Plan.Meet.Repeat January February 2019 Issue plan meet repeat jan feb 2019 | Page 5
b. The reaction of the audience. This is just as
important. Is the audience reacting favorably to them?
If it’s a comedy act, are they laughing? Obviously,
every act is going to put their best foot forward for a
demo video and only put their best performance on
there but you’ll be able to tell whether they resonate
with the audience from the video. The good thing about the internet is the almost
unlimited choices you have for every type of vendor
you need—including entertainers. The downside is
that you still need to screen acts to make sure they’re
of the highest quality for the fee paid. Using the
above-mentioned points should, hopefully, make your
job a little easier.
3. Do they guarantee their performance? Within the
entertainment field, even with lower level and mid-
priced talent, the competition has become fierce. As
a comedy magician, I’ve guaranteed my performance
for over 20 years. This was initially unheard of in the
business. Now, it’s simply good business. It not only
reverses the risk to the meeting planner but also has
a subliminal message that the act must be good
otherwise they wouldn’t risk their fee with a
guarantee. Tim Piccirillo is a professional
comedy magician who has
performed over 5000 shows in
a 30+ year career in venues
ranging from corporate events
and private parties to cruise
ships and comedy clubs. He
lives in St. Petersburg, FL.
You can visit him at
http://www.TimothyPitch.
com
4. Can they provide references? No matter how good
a video is, what you see on their website or even what
the act tells you, you should ask for and check at least
a couple of references, either by emailing or calling
them directly. The references you ask for should also
be from other meeting planners who have booked an
event at least somewhat similar to what you’re
booking (e.g. corporate banquet, etc.).
5. Are they “self-contained’? This can be a biggie.
There is nothing worse for a meeting planner—who
already has a thousand details to attend to—than to
have to make sure their act for the evening banquet
has a stool and a microphone with an XLR input that’s
hooked up to a mixing board that has stereo output,
blah, blah, blah.
Make sure your act is self-contained, meaning they
have all the necessary equipment they’ll need. If the
act is a comedian or humorist, providing a microphone
and sometimes, a way for them to play music is
acceptable but beyond this, make sure they can
provide what they need to perform.
Plan Meet Repeat Magazine Jan/Feb 2019
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