So You Want to Become a Mentalist?

Let's start here.

When you started in mentalism, you were performing for family and friends. They said how good you were and you should be getting paid for it.

Well isn't that the dream — Getting paid for what you love to do?

So why not...Doing what you love is supposed to be uncomplicated, stress free, and most importantly, it's supposed to be FUN!

So why isn't it fun anymore?

For most, it takes a a few months to realize the truth.The magic shops and pro's teach mentalism tricks, but no one is really teaching the business side of performing mentalism. As you've found out, finding that customer is hard, getting a paid gig is complicated, and the hardest part is knowing where to start.

Most give up at this point! Others search online for answers. It's frustrating because everywhere you look it's just tips on what to do once you are started, but they are not outlining what to do first.

That is why I chose to start this blog by discussing this very topic.  So let's start with the most common mistakes made by performers just getting started.

1. They keep chasing the Holy Grail of Mentalism Tricks.
   This has to be the most common mistake made and marks the difference between the amateur/hobbyist mindset and the professional performer.
   
   
2. Not considering all the potential time constraints.
   Once you start working for yourself it is very easy for you and your loved ones to fall into the trap of thinking all your time is yours. Family needs and time are important, but so is dedicating sufficient time to grow the business. 
   
   
3. Not setting aside enough capital to cover personal expenses and budgeting for the business. This pitfall is not so obvious, When a new performer takes all of the profits out of the business to pay off personal debts or buy personal wants, it is like yanking a plant out of the ground right when it is starting to sprout. The plant, or business, dies and the performer now has zero income and will be forced to give up and go get a job.
   

What then are the steps to be a paid mentalist?

First, it's not going gangbusters on social media or a gig auction/ entertainer listing site and hoping you get a show. It's not hassling your friends and family at a dinner party for referrals. It's actually not doing an activity!

It's listening. You see, most performers fail because they don't think about who and what they are trying to sell. Instead they just take a shotgun approach and hope for the best.

If you are promoting your service to the right person, you can fumble your way through and likely still get the gig. The opposite is also true. If you are trying to sell your mentalism act to someone who isn't interested in what you have to offer, that person will never buy from you. Even if you did everything right!

Your show and technical skills are important, but it doesn't compare to the importance of understanding the business of show business. The better you understand the business side, the more successful you will be as a professional mentalist.

The Very First Steps to Become a Professional Mentalist

1. Define your product and service  including performance environment
   Make a short and clear statement about your service. Usually this is 1 or 2 sentences that will say what you will deliver, where you will deliver, and most importantly what is your value proposition. A value proposition is the benefit the client receives from hiring you.
2. Define your look
   Your appearance, clothes, attitudes and behaviors, and marketing materials all influence a potential customer's perceptions. Make certain your words, actions, your "look," and marketing materials are saying what you are selling.
3. Find out who is your target audience
   Look for commonalities among your clients. You will usually find a couple within the prospects who listened to your sales pitch and then hired you.This is your target audience. Go find more. Don't try and guess who will buy your services. Just listen and observe, your clients will let you know what they want.

Now the greatest secret is no matter how successful you become keep listening to your customers and audience. Just like when you are performing you need to connect with your audience, the same holds true for the business side.

Which brings me to ask you to leave a comment and telling me where you are struggling as a performer or businessman.

This blog is about you. It's about your struggle to succeed. It's about about your push to become a profitable mentalist. It's about your questions and giving you practical answers.

So I want you to do 3 things:

1. Subscribe to the Email list
2. Share this post
3. Leave a comment

I'll read your comments and then build this blog around them. Here is why:

I don't want to just give you little golden nuggets on how improve your performance or how to be a profitable performer. I don't want to just entertain you with success stories and interviews with successful mentalists. I also don't want to just motivate you to keep on pushing.

That's all good stuff, but it's not good enough!

I need to meet you where you are right now and give you the tools and techniques to get immediate results. If I can help you become successful, I hope you will spread the word and mentaltek.com will be successful.

So tell me where you are. Tell me where you are struggling. Most importantly, tell me how I can help!