What I Learned About Pricing From A Las Vegas Hooker…
Written By: Michael C. DeSchalit, Stage Hypnotist and Magician
Well now that I have your attention, let me be clear about one thing right out of the gate, I have never hired or even thought about hiring a hooker in Las Vegas, or anywhere else for that matter. While I’m at it, I should probably say this too… Whether you condone or condemn her profession, it is the oldest profession that has stood the test of time and the financial ups and downs of the open market.
Lastly, I must admit that I got the idea for this blog from a similar article written in 2019 by Mark Stiving for Entrepreneur Magazine Online. He actually interviewed a Las Vegas Prostitute he met while walking on the street. I found what he wrote to be so apropos and applicable for just about any market and any person selling a service, that I couldn’t resist sharing it with you in hopes of helping answer the age-old question of:
“How should we price our shows?”
MY OPINION, LIKE IT OR NOT…
Like it or not the question of how we price ourselves, our shows and our services, has been, is and will always be both a hot and sore topic. And, as long as we are going to be in the entertainment business, we will probably never see full resolution to this puzzle we call pricing.
I mean, I guess, there could be a very simple solution and that is, we all charge the same price. Okay, just kidding. You know that would never work, nor would it be fair since we are not all created equal as performers, in the sense that we are all operating at difference levels of skill and experience and should, for all practical purposes, be compensated based upon our actual worth as it pertains to the entertainment value of our individual shows.
Great… we are back at square one with nothing solved. However, we can at least start the process of setting a fair price for ourselves based on our level of skill and entertainment value of our respective shows. So, let’s start there.
KNOW YOUR VALUE…
Before I get too thick into the weeds on this topic, let’s just assume that your show is good. I know that’s a big assumption, but let’s face it, if you are going to be offering public shows, you at least must believe that your show is good, meaning that you have practiced what you were trained and rehearsed what you are supposed to do in a show so that it becomes second nature.
Perhaps, you take that to the next level and have that belief validated by trusted family, friends, peers and strangers who have seen and commented on the quality of your show.
Now that being said and you have a good show, we have to consider when pricing our show, what else does it take to put on a good show?
Here are some things to consider in two separate categories: tangible and intangible goods.
Tangible goods are easy to define—things like equipment and training you paid for to prepare you to have a good show. How much do you have invested in sound systems, microphones, props, a trailer to carry that all in, or airfare to get you to your shows? What about insurance premiums, rental cars, hotels, meals on the road, show clothes, and anything else I forgot in this category?
We cannot do a good show without these things and someone has to pay for these things, meaning you, so they all add to the value of what you bring to your shows.
A personal example for me is that I have an $800 device that allows me to run my own show music. This ultimately makes my show run smoother and makes it look more professional than someone who has to rely on the DJ at the event to hit all of the queues at the right time during my show. So, that’s something I am going to consider when I price out my shows.
Now as for the intangible things, like the time we spend creating routines, editing music, watching show footage from our past shows, practicing or rehearsing for our shows, going to the dry cleaners to drop off and pick up our show clothes, time spent traveling to and from our shows, time in airports, having to go through TSA and having them pilfer through our gear in a manner similar to your proctologist filling a cavity in one of your molars and taking the long way to get there.
Not to mention the endless nights in crappy hotels because someone on the floor above you decides it’s okay to practice their River-dance routine when you are trying to enjoy the two or three hours of sleep that has to last you for the next three days, you are going to, I mean might get.
Or there’s the risking your life driving through a blizzard in the dead of night with your only directional reference to keep you on the road being the cornfields to your left and right.
I can go on and on, but you get the point: we aren’t just getting paid for doing a good show, we are getting paid for all of the other stuff that goes with that.
You have a value and you should get compensated fairly for that value.
SEGMENT YOUR MARKET…
Do you charge every client the same fee for the same type of show? I know some do and some don’t. I personally have a different price or pricing structure for school fundraising shows than I do for a corporate event, as I do for a private party, or even a non-profit organization’s charity ball.
Just like a convenience store can charge you double for the same loaf of bread you can buy for half the price at the grocery superstore, you can charge differently based upon group type, distance you have to travel, what the event is for and many other variables.
So, consider asking your potential client lots of questions to ascertain what the best price would be for the show that they want.
HAVE A PORTFOLIO OF PRODUCTS…
I am blessed to have two different art forms that I perform, hypnosis and magic. I know not everybody reading this has that luxury. Some of you are already thinking, I ONLY do hypnosis shows, I DON’T do magic, or mentalism, balloon twisting, tarot card reading or face painting.
Just because you don’t perform with different mediums doesn’t mean you can’t provide different show options. Consider a longer show vs a shorter show, if their budget is smaller. Or customizing the show in some small way to highlight the theme of the event.
Consider adding some pre-show strolling hypnosis, or one of my personal favorite types of upsell for a corporate event—adding a presentation about hypnosis to their conference either before my show or the next day.
You might be thinking that you are not a speaker. WRONGO… You already get up in front of people and do a pre-talk and a demonstration.
So now, how about changing your show routines to suggestions on how to be and live healthier without stress, or using the “power of the mind” to focus on hitting your goals in life, or your sales goals.
It doesn’t take much more effort than asking the corporate client what they are needing for their employees to be better and in listening to their response—bam—you have your presentation.
We are hypnotists for crying out loud, just talk about hypnosis, or self-hypnosis and you now have a portfolio of products.
Now if you do have another performing art such as magic, mentalism, tea leaf reading, tarot or anything else you can add to your entertainment package, consider offering that as an add-on.
I offer a hybrid Mentalism and Hypnosis Show when a client wants more time. I will write another blog article about this and my thoughts on how to PROPERLY combine magic and/or mentalism with hypnosis without discrediting either art form.
You do have to be careful of not appearing to be the jack of all trades and master of none, but appropriate upselling is and should always be an option.
Earlier I mentioned equipment, so I’ll bring this point up—you can even offer your sound system as an upsell to your portfolio if the opportunity arises.
My point in this whole section is that being just a hypnotist does not make you a one-trick pony—you can always add another facet of our art to your portfolio.
WHEN THEY JUST CAN’T AFFORD YOU…
So what if they just can’t afford you???
After talking with the client to discover their entertainment needs, after selling your show in such a way that anyone would want to book you, then you ask the question of what’s their budget for the show and when they give you their answer, your heart sinks, or you just want to bust out in laughter because they give you a dollar amount so small that the Hubble Telescope would have a hard time seeing it.
So, what do you do??? Simple, you cave and give them the super duper deluxe mega discount, because you NEED the show.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Don’t you dare!!!
Okay, had a moment there, sorry. I know that there are times in all of our lives when you need the money, so I will never tell anyone to turn down a gig that could keep their family fed or under shelter, BUT, refer back to the prior sections of this article and don’t give away the farm.
We all have done shows that we should have charged more for or have done for free, but those are situations that truly warranted that to happen.
Generally speaking, if a client can’t afford you for whatever reason, the best thing to do, if you can’t offer a smaller or different package, then maybe you can refer them to another performer who might be better for their budget.
You must be careful when doing this because you want them to understand that typically when it comes to entertainment, you get what you pay for and that a cheaper price usually means less of a skilled performer.
Also, you want to keep in mind that if you refer them to a less accomplished performer that may leave a less than satisfied taste in their mouth of the performance. This in the long run is bad because then they may never consider hiring another hypnotist in the future.
So, before you refer to someone cheaper, please consider what the potential fallout can be. Sometimes it’s better to have them not have a hypnotist at their event at all than to have a crappy one.
STOP UNDERCUTTING THE MARKET AND YOURSELF…
I just want to say that we should all be made to charge the same as everyone else, after all price fixing is good right? Then we would all stand an equal chance in getting the gigs.
WHOA NELLIE… Okay, just kidding, I would never say that!!!
But I will adamantly say that you should NEVER undercut the market just so you can get the gigs.
First of all, and most importantly, you are not just selling out our profession, you are also selling out yourself. Remember section one of this article? Know your value and never sell yourself out.
Second, when you undercut, you may get the gig, but you are ruining the market for the rest of us who can and do get paid more.
Lastly, remember the old saying when your parents had a yard sale and they priced that old toaster at $20 and you thought to yourself that no fool will ever pay that for an old toaster, and then your parents said this:
“You can always come down in price, but you can never go up.”
Well, they were right.
Again, suppose you do a really good show, but you undercut the market and get a bunch of shows for the year—so what about next year? How are you going to up your fee by leaps and bounds to get to the fee that you really deserve?
Charge a fair amount from the very first time you work with a client and when they rebook you then you don’t have to worry about raising the rate because you are already getting paid a fair amount.
Or, if you do have to raise your rate because of travel costs or other factors, a small bump in price won’t scare them away from working with you again.
Closely related to undercutting is another of my pet peeves…
I know there are some performers that have retired or have gotten into our industry and are independently wealthy and don’t need the money, so they offer to do shows cheap or for free. Either way, cheap or free damages the market for those of us out there trying to get the higher fees.
If you are one of those folks or know one of those folks, here’s what you can tell them… Charge the “regular rate”—in other words a fair price—and then donate the fee to charity.
This way the client knows there is a value assigned to you and your show and you can help another group out with your generosity. It’s truly a win-win-win situation.
Lastly there is a situation that sometimes comes up and that is when a charitable organization, who perhaps might not be able to afford your normal fee, wants you to donate your show.
Okay, we’ve all probably have had that happen at least once. For me it happens at least once a year.
Of course, they give you every good reason they can think of like, “The mayor will be there so imagine the great publicity you’ll get”, or “We’ll put your logo on the program as one of our main sponsors.”
Yeah, we all know how that works out. I’ve never gotten a call for a follow-up show because of my logo on the program and the Mayor has never called me either for their holiday party.
But I’ll admit, I’ve done my fair share of donated shows and here’s how I deal with that situation.
If I truly believe in the cause and want to support the charity and through my research find that they really don’t have the money to pay for my show, and that no other vendors are getting paid either, I might actually donate a show.
Do your research before you agree to do so. Find out who the other vendors, entertainers, and sponsors are going to be and do some digging.
When you are ready to commit to donating the show, have a conversation with the person in charge that goes like this:
“I will donate my show under one condition. If anyone asks you what you paid for my show you must tell them Blank Dollars (insert what you would have charged them had they had the money to pay you). Then I will be happy to donate the show. BUT, if I find out, and I will find out, that you told someone that I did the show for free, I will send your organization a bill for my show fee.”
They MUST agree to this or no deal. They all have and I’ve never had to make good on my “threat.”
I also let them know that I will provide them with the invoice with my fee amount as an “in kind” donation and would like a letter from them for said “in kind” donation.
Again, this lets them know that you and your show both have a value and you are confident as an entertainer to do a great job for them.
I hope this helps in some way. Remember, always be fair in your pricing, be true to your value and learn all you can from the experts who get the fees they want—especially if they are in the oldest profession in the world.
