Who do you talk to? How do you get the appointment? When should you call on a restaurant?
Please learn from my experience.

BEFORE THE SALES CALL:
A basic rule that I work with, is that you cannot do a presentation over the phone. It doesn’t work. You will not get the job. So, don’t call to speak to the manager. When it is time for the sales call, you just stop in to the restaurant.

First, check with the Chamber of Commerce to find out who the owner is. Then, you should always go to the restaurant and eat there. Visit the restaurant on the night that you would like to get hired for. Check it out:
• How long does it take to get served, and for the food to arrive? That is your performing window.
• What type of people eat at the restaurant? They are your audience. Is it families, young adults, seniors, etc?

THE SALES CALL:
Then, during one of your initial visits, or at a later time, ask to speak to the owner. Note: Do not do this during a busy lunch or dinner hour. When you meet the owner, just offer your business card and explain that you do “Restaurant Promotions” with entertainment, and that you’d like to set up a time to visit, “if now doesn’t work for you.” It may take several stops at the restaurant to find a good time to meet with the owner because he may not be there at the time that he tells you to stop in. He’s not going to plan his schedule around you.

Whenever you are able to meet. have your presentation folder ready. And be prepared to do one good fast trick. Don’t do the trick first. Because what you are offering the restaurant is not tricks. You are offering a solution to a problem. What you emphasize as your solution will depend on what the owner sees as a need. Ask questions to help determine what you should emphasize.

Questions to ask:
“How does your restaurant do with family customers? What percentage of your business is families?”
“Is there a night of the week that seems slower that you’d like to try to increase?”
“What is your feeling about providing entertainment for your customers while they wait for their food?”

Try to avoid simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions. They don’t draw out the prospect.
Then, once you’ve determined what his felt need is in the business, you can do your prepared presentation, using the printed pages and/or flip book to demonstrate what you have to offer. The presentation book will make a huge difference in the interest level of the owner. I’ve done presentations both ways, and this is the best way.

When it comes time to discuss prices, have some comparatives. Compare it to the price of advertising in your local newspaper, or radio. Talk about the value of having a personal invitation to families or kids to “come back and see you.” Tell the owner about the balloons or other freebies that you will hand out at your expense. Remember: this is not a cost for them, it is an investment for the restaurant that will pay off in: Increased Customer Satisfaction, Word of Mouth Advertising, etc.

The point is that you will be marketing for them. List all the ways that you will market for them. In my presentation, I list 10 ways that I will be marketing for them. This article is too long to list them. But, if you want to know, send me an email at Bob@BobMillerMagic.biz and ask for the Restaurant Promotion List. It will give you some ideas of how you can promote the restaurants that you perform at.

Also show how this is a low risk offer: It’s low cost. And they can cancel anytime.

ASK FOR THE JOB:
Ask the owner to try you out for a few weeks, and he will see how much his customers are enjoying the entertainment and talking to their friends. If the owner isn’t ready to commit to a few months, just ask for a week to week engagement. If the owner is still uncertain, ask to do an audition night. Say that you will do an hour in exchange for a meal, but the owner needs to be present to watch the reactions. This is called ‘Sampling’.

Be a bit persistent here because if you get a response like “let me think about it,” and you walk out with that, then you won’t get the job. Tell the owner that the best way to consider it, is first to watch you do your thing, then there will really be something to think about. (<— I just said that to an owner yesterday, and now I’ll be doing an audition day on Sunday.) I have even performed right at the time of the first appointment for a table of customers there at the time. You want the owner to SEE you perform. It is your best chance for the job.

Next week: Persistence and Visioneering.

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2. MagicBase Pro v 3.0.8 is ready!!

If you perform, then you need MagicBase Pro.      Find out how to get the FREE DEMO.

CURRENT MagicBasePro Users: 
Click here to read about all the new features in this update.

Currently, the only way to get the new update is to go to our MBP Fan Page on Facebook and LIKE us: Facebook/magicbasepro. Why is that the only cost? It’s been almost two years since our last update. We’ve added in 12 new visible features, and we don’t make any money except when we sell a new copy of MagicBase Pro. WE KNOW that MagicBase Pro is great. YOU KNOW that MagicBase Pro is great. So we want you to help get the word out.

Also, the other reason we started the Facebook page to make it easier to update you about news. Find it at Facebook/magicbasepro.
Please go to the page and LIKE us. Then you will be able to get instantly notified about news and updates. Plus it is a good way to grow the MagicBase Pro community. As we gain more users, that strengthens our ability to continue to develop this program for you.

How to get the FREE DEMO:
Currently, the only way to get the new update is to go to our MBP Fan Page on Facebook and LIKE us: Facebook/magicbasepro. We wanted to release MBP to our current users first. That is why it is on our Fan Page. But we don’t have any problem with you becoming a fan and getting it before the notice to the general magic community. Later, we will have it available on our website. If you don’t want to LIKE us to get your FREE DEMO, then you can still get the previous version (3.0.7) at www.MagicBasePro.com.

INTERVIEWS:

In upcoming issues, I have three interviews planned with some great, successful entertainer:

D.J. Ehlert - A Marketing Pro, a popular performer, a magic shop owner, entrerpreneur.

Suzanne - An excellent performer, and the first woman to win Close-up Magician of the Year at the Magic Castle

Geoff Williams - A world traveling comedy magic performer, who left his job as a computer tech to live his dream.

1. Selling Yourself to Restaurants  Part 2 of 4 “The Format of the Presentation”

I used to just walk into the restaurant with nothing but a few tricks to show, and try to talk to the owner/manager about the magic. But, over my 20+ years of doing restaurant magic, I’ve made some improvements on my presentation. So learn from me please…

The Bio Book:
After I figured out that I needed to have something to help me to communicate VALUE to my prospective restaurant, I started bringing in a book that basically had a bunch of newspaper clippings of me, some posters samples, and some letters of recommendation. I used this format for years until I came up with a better presentation, which I’l explain next.

I’m calling it the Bio Book because it is basically a book about me. The idea was to help the prospect to understand that I’ve been a professional performer for decades, and that I’ve performed for many famous companies around the area. I wanted to communicate that they were dealing with a pro who is experienced at entertaining.

Anything written about you that promotes you or your shows should be saved for your Resume file. Use it to help people see that you’re not just some guy trying to make money off his hobby, but that you KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING.

But, the problem with the BIO BOOK or RESUME FOLDER is that It’s All About You.

So, I keep one with me as a reference in case I need to explain something about me, but I don’t use my Resume Folder as a presentation. Now, I’ve created a real sales presentation that is ALL ABOUT THEM- It explains WHAT they will get out of my perfomance at their restaurant and HOW it will benefit them.

I’ve dealt with the CONTENT in last month’s issue, so for now, let’s discuss the format. I used the KEYNOTE program on my Mac, which is similar to Power Point. I didn’t use this program because I was going to make a computer presentation. I used this because it allows me to create similar pages with an artistic style. It makes the presentation look professional without much effort. Then I printed the pages in full color and put them into a presentation booklet with plastic sleeves. This allowed me to flip through the presentation as I spoke to restaurant owners.

I could SEE the difference that the presentation made. When I started to talk (without the presentation book) and list all of the marketing benefits, I could see that they were not tracking with me fully. But then, when I took out the presentation booklet, they were hooked in with me. I could see their interest on each page. So the graphics in the booklet really helped to SELL the presentation and the benefits.

Then, I took it a step further. I exported the Keynote presentation into a video and posted it on my Facebook performing page. I’ve just recently created a page on Facebook just for my magic performances. I’m still figuring out how to use it. But one thing I figured is that I can use to to promote my restaurant performances. So, if I can’t make a presentation in person to a restaurant owner, then I can direct him to the FB page to watch the video, or I can email the video to them. But my first choice would be to do it in person.

So, there are 4 different formats for your presentation:

1. The Bio Book that has newspaper clipplings and testimonials ABOUT YOU.

2. The Sales Presentation printed into a flip book.

3. The Sales Presentation created as a video for email or posting.

4. A FaceBook page that also describes restaurant benefits.
Next issue: The Sales Call

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2. MagicBase Pro 

MagicBase Pro version 3.0.8 will be released very soon. Here are four other new features:
5. Font Locking – Have you ever pasted in data from a web page? I often do this when I’m gathering information about companies or schools. The problem is that MBP retains all of the pasted font’s style, color and size. This can result in your database looking like a mess of different colors and styles.
Font Locking will allow you to choose the font and size that you want to always use when you paste or type in data. Then anything pasted in will automatically be switched to your chosen font color, style, and size.

6. Match All Fonts – What if you already have a mess of different styles and colors saved in your records? No problem. The Match All Fonts menu command will clean it all up in seconds.

7. Rapid Cloning – Do you ever do any repeating shows, like restaurants? On the Events screen you can click the Clone button to duplicate records (and then change the date), but the problem is that a dialogue box always appears to tell you that the record has been duplicated (otherwise you couldn’t tell). But holding down the Shift key while clicking on CLONE will suppress the dialogue box and allow you to rapidly duplicate records.

8. Search Within Action Set – Sometimes you want to do a search, and then do another search using those search results in order to narrow your search even further. That used to be impossible with MBP, but now you can constrain your search by holding down the Shift key as you click on the FIND button. Now you can drill down on your searches.

View the new flyer that describes 12 features of MagicBase Pro version 308 at www.magicbasepro.com

Also, we have started a Facebook page to make it easier to update you about news. Find it at Facebook/magicbasepro.
Please go to the page and LIKE us. Then you will be able to get instantly notified about news and updates. Plus it is a good way to grow the MagicBase Pro community. As we gain more users, that strengthens our ability to continue to develop this program for you.

   Awesome Biz Cards
http://mylifescoop.com/featured-stories/2011/06/34-incredibly-awesome-business-cards.html?page=134

Then you may also want to check out the Princess Business Card Trick on my site:

http://www.bobmillermagic.biz

So, have you recently been divorced? Here is a resource that helped me out a lot: Divorce Care

Since its a New Year, you’ve probably already planned out your goals, right?

After a setback like a divorce, it’s easy to be discouraged and NOT set goals, or really care about anything.
But don’t let your past hold you back. The great thing about Goals is that they are always Forward-Looking.
Like me, your last year could have been bad, unsuccessful and depressing. But Goals don’t care! They just ask you, “Where do you want to be next year?”

Do you have an answer to that question?

This month I’ve been doing a lot of Mind Mapping as part of my planning. It’s great!
Try it sometime. It will expand your mind to possibilities, options and ideas.
Here are some Mind Mapping resources:

• The Mind Mapping Blog   • Mind Map Inspiration   • Free Mind Mapping software at CNet

• Check out “Simple Mind” app for the Mac. There is a free and paid version for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

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2.  Selling Yourself to Restaurants  Part 1 of 4 “The Sales Presentation”

This last year I lost 3 restaurants. That was a big hit. I’ve gained one back, but now I’m doing a big marketing push to add at least two more. Follow along with me to watch my progress (if any) and to learn how I market to restaurants.

The first step is to CREATE A SALES PRESENTATION.  I created mine with Keynote (which is the Apple Power Point program). I don’t make a presentation on the computer, for now. I just print out the pages into a presentation book that I take with me to my appointments.

But I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. It makes all the difference!
The presentation book is used as a guide and a visual aid for your prospects. Use lots of photos and graphics to communicate your message. You can see my presentation at Facebook.com/bobmillermagician. It is in video format. Just pause to read the pages.

So what CONTENT should be in the presentation:

1. The BENEFITS (to the client) of what you’re offering

A feature is what you do, like “Entertain the customers while they wait for food.”
But the benefit is “Time goes fast and the food seems to be ready in no time.”

2. The MARKETING that they will receive
You could just do entertainment. But I think that in this economy, owners must see how this will really impact their bottom line. I advertise with a local website that sends out thousands of emails each month to families. It lists the restaurants that I perform at. So, I pay, but the restaurant benefits from my advertising. When owners see that they are getting some real marketing value (for free) along with the entertainment and the Word of Mouth advertising, they are more inclined to hire me.

3. A reason to make a decision right away

Offer a FREE AUDITION with a deadline. They must set the audition day within a certain time. Otherwise, the owners may just procrastinate.
Or, another way to add urgency is to offer a free premium if they book a certain number of months. Make the offer so desirable that they want to take it just to get the premium.

Next issue: The Sales Presentation Format

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MagicBase Pro
MagicBase Pro version 3.0.8 will be released very soon. The new version has 8 new features, 7 fixes, and 4 improvements. Four of the new features are:

1. STANDARD SHOWS – Save a show plan, and then use it as a template. Plan a show once, and use it for multiple customers.
2. PRINT TO EMAIL – for Standard Contract and Referral Form
3. INVOICE CONTRACT – for printing out the total due, can also include a COUPON
4. COPY TO ACTION SET – copy the same data to multiple records at once.

Also, we have started a Facebook page to make it easier to update you about news. Find it at Facebook/magicbasepro.
Please go to the page and LIKE us. Then you will be able to get instantly notified about news and updates. Plus it is a good way to grow the MagicBase Pro community. As we gain more users, that strengthens our ability to continue to develop this program for you.