Secrets to the Less Shows More Money Approach

SECRETS TO THE “LESS SHOWS MORE MONEY” APPROACH

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WHAT IS THE "LESS SHOWS MORE MONEY" APPROACH? The "Less Shows More Money" approach aims to help performing artistes & entertainers maximize income but perform fewer shows. The intuitive or traditional business model for a performing artiste & entertainer is to earn more money by doing more shows. So, it is a "More Shows, More Money" mindset. And this is the approach that all artistes have to start with. However, as one's career develops, an artiste should move towards a "Less Shows More Money" approach. This approach is completely different and may seem counter-intuitive. The goal is to make more money but perform fewer shows. In this guide, you will learn: 

Strategies for the "Less Shows More Money" Artiste

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Pricing for the "Less Shows More Money" Artiste

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How to Maintain Your Value in Contract Negotiations

One of the biggest challenges that creative artistes face is fully tapping the commercial potential of their skills and expertise. Maximizing earnings is often © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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elusive for many performing artistes & entertainers, regardless of the level of the act. Many performing artistes rather focus their time, energy and passion into creating their art, as opposed to spending time doing market research and spending weeks and months learning how to develop their brand and career, even though they know it is important. Understandably so! If you are reading this, I know that you are incredibly passionate for your art. You love performing, love being on stage and dedicate your life to perfecting your art. However, have you ever felt: 

You should be charging more for your shows but either feel you can't or are afraid to

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You are losing gigs to competitors who are charging less than you

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You have the talent and have worked incredibly hard at your art but are not getting that lucky break

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You are not getting the recognition you deserve as a performing artist

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You need greater financial stability and security, especially for your future © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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You have a fan following but are not making big money

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Your career has stagnated and has not progressed in the last few years

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You are not getting consistent bookings

If the above thoughts are on your mind, you are not alone. Many talented new and seasoned performing artistes & entertainers around the world feel exactly the same way. STRATEGIES FOR THE “LESS SHOWS MORE MONEY” ARTISTE As you develop and grow as an artiste, you should be more valued as a performer. But, this does not mean you have to perform more shows. To develop a "Less Shows More Money" mindset, you must understand some fundamental concepts. This chapter may seem dry, intimidating and unappealing but this knowledge is essential. The Market You must understand that you are part of a market. You, your show or act, do not exist in a silo. You are just one part of the collective market place. Your show or act is a product offered in the market.

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Naturally, the marketplace also includes competitors who offer alternative products to yours. The consumers are equally an important part of the market. Consumers refer to your clients, agents, venues, individuals and organizations who book your show. The market also consists of trade media as well as related support service and product providers. Competition To be successful in any business in today's economy, you have to understand the competition. This is especially true of the "Less Shows More Money" approach as it adopts a positioning marketing strategy to raise your value in the market. Positioning requires you to be positioned against your competition so knowing who exactly your competitor is essential. Most performing artistes think that their competition is other similar performing artistes. The truth is, other similar performing artistes may make up only 20% of your competition. Who makes up the other 80%? To see whom your competition is; do a localized Internet search for ‘Entertainers’ in your area. You will no doubt get dozens of pages of entertainers ranging from magicians to jugglers to bands to impersonators to singers… the list goes on. Now multiply this with all © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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the number of entertainers outside of your city or country. That’s a huge number right? It now becomes obvious that performing artistes that are of the same trade as you make up only a small number of entertainers in the industry. With the realization that your competition extends beyond your own art, you will broaden your perspective on: 

What is expected from the content of your show in terms of quality

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The degree of effort needed in marketing your show to stand out from the immense competition.

Besides other performing artistes, there is actually one more form of stiff indirect competition. And that is the option for the client not to have any professional entertainment at all. This is the form of competition that most don’t even realize! Unless it is a professional entertainment venue, a corporate event client, for example, may decide not to have any professional entertainment at all and choose to spend the money on better food, lucky draw prizes or have its own staff perform for the event. Thus, the performing artiste has three forms of competition in all:


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Direct Competition - Other similar performing artistes Indirect Competition - Other entertainers Indirect Competition - The choice of the client not to have any professional entertainment Being aware of your competition is very important in crafting your marketing strategy for your target market segment. Value Value is how much consumers in the market think your act is worth. It is a perceived notion; just as a $100 note is perceived as more valuable than a $10 note, even though both are pieces of printed paper that may actually cost 3 cents to print. The value of an artiste is generally represented by price. Price, for an artiste is most commonly equated to the performance fee. However, value can also be represented by other things that I will elaborate shortly. Your value is determined by the consumers, not by you. You can propose what you hope your value to be, but the actual value is ultimately determined by the consumers. So, in the case of your performance fee, if you want to charge $500 a show and most clients are willing to pay $500 a show, your value in that market is $500. However, if you want to charge $500 a show but most clients are always asking you to lower your price to $400 a show, your value in that market is $400. © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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I mentioned value does not always equal to price because your value may include other things that you request for such as remuneration or compensation for your act. For example, when a client books you, you might request for business class travel & accommodation, a fully equipped dressing room with certain luxury items and accommodating your entourage. You might also request for marque billing or a certain amount of promotion to ensure your show is well attended. All these will cost the client money, on top of your performance fee. All these add to your overall value. As an illusionist, my act requires props & equipment to be shipped. This can amount to tens of thousands of dollars depending if the gear is shipped by air or sea and the size & number of cases that are shipped. I also have a technical rider that include specific staging, audio, video and lighting requirements. The client has to commit to all these costs that contribute to the overall value of my show. How Does a Client Assess Your Value? These are two types of value that clients assess to determine how much they think an act is worth: 1. Tangible Value 2. Intangible Value © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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Tangible value refers to the physical elements in your act as well anything that can be experienced by the senses. Some artistes may view this as "real value" (even though technically that is ironic since value is a perceived notion). Tangible elements include:     

The Physical Skill Displayed in Your Act Physical Look & Styling of the Artiste Props & Costumes Music Supporting Elements like Visual Media, Specific Lighting Design, Pyrotechnics and Special Effects

While tangible elements make up the base value of your act, it is the intangible elements that can contribute more to the overall perceived value of an artiste. Intangible elements may include:          

Originality Showmanship Audience Engagement X Factor Brand Value Media Recognition Awards Industry Experience Professionalism Off-stage Business Dealings


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With the introduction and understanding the above concepts, we can begin to explore how to use the "Less Shows More Money" approach to chart your career. The intuitive or traditional business model for an artiste is to earn more money by doing more shows. So, it is a "More Shows, More Money" mindset. And this is the approach that all artistes have to start with. However, as one's career develops, an artiste should move towards "Less Shows More Money" approach. This approach is completely different and may seem counter-intuitive. The goal is to make more money but perform fewer shows. You read the above correctly. You can make more money than you are making now but also perform fewer shows. The way to do this is to raise the value of your show so you can command more money for your shows, allowing you to make the same amount (or even more money) with less number of shows. Would you like to charge $200 a show and perform 10 shows to make $2000? Or would you prefer to charge $1000 and perform just 2 shows to make $2000? I think the logical answer is obvious. Of course, it is not possible to just raise your value and price overnight but it must all start with the fundamental mindset. © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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You may not see results immediately or even in a few months. It depends on your level of experience in the industry, the nature of your act, the market, economic market conditions, how fast you work and a host of other variables. However, by applying the "Less Shows More Money" approach, you will be guaranteed to increase your value, dominate your niche market and create wealth over time. The "Less Shows More Money" approach will: 

Raise your brand value and position in the marketplace

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Free up time that you can spend with your family & loved ones and do things you like outside of your art.

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Give you more time to improve your act, develop new acts and add value to your overall product.

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Allow you to have time and energy to develop other streams of income and business opportunities.


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HOW DOES THE "LESS SHOWS MORE MONEY" APPROACH WORK? The "Less Shows More Money" approach is to raise the value of your show so you can command more money for your shows, allowing you to make the same amount (or even more money) with less number of shows. The question is how to go about raising the value of your show so that clients are willing to pay you more. The key and the entire backbone to the "Less Shows More Money" approach is summed up in a single sentence: An Artiste has a Higher Value when the Consumers Believe the Artiste Offers a Differentiated Quality Product in the Relevant Niche Market. This may sound very technical and convoluted so please read that sentence again and try to digest it. The artiste's value is directly proportionate to the consumers' belief in the artiste's differentiated quality product and the value of the niche market itself. This means: 

The stronger the consumers' belief, the higher the value they will attach to the artiste.


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The higher quality the product, the more the artiste is valued

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The more differentiated the product is, the more the artiste is valued

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The higher the value of the niche market, the higher the value of the artiste that caters to that specific niche market.

To elaborate: The value of the niche market refers to the level that consumers spend on products in a specific specialized market. The more consumers are willing to spend, the higher value the market is. So, the diamond market is considered a higher value market than the toy market because consumers are generally willing to spend more on diamonds than on toys. In order to build your career to the "Less Shows More Money" level, you need to transform your mindset. Here are the 6 Characteristics of "Less Shows More Money" Performing Artistes & Entertainers that you must embrace: Understand that Value is More Important than Price Remember, price, in this case your performance fee, is just one component of your overall value. Do not make the mistake of equating your value only to your performance fee. © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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Ensure the Value of Your Show is Higher than Your Performance Fee My rule is that whatever you charge, the value you give should be at least 50% more than what a client is paying. So, if you charge $1000 for a show, you should deliver a show worth at least $1500. Be a Specialist in Your Art/ Field. A "Less Shows More Money" Performing Artiste is NOT an Entertainer for All Occasions. Focus, sacrifice and positioning are essential to increase your intangible value that contributes to the increase of your overall value. Ensure that Your Show is not just of High Quality but also Different in Your Chosen Market It's good to be great but great to be different. Being good in today's market is not good enough; you have to be different as well to command a high value. Choose Markets that have Mid-High Value so that they can Support a Higher Performance Fee "Less Shows More Money" requires markets that can appreciate and support higher value products. It is important to target mid-high value markets. Otherwise, even if you are successful in raising your value and differentiating yourself, a low-value market will not be able to bear your value.


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Understand that it takes time to build towards a "Less Shows More Money" career There are too many variables to put an exact timetable on the positive results of the "Less Shows More Money" approach. You may see results as soon as a month or up to a year. However, the guarantee is that you will see quantum results over time.


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PRICING FOR THE “LESS SHOWS MORE MONEY” ARTISTE One of the secrets of making money as a performing artiste and entertainer is to know what to charge at different stages of your career. One major issue among artistes in any market for any type of art seems to be bad artistes who charge rock bottom prices and "spoil" the market for the rest of the industry. The feeling is that low-priced artistes undercut the "market price" and hurt all artistes. My personal opinion on this is that there is nothing wrong with bad artistes charging low prices. And, lowpriced artistes do not affect a "Less Shows More Money" artiste. This is based on the following line of thinking: Price is a Reflection of Value First, as discussed in "The Less Shows More Money Mindset", price is one representation of value. These are also two types of value that clients assess to determine how much they think an act is worth: 1. Tangible Value 2. Intangible Value Your pricing reflects the value that you bring to the market. And, as mentioned earlier, my rule is that © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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whatever you charge, the value you give should be at least 50% more than what a client is paying. Therefore, for bad artistes who offer low value due to a poor quality act, their low pricing is an accurate reflection of their value. Bad act = low value (price). These artistes book shows because they are lowpriced but the only way to make money is to do more shows. But, there is a threshold to the number of shows they can possibly do which limits the amount of money they can make. Price is Not the Determining Factor for the "Less Shows More Money" Artiste Low-priced artistes do not affect a "Less Shows More Money" artiste because price is not the only determining factor when clients book an artiste. The exception is for budget-conscious low-level markets where price may be an overriding factor. However, a "Less Shows More Money" artiste does not focus on low-level markets. "Less Shows More Money" requires mid to high level markets. The biggest fallacy I have heard an artiste (although I do not consider him an artiste) state is that clients want the cheapest artiste they can get. That is completely false! While it might apply to a small percentage of budgetconscious clients who just need some kind of entertainment and are not concerned with quality, clients DO NOT always want the cheapest. What they © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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always want is – the best value for money that they can afford. There is No Such Thing as a Market Price Most artistes try to be competitive with the "market price". However, the truth is, there is no such thing as a "market price". A market price is but a mere guideline that in no way binds you to charge a particular fee. A perceived “market price” is a rough median of what similar artistes may generally charge in a specific market but this does not need to apply to you if you are not in that specific market or if you are completely unique from anyone else in that same market. It is because there is no such thing as a “market price” that some artistes can charge 10 or even 20 times more than others. Yes, you read correct. If you charge $500 for a show, there is someone who can command $10,000 for the same duration of show. However, you do not need to worry about or compete with other artistes. Your focus should be raising your value and fee from what it is now.


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HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR VALUE IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS The golden rule in negotiating your performance contracts is to always maintain your value. Now, the key word is "value". Notice I did not say maintain your price. There is a distinct difference. During negotiations, you can lower your price to accommodate clients' lower budgets but you must maintain your value. This might sound confusing. You might be thinking how is it possible to lower your price but maintain your value. First, let me explain why there is a need to maintain your value. You need to maintain your value because most other artistes will likely lower their price without maintaining their value. By creatively maintaining your value, clients will take notice of you, further differentiating yourself from competitors. More importantly, maintaining your value during tough economic times will protect your value when the economy is on the upswing and doing well. Here are some ways to respond to a client when they request you to lower your fee. Step 1 Maintain Your Price but Offer More Value © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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Your first response must be to maintain your price but offer more value. For example, you can:   

Perform a longer show for the same price Increase the scale of the show for the same price Add a guest performer for the same price

The above offers might incur some expense but at least you maintain your value. Step 2 Request a Barter Trade for the Difference in Your Fee If none of the above offers work and the client's lower budget is fixed and cannot be adjusted, you can try to negotiate a barter trade to match the difference. Things that can be bartered include: 

Products/ Services - These may be products or services that the client deals in or has access to.

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Discount Vouchers - These may be for products or services that the client deals in or has access to.

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Media Coverage - The client may have a PR firm that can secure some media coverage or you can "piggy back" off media coverage the client is seeking for the event you are performing at. © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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Advertising Space - If the client is advertising on media platforms, they can include you in the advertising campaign. There must include your promo photo for there to have value. A one-line mention of your name has little value.

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Formal Referrals - If there is nothing that the client can offer, you can request for a number of formal referrals to other organizations that might use your services. It is important that the client must have personal contact with these referrals for there to be value.

You will need to apply creativity when working out barter deals. While your aim is to benefit from the barters directly, your main goal is to maintain your value. So, if the barter trade is for 1000 toothbrushes, take the deal. You can donate the toothbrushes to an aid relief organization or orphanage. Besides doing something charitable, you can get a tax deduction for the donated value. So, you get to do a good thing and at the same time, maintain your value. As a guide, the barter value should be twice the value of the value in cash. So, if you are reducing your show fee by $200. The barter value should be $400.


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Step 3 Lower Your Fee to Meet the Client's Budget but Adjust the Value Accordingly If you are unable to make a barter deal with the client, you can consider lowering your fee to meet the client's budget (only if it is an amount you are personally willing to accommodate). However, you have to make the client understand that a compromise has to be reached. The compromise is that if the client needs you to reduce your fee, you have to cut something from the show. So, in essence, while you reduce your price, you are matching your value of your show to the lower price. Thus, your value is proportionately maintained. So, your options are to:  

Perform a shorter show for the lower price Reduce the scale of the show for the lower price

Step 4 In the event, none of the above negotiations work out and the client is firm on having you reduce your fee, you have two options: Thank the client and turn down the show If you feel you should still take on the show (because of financial necessity or to maintain good relations with the client), that is fine. However, you should do your best to ensure the client knows your "real" value and © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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you are giving them a one-time goodwill discount. Hopefully the fact that you went through the above negotiations should demonstrate the importance of your value. In such a case, ensure that your original fee is reflected in your contract and invoice with the "onetime goodwill discount" indicated. This is very important to ensure that your actual value is documented. In future, if the same client requests the same fee because that was the amount charged before, you can refer to these documents to show it was a one-time special deal. Personally, if it comes to Step 4 and no compromise can be made, I typically pass on the show. It is very seldom that a compromise or barter trade cannot be reached unless the client is unreasonable or refuses to recognize the value that I bring. If this client is part of the tiny percentage who does not recognize my value, then I prefer not to work with them as I will not be happy performing the show.


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THE ULTIMATE GOAL FOR PERFORMING ARTISTES & ENTERTAINERS I hope that you found great value in this free PDF guide. This is a basic introduction to my "Less Shows More Money" approach for performing artistes & entertainers. If you think this approach makes sense and can work for your career, you might be interested in my complete course "Less Shows More Money: The Ultimate Goal for Performing Artistes & Entertainers".

The original course delves into the "Less Shows More Money" approach in much greater detail and I teach © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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you how to develop your career to the "Less Shows More Money" level. At the same time, I will take the fear out of dealing with the business of "show business". Mostly importantly, the information in the course is current and relevant to today's market and to YOU, the performing artiste & entertainer. There is no point in trying to adopt generic "secrets" that worked for artistes in the 1980s, 1990s or even 2000s. It is 2014 and the global market is completely different than it was just 10 - 15 years ago. What separates my course from any other marketing program of its kind is that it is not just a marketing program. The course adopts a holistic approach that embraces your artistic integrity as a performing artiste & entertainer and teaches you how to build a solid brand based on your inherent creative strengths and goals. For the very first time, you will learn my time-tested and market-proven approach, strategies, methods and tactics that have been used not just for myself but by dozens of successful performing artistes & entertainers. So, what is included in "Less Shows More Money: The Ultimate Goal for the Performing Artiste & Entertainer"?


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The course is available in three formats: 1) INSTANT DOWNLOAD BOOK The 180 A5-sized page written course consists of 7 comprehensive steps that guides you through building your "Less Shows More Money" career. Step 1: The "Less Shows More Money" Mindset Step 2: Niching the Market Step 3: Differentiating a Quality Product Step 4: Powerful Positioning Step 5: Killer Marketing Step 6: Perfect Pricing Step 7: The "Less Shows More Money" Career The final step details strategies that will help both new and seasoned artistes build a long sustainable career, financial security and create wealth.

2) INSTANT DOWNLOAD AUDIO This is the audio version of the written course. There are two versions of the audio course that will be available to you. One is faster paced for native English speakers and one is slower and more deliberate for © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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clarity for non-native English speakers. Listen to the one you want to! Audio books, guides and podcasts are very popular and this 5-hour audio course is a different medium that offers an alternative learning experience. It is a convenient tool as you can listen to the audio course when doing other things like working out in the gym, commuting or running errands.

3) THE COMPLETE COURSE (BOOK + AUDIO) The Complete Course includes both the instant download written and audio courses in one combo package.

So now comes the million dollar question? How much does "Less Shows More Money" cost?

Well... Not a million dollars. Not even close. $1000? © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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No. Not even that, even though the course is worth at least that. "Less Shows More Money" is priced as follows: INSTANT DOWNLOAD BOOK (180 PAGES, A5-SIZED) US$129.00 INSTANT DOWNLOAD AUDIO (5 HOURS) US$129.00 THE COMPLETE COURSE (BOOK + AUDIO) US$159.00 Regardless of the format you choose, you will recoup your investment in the course with just ONE show booking! And I guarantee you will be booking shows at a higher fee within weeks if you implement even just two ideas from this course. Go to www.LessShowsMoreMoney.com to pre-order "Less Shows More Money" now to receive a 20% discount. The course will be launched on 10 Jul 2014 at its full price. © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Based in Singapore, J C Sum (www.jcsum.com) is an award-winning international illusionist and illusion designer. He has extensive international experience performing for corporate & special events, luxury cruise liners, theatres, showrooms and television and has staged over 3500 shows across Asia Pacific as well as in the Middle East, Europe and the US. More than 120 million people have seen J C’s magic on television with appearances on over 26 programs internationally. He has successfully carved a niche in the global market as an "East Meets West" illusionist with a © Copyright 2014 J C Sum

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large-scale illusion show in Asia produced with Western sensibilities that can be performed bilingually in English & Mandarin. J C is world-recognized for his contributions to the illusion arts with his critically acclaimed books on original illusion designs & presentations that have been bought by hundreds of magicians in over 40 countries. He is the creator of www.IllusionBooks.com, the largest free online resource on illusions in the world. J C is the founder of Concept:Magic (www.ConceptMagic.biz), a magic production house cum artiste management firm, and has produced almost a dozen professional entertainers since 1998. Concurrently, J C is also involved as an investor, content developer and designer with various online portals and e-commerce ventures that are currently in development. As a performing artiste, producer and entrepreneur, J C has been nominated for the "Spirit of Enterprise" Award in Singapore and is regularly invited to speak at events on his international work.


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Secrets to the Less Shows More Money Approach

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