My blog of things and thoughts
When I started performing magic and I started thinking about turning professional I asked other magicians who I knew how they got business. The answer that I often received was by far the best way to get new business was through referrals and recommendations.
My question was, "how to get the bookings in the first place?"; to get people seeing me to refer and recommend me?
This is not a blog post about that. As the title says, it's about referrals and recommendations. I don't give up the secrets that easy!
Anyway, this process was illustrated by a booking I took this morning. I've decided to break it down into steps, it's complicated:
- Person #1 sees me perform at a wedding in August
- Person #2 sees me perform at a party in October and leaves with my contact details
- Person #1 and #3 discuss their upcoming office Christmas party and decide that having a magician would be a good idea.
- Person #3 remembers her daughter (person #2) talked about seeing a magician at a party a few weeks ago and has contact details at home
- Person #2 gives my details to #3
- Person #3 gives my details to #1
- Person #1 realises that they saw me at a wedding in August, remembers how everyone was entertained and talking about it afterwards. I'm a known quanity.
- Person #1 is confident I can entertain People #4 to #80 (her boss and colleagues) so books me.
Ok, I admit that may be overly confusing, but the idea is to illustrate that I've developed myself as a recognisable brand. Maybe all that meet me won't leave remembering my name or with my business card, but when they have a need for the service I offer and they see my name/picture/website/recommendation from others they know I'm a brand they can trust.
And on a side note, that wedding in August. This is the third booking generated from that event alone. And each of those bookings subsequently led to another booking. I don't say this to show off, but as a real life illustration to show how import building a brand and marketing to an existing client base is.
As for how I got that intial wedding in August. Well, as I said, I'm not giving up all the secrets. Well, not yet at least.
