Booking a Birthday Party

If you are a magician, clown, face painter, balloon twister, ventriloquist or any other family show performer; knowing how to book a birthday party over the phone is one of the most important business skills you can have.



When you get a phone call about performing for a birthday party how you handle the call will determine if you get the booking or if it slips through your fingers.


1 Put the Caller at Ease

Most of the time the caller is a little nervous because they have never booked a performer and don’t know what to expect.

As soon as they tell me they are calling about a birthday party I like to say, “How fun! Sounds like you guys are going to have a great time. I hope I can be in on the fun”

To put the caller at ease ask open ended questions such as:

Tell me about what you have in mind.

Take a moment to share in their excitement.

Don’t ever make them feel rushed.

If they sense joy and excitement from you it will make them feel at ease.



2 Focus on Them

This is a special once in a lifetime memory for them.

You may do four birthday parties every Saturday but this is the ONLY one they care about.

I ask about the birthday child.

Then I affirm the caller by acknowledging some of the things they are excited about.

If they say it is a first birthday, I talk about how the whole family will have fun.

For older preschoolers I talk about how they are starting to form memories and this will be a fun memory that will last a lifetime.

When it is school aged kids, I talk about how they will enjoy it with their friends and when
they are 47 they will remember the fun party they had when they were 7 years old.

Focus on the caller and their child before you focus on yourself.



3 Make It Simple

If you offer several services, keep the choices clear and simple.

Some performers like to have choices of packages.

How you handle phone calls is so important that it is worth your time to work up a simple script and practice what you will say.





4 Focus on Benefits

You are not selling a magic show, or face painting, or balloon twisting, or anything like that.

You are selling is a fun memory that will last a lifetime.

I to mention that there will be lots of opportunities for everyone to take pictures.

I talk about how I use lots of volunteers.

I mention that there is a special trick just for the birthday child where they get to dress up and it makes great photos for the family.

Instead of focusing on what I offer, I focus on the benefits the family gets.

Fun, memories, laughter, hassle-free planning.

They want to know how you will benefit them more than what you have to sell.

Often the caller will start out asking, “What do you charge?”

I say, “Twenty million dollars”

They usually pause and then laugh. They will relax and say something funny back to me.

I laugh with them and say, “No one has ever paid that. But if just one person did, I could retire.”

This does a couple of things.

First it allows the caller to relax and realize this is not a high-pressure call.

Second, it lets me talk about the benefits they will get before we talk about the price.
After we laugh about the $20,00,000 remark I say, “Let me tell you a little bit about what I do and see if it is what you are looking for.”

Besides letting me tell about the benefits they will receive it helps them because I find out where the party will be, how long they are planning, and all the details that might affect the final quote.



5 Ask for the Gig

I don’t try to hard sell my services. It should be a fun, low-pressure interaction.

But I know many performers don’t ever ask for the gig.

Now, a hard-core salesman would say, “Remember, ABC-Always Be Closing”

But I don’t like to operate that way.

If I never ask for the gig I know most of the time I won’t book the gig.

After I tell them about what I do I ask, “Is this what you are looking for?”

This does a couple of things for the customer.

It gives them an opportunity to tell you other things they need.

For example, they may say, “Yes, that’s what I am looking for but I also was wondering if you can…” whatever.

They get to tell you exactly what they want in a natural way.

The second thing it does is gets them saying “Yes”

This makes it much easier to say yes when you ask for the gig.

After I make sure I have listened to them and answered all their questions I say something like, “Great. Let me just get your information so that we can make this the best birthday party ever.”

Then I proceed to fill out my booking sheet.

I don’t say, “Would you like to book me for the party?” or anything that requires an awkward “Yes” or “No” from them.

By moving naturally to getting the details for the party you make the caller more comfortable and you will book more gigs.

This is when you get a deposit, talk about the contract, or any of the things you choose to do to finalize the booking.

Keep these five things in mind and you will book more gigs.

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