On the way, they passed a group of of villagers walking in the opposite direction. The villagers, seeing the old man sitting on the donkey, approached them saying how terrible it was that old man was riding the donkey while the young boy, being so small, needed to walk so fast to keep up.  As the villagers left, the pair decided that the villagers may be right & swapped places.

A short while later, the pair passed a group of women walking to the river.  The women, seeing the young boy on the donkey, complained bitterly. “Your grandson is young & has energy. You are old & should be resting!”. The women walked on & the pair, hearing the truth in the women’s advice, decided to ride the donkey together.

As they continued on the long path, they walked past a farmer.  The farmer, seeing how the donkey is straining under the weight of both riders, yelled at them & demanded that they take better care of their donkey.  The grandfather & grandson, feeling sorry for their donkey, decided to carry the donkey instead.

Finally, as they were about to enter the village, they approached their final hurdle: a bridge crossing a deep river.  As they carried the donkey over the bridge, the animal started to panic. The old man & the young boy, unable to hold the donkey, watched in shock & horror as the animal slipped, fell into the river & drowned.

The moral of the story? If you try to please everyone, YOU CAN KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE.

As my mentor, Joel Bauer says: “In life, it’s not about whether you’re liked or not – it’s about being effective!”

(I heard this story on the Audible.com audio book of Michael Port’s “Book Yourself Solid”, a book I highly recommend.)

“Nature gives all, without reservation, and loses nothing;
man or woman, grasping all, loses everything.”
- The Path to Prosperity, James Allen

It’s a paradox of life that “givers get”: when you’re willing to share with others, you make yourself attractive to even more positive experiences. This can take different forms: giving a free talk to a networking group, creating a free report or article that you can give to clients, offering your services to a charity, or even being a mentor. There are infinite number of ways that you can give value to others!

The amazing thing about sharing is that it opens your awareness up to new & exciting opportunities. In order to share anything, you need to understand how to create value for other people: ‘sharing’ something of no value isn’t really ‘sharing’ at all, is it?  When you are willing to give away something of value – something that the people you share it with find useful or practical – you’ll find yourself becoming more attractive to those people.  If you’re able to consistently share information that you know others will find valuable, then you’ll start growing a network of loyal followers & supporters.

Having a positive attitude to sharing encourages thinking abundantly: if you believe that you will always have ‘enough’ & that there are no limits to amount of love, knowledge & trust you can accumulate, you will begin to share quite easily because you have faith that you will never be left with nothing.  More importantly, being open & enthusiastic to sharing with other people encourages everyone – even people you’ve never met before – to  support you & share with you too.

Sharing creates the need to reciprocate: your supporters will want to engage you in dialogue, will want to find out more about you & will eagerly maintain communication because they find value in your relationship.  Ideally, you want to end up in a position where your supporters are willing to tell their network about you so that you can leverage your content to their family, friends & colleagues.  It is inevitable that when you have a large enough database of friends & fans that are eager to recommend you & your company, that you will be able to generate a sustainable income as an authority of your subject.

In essence, this is a big part of what ‘Marketing Magic’ is all about!

Think about this: An authority is considered to be the ‘go to’ person if you wish to find out more in their field of expertise. Authorities are asked to present at networking functions, called for interviews, are able to get lots of free publicity & are generally the highest paid people in their industry. If you write a book, you’ll be called an “author” because you’re considered to be the authority of that subject: and what is writing a book other than sharing your insights, knowledge & opinions with the world?

If you’ve ever watched a magician, juggler or street-performer do a show, you’ll see how effortlessly & easily crowds are attracted to this person.  By sharing a unique skill or talent with public – giving it away with no obligation to the audience – a street-performer or busker can earn money in his hat. The audience will be particularly responsive if they see something unique or ‘dangerous’ : they recognise the talent & dedication it takes to perform that skill & that performer almost always ends up with a hat full of money. If the audience perceives that what they’ve experienced is a demonstration of a particularly unique skill or ability, they’ll reciprocate not only with applause & money, but they’ll want to tell others what they have experienced.

If you want to create REAL magic in your business – attract customers effortlessly, retain them for life, increase profits, achieve your goals & have more fun – you’ll want to unleash your “Inner Marketing Magician”. You’ll want to discover that part of you that is unique & special – the part that is most attractive to your customers – & find ways of sharing your knowledge, experience, views & opinions with the world.  No matter how to choose to share, by collecting & giving away value you will attract the business & customers you desire.

The world wants to find out how you do your ‘magic’ – isn’t it time you shared it with us?

Contemplations:

• What do I have of value that I can afford to give away?
• What would my network love to learn from my experience, knowledge & insights?
• What contribution can I make to society by being open to giving away something that I don’t need, or something that I have an unlimited supply of (such as skills or education)?

Recommended reading:

• “Idea Tithing”, an online article by Mark Victor Hansen

Have you ever wanted to wave a magic wand & create sales almost effortlessly?

I have a free ebook, “How To Make More Sales Using  The Secrets Of Magic” that I would love to give you simply for registering as a free Web Visitor at http://www.marketingmagic.co.za.

“In life, take credit for everything.” – Joel Bauer

Sometimes you just can’t plan everything. It happens fairly regularly that during a presentation, I get lucky. Something unexpected will happen that will enhance a trick, or will make me appear even more ‘magical’ – as if I was in control of the situation the whole time.  Of course, since my audience assumes that it was part of the show, they are often blown away with amazement. It’s hard for me to take direct credit for something like this, but my audience wants to believe it was part of the show, so my answer is: “It’s Magic. In life, take credit for everything.”

Everything you experience in life is as a direct result of your mindset – your ‘magic’.

I catch myself, occasionally, forgetting to take credit for something I’ve done – even if it was something good.  I don’t necessarily mean ‘taking credit’ in the sense of the need to be accepted by others; it can also mean that I’ve neglected to accept the responsibility of the effects of my positive actions.

So the phrase’s dual meaning is that no matter what happens, good or bad, you should accept & acknowledge your actions. Now while most people take the action of ‘accepting responsibility’ when they need to need to repair anything negative they may have caused, acknowledging positive actions is also very important.

Here’s why: to become a good magician, it’s vital that the audience totally believes that you are in control. The power of a magical performance is in the audience’s total belief that the magician is capable of achieving anything. The moment that this comes into doubt, the bubble bursts.

If we deny ourselves the acceptance of doing something good, we are denying our ‘magic’ – our perceived control of our world.  There a few fears greater than that of being out of control.  Even more important: when we are ready to acknowledge our successes, passions & talents, the people we connect with are far more likely to believe that we really are capable of doing ‘real magic’.

Contemplation:

The next time someone asks you if you are responsible for doing something positive, instead shrugging off the praise & deflecting it, accept it & acknowledge the person’s thanks graciously. Don’t gloat!

Remember: by denying someone else the action of saying ‘thank you ‘, that person will feel less eager to do so again in the future.

Accept it – it is the result of your ‘magic’.

I was amused by this: how often have the airline staff been abused, both verbally & psychologically, that someone felt the need to make a sign? I can just imagine what the the staff must go through every day: it’s not surprising then that the customer service representatives at the desk are not as friendly as we’d expect them to be.

But at the same time, this sign also shows SAA’s attitude towards it’s customers … & it’s not great. Firstly, it doesn’t address WHY travelling can be so stressful; I firmly believe it’s partly because of the substandard service that the customers’ experience that they are stressed.  Now I will agree that you can get the occasional customer who is unreasonable, but often the airlines don’t make the biggest effort in the customer service department.  What this sign is effectively saying is “We understand you’re stressed, but it’s not our fault, so don’t blame us”.

Are they ‘passing the buck’?  Do you think that this sign addresses the ’symptom’ & not the ‘cure’?

What if they trained the staff to be friendlier, to smile more often?

What if they made an effort to listen to their customers & help them as much as they can?

What if the ground staff were as friendly & helpful as the cabin crew?

I suggest that the airline starts by assuming that their customers are going to be stressed & then train their staff to be able to treat them with respect & patience.

The result? The customers will be less likely to abuse the staff & far more likely to talk about the great service they received!  And then they wouldn’t need this sign.

As a business owner, you may be anxious about how you’re going to get more customers &be tempted to drop or discount your prices. This kind of ‘domino effect’ is really unnecessary & I predict that businesses that fall into this temptation in order to get more business will not see it through to their next financial year-end.  However, serious business owners who understand that ultimately you can never compete on price alone who will be able to resist the urge with the knowledge that a policy of pricing to value is far more sustainable in the long term.

Here’s true story example provided by Julian Franklin of ‘Julian Franklin Productions’ ['Selling on Price' 7 May 2008] of precisely what happens when business owners make the basic marketing mistake of thinking that their cheap prices will help them:

Everybody loves a good deal. Sometimes this means a great product at a good price. Other times it means a good product at a great price. I have learned over the years to prefer the former rather than the latter, but that’s a topic for another article.

This is about selling yourself on price. I hear so many performers lamenting the new guy who “undercuts” them. No one can undercut you unless you are the low-price leader. And if you are the low price leader, then you INVITE undercutting.

Take for example, how excited I was when the “$1.00 Bazaar” opened near my house. Any magician will tell you it is a great place to go to find inspiration. The dollar store inventory constantly changes because they purchase their stuff from people who couldn’t sell it in a normal store. This is usually because it is of poor quality, flawed design, or of very dubious value, but again, I’m getting side tracked.

So I shop there and am pleased with the fact that the junk I’m buying never costs more than $1.00. This is a very good thing, because generally it is not worth any more than a dollar and sometimes I think I get ripped off.

So you can imagine how elated I was when a new store opened up across the street with a big sign advertising “Nothing over 99¢”.

YEE-HAWW!

And they claim the best selection of low quality merchandise in all of Texas. Yes, that’s a mighty big claim because there is a LOT of low-quality merchandise here in the largest state in the continental  United States.

“Giant 99¢” didn’t fail to deliver on their promise of a great selection of unsellable refuse. On my first visit I was awed by the incredible selection of wall-to-wall junk and not a single thing was priced (or worth) a single penny over 99¢.

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, “How in the world could things in Texas possibly get any better for the bargain hunters?” But some of you already know the answer….

Yes, that’s right, we got our very own “Mr. 98¢” store! The grand opening was spectacular! They had day-old donuts, tofu hot-dogs on stale buns, and one of the least expensive entertainers in the city. He wasn’t there when I arrived 20 minutes after his show was supposed to start. And he still hadn’t arrived when I left 45 minutes later, but the store manager held pretty high hopes that he would eventually show up. You know, provided he wasn’t involved in another DUI or something.

So I drove home with a smile on my face that nothing could shake. I found a new resource for invaluable merchandise (actually it’s really more “unvaluable” merchandise, but my spell checker won’t let me use that word).

Then it hit me as I was driving in the warm glow of satisfaction (or was it the warm glow of the faulty chemical glow sticks I got twelve for 98 cents that had leaked all over the backseat?). Regardless, I realized this was much more than an amazing retail phenomenon; this was much more than a resource for discontinued and recalled items at below cost; this was a business model like none other.

Finally I realized how an entertainer who had nothing of real value could finally compete. By simply lowering your price you can create the unique position of being the absolute cheapest entertainer in your area! What kind of a FOOL would possibly compete against you when you held such a low-value, low-profit position?!

And even if they DID compete against you (as “Giant 99¢” did against “$1.00 Bazaar”), you can simply turn the tables on them and lower your price even further (like “Mr. 98¢” did to “Giant 99¢”). The possibilities are limited only by the number of divisions in your government’s currency!

As I contemplated the vastness of this marketing strategy I passed a store that clearly understood the concept. They were beating everyone to the punch. They were selling everything for just 79¢!

Unfortunately they wound up going out of business. I wonder why?

['Selling on Price' 7 May 2008 http://julianspeaks.com Julian Franklin]

How do you charge what you are worth?

For many new business owners, this can be a frightening question – it requires self-assessment & judgement of how professional & valuable your services truly are.  I’m not saying that you should instantly become the most expensive company in your industry; rather, I’m suggesting you really try to understand your customers more so that you can price your product or service to match the value of your product or service.

Customers are not unhappy to make large purchases, as long as they have a perceived value – you haven’t heard of any of the the famous clothing & shoe designers going bankrupt recently, have you?

As I discuss in , one of the main purposes of your business is to ethically exploit your customers: many people are shocked by this, initially.  But it is vital for the sustainable success of your business & your personal wealth development that you begin to make serious decisions about the true value of what your business offers. Once you know the value, make that your price & then stick to it. Don’t let the temptation get to you, I promise it’s worthwhile in the long run!

Deliver so much more than what your customers expect – make a “magical moment” – so that they are more than  happy to pay your asking price. At the point when your customer as bought into you & your offer, you price is now longer ‘too high’ or ‘too low’ but it’s ‘just right’.

Today, take a brief moment to sit, think & do a self-assessment: am I worth more today than I was 6 months ago? Shouldn’t I be raising my prices since I have gained more insight, knowledge & experience?

The people who have become truly wealthy instinctively know what they are worth.

How often have you phoned a supplier & been promised a return call … only to have to make that call yourself a few days later to find out what’s going on?  Does the thought of having to call a supplier again, to follow up on a commitment, make you want to tear out your hair?

Even with so many new tools available to businesses today, why is it that so many still forget that the fundamental reason for using these tools is to open up dialogue & listen to our customers?

Remember: your customers will leave you if they feel you are not listening to them.

How many complaints on getclosure! could have been prevented if the suppliers had effectively communicated with their customers the first time?

Ultimately, there are only 2 reasons why you lose customers: apathy & neglect.  If you fail to understand or ignore your customers’ needs, it’s just a matter of time before you lose those customers.

When talking to you customers today, consider this:

• Have I listened carefully to the conversation & agreed to take action based on my customer’s needs?
• Have I promised to return a telephone call & has that call been made yet?
• Does the caller know, before I finish this call, what the next action is & have I accepted responsibility for this action?

In order to prevent complaints, it is important that you listen to your customer & deliver on your promises, regardless of the technology you use.

Originally written by Marcel Oudejans for Get Closure! Blog – used with permission.

The “Marvin’s Magic Stands” are a major crowd pleaser, especially as the kids have just visited Father Christmas’s cave & are now looking for their Christmas presents.  Harrods is known for having a rather formal atmosphere (the staff rules are very strict) & their prices cater more for the wealthy, so the fact that they encourage the Marvin’s sales team to draw in a crowd is a testament both to the success of using entertainment & magic as a sales strategy, as well as the importance of giving the customers an entertaining & unique experience.

Standing in front of my D’Lite stand in Harrods, London. November 2004

I’d never ’sold’ magic before, so with my (then) 5 years of performance experience it was quite challenging to sell the magic tricks & kits after I had created a crowd at the table during my performance.  Initially I would perform for 1 or 2 people, unti; a group formed & then I’d continue to entertain until 1 or 2 people eventually bought something.  After the first week, I didn’t reach my commission target -so I changed my strategy …

I took on the “D’lite” stand that was right at the end of a passage.  The D’lite is an awesome little trick that practically anyone can perform – it looks like you’re throwing a little ‘light’ from hand-to-hand, make it vanish, penetrating things & doing some pretty crazy stunts.  As a group of children would approach my stand, I’d start throwing the ‘light’ around until they were so amazed, they’d form a group around me. By this time the parents would arrive, & having just walked past the remote-controlled toys, would be relieved to walk find a toy at 1/10th of the price!  After watching for a minute or two, the kids would be screaming to get the trick for Christmas (it makes a great stocking-filler) but the parents were not convinced that their children would be able to perform it.

“You won’t be able to do it Johnny!”

“Of course I will Mum!”

And at this point I jumped in, showing Mum & Dad just how easy it is to perform – in fact, I showed MUM how to perform it first.  It was hilarious to watch Mum desperately trying to throw this ‘light’ around, but once she quickly started to get the trick to work, she’d inevitably start to smile!  Then she’s show her husband what she could do, then she showed the kids …

Once I realised that the secret of getting the sale was to get Mum to play with it, it immediately became part of my script.  On my second last day in the store, I broke the store record for most D’lites sold in one day.

I learnt a LOT about direct face-to-face sales that month:

• Work in the area that is immediately after the biggest contrast in the area ( small magic trick vs. large remote-controlled cars & model trains)
• Kids can be very persuasive, but even those adults without kids are easily persuaded
• Learn to sell one (or as few as possible) product really, really well.  When you find that the sales tactic you’re using for that product works & you’re able to create & meet a high demand, stick with it!
• Learn to deal with objections by first finding out if the objection is really valid; if it isn’t, allow the customer to find out for themselves why it isn’t valid.
• Let the customer play with it  & the moment she figures it out, close the sale.
• Close the sale by giving the customer a shopping basket & walking her to the tillpoint.
• Laugh. Have fun. Talk to people & be super helpful & friendly.  Not only will they thank you, but they’ll look at what you have to offer.
• You close a higher percentage of possible sales when you pitch to a group then when you pitch one-by-one.

  finally,

• Magic works really, really well to Create a Crowd, Convey a Message & Collect the Sales.  It gets the crowd in such a perfectly suggestable state that it’s almost unfair to the parents walking through the toy section.

There’s a whole bunch of other skills I learnt during the short time that I worked there.  Ask me about them when I see you next time.

You’re watching a play at the theatre & suddenly, due to a technical problem, the curtains can’t be raised.

At an important presentation, the wireless microphone’s batteries go ‘flat’ & you wait for ages while the technical crew looks for new batteries.

The laptop doesn’t open the Powerpoint presentation; the speaker arrives late; a guitar string breaks right in the middle of a solo.

What do all of these have in common? Who cares?!

The audience doesn’t care what caused the problem, they don’t care that it can’t be helped, they don’t have empathy for you at all, ever.

In the ‘Show Business’, the reason performers practise & rehearse is not only so that they know what to do to that the show goes as planned, but more importantly, they’ll know what to do when things go wrong. It’s been said that the difference between a professional performer & an amateur performer is how he handles himself when something goes wrong on stage.

So why would your customers behave any different in ‘normal’ business?

What’s your ‘Plan B’? Have you worked on ‘Plan C’? What if B and C fail – have you rehearsed Plan D?

Your customers don’t care if there are problems, they don’t care about your apologies.  They only care whether or not you deliver on your promises.

When things go wrong, make a plan.  The audience is waiting for you.

“People are selfish, lazy, uninformed and impatient. Start with that and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.”
– Seth Godin ( What Every Good Marketer Knows : 9 May 2005)

TIP: If you’re doing an important presentation & you’re using a wireless microphone or Powerpoint presenter, carry a set of brand new batteries in your pocket.  That way when the batteries die, you’ll save yourself some embarrassment by being able to throw out the old batteries & replacing them with the new ones within seconds.  If the sound quality of your amplified voice is deteriorating, it’s almost always because the batteries are low – replace them immediately so that your audience can focus on your message & not on trying to hear you.

So here’s a couple of things that I can suggest to prevent potential problems while on business travel in South Africa:

• For any travel outside of Cape Town, we use the reliable services of “African Chapter Tours“.  They book all my flights, car hire & accommodation on my behalf & then send me 1 invoice.  This means I receive all my required travel documents in one go, instead of trawling through 3 or 4 websites to make all my bookings.  Their service is fantastic – I almost always get all my bookings by the end of the business day – & very definitely worth the nominal service charge they add.
• Since most of South Africa’s airports are currently under construction for the 2010 Soccer World Cup,  you’ll need an addition 30 minutes – so arrive at the airport at least 90minutes before your flight.  Rather arrive too early & have a cup of coffee!
• Many South African airlines no longer accept your driver’s license as positive identification, so make sure you have your green ID book or your passport with you.
• Use a Luggage Glove. Not only does it make your luggage easier to see on the conveyor belt, it also puts an extra layer of security around the contents of your bag.
• Request a GPS when you book your car – you can’t “prepay” for it, you’ll be paying when you actually receive the unit.  Where possible, get a Garmin nuvi – the interface is the easiest to use.  Rates vary (Vodafone rentals is currently holding a special of R29,00 / day)
• Be aware that vehicle hire companies require a fuel deposit, so make sure there are enough funds available on  your credit card for the ‘hold’ amount.
• Join the relevant ‘frequent flyer’ club – they’re free & if your flight is overbooked, the airline upgrades you according to your mileage status.
• Be friendly with any staff you may encounter – charisma & a smile can go a long way.  I get much better service when I greet each person I meet & give them something to smile about!
• If you want to leave the aircraft quickly, try to get a seat as far forward as you can & along the aisle.  This makes it much easier not only to get off quicker but you won’t need to climb over everyone if you need to take your laptop out of the overhead compartment.
• Always carry a book: you never know when you’ll be delayed & will need to pass the time.
• Get a PowerMonkey – this amazing little charger will let you charge just about any mobile device, without needing to be plugged in.  I now only carry 1 charger for my cellphone, iPod & Palmtop. The PowerMonkey comes with a cable to allow you to charge it from the laptop’s USB port.
• If you’re staying in accommodation & want privacy, give the person who cleans your room a big tip before you leave & request that they leave your room – you can always ask the reception to deliver clean towels when you’re there.  Leave the TV on with the volume up & put the ‘Privacy’ sign on.  This helps to decrease the chances of anyone coming into your room (but use the safe if necessary).

These are just a few suggestions but I will be posting some more tips in the future.

If you have any other suggestions, please share them with everyone by adding them in a ‘comment’ below!

Update 18 June 2009: This article appears in the June/July 2009 edition of ‘BusinessBrief‘ magazine.

Since I’m often requested to speak & perform at team-building events, I get to spend time with other speakers & trainers in my industry. Yesterday, after my team-building presentation for one of South Africa’s most innovative engineering firms, I had the incredible experience of listening to a truly amazing speaker.

In September 2003, Riaan Manser set off from Cape Town on a mission that had taken him 18 months to prepare & what he had hoped would take 1 year to complete : to be the first person to circumnavigate the African continent on a bicycle. He left Cape Town, cheered on by a small group of supporters, & started on 37 000km journey that would take him through 34 African countries & take 2 years, 2 months & 15 days to complete. He only carried as much equipment, supplies & clothing as he could fit on his mountain bike & did the journey solo without any backup team, documenting his journey with a diary & video camera.

You may have seen his story on MNet’s Carte Blanch, & Riaan started off his talk by playing a recording of the story they had done. As he says, “It’s quite amazing how they were able to condense over 888 days into a 12-minute segment!” Of course, once we had all seen the video, we wanted to hear Riaan’s story first-hand…

Riaan Manser talks about his book, “Around Africa On My Bicycle”:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PffO69X6WqU

Riaan is a real ‘down to earth’ Capetonian ‘boykie’, & although it is evident that he is not ‘professional’ speaker by the way he structures his talk, the stories & anecdotes that he shared with group were truly inspiring! He describes vividly & in detail of how he was captured & held hostage by child-soldiers in Liberia, his experiences of talking to a huge group of amputees that were being assisted by the UN in Sierra Leone (video here), how strangers constantly bought him food in Algeria, & how he dealt with mechanical failures while travelling through mountains, forests & deserts. One of the most personal stories he told, which had quite a striking impact on the entire audience, was how the effects of loneliness & not having regular contact with his family & friends caused him to befriend a mouse, “Russel”, in Tunisia! His speaking style is very personal & it’s almost like you’re sitting around a braai while he’s telling his story, with no pretences or embellishment.

Even though he experienced considerable hardships & times of despair, Riaan explains that he never considered surrendering & returning home. His dedication & focus on completing his promise to himself meant that he continued despite the dangers of such a long & arduous journey. What I cannot describe to you here though is how emotionally compelling the story is when you hear it from Riaan himself! When he says how much he needed to complete this goal, you can tell in his eyes & body language that there was absolutely nothing that was going to stop him. It is because of this that I feel honoured to have heard Riaan tell his story.

Ultimately, Riaan believes that “Quitters never win“. After hearing his story, you realise that are so many opportunities around you to make an impact, to make a real difference in the world – but we’re so used to sitting back & letting the world pass us by that we never reach our full potential. There were so many reasons for Riaan not to even start his journey, there even more opportunities for him to ‘call it a day’ & return home – but then he would never ever be remembered for his phenomenal achievement. Worse, if he had not completed the journey, others who may have considered trying it may have been discouraged from trying. Riaan is a real South African hero & his story will truly inspire you to set your goals high, never lose focus, & achieve the ‘impossible’.

Riaan has recently published the book of his story, “Around Africa On My Bicycle“, & he will be a special guest at the Cape Town Book Fair on Saturday 14th June 2008 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre at 14h00. You’ll also get to see his bicycle!

To order a signed copy of Riaan Manser’s book, or to request an appearance, visit www.africa365.co.za.