Tips for Booking a Virtual Show Over the Phone and Beyond! (For Magicians)

   Have you ever dreaded talking to a potential client on the phone about virtual magic shows? I have. In fact the customer service and communication parts of the job used to be my least favorite. Maybe this is familiar. I avoided talking to clients at all costs. I would send generic canned email responses to quotes. I’d even go as far as to hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines (on Upwork.com) to message clients on Gigmasters and Gigsalad for me. I would never follow up with potential clients after I didn’t hear back. If I did ever chat with them I never knew what to say or how to sell my show. Luckily for me at the beginning of my career I mainly worked with children’s party event planners and agents (I rarely had to talk to clients directly). But when you’re a virtual magician at least some of the time you have to be your own agent and these basic customer service and business skills are extremely important to learn. 

Nowadays I book the majority of the events I quote for and the two biggest reasons for booking me that the clients mention are these: 

1. “You were the only magician I contacted who actually called and talked to me.” 

2. “You have the best website.”

This article isn’t about web design. However I will say this: Be sure your website readily displays all the information potential clients  need in an unambiguous manner and has a simple “Get a Quote” form. Make sure the quote form requires the client to provide an  email address and phone number.  Also, since many factors influence pricing it may be best to avoid including prices on your website.

One you get a quote request, call the prospective client right away. Don’t wait a day or two. Most people are browsing around and reaching out to several magicians. Often the first magician to respond gets the gig so don’t hesitate. That being said, don’t forget to have a work/life balance. If someone asks for  a quote after  7 p.m., even if I see the email, I wait until the next day (after 9 a.m.) to respond.  If the gig has been taken by then that’s ok because self care, boundaries, and sanity are more important for me. It’s crucial to set clear boundaries for yourself when you’re self employed.

It's helpful to be in a good mood and in the "work zone" when you make the call. You want to have all your ducks in a row, have energy, enthusiasm, and  all of your pricing and packages at the ready so that you can offer them the best options for their event without fumbling or hesitation.  I won’t share my entire script but let’s walk through the basics of this process to book events and some of the reasons behind my choices.

\To start, always have the client talk first. Ask questions about their event. I do this for two reasons, First, people love talking about themselves. Second, it also helps provide more information for a personalized quote. I don’t quote the same price for a private virtual magic show for families VS a corporate holiday party for Amazon with 200 employees; I strongly recommend that you tailor your quotes to each individual event. You’ll be surprised how much more you will make if you adjust your prices for the specifics of each show and audience. I know I was surprised when it started to happen to me. Plus, getting a personalized quote helps the client feel unique and people like to feel fancy and special. 

You should always ask what platform the client wants their virtual magic show to be on, how many logins there will be, what the occasion is, etc. When it’s a celebration discussing the event can get the prospective client in a good mood from the start. Make it extremely, extremely easy to choose you. Be friendly, genuine and a good listener. This may seem obvious but try not to give the appearance of being desperate. You can establish yourself as an expert by commenting in a positive and helpful way on the client’s information as they speak and adding tips or advice.

If perhaps you don’t offer what they want or have a problem with some or all of the client’s requests, don't decline the gig automatically. See if you can change the client’s perspective or goal. For example, if a client wants to have a virtual show on Cisco Webex and I’d rather have them do it on Zoom I’ll tackle the problem as an expert and frame the change as if I’m giving them polite advice instead of saying no or asking them to change their plan.  

“Webex is wonderful but as someone who does multiple shows weekly on a variety of platforms I recommend Zoom the most because it has more tools and options for having an interactive show. I can perform on any platform you like but I recommend Zoom for the best and smoothest audience experience.”

If the prospective client says they want their magic show on Zoom from the start I compliment them on their choice and use practically the same line to support my compliment. Little things like that are important from the get go even if you offer what they want. Compliment them on their choices. It’s important to establish yourself as a professional and the authority on the subject. When you throw in your two cents it shows you’ve been listening. It’s best to establish yourself as an expert before you even explain to them your packages and rates. 

When talking to clients YOU ARE THE EXPERT. You’ve done this a million times. Even if you haven’t, tell them you have. Most average people have never booked a virtual magician in their life before. Doing five magic shows makes you five times more of an expert than the average person so own it and be confident about it. 

When you quote on the phone you want to keep it simple. Have you ever heard of the paradox of choice? The idea is that if someone has too many options to choose from they can be overwhelmed and end up not choosing anything at all. Make it simple to book you by giving them limited choices when quoting. A good rule of thumb for pricing and packages is to have three options for each category of magic you offer. If you’re doing a stage show try to have something like a minimal option (perhaps a 30 minute show), a medium option (45 minutes with an add on?), and a fancy super expensive option (60 minute show with add-ons of the client’s choice). This way if you have a large budget client then they can choose the high end option but you also don’t have to price yourself out from getting the gig if you have a more modest client. It’s the best of both worlds. 

There is in fact such a thing as too much information. Don’t provide too many choices or info. Often I’ll do some research and put in a fake event request in my neighborhood to see what my competition is doing. Most of the time the other magicians don’t call.  Instead they send a giant emailed canned response with 5-15 options.  Most of which don’t make sense or don’t seem appropriate to my event. It’s extremely clear they put zero effort in. They expect the client to read a lengthy essay and pick out the tiny little bit of information that pertains to the client’s event. It’s a huge turn off.

If you have different types of virtual magician offerings such as corporate team building magic workshops, short mini meeting shows, or virtual holiday party performances or anything else then you can have your three tiered packages written down somewhere along with price ranges for each option so you don’t forget. That way after you get info from the client on what type of magic they need you can pick which type of magic performance style to recommend and within that category pitch your three packages to offer. Having three relevant options is personalized and keeps it simple for them to make a choice.

Trust me . . . I get it, quoting is hard . . . I used to hate it. But that little added extra detail of talking on the phone and having slightly more tailored responses for each type of virtual magic you offer and the audience for which you will be performing goes a long way. For your clients it’s so important to simplify. Simplify. Simplify. You will be greatly rewarded for your effort.

When you have finished quoting the client, be sure to email them a summary of what you discussed. Clients love it when I say “Now before I quote you I just want to let you know that I’m going to send all this information to you in an email so you don’t have to write any numbers down or remember any math.” That sentence always gets a relieved sigh or laugh every single time. - Feel free to steal that line.

Before sending the email summary remember to narrow down the options and prices for the client. This sounds harder than it is, but I’ll walk you through it. You can have three different canned emails you write down ahead of time and just copy/paste and personalize as needed. I personally have pre-written emails for: (1) Virtual Magic Lessons (2) Family and kids shows, and  (3) My corporate show.

Within these three canned emails you can have three options or a base show with two add-ons for the client to choose from as well as descriptions, photos and videos of each thing. I include spaces in the prewritten text where I can personalize each quote by having such things as the client’s name in the introduction. That way it doesn’t seem to be a canned document. You can also change the price to the one you quoted for their specific event. Having an email with everything you discussed for the client is wonderful because then the client doesn’t have to remember anything at all and you also don’t have to remember the details of your conversation. It’s a win-win for everyone. That way when the client calls to book the event you know exactly what you quoted because there’s concrete documentation.

After you send the summary email if you don’t hear back in three to five  days don’t forget to do a follow up message. I always inquire with a simple paragraph such as: 

“Checking in! Please let me know if you have any more questions or need anything at all.”

Often that will get a response that the client wants to book, or perhaps has a special request or question and that starts dialogue again between you and the customer.

To summarize all of that - just make it a no-brainer to book you. Think about your client’s experience. Is it nice? Is it easy? From the beginning of your quote process, to your website, to the quote form, to the end of your client’s experience after your call with the email summary, photos and follow up email: Think about every moment.

Think about every single step and the client’s experience. See if there is a way to make something smoother and simpler for them to get the information they need to make their decision. Spoon feed it to them. If you do that you will stand out from the crowd and see the bookings rolling in. 

Don’t forget to think of ways to problem solve and make the process easier on yourself as well. Have notes, prices, and packages written down so it’s easy to give clients that information right away. Create pre-written responses so you can copy/paste. Have systems for things so you don’t have loose ends or forget details. Have a work/life balance. Make it easy on everyone (including yourself) to book many virtual magician gigs and trust me, you will!