Last week I talked a little about finding a target market, then suggested that what you want to do is be remarkable enough that people would actually want to give you their business. To that end, we have to talk a little bit about being sociable and about marketing.
In the social arena, everyone is struggling to be the next golden boy of the scene. They want to be as witty as Mark Twain, as charming as Benjamin Disraeli, as desirable as Catherine the Great, as charismatic as Tony Robbins. And every single one of them makes the same mistakes. Specifically, they're thinking so hard about being so captivating that they forget to be interesting first. And I guarantee most of you are doing it too.
Examples. The last time someone asked you where you were from, did you just give them a perfunctory delivery of the facts? "Oh, I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." What is one supposed to say to that? "Oh, Pittsburgh! That sounds... like a place one could go to."
Compare that to, "I'm from Pittsburgh, the original Zombietown, USA." Or, "I'm from Pittsburgh. Used to be the Steel Town, but we're more of a college town these days." Or, "I'm from Pittsburgh. You've probably seen some of the landscape in The Dark Knight Rises."
By the same token, when people ask you what you do, you probably just say, "I'm a magician." Well that's great. What does that actually entail? What sort of shows do you do? Are you really so dull that your work can be summed up in a single noun? Would it kill you to try and be a little more interesting? "I'm a mentalist, like the TV show. I'm actually doing a series of memory improvement workshops right now." Don't give them a one-line answer ever. Always have something to feed them into the next part of the conversation. If you tell people you're a magician and the only thing they can come up with is, "Oh! Wow... that must be fun," then that's your fault.
The key to making good conversation is that you have to give other people cues to contribute or ask questions. Make it clear that you're giving them a turn to speak by opening them up for something. Did you just do a show in London? Bring that up and ask if they've ever been there or like to travel. Is your town name derived from a word in another language? Is there a famous landmark you can mention? Is there an ethnic district that matches the heritage of the person you're talking to? Do you have an unusual specialization? Has your proficiency with cards ever gotten you banned from any gaming tables? Throw some information out there to get them talking.
To encourage people to come to you also means you need some bait. You're an entertainer, so you would think that looking as unique as your work should come effortlessly. Sadly, most people screw this up by looking ordinary. A while back, I bought a steampunk ring that folds out into a telescope. It's large, bronze-colored and unique. You better believe people ask about it when they see it. On an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the Fab Five gave a makeover to a shy guy and sent him to a night of speed dating. He wore Buddhist prayer beads with his outfit and sure enough he got compliments on them.
It works the other way as well. When you want to talk to someone, look for something about their appearance that you can ask about. A distinctive accessory, an interesting design on their shirt, their super-fancy shoes, something! If you can't find anything, get somebody to introduce you, and remember to have that same somebody prime you with something interesting about that person that you can ask about or comment on.
So now that you know how to meet people and describe what you do in an interesting way, what about marketing? Good social skills have a certain degree of overlap with marketing. A lot of it is about communication. In his book "Purple Cow" Seth Godin describes how our modern society is so inundated with information, ads, and sales pitches that we've become extraordinarily good at tuning out what we don't want to hear or what fails to hold our interest. What you need is a purple cow: something so remarkable that people just have to comment on it and tell others. Chances are, you're not a purple cow right now. You're more like a brown dog. Companionable, people are generally nice to you. But they don't like you barking in their ears and they get really mad when you crap in the corner... I think this analogy has gotten away from me.
The biggest problem for a lot of magicians is you're just not that interesting. You specialize in cards? Guess what: so do a lot of other people on these boards. A card specialist isn't remarkable. A card specialist who can throw a playing card with precision accuracy hard enough to chop vegetables on the other hand? That's a little more unique. Take that same card-throwing magician and give him a stylish black and white outfit and have him use Tally-Ho Vipers exclusively, and now there's also a visual hook. If you're into Depeche Mode, paint your nails silver for bonus points. Suddenly, you went from being a generic card handler to a hitman in the next Bond movie.
I've frequently remarked that the most common two words I hear magicians use to describe themselves is "laid back." But think about it. Is that really all that remarkable? Do you live in a community so full of neurotics, histrionic narcissists, and fire-breathing dragons of rage that the ability to remain generally calm is really that remarkable? You have to actually be interesting. Imagine that someone gave you the responses, answers and descriptions that you currently use to talk about yourself. What would you say to those? If it takes you more than a second to think of something interesting, you're doing it wrong. Nobody talks about what's average. To quote American Splendor, "Average is dumb."
If you want to learn more, Seth Godin mentioned above is an excellent source of information and learning about how marketing dynamics have changed in the digital age. To learn more about being sociable and how it can help you as an entrepreneur, I highly recommend the work of authoress and speaker Leil Lowndes.
So you know a little more about interacting with people who may be potential clients and you have a rough idea of how to become a unique, interesting brand rather than a dime-a-dozen cookie cutter loser. Now we need to get into the nuts and bolts of setting up your marketing, and we'll get into that next week.
In the social arena, everyone is struggling to be the next golden boy of the scene. They want to be as witty as Mark Twain, as charming as Benjamin Disraeli, as desirable as Catherine the Great, as charismatic as Tony Robbins. And every single one of them makes the same mistakes. Specifically, they're thinking so hard about being so captivating that they forget to be interesting first. And I guarantee most of you are doing it too.
Examples. The last time someone asked you where you were from, did you just give them a perfunctory delivery of the facts? "Oh, I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." What is one supposed to say to that? "Oh, Pittsburgh! That sounds... like a place one could go to."
Compare that to, "I'm from Pittsburgh, the original Zombietown, USA." Or, "I'm from Pittsburgh. Used to be the Steel Town, but we're more of a college town these days." Or, "I'm from Pittsburgh. You've probably seen some of the landscape in The Dark Knight Rises."
By the same token, when people ask you what you do, you probably just say, "I'm a magician." Well that's great. What does that actually entail? What sort of shows do you do? Are you really so dull that your work can be summed up in a single noun? Would it kill you to try and be a little more interesting? "I'm a mentalist, like the TV show. I'm actually doing a series of memory improvement workshops right now." Don't give them a one-line answer ever. Always have something to feed them into the next part of the conversation. If you tell people you're a magician and the only thing they can come up with is, "Oh! Wow... that must be fun," then that's your fault.
The key to making good conversation is that you have to give other people cues to contribute or ask questions. Make it clear that you're giving them a turn to speak by opening them up for something. Did you just do a show in London? Bring that up and ask if they've ever been there or like to travel. Is your town name derived from a word in another language? Is there a famous landmark you can mention? Is there an ethnic district that matches the heritage of the person you're talking to? Do you have an unusual specialization? Has your proficiency with cards ever gotten you banned from any gaming tables? Throw some information out there to get them talking.
To encourage people to come to you also means you need some bait. You're an entertainer, so you would think that looking as unique as your work should come effortlessly. Sadly, most people screw this up by looking ordinary. A while back, I bought a steampunk ring that folds out into a telescope. It's large, bronze-colored and unique. You better believe people ask about it when they see it. On an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the Fab Five gave a makeover to a shy guy and sent him to a night of speed dating. He wore Buddhist prayer beads with his outfit and sure enough he got compliments on them.
It works the other way as well. When you want to talk to someone, look for something about their appearance that you can ask about. A distinctive accessory, an interesting design on their shirt, their super-fancy shoes, something! If you can't find anything, get somebody to introduce you, and remember to have that same somebody prime you with something interesting about that person that you can ask about or comment on.
So now that you know how to meet people and describe what you do in an interesting way, what about marketing? Good social skills have a certain degree of overlap with marketing. A lot of it is about communication. In his book "Purple Cow" Seth Godin describes how our modern society is so inundated with information, ads, and sales pitches that we've become extraordinarily good at tuning out what we don't want to hear or what fails to hold our interest. What you need is a purple cow: something so remarkable that people just have to comment on it and tell others. Chances are, you're not a purple cow right now. You're more like a brown dog. Companionable, people are generally nice to you. But they don't like you barking in their ears and they get really mad when you crap in the corner... I think this analogy has gotten away from me.
The biggest problem for a lot of magicians is you're just not that interesting. You specialize in cards? Guess what: so do a lot of other people on these boards. A card specialist isn't remarkable. A card specialist who can throw a playing card with precision accuracy hard enough to chop vegetables on the other hand? That's a little more unique. Take that same card-throwing magician and give him a stylish black and white outfit and have him use Tally-Ho Vipers exclusively, and now there's also a visual hook. If you're into Depeche Mode, paint your nails silver for bonus points. Suddenly, you went from being a generic card handler to a hitman in the next Bond movie.
I've frequently remarked that the most common two words I hear magicians use to describe themselves is "laid back." But think about it. Is that really all that remarkable? Do you live in a community so full of neurotics, histrionic narcissists, and fire-breathing dragons of rage that the ability to remain generally calm is really that remarkable? You have to actually be interesting. Imagine that someone gave you the responses, answers and descriptions that you currently use to talk about yourself. What would you say to those? If it takes you more than a second to think of something interesting, you're doing it wrong. Nobody talks about what's average. To quote American Splendor, "Average is dumb."
If you want to learn more, Seth Godin mentioned above is an excellent source of information and learning about how marketing dynamics have changed in the digital age. To learn more about being sociable and how it can help you as an entrepreneur, I highly recommend the work of authoress and speaker Leil Lowndes.
So you know a little more about interacting with people who may be potential clients and you have a rough idea of how to become a unique, interesting brand rather than a dime-a-dozen cookie cutter loser. Now we need to get into the nuts and bolts of setting up your marketing, and we'll get into that next week.