I suppose you & I don’t often think about where we will be spending our ‘Golden Years’ but I’m sure you hope that you’ll be able to live comfortably in a safe & happy environment. Besides discussing new developments in technology, medicine & business, the organisers realized that the delegates were also there to find new ways to look at encouraging their staff to provide “Wow!” moments.  They approached me to present my “Magic Moments” talk to a lecture hall full of care-givers, business owners, managers & supervisors.

The business-orientated content of the “Magic Moments” talk is based on my book, “The Serious Business Owner’s Guide to Creating Customers For Life“, but with several unique themes that were focused on the particular demands & work environments of the delegates. I think that senior citizens these days have generally better health, more freedom & so much choice available that when they decide where they would like to live & be looked after, they know that they can demand exceptional service.  I shared this idea with everyone, along with the tried-&-tested success techniques of “Customers For Life“,  & together we all committed ourselves to creating more “Magic Moments” for others in our pursuit of success.

We all had a really great time & the response was awesome!  In fact, they all enjoyed the presentation so much, that Geratec & some of the delegates have asked me to repeat this talk for their own staff.

By changing people’s perceptions from thinking about serving their own needs, to becoming passionate about looking after other people’s needs, they not only create a happier, safer & loving environment: it’s also very good for business.  By introducing the concept of “Magic Moments” as something that everyone can be involved in, while laughing & being amazed, I’m able to anchor the positive behaviour with a physical response!

I’m really beginning to enjoy these ’shows’ … especially after this response from one of the managers of Panorama Palms Retirement Village:

Thank you so much for a “MAGICAL MOMENT” morning. There were so many priceless moments in that session. This Panorama Palms & Geratec teambuilding will be remembered for a long time. I have listened to the staff at their different tea breaks and I hear they have not only been WOWED but they have learned some important and positive ideas. Thank you to all that made this teambuilding happen and we can refer to it when we want to talk about working as a team and creating wonderful moments for our residents.

Have a wonderful week

Ms Annemarie Heydenrych
Lifestyle Consultant
Panorama Palms Retirement Village

Thank you so much: it’s gratifying to hear such a heartfelt response.  It was my sincere pleasure to share my ideas & experiences with you!

This weekend, I had the wonderful pleasure of spending time with one of the magic world’s living legends, Michael Ammar. Michael is one the most prolific authors & teachers of magic in the world, & his achievements are unequalled. As well as being only the 2nd American magician to win the Gold Medal for Close-Up Magic at the World Congress of Magic (FISM) in 1982, he has won 6 awards from the Academy of Magical Arts (the most that he is eligible for), and in a recent BBC ranking of the “10 greatest magic tricks of all time”, Michael’s rendition of “The Cups & Balls” placed him above Harry Houdini. In 1999, The Magic Magazine named him one of 100 most influential magicians of the century. His book, “The Magic of Michael Ammar”, became the fastest selling magic book in history; of course, I had my copy autographed! It was truly an honour & a privilege to learn & spend some time with him.

But here is some of Michael’s advice from his book that I want to share with you. In his chapter on “Making Magic Memorable – The Development of Style“, Principle Number 6 is:

Find one thing, and try to do it better than anyone. Becoming so good at that one thing, that whenever anyone, anywhere in the world talks about that one thing, they will say, “Yeah, but you should see Michael Ammar do that …”

So often, we get drawn into trying to be “the everyman”, or a “Jack of All Trades”, but what effect does that leave with your clients? It has been demonstrated time & time again, that working within a niche industry will provide far greater results than trying to serve everyone. Seth Godin & Michael Port are big advocates of finding & only working within your niche industry.

What is the service or product that you offer that is so fantastic & so undeniably ‘yours’, that when your clients talk about that subject, they say, “But you should really see how does it!”.

There are certain ‘tricks’ in my performance that I have worked on, rehearsed & performed so many times in my unique way, that when people watch another magician perform something similar, my name comes into the conversation. This is very disarming to the poor performer who has just performed the effect & is often standing right there!

So, perhaps from today, look at one part of your business or your industry that you make your own - it might be the way you answer the telephone, or the way you ‘wrap your package’, or the special notes you put on the bottom of a contract.

If you can consistently do that one thing, just one thing, in your own special & unique way, it is almost a certainty that your clients will talk about you over & over again – to their colleagues, friends & families.

While you’re here, why not watch Michael’s performance of “The Cups & Balls”?