How far in Advance do you Market?

How far in advance do you market?

Do you know how far in advance the venues you work with schedule programs?  Do you keep a record of when they contact you to schedule a program?  

These are valuable bits of information that can help you get more gigs and not miss out on great opportunities.

Here are some example of what I mean:

Senior Centers I have worked with seldom schedule 6 months ahead of time.  They tend to look at their calendar quarterly, so I expect their requests to be within 1-2 months of their contact.

Summer Reading Program for many libraries will be scheduled by October of this year for next year's June and July programs.  Many libraries plan their budget by October so they can submit it to a government body for approval. If you wait till next year to make contacts you may be way too late!!

Festivals often plan a year in advance!  Many times I have been asked on the last day of a festival if I will commit to performing next year.  I like those invitations!  Keeps the calendar looking good.

With that in mind, do you plan your marketing accordingly?

I am sending out festival information right now for next year.  Schools were sent an initial contact this week and last week because school is back in session.

When I do a 90 Day Mad Marketing Workshop I give everyone a calendar and we brainstorm what events/holidays might take place in a particular quarter.  We make a list of all the possible events or holidays first and then begin to list possible venues and audiences for programs specifically designed for those events or holidays.

Valentines Day is a good example.  Possible audiences would include women's groups, churches, youth groups, senior centers, libraries, coffee shops, couples retreats, Red Hat Societies and even men's groups.

I designate the first 2 weeks of February as possible dates for Valentines Day programs. I don't really market for this program prior to January 1st.  There are too many other things on folk's calendars that will be on their minds.  

However, a contact the first week or two of January can get several great gigs if you make the contacts.  These might be programs that you will schedule during a time that is often slow for storytellers.

What are your action steps?  First take a look at your 2014 calendar and think about the programs you offer and also concentrate on the seasons/events/holidays that would be a good fit.  Maybe determine to develop programs to coordinate with those times/events.

Think about when you should begin to contact venues to market the programs you select.  Plan your marketing calendar.

Now, spend a few minutes brainstorming about the audiences for those programs and that event.  Write them down, spend some time brainstorming...

Last of all, do your homework.  Develop your databases of venues.  Get addresses, contact information, if you can.  Who is the president/head honcho/scheduler for events at that venue?

If you don't know a name or can't find one, use a title; "Children's Librarian", "Activity Director" or maybe "Program Chairperson".  Build your database and plan your contact dates.  

Then make the contacts and follow up.

Shut Up And LISTEN!

OK, I know this is hard for a storyteller or any performer.  You are going to read this and say that you already do this.  Yes, I know, you are a marketing genius.

So, why are you not getting the gigs you want?

It may be because you TALK TOO MUCH!

I taught Professional Selling Skills in many venues all around the U.S. and even once in Canada.  The hardest part of the training was to get sales people to shut up and wait for answers.  In a situation where you are nervous your mouth goes into overdrive.  Here is my simple advice as you are asking for business.

Ask simple questions:  There are two kinds of questions, the closed ended question and the open ended question:  Closed ended - "May I confirm the date for you?"  It requires a simple answer.  Too many times we use this type of question trying to get information.  This is the question you ASK AND SHUT UP! Let the other person think and answer.

Open ended questions are to get information.  "Tell me how my program fits your need."  Open ended and  looking for information.  Again, ASK AND SHUT UP.  Let them think and answer.

Ask for business:  When I am getting to the "close" I try to say something like, "I have my calendar in front of me now.  Would you like to look at dates?"  This is a soft close.  I am asking for the business by looking at their calendar.  This is a simple closed ended question.  THEN SHUT UP!!!

Answer objections:  Often you might hear a question that can close you down.  "I am not sure scary stories are appropriate for cardiac patients."  Your reply is to clarify and keep the dialogue open.  "I understand.  Scary stories for cardiac patients may be an issue.  I also have a lovely healing stories program that is encouraging, empowering and more appropriate.  Does that fit your need better?"  Again, ask and SHUT UP!



Side note:  if you are in the mood, here is a little something I wrote a few years back to take you down to the hills:  http://www.mountainstories.net/2008/12/sunrise.html




 Stephen Hollen is an award winning storyteller, humorist and Mark Twain Impersonator living in Beavercreek, Ohio.  He performs and tells stories in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Michigan and throughout the USA. 

No one around here ever hires me!

No One Around Here Hires Me!!

Do you ever voice that lament?  Do you hear it from other storytellers or performers?


Your question to start the week:  WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT?


The last blog entry dealt with Top of the Mind Awareness.  Lets build on that idea and think about what you are doing to change that.  Here are a few questions to get your planning on the right track.

  

• First of all, have you done an inventory of all the possible venues within 30, 60 and 90 minutes of your home base?
• Have you identified the decision maker at each venue, including phone number, e-mail and address of the venue?
• Sure, it sounds redundant, but do you have this information in a user friendly database?  Can you do letters, e-mails, labels with your database?
• Can you track the contacts you make with each venue as well as noting when you do gigs for that venue?
• Have you ever called just to introduce yourself?
• Do you make some sort of contact on a regular basis?  Frequency is the key here.  Why not develop a plan to mail postcards 4 or 6 times a year, send e-mails quarterly, send invitations to events you are doing locally?

Don't be a pest!  This is not suggesting you call monthly and hassle them. The idea is to put information in front of the decision maker with enough frequency that they will think of you when they think of storytellers.

The Bottom Line:  If they don't know you 

they won't hire you!



 Stephen Hollen is an award winning storyteller, humorist and Mark Twain Impersonator living in Beavercreek, Ohio.  He performs and tells stories in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Michigan and throughout the USA. 

I Love Anchor Gigs

I love anchor gigs!

So, what in the world am I talking about and what does it have to do with marketing and storytelling/performing?  Great question, if I do say so myself.


As I look at my calendar, I often find that I get requests for programs outside of my local area.  You get them too.  They are gigs that you cannot do without some travel and at least one overnight away from home.  Many storytellers and other performers turn these down immediately for several reasons; too far from home, the venue can't afford to pay your gig fee plus motel plus mileage, perhaps you just don't know the area.


If you don't want to travel those are all good reasons not to take a gig.  If, like me, you enjoy the travel and seeing new sites, these gigs become Anchor Gigs and an opportunity for other gigs and more income! 


An Anchor Gig is a gig I schedule and begin to build around.  As I build a tour I do not like to bounce down the highway from one town to the next for gigs.  I would rather find a good area to market in and a decent motel, a welcoming friend or a neat Bed and Breakfast and begin to look for opportunities.


For example, if you have a gig opportunity in Atlanta, Georgia make that your Anchor Gig and draw a 60 mile circle around Atlanta.  That is approximately an hour drive any direction which is very reasonable travel time to a gig for me.  I personally love to use an Atlas and a compass for this task.  It makes it easier than trying to do this on Google Maps or Mapquest.  The map has a mileage scale that I use to adjust my compass as I draw a circle IN PENCIL! 


Try it on Google Maps - do an imaginary circle and see all the towns and cities within an hour drive!  There is Roswell, Smyrna, Lawrenceville, Marietta... and Athens is just 9 miles outside that circle, so I would include it too!

The next step is Google "mining for venues".  I search the surrounding towns, villages and cities for opportunities; Libraries, Festivals, Civic Clubs, Churches, Day Camps, Senior Centers, Museums all are great opportunities.  

I personally like to start with a postcard (can you imagine me starting with a postcard) or e-mail if I can find a contact person at each possible venue.  Having a date creates a sense of urgency for the contact.  In an e-mail you would suggest "I will be in your area the week of November 5th and have dates still available" .  For a postcard I like to use a gold foil label on the front of the postcard with "Stephen will be in the Smyrna area the week of November 5th, call for scheduling info".

I do my homework and determine which of my programs would best fit each venue and send the appropriate e-mail or postcard.  I do NOT send a generic e-mail or postcard.  I try my best to suggest a specific program.


Follow up with a polite phone call, confirm they received the e-mail or phone call and ask if they would like to schedule a program.  It might take 5 or even 10 contacts to get another gig, but persistence pays off.  Does it work?  Yes, it works very well for me.  

For the second week in August I started with a gig about 4 hours away from home.  A decent paying gig, but in the middle of the week.  I mailed about 50 postcards (my cost was about 42 cents each so a cost of $21) and made 30 or 40 e-mail contacts.  As a result of mining around that Anchor Gig I now have 4 gigs instead of one.  I will need to stay for three nights in that area, but one of the venues offered lodging in a lovely guest suite for two nights as part of my compensation!



 Stephen Hollen is an award winning storyteller, humorist and Mark Twain Impersonator living in Beavercreek, Ohio.  He performs and tells stories in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Michigan and throughout the USA. 

Are They Buying What You Are Selling? Part 3

Question for the day:  How many possible venues are within 30 minutes of your home?  How many within in 60 minutes?  90 Minutes?


The next question is a telling one!  How many of the possible venues within 30 minutes of your home even know you exist?

These are low hanging fruit for the storyteller/performer, yet many folks don't take the time to identify them, much less contact them.


Here is a great business/market planning exercise:  

Step One: Get a map of your community.  Print one from an online resource, go the the local chamber of commerce and get one. buy one that you find at the local drug store, convenience store or book store.  Identify the areas that are within a 30 minute drive of your home.


Step Two:  Begin to identify the venues in that area.  Do schools in your area still have opportunity and funding for programs?  How many libraries, day camps, boys and girls clubs, scout groups can you identify?

Step Three:  This is such an important one.  It is one you can save for later, but one that can have impact if you do it early in your process.  Identify the decision makers at each venue.  Do some online research and check out websites.  For example, does the local library website list the children's librarian?  Do you do programs for adults too?  If so, what about that librarian also?  


No website for a venue?  That is OK too.  Make a call, be pleasant and ask the receptionist or person answering the call to identify the person who schedules programs for their organization.


Step Four:  Build your lists and save them in some orderly way.  Most sales organizations use CRM - Customer Relationship Management programs to track contacts with customers and prospects.  There are free and easy to use programs out there.  You identify prospects and past clients, put them in the database and then actually track how and when you make contacts!  It actually takes the "happenstance" out of your marketing and business planning.


Not ready for that?  Consider using a spreadsheet, Outlook or even just mailing labels on your Word application.  If you want to be low tech you can write each venue name, address, phone number AND contact person on a 3x5 card.  Just do something.


Step Five:  Make contact.  Now, you know I am the Postcard Potentate, so I have to suggest a postcard as a great first contact.  It is cheap to mail (32 cents per postcard), cheap to print (Vistaprint always has half price deals - $12.50 or so for 100, or $99 for 1,000) and for not much money you can have an attractive, professional marketing piece in the hands of prospective customers.

My advice is to have a specific program you are promoting.  This will allow you to send other mail about other programs.  It ALSO reinforces their awareness of you and your programs.  Repetition is the way to keep your name top of mind for these decision makers. The more times you make contact the more likely they are to think of you as they plan programs.


What did you say?  You would rather do an e-mail contact?  Great, even cheaper for a first contact.  I suggest a little more homework before you can send that e-mail.  Do not send a bulk e-mail blast.  Take the time to send to each IDENTIFIED decision maker.  Spend some time online at websites or on the phone and get this info ahead of time.


Step Six:  (You can stop at Step Five and still get more gigs than you get now.  However, if you want to really kick your marketing into high gear...)  Make a phone call follow up!  Call the decision maker, introduce yourself and mention something that is time sensitive.  Offer a deal if they schedule early, suggest a program that is tied to a calendar period - scary stories during October, for example.  Make the quick pitch and shut up.  Give the person a chance to think and respond.  No matter what the answer, be polite, thank them for their time.  Most of all - DO NOT HASSLE them constantly.  Do not be the aggravating telemarketer.


Last of all, Keep records of your contacts.  I cannot emphasize this enough.  Keep records and do some analysis of what works.  this will make your marketing more efficient, more structured and more effective.

Are They Buying What You Are Selling? Part 2

Part two of this question is simple.  How do you develop your storytelling programs?  Do you just pick out some stories, memorize the bones and start trying to get gigs?  Do you tell stories particular to your ethnic group?  Did you choose the types of stories for a particular reason?

More importantly, do people want to hear the stories you have chosen?  I know this flies in the face of some "purists" who might think any story is important to tell.  The reality is if no one wants to hear the stories you have chosen NO ONE would hire you!  If you choose to tell "The longest and most boring story ever told"... well, you might not get much business.  Find what people want to hear and you will have a much better chance of getting gigs.  That is a reality.

There is a way to balance this, do what you are passionate about and what folks will pay for.  First of all, take time to talk with people about potential programs.  Ask about your ideas.  Get a group of tellers and decision makers at venues you target and ask them what they think.  Perhaps not about specific stories but about a program in general.  Ask if you can bend their ear for a while and sit down in person or even on the phone and review your ideas.

Then LISTEN!  Seek advice and take good advice to heart.  Also, if you have a program in your brochure that no one ever asks for - TAKE IT OUT! 

Last but not least, change up your offerings on a regular basis.  Develop a new program and promote it heavily!  When you get a gig from the new program you can them mention other tried and true programs that might also be of interest!

Are They Buying What You Are Selling? Part One

The title above is my question for today?  Are folks buying what you are selling?  I have had storytellers and other performers tell me they just can't get gigs, no matter how hard they try.  There may be a couple reasons for that.  Take a look at one with me:

How are you approaching folks?  Are you polite, pleasant, not intrusive?  I had a sales rep in the pharmaceutical field that worked for me who was so rude at times.   He really knew his products, was super smart but just had no interpersonal skills. (I inherited him - did not hire him)  He was abrupt, arrogant and not a favorite of the offices he called on.  For that reason he had terrible results. 

He just didn't get it, no matter how much I worked with him.  He always complained about another rep that had awesome numbers, was loved by all the offices he called on but just didn't know the product as well as he should.

The difference was the successful rep KNEW he worked for the offices he called on.  His success was due to them and he treated every single person with respect and genuine friendship.  His sales pitch was weak at best, but the doctors loved him.  He respected their time, their place of business, their staff.  He was humble and sincere and won awards every year.

The bottom line?  People "buy" from people they like.  This is one of the basic TRUTHS in marketing/selling.  I am not talking about the greasy slickster in a loud plaid sport coat who wraps an arm around you as they start with, "Tell ya what I'ma gonna do, just cause I like you..."

Here is how to build a good foundation to your marketing!  First know your market.  Know who makes the decisions at each venue.  Second, treat them like the awesome resource they are to you.  When they hire you be sure to follow up with a thank you card.  Write it out by hand and mail it to them personally.  Be personable, humble and appreciative.  Don't grovel, just let folks get to know you.  Get to know them at the same time.  KNOW their name, ask about them, how their day is going. 

Last but not least; DO NOT over pressure them to schedule you.  Don't waste their time.  Get to the point and be kind.

Know your Neighborhood

Storytellers and other performers are always looking for ways to get gigs.  A storytelling friend of mine, D.J. Miller said to me, "The more that know, know".  It may not seem profound, but it makes a point.  do people in your area think of you when they think of storytelling?

More importantly, do you know your neighborhood?  Do you know ALL the possible venues and opportunities in your community?  Here is an idea for you:  Get that Yellow Pages book that was dropped off on your doorstep and look through it for ideas!  What about schools, libraries, churches, day camps, civic organizations?  Are they all on your mailing list?  Do you know who the contact person is for each one?  Who would you contact at a day camp to send info about storytelling?

A huge part of being successful as a performer of any type is letting folks know what you do.  Why not do a little "Google Detective Work" and find a contact to send an introductory e-mail to?  Why not find 5 a day and send e-mails?  That is 25 a week.  Run out of venues in your county?  Go to the next closest county and start there!  Send 25 a week there too.  Go to the next county adjoining your county and send out introductions.

Guess What?  You just planned to send out 1,300 introductory e-mails this year!!!  If you only get 1% response that will be 13 NEW GIGS!  Multiply that times your average fee per gig.  Is that worth your while?

You know I am a HUGE fan of postcards.  Vistaprint.com has 1,500 postcards (full color glossy) for $124.99.  Mailing 1,300 would be $416.  (THAT LEAVES 200 TO USE IN OTHER WAYS)  

Your weekly investment total would be $10.40 to send out 25 introductory postcards to venues around your community.

Want to improve your close rate - the number of gigs you get from this marketing idea?  Do your e-mails as follow ups to the postcard.

August Tour

August is a great opportunity for folks up north to hear Stephen Hollen tell stories... or perhaps to see his Mark Twain One Man Show as he will be in Northern Ohio and near Lake Erie!  



Plans are still in the works and several dates are still open for the week of August 13, 2012 for Stephen on tour there and possibly Pennsylvania!  Give him a call to schedule your date today!

Ice Cream Sunday

I was invited to tell stories in Ashland, Kentucky yesterday.  It was great to sneak into Appalachia through a side door as I drove from home to that corner of Kentucky.  Two performers were scheduled to be at this event (which originally was an outside event but rain pushed it inside and it was still great) but the other performer called and cancelled the morning of the event!  He was a magician, not a storyteller.  I suspect they have marked him off their list.

They asked if I could tell stories for two groups instead of one big group and I was happy to help.  They divided things in half, sent the first group of 50 or so into the room with me and we had a great time as Finn McCool strode into their imaginations.  Since it was their Ice Cream Sunday every child had drumsticks, ice cream sandwiches or popcicles in hand.

The second group came upstairs after visiting with the face painter and doing crafts and settled in... over 50 kids again!  Bear stories for this group, including "Why Bear has a stubby tail".  Ice cram for all!

Yes, I stepped up to the plate and did double duty!  I faced 100 ice cream stuffed kids with my big red bandana as a prop and we all had a great time.

I just love my job!