
1. How Set It Up So They Can Enjoy It Even More
A. Chairs work better in curved rows. People can see better and they feel closer to the show.
B. If the room is a rectangle, it usually works better if you arrange it so that the "front" of the room where the show will be is on one of the long sides. More people will have front row seats, and again, everyone will feel closer to the show. If the audience will be sitting on the floor, I usually just automatically set it up this way.
C. If it's a family show and you want parents to participate, make families sit together. It works. (It works even better if you word it that kids have to sit with their parents.)
D. If it's a kid show and you really don't care if the adults participate, please ask them ahead of time not to stand in the back and talk during the show. It's very distracting for those who are participating, and often makes it difficult for the performer and the kids to hear each other. Especially in a small room or a big echo-y gym!
E. Name tags are recommended for groups of less than 100. It's a huge help with introductions, as well as for people who aren't that good with names. And it's a real boon for the entertainer, who may not know anyone but you! It's especially helpful to the performer if the children have name tags, especially when it comes to crowd control and unruly children.
2. Block Booking Discounts
Block booking is basically a group discount for several groups in the same area that get together and all book performances for the same day. This saves me time and travel expenses, and I'm delighted to pass the saving on to you. The more groups that join you, the more you all save. Take $50 off each group's cost for each additional show you book. So, one show costs $400. Two shows are $350 each. Three run $300 each. Four are $250 each. Five (the max) are just $200 apiece... a collective savings of $1,000 ($200 each — that's 50% off!) if you arrange for five shows on the same day!
There's even more of a discount for multiple shows at the same location. One show is $400. Two shows at the same location is $600. And three or more shows — basically all day — is $900!
3. Repeat Performance Policy
If you book me at least once each year, I will never raise the cost. Period.
I have quite a few clients that book me for an event year after year. I love their loyal patronage and reward them by never raising the price for them. For instance, Northwest Park Fair in Windsor CT has booked me every year since 1992, and is still paying my 1992 rates! They've saved a few thousand dollars just by sticking with the tried and true. So lock your event in now by booking me every year — the savings over the long run are huge, and continue to build up the longer our relationship goes on.
4. Cancellation Policy
Many people don't realize that an oral agreement on the phone is as legally binding as a written contract. Both sides must abide by it unless released from their contractual obligations by the other. It is equally unethical for either of us to go back on our side of the agreement.
When you and I come to a performance agreement, it is an oral contract. You are legally obligated to uphold your end (pay what you agreed to pay when you agreed to pay it) even if you ask me not to do my end (perform), just as I would still be obligated to perform even if I asked you not to pay me! You wouldn't be happy if I canceled, and I wouldn't be happy if you canceled me. The first puts you in a tough bind, and the second has caused me huge financial problems in the past. This is because most of the time, people have canceled so close to the show date that it's impossible for me to book another show on that date.
This is my full-time profession: it is my only income. I need to do a certain amount of business or I can't pay my bills. When you book me, that income goes into my budget and then I can focus my marketing efforts further ahead. If I allow you to cancel a few days or even a month or more before our scheduled date, there is very little chance of me recouping that income because most clients book entertainment months in advance. To put it bluntly: being canceled leaves me up a creek without a paddle... and most people have no idea.
Many professional entertainers build a Cancellation Fee into their contracts. Usually it's around 50% of the full fee. But this means that if you cancel, I get paid for doing nothing, and you just plain get nothing. I'm not really comfortable with that.
So I've developed a win-win cancellation policy that equally respects both your show and my income. When we agree that in exchange for my services at a certain time and location you will pay me the agreed-upon fee, therefore: If you cancel for any reason, then you agree to send me the full amount by the date you agreed and I will send you a rain check for a show at a mutually agreed upon future date and time. If I cancel for any reason and you don't want to reschedule, then I agree to send you a check for the full amount. What this means for me is that my bills get paid on time; and what this means for you is that you will get either a show or a check! Nice, huh?
By the way, in over 35 years of performing and over 5,000 appearances, I've never canceled a show. And I'd appreciate it if you understood that it's really not okay for you to cancel either.
Everyone I explain this to seems to suddenly understand when they learn that this is my sole source of income, not just a weekend hobby — it's my job, folks. Nobody likes to hear that they won't be getting a paycheck this week because the boss's kid got sick or they just plain changed their mind!
Basically, my cancellation policy amounts to this: I don't get my finances messed up and you get what you paid for... and if it's my fault, I pay you! Fair enough?
5. TREVOR's Quality Guarantee
YOU WILL BE 100% SATISFIED AND YOUR GROUP WILL HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF FUN... OR THE SHOW IS FREE!
After over 5,000 performances, my documented 99.98% Customer Satisfaction Rate say that you, too, will be thrilled with my performance, or it won't cost you a thing. I won't take your money unless and until you're completely satisfied with my work. FUN GUARANTEED.