How to Help Your Clients

“Wow, I haven’t thought of that. I guess I should start doing that.”

The young librarian smiled at me after my suggestion.

It was just a few moments before I began performing my “Spooky Magic” Halloween show for a long-time library client.

Well, I had been performing at the library for years. But the children’s librarian in question was new. I had just suggested something to her before beginning my show.

Her appreciation of my remark sparked this issue of the newsletter.

Every client you work for has different concerns. The more you can demonstrate your ability to solve the problem, the greater the likelihood you’ll get hired.

Yes, it’s a familiar drum I’m beating this week. Simply put, it’s knowing your market.

But it goes beyond just telling them you understand their needs. It’s demonstrating that you know their job so well that you can provide guidance.

To be fair, this is a delicate line to walk. Act too much like a know-it-all and you’ll risk offending your client. But pull back too much and you run the risk of their event getting run into a ditch when you could have helped.

There are usually two basic ways I offer my knowledge to clients.

The first is the big one. It’s content marketing. A series of articles, free reports, and other resources on your website that demonstrates your knowledge of the market.

While I have written about this topic extensively in my own free report that enticed you to sign up for this newsletter, I want to expand on a couple of points.

One key way to use content marketing is on your website. A blog will show casual visitors that you’re an expert on their job. When done correctly, it also has massive benefits for your site’s SEO.

Other content is gated. That is, viewers have to pay a price to get access to it. The classic approach is requiring someone to part with their personal information, usually their name and email address.

The “price” is the person’s willingness to allow you to continue to market to them. Of course, they can choose to unsubscribe at any time.

But there’s another use for this content. It’s after you’ve been hired.

When I was doing a lot of corporate motivational speaking, I offered my clients free workbooks attendees could use to reinforce and remind them of my topics after the program. Some speakers offer the books themselves for a certain price. Others (like myself) offered the client a master copy of the books the client could print up and put together themselves.

A big money-making possibility for additional income stems from this knowledge. Many speakers put in their contracts a clause that allows them to sell their information products at a table after the program.

If you’ve done your job well and connected with the attendees, you can count on a certain number of sales after every gig.

Unless you know your market very well, you won’t be able to entice buyers. You’ve got to really know your stuff.

Just as I was getting out of corporate speaking, I had educated myself very well on the topic of stress management. Even today, I could probably walk onstage without preparation, without notes or props, and pull off a captivating speech on managing stress.

That’s how well you have to know your topic.

But let’s get back to just entertaining shows. Even then, you have to know your market. And that brings me to the second main way I use this knowledge. It’s the little opportunities that come where I can help the client. Yes, I want to demonstrate my knowledge. But my main goal is to help the client.

Almost two decades ago, I wrote a free report to help parents plan their children’s birthday parties. Such reports are pretty common today, but back when I did it, it was pretty rare.

The whole point of the report was to help parents streamline the birthday party preparation and execution. Yes, there was a quick mention of my services at the end. But the main thrust of the report was to help parents have a better, less stressful experience.

If done correctly, your clients will be thankful and see you as the expert.

And this knowledge applies to any market. Even libraries.

While I’ve never written a free report for libraries, I could. And probably should.

That little tidbit of knowledge I gave my new librarian at the beginning of this week’s issue.

I asked her if she wanted to make any announcements to the audience about upcoming events.

If you’re not familiar with the modern-day library market, they have transformed from “just books” to community epicenters. They’re always having activities, live programming, games, and more.

When I first started doing library shows, I noticed that when I was introduced, my clients would take the opportunity to tell the audience about upcoming events. Since my shows typically draw large groups of people, it was a great opportunity for the librarian to get the word out about future happenings in front of a captive crowd.

My young librarian had never heard of this before. She loved the suggestion and said she would implement it.

Me? I wasn’t trying to show off. I was merely extending her the opportunity as most librarians did this anyway.

The entire takeaway from this? Know your market. Create content that will help your prospects and clients do their jobs better. And remember, as you can tell from the examples I used, this idea extends to every conceivable kind of show and market possible.

Want to create content for your website? Contact me and we’ll talk.

Until next time, have a great week!

--Cris

P.S. 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.



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.