So now you’ve got the gig what’s next? Well here are a few points that might help:

1. Meet with the client at least once before the show if there’s time. Make sure you know exactly what they want and talk through script ideas if you have them in place. I would always try to avoid “walking through” a half prepared idea as it may not come across in the office environment. Some people feel that charging for these meetings is worthwhile, personally I see it as part of the service and if you charge a good daily rate for the show then you can afford to be “all inclusive.”

2. Do your homework.  Ask for and read everything that the client will have on the stand during the show, (or at least look at it). Even if you don’t remember most of it it will help you understand the current approach your client is taking and which particular products they’re focusing on at the show other than the one (s) your pitching. One of the things that I love about trade show magic is learning about other businesses and how they operate.

3. Pick you position. If you get the opportunity have a look at the stand deign and offer advice as to where you will be best situated. If you can be “built into” the stand that’s even better as it gives you instant kudos and makes attracting people a lot easier.

4. Be heard. Try to get a sound system if you can or “hire” them your own for a small additional fee. Amplification not only saves your voice but it means you can relax the tone of your voice and bottom line it will help you attract a bigger audience.

5. Make it official. Send a contract to the client outlining what style of show you will do and your fee structure.. Are you working continuously or just on the hour? You need to have it signed and sealed so nobody has an unpleasant surprise. It’s important to have a set of terms & conditions that outline what happens if the show is canceled etc. that the client will read before they send a signed copy back to you. Also you it’s a good idea to have the client look over your finished scripts for the show so they know what you’re going to be doing. Obviously only do this if you’re SURE that you will present the routine you’re showing them. If it’s just an idea then don’t sell it a s a certainty.

6. Lead times. If you’re providing “magic gifts” for the client to give away make sure you have enough time to get them produced and delivered. Get them delivered to your own address whenever possible as then you can have a look at the quality for yourself and deal with any problems. Also if you had to over order then you can keep hold of the surplus as examples to show future clients. Send the client some samples but take them to the show yourself – it’s the only way you can be sure they’ll get there.

7. Rehearse your branded pitch! Okay I know it sounds like a no brainer but if you’re unsure about the pitch then I guarantee that by the afternoon of the first day you’ll be doing ambitious card and the branded trick will be consigned to the close-up case. It’s happened to me many times and it will leave you feeling unsatisfied about the show even if the client is happy. Even if you know the trick well you still need to rehearse it with the new, branded script or you could find yourself slipping into your normal routines. You should also rehearse your “build” routines and lines, which will help you attract a crowd. “What brings you to the show today?” is a standard “open” trade show question – surely we can be a bit more creative.

8. Book you car parking in advance! Boring I know, but it will save you quite a bit of money, (especially at shows at ECO in London). If you can get a extra bit of cash for accommodation instead letting the client sort it out, then do. Firstly you will normally be able to book cheaper and closer than the hotel the client is using and secondly the client will probably want a few drinks in the evening which isn’t always the best idea. If you’re in a different hotel you can make your excuses and leave at a reasonable time.

9. An old favorite. If you have new shoes wear them in before the show. The same goes for new shirts – wash them before the show. Trust me 3 days on your feet is tough in the best conditions why make it tougher.

10. Arrive safely and on time. If you can travel to your hotel the day before the event even if it’s only a couple of hours from where you live. Getting up at 5 is not impossible but a long day just got a hell of a lot longer.

So there you go, not exactly rocket science but hopefully useful.  If you have any tips of your own or any comments I’d love to hear them.

Remember you can subscribe to this blog either via RSS or Email – see the form up on the left.

So that’s the pre-show, I’ll post some tips on what to do during the show next week.

On another note if you haven’t subscribed to this blog then it would be lovely if you would.  Thanks.

So far I’ve bitched a little and not really offered any ideas as to how we can combat the problems that this recession has brought to our profession, so I wanted to redress the balance a little:

• Introductory offers: If you are offered a 3 day trade show but the clients budget doesn’t stretch to your daily rate offer to work for 2 days paid and the last day free. The result is your daily rate is kept the same, (put it on the invoice) and the client gets a 30% reduction in price. This will avoid the awkward “but you only charged us £X last time”, when you present them with your daily rate in the future. The client needs to know that this was a offer to win their business not a permanent price drop. Hopefully you will add real value to their stand and they will be happy to cough up the next time round.
• Added value: If you have the chance to perform close-up but the client questions your fee, offer to do a 20 minute cabaret, or host their raffle, do something at minimal or no extra cost. This “added value” may be enough to secure the booking. Also see it as an opportunity to work on new material etc that way you win as well.
• Look for ways that you can advertise at an event instead of charging a higher fee. Will the client print your contact details in the program or menu? Can you have a pop-up banner display in the foyer of the event? Can you put your business cards in the goodie bags? There are usually opportunities to gain some extra benefit for yourself that you can offset against your fee. (These are not options I would normally suggest to a trade show client.)
• Multiple bookings: this is an obvious one, but if you can secure multiple bookings then you can afford to lower your fee. Ensure this is set out in your contract so that you don’t end up doing one gig at the lower fee when they promised you twenty.

There are lots of ways to keep your perceived value high but it involves JUSTIFYING any price reduction, not just taking a lower fee to secure the gig. Of course you need the enquries to be coming in and that’s a whole different ball-game. SEO, Google ranking etc. are key and not my strong point, (anyone?)

It’s tough at the moment but if you are in this profession for the long haul you need to be focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel and emerge stronger not cheaper.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read this blog and hope it’s worth it.  I was wondering if  you could point other magicians towards it and also comment on the posts as this will help me understand what is being read and what isn’t.  Also if there any subjects that you think I should cover or if you would like to write a guest post please get in  touch . Thanks.

5 ways to approach developing Trade Show material:

•    Close-up Magic that has no link to the company you represent but entertains.
•    Fixed Set
•    Magic that uses the product as the prop
•    Common Language
•    Brand driven

CLOSE-UP MAGIC

This is what you do when the client sees you purely as entertainment or ironically when you know the clients business so well you can talk intelligently about it outside of any scripting.

FIXED SET

This is the method used by the Trade show  legend Eddie Tullock.  You have a fixed set of effects which you have scripted so that you can insert any companies name into the presentation.  This is the simplest and obviously fastest way to do it, and it is good to have a selection of effects that fit this category.  The benefits of this approach is that you are performIng material that you know well and therefore can hit the ground running.  In fact this approach often develops over time as you create material using some of the other approaches, you will keep the strong material and learn how to adapt it to fit the client.   However as the Trade Show market becomes more sophisticated, the differentiation between client’s products and services becomes less defined and the market place becomes more crowded, the result can seem ill thought out and clunky, as you crow-bar the message onto the magic.

PRODUCT AS PROP

Magic with the product itself is the second approach and is useful for product launches,   making the product appear etc.  You are limited in your selection of material however as the size of the actual prop can be a factor.

COMMON LANGUAGE

In this approach you are looking for words,phrases etc in the clients marketing material that cross-reference into magic.  99% of the time there is quite a bit. In magic you create a problem and then resolve it, card selection etc.  products and services do the same thing, they provide a resolution to an existing problem.

BASIC EFFECT = Common Language examples
PRODUCTION (appearance, creation, multiplication) = Produce increased profit
VANISH (disappearance, obliteration) = Problems disappear
TRANSPORTATION (change in location) = Movement of information
TRANSFORMATION (change in appearance, identity) = Re branding
PENETRATION ( one solid through another) = Market penetration
RESTORATION (Making the destroyed whole) = Unbroken service
ANIMATION (movement of the inanimate) = Breath life into an old service
ANTI-GRAVITY (levitation, change in weight) = “No strings attached”
ATTRACTION (mysterious adhesion) = Symbiotic approach
SYMPATHETIC  (sympathetic response) =Work with you
INVULNERABILITY (injury proof) = Fully Protected / secure
PHYSICAL ANOMALY (contradictions, abnormal) = Unique
SPECTATOR FAILURE (magicians challenge) = Without our help….
CONTROL (mind over the inanimate) = Take control
IDENTIFICATION (specific discovery) = Finding the solution
THOUGHT READING (mental perception, mind reading) = Know what your thinking
THOUGHT TRANSMISSION (thought projection) = Information delivery
PREDICTION (foretelling the future) = Guaranteed outcome
E.S.P  (unusual perception, other than mind) = Empathetic

List from The Trick Brain by Dariel Fitzkee – page 25

It is a great way to get your imagination fired up and even if you only use one effect that has been developed using this technique it will start to make you consider new material. Material developed this way will probably eventually fall into the first category as you will find that the message is relevant to several different clients .  Using this kind of approach makes the job more interesting and saves you having to alter old material which can sometimes prove difficult and appear forced.

BRAND AWARE – Experience marketing

In this final approach you are dealing with the brand and brand values of the client company. This differs from the common language approach as it  doesn’t necessarily use the product or the marketing language used to pitch a product or service.  Instead it focuses on the overall approach and sensibilities of a company, which is often outlined in their mission statement. The company may also have a story to tell and magic can be used to highlight elements of this story.  In the same way that a company has a visual branding, (logo, colour scheme etc.), they will adopt a position in the minds of their client base through strong emotional branding.
A good example of this is Harley Davidson, which sells  “the ability for a 43 year old accountant to dress in black leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of him”
They aren’t selling motorbikes, they’re selling an experience.  What this approach allows you to do is build on the experience that great branding has created.  It is a much more theatrical approach and opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities.  It requires a lot of thought and imagination and sometimes a whole new performance character can evolve.
It will appear that the magic has grown from the brand, and this offers an exciting approach to developing presentations.  Your aim is to create a unique experience for the spectators that will evoke an emotional response they will link directly to your client.

The question I get asked more than any other regarding Trade Show work is “how do you get the work?”  Well one of the answers to this is in the first paragraph and I’ll get to that one day.  But the first point is one I made in a previous post about How and Why.  Why do you / magicians want to work at Trade Shows?  They seem to be seen as the Holy Grail of corporate magic and everyone wants a piece of the pie.  Here are some possible reasons:

• Money.
• Sociable hours.
• Respect.
• Money.

If these are your reasons for wanting to work Trade Shows then forget it, your barking up the wrong tree and you’ll be sorely disappointed. Lets deal with the most obvious one first, Money.

Okay, you can charge a good fee for a day at a trade show, (some don’t – idiots), but you’re going have to work for every penny of it. An 8 or 10 hour day brings your hourly fee down to less than a good close-up gig, and your going to be in your feet for pretty much all of it.  Do a cabaret act instead, that’s where the big fees are, (I’ll post about those at some point.)

Sociable hours – Sure it’s a day-time gig but the chances are you’ll be so f****d at the end of the day that the thought of being smiley, magic boy for an evening gig will not appeal.  Also you will need to travel to most Trade Show gigs and that means hotels and away from the family, girlfriend, boyfriend, dog etc for days at a time.  You might find you’re stuck with a client who invites you to dinner and insists that you perform for his/her clients even though they didn’t mention it before and you haven’t charged for that service.  Also the client could be a complete arse and you’re stuck with them for 3 days – ha ha.

Respect or possibly kudos is another reason for wanting to work trade shows.  Respect from who?  Other magicians? Your client? The way to gain respect is to be respectful and do a good job,  getting the work is not enough. Are you prepared to leave your ego at the door and work as a representative for someone else – this isn’t about you, it’s about the client.  You may be working alongside people who think you’re a complete waste of money and don’t get it , you’ll have to work hard to convince them otherwise.

Is it worth it?

I think so and I’ll get round to telling how to get the work and how to do the work in future posts.

Okay so it’s a very old joke but the fact is practice alone won’t get you anywhere as a performer.  You need to rehearse.

I have to admit I’m pretty shit at rehearsing and trying to rehearse in isolation is really hard.  As a magician I need to interact with the audience and that’s impossible to simulate.  I can pretend, but I can’t rehearse.  I’m writing this because  I have a Trade Show next week and I’ve practiced my little arse off and now I need to rehearse, but I can’t.  So what’s the answer?  Maybe….

• Write a script – and I mean WRITE it down. This seperates the trick from the performance and stops you thinking technique and starts you thinking interaction.
• Video it – At least you won’t feel like such a tit if there’s a reason to be speaking to yourself in an empty room.
• Music – Rehearse with music on in the background, it fills the silence and can remove that tit like feeling.
• Go Mental – Run through the performance in your head and see the show happening live.  ( Learn to nod your head when you do this so you can rehearse while your wife is talking to you.)
• Stop tweaking, (phnar, phnar) – At some point you have to go with what you’ve got and stop making “improvements.”  Last minute improvements rarely are,  they stop you rehearsing and keep you practicing.

Or you can avoid the issue altogether like I’m doing now.