|
Customer
Service From A Clown? By Steve Kissell That’s right folks, genuine customer service just like the “bigger wigs” do! From the time the phone rings until the last thank you is sent, it is all about customer service. This is what separates your business from the others. It is what can, and WILL, increase your profits for the New Year. Let’s discuss three areas: Introduction, Body and Conclusion, remember this from the papers you had to write in high school? The introduction, in this case, is when you first meet the client. It could be at a birthday party, working a restaurant gig or perhaps someone checking the yellow pages. First impressions do count so remember to put your best clown shoe forward! Pass a card on but it is better to get their card instead. Introduction: When the phone rings and it is a potential client, try to win them over right away. I try to find a common ground such as where they live or where they might be from. If I hear a New York accent I may share with them that my wife is from Long Island and that is where we were married. They will usually tell me something about the birthday child. If they happen to mention that the birthday child is five or six I tell them that I used to teach Kindergarten and enjoyed children of that age. Whatever you can do to connect with them right away will help you book the party. Discover as much information about them and the child or the party before giving your fee. Never refer to it as a cost but an “investment” that will last a lifetime. Tell them about your credentials and what your talents are, they will be amazed! Body: This is the actual performing time. Arriving early will assure the party parents of meeting planners that you a professional and they don’t need to worry. Find out what their cell phone numbers ahead of time so you can confirm with them while you are en route. After arriving, I usually consult with the meeting planner as to last minute changes. I explain to them that I am known as “Mr. Flexible.” Do they want me to start late, do they want me to go over a bit or finish as scheduled? This will let them that I am a dedicated professional, flexible, and want to cooperate with their time schedule. Remember to recognize the host or hosts during the performance but try not to dialogue with them during the show and be sure to recognize the birthday child if that is the venue. Be very careful not to appear to be picking on the child star, parent or the meeting planner. They may laugh then out of nervousness but will probably not refer you to others and you could be damaging the opportunities for other entertainers to work for them in the future. Conclusion: Your follow-up will definitely put you above and beyond the others. A follow up call is often appreciated and you could use this time to determine if they would be willing to act at a reference for you. Of course, you already knew to ask first, didn’t you? We send out a little thank you note and gift. They usually respond with “I can’t believe you sent us a present, no one ever sends us stuff!” This will keep you in their long term memory banks. An ideal thing to do is to secretly discover what the meeting planners or parents’ hobbies and interests are. That way you can customize a special gift, which will really bowl them over! We found out that one client loved to walk and often entered races as well so we included a pair of walking socks in her thank you basket. It made an impression on her and guess what happened? That’s right, she referred us to other clients because we were interested in her, delivered a good program and followed up to see how the performance was received. The icing on the cake was the thoughtful and personalized gift. So there you have it folks! There are a few ideas for customer service from a clown. I hope that they will be helpful to you. And remember, if just one person learns one thing . . . then I failed!
Continuing Educational Opportunities
www.CircusMagic.com www.KidAbra.com www.BalloonAndMagicMania.com www.WorldClownAssociation.com www.ClownJubilee.com www.Comedifest.com www.KentuckyClownDerby.com www.ClownVegas.com Steve Kissell 1227 Manchester Ave. Norfolk, VA 23508-1122 757-423-3867 KissellTalks@cs.com
|
|
|