represent my character.

·         I choose tricks I believe my audiences will enjoy…and change them if they don’t.

·         I listen to my audiences.

·         I’m always respectful of my audiences.

·         I’m easy to work with.

·         I ditch the low-brow traditional comedy bits so many performers insist on still using.

·         I perform based on what my clients and audiences want, not what I want.

·         Above all else, I’m professional and reliable.

As I look over that list, that last one is foundational. Without that, you can’t instill trust in a client.

But to the larger point of the Attractor Factor, I believe many performers focus all their attention on one area. Maybe it’s technical ability. Many magicians I know can run circles around me in terms of sleight of hand skill. Garret Thomas lives (or used to live) about 30 minutes from me. Talk about insane technical skill!

Other performers focus on expensive props. I knew a guy in Pittsburgh years ago who had the nicest set of Multiplying Bottles I’d ever seen. It was a massive 12-bottle Ken Brooke set. He was one of the first to have a Losander Floating Table. A lot of great stuff.

But he couldn’t perform his way out of a paper bag.

And some performers focus solely on marketing and put out subpar shows. Dave Dee was an amazing marketer in the magic world. But his shows were beyond awful. (I know because I bought two of them before I knew any better.) His anti-drug show was so bad it got a friend of mine run out of the school market after performing that show verbatim for a few schools in Connecticut.

Me? I’ve achieved a balance in each major area.

I think success comes from doing a lot of things very well instead of only one or two things exceptionally well.

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.