Help, Benji! Business of Restaurants

[Michael Moore]

Thaught I'd start a thread strictly for the business side of restaurant magic, as I have a few questions that I, as I'm sure others here would like to know the answers to.

FIRST, TO BENJI BRUCE-

Where did you get that restaurant banner from & how much was it?

Alot of performers say to try & get a 6 week contract. What's your opinion on contracts? Do you use them & for what type of restaurants?

Could you possibly give us a sample script of what you say to General Managers & how you overcome objections?

What are some ways to increase your percieved value to restaurants, & should you charge by the hour, or by the night?

AND TO ALL THE OTHER RESTAURANT WORKERS-

How do you determine what you charge?

How do you overcome price objection, or the "Cant you work for just tips?" objection?

Any info on these would be greatly appreciated, & again would like to thank Benji for his creative marketing techniques & for graciously sharing it with us, as thanks to him I already have some cutting edge techniques that I know will help further advance my career, & would highly recommend listening to any of his advice

 

[Benji Bruce]

The banner was from DocuMart and it cost me $150. You can also get a poster the size of the dry erase boards and glue the poster onto the dry erase board.

The quickest way to get a "no" from a restaurant is to suggest signing a contract. One of the rules in business is to take the fear out of working with you. If you're the GM of a restaurant and a magician (who you've never heard of before) asks you to sign a contract that will let them perform for 6 weeks then what will you do? You will start to have doubts. You will think..."what if we decide we don't want him after two weeks? What if he offends people? I'll have to get corporate approval. How do we know...etc etc"

When you suggest having a contract, you're giving them a reason not to hire you.

Don't EVER force your performance on anyone. If they decide they don't want you at the restaurant anymore then leave. Even if you used a contract and after two weeks they said they don't think it is a good fit for the restaurant then what are you going to do? Sue them? Any entertainer that wastes his time suing a restaurant for a couple hundred dollars obviously isn't making much money and it will only create bad fillings towards you. So there is no need for a contract.

It is hard to give a script because not all the conversations are the same. Sometimes I would call, sometimes I would just show up, sometimes I would hang out to eat and just perform for the workers.

I usually said something like "Hey John, I was here the other day and I like the place (sometimes it would be a lie because I never showed up there before but the purpose is to compliment the establishment). I'm not sure if you consider the ambiance of the restaurant and how to add to it (of course they do...but I had to get him to say "yes" in his mind) but I'm an entertainer for companies like Remax, Hilton, and more. And sometimes I add come to high-end restaurants to perform. Would you be interested in hearing what I do? (I always get feedback in conversations. It is at this point that I can really see if they're interested or not. If they say no then great...I can move on. If they say yes then I give them a description of what I do and ask if they want a free night This week.

In all the years I've done restaurants before switching to the corporate market, I haven't had any objections. Either they are open to the idea or they're not. When you approach restaurants, you will see what I mean. You can see it in their faces if they're interested in having you within a few seconds.

If the lowest I want to get paid is $125 for the night and they say, "that is a little too much. Can you go lower?" Then I say, "No." I've already given them the lowest I will charge for the night and if they don't want to pay it then I move on. There is no such thing as price objection. You give them the amount you want and if they don't want to pay you then you can find another place. The only reason you will hear anything about price is because they don't see the value yet. If you get a "price objection" then there is nothing you can say that will convince them otherwise. You have to kill all objections and build value BEFORE you make an offer.

Keep in mind that the way you carry yourself will determine how you're treated. If you carry yourself like you have value then people will treat you that way. If you ask a restaurant for $75 a night then they won't ask you to do it for free. They might say no and in that case, move on.

I believe you're thinking about this too much. You just need to go out and talk to general managers (nobody else) at restaurants and see if they're interested. It is a personal choice if you want to work for "just tips" and the price is a personal choice as well. I found out what other entertainers were charging and I charged more. You have to talk to more than one or two restaurants. I can't tell you how many restaurants it took me to find one that said yes. I might have approached over 50 before one even considered it.

 

[WilliamMckeehan]

That is some good advice.

 

[Michael Moore]

Thanks again Benji. The reason for so many questions is I wanna make sure I do all my homework before going out so nothing is waisted, & I dont want to come back & find out something I wasnt doing that couldve made things easier for me, but starting next week, I will be going out to restaurants & start pitching, & my goal is to not have to go through 50 places before I get a yes, I just want to be as efficient as possible as with everything I've been studying along with my own ideas, as well as with your advice, I believe I'll be able to get more yeses than nos in a shorter period of time. So thanks again for everything, you've been very helpfull, & I really enjoy your videos on marketing tips, as I will be using every one of them. Have a great day!

 

[Michael Moore]

Just a side note, thaught of something I think would be funny...In the movie Austin Powers when he's massaging Felicity's back, he says "How does that feel baby?" She says, "Mmm. lower." Than he lowers his voice in tone & says again "How does that feel, baby?", so I thaught, if a manager says, "Can you go lower?", than you could use the same gag by naming your price again in a lower tone of voice. Even if he protests the price, at least you made him laugh! Than breaking that tension just might make him forget about it, as that would also be what Tony Robbins reffers to as breaking someon's patter, thus his pattern of thinking your price is too high. Just a thaught.

 

[Benji Bruce]

Haha that would be funny. But like I said...don't worry about price objections. If you think you're going to get a price objection then it will make you less confident when quoting a price and they will sense it.

You're not asking them to make a big decision so don't treat it like one.

 

[Simon_Magic]

Some of my magicing buddies over here in the UK go into the bars and perform for the staff first. Then the staff go and rave about them to the general manager so when you pop in next the manager actually wants to see you and what you do. Just a thought

Simon_Magic

 

[CaseyRudd]

Some of my magicing buddies over here in the UK go into the bars and perform for the staff first. Then the staff go and rave about them to the general manager so when you pop in next the manager actually wants to see you and what you do. Just a thought

Simon_Magic

That could work, but some of the time the manager could catch the staff not working and watching you perform tricks, which is not what he wants and it looks bad for you. A bad first impression is never good. First impressions are everything. That's why Benji suggested you go to the general manager first.

Moore Majik, the "go lower" thing won't cut it. It will come across as if you are mocking him and aren't taking him seriously. If he says "can you go lower?" just simply say "no" like Benji had stated. You don't want to be disrespectful, either.

Hope this helps.

 

[Benji Bruce]

The reason I said you have to talk to the general manager is because he is the only one that can make a decision. If it is a local restaurant then the owner can make a decision too....but even the owner might tell you to talk to the general manager.

Always speak to decision makers.

 

[Michael Moore]

"Moore Majik, the "go lower" thing won't cut it. It will come across as if you are mocking him and aren't taking him seriously. If he says "can you go lower?" just simply say "no" like Benji had stated. You don't want to be disrespectful, either."

Well, it depends on your character. I'm an entertainer 24/7 & my character in general is one who likes to joke around & poke fun at people in a tongue & cheek kind of way & make them laugh, kind of like Tom Mullica, Bill Malone, etc, just like I'd do with the customers, so the GM will know that from the beginning. So obviously if I can tell he doesnt have a sense of humor at all & I can't make him laugh from the get go, than I obviously wouldnt use that line on someone like that, let alone want to work for someone like that. So it woudnt be out of context, where it's all serious talk, & than Id lay on the "Go lower" joke. He'd know right up front my what my character is like, so it definetely wouldnt be ackwardly out of context, so if I said that, it wouldnt be "out of character." For example, you certainly could picture someone like Bill Malone using that line, & the GM would know it's just all in good fun & that he isn't being mocked. & to me, mocking someone is repeating what they said back to them in an overly-sarcastic, snobbish kind of way, & obviously this is different, as it is making fun of him, but in an obvious tongue & cheek kind of way where he knows your just messing with him, not mocking him. So it would all depend on the person.