Who are You

Who are you? Not the first thing you want to hear upon arriving at any gig. However, too often this becomes a common statement. It results in an awkward moment between you and the person you are meeting. It also wastes time as you try and explain and get the details straight. Even then you often end up having to tell the story to a few more people as they pass you around to others.

I call this the “hot potato” principle. No one wants to take responsibility for having to talk and coordinate with you, so they pass you off to someone else as quickly as they can.

So why does this happen? Well for starters, it can happen simply because the person who booked you is not at the event yet. It also occurs because of total miscommunication. No one knows anything about you being there except the client you coordinated with. Furthermore, the person who booked you may not even be attending the event in the first place. Whatever the reason may be, it is safe to say that as a performer, you need to address issues like this before they become bigger problems.

There are several things I try and make a practice of doing so that I can avoid unpleasant situations like this.

- The first thing you have to realize is never to assume that the person you are dealing with to book the show is the same person who will be your contact at the event. In most cases, they will be. However, we can never assume this. Always ask ahead of time who will be your contact at the event. Will it be this person you are dealing with now, or will there be another person?

- When I ask for the contact person, I always ask for a cell phone number or phone number that I can use on the day of the event. This is so that I have it in the event I need to contact them. Having this information can be so valuable.

- I can also call the contact as I am approaching the venue. This lets them know that I am arriving on time and also gets them in the general area so they are ready upon my arrival. In the event that the person is not around, I can use this phone number to make contact with the person to iron out any changes of plan and to keep things running smoothly.

- If the contact at the event is NOT going to be the same person who booked you, I always will ask for the contact’s name, email address and phone number. This way I can make contact with the person prior to the show. No one likes to be barraged on the day of the event. By contacting them ahead of time, I can introduce myself and go over any details with them. This saves you both time and ensures things run smoothly upon your arrival at the venue.

- Always get things in writing. This means to get the contact information and all arrival details down on paper ahead of time. It means having that contract and agreement signed and approved by the client long before you actually do the event itself.

- It also is a good idea to always make a confirmation call or send a confirmation email to the client a week prior to the event date. I always do this because I know details for events do change and this is my opportunity to double check all my facts with the client. I will list what we had agreed upon and ask them to verify it and any changes that may have come up. This is the time to double check your contact.

- Always ask where your contact will be upon arrival at the event. Many events have the client running around trying to tackle numerous issues that come up. Trying to find them is often not easy and you simply do not want to waste time trying to locate them. So I will always ask them where I should go to meet them upon arrival. I can also ask them this if I make my phone call to them as I am arriving at the venue. It saves a lot of time and makes things run smooth.

- You can also make things easier on yourself by never assuming the people who meet you know you are the entertainment. You may even be dressed to a point where you think it is quite obvious. However, you can never assume they know. When greeting anyone at the event, I will always state my name and that I am the magical entertainment for the event. By doing so they immediately will at least know why you are there and more chance to 1) assist you themselves or 2) hunt down the proper person who can.

A lot of these items above are simple tips that can be utilized to really help you to have an event run the way both parties intend it to run. It also makes you perceived as a professional. After all, it is this professional level that you want to carry with you all throughout the client relationship.

As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you.

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