How to Emcee: Part 3 – Post-Show

Congratulations!  You have finished the event, been a masterful Master of Ceremonies, and your Emcee duties have come to an abrupt end.

Or have they?

As important as Preparation from Part 1 is, as well as Performance from Part 2 may have been, in my opinion the Part 3 portion is where most Emcees, Speakers, and Performers in general lose the ability to have work coming at them beyond what they ever thought they wanted.

Imagine having more clients wanting you to return than you ever dreamed possible!

Where the burden is not How to get the Gig, but rather How to Create enough New Material for Next Year’s Repeat Client?!  Good problem to have.

That is what I am revealing in this section as to how to make the most out of your new opportunities. This is extra bonus material, as it is taught extensively in my How to Make a Career From Stage Online Training Course, but here is a sneak peek!  Enjoy.

 

1. Get a Photo with the Client, Event Planner, and Executive Team – Years ago my Uncle Ernie Hewlett taught me this trick.  He would invite his friends to Utah Jazz games, give them the best seats in the house, treat them to dinner and they felt like a rock star, and then he would disappear during the game. Near the end of the game he would reappear, make sure to get a photo with his friends, and within a week the friends would receive a collage of high-resolution photos of them at the Utah Jazz game reacting to the Jazz players, laughing, having the time of their lives, in an unforgettable evening and memory.  It was the kind of gift they would hang on their office wall! My Uncle, turns out, was the photographer.  In his home he had a dark room for developing film and would spend countless hours preparing these masterful gifts, framing and carefully preparing them for his friends, who would in turn become his clients in the insurance business upon receiving the gifts.  In my opinion, this is one of the smartest business models I’ve ever seen first hand for winning friends and influencing people.  My friend and another mentor, Hall of Fame Speaker Chad Hymas, also figured this model out early in his career and he’s done pretty well too (see private jet and multi-million dollar speaking business).  If you will take a photo with those that hired you, get it printed, sign it (“Loved working with you!” – Your Name), and mail it to the person, they will put it on their desk, and you will be 1 of 3 photos they display in their office: Their Family, Jesus, and you.
   

   Photo with Younique co-Founders

   

   The stack of framed photos sent to clients

2. Follow Up Email Asking for a Few Things – Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to send an incredible follow up email at just the right time.  Remember, the event planner has just had their brain blow up for about a year working on this event.  Most companies give them a little time off.  What I have found is 1-2 WEEKS following the end of the event is the right time to send your email, as long as it’s mid-week, such as Tuesday-Thursday (emails are lost in the shuffle if sent on Mondays and Fridays). The email should read as such:  Dear Client,  What an amazing event you created!  You pulled off one of the best conventions I’ve ever seen and I do this a lot.  Well done to you and your team.  I don’t want to add anything to your plate so if you could have someone on your team help me with the following I appreciate it greatly.  Would you be willing to write a letter of endorsement regarding my work as your Emcee?  Just a few thoughts would be awesome.  In fact I was told this was the best convention yet….if that could be included I would be so grateful.  Also, as per our contract, let me know how I can receive the footage of the event, unedited, for my archives and limited usage of promotion – I will send a hard drive if larger than a dropbox file.  Just let me know where to send it.  As soon as I receive these I will be sending you a gift you will thoroughly enjoy with your family!  You’re the best!  (Gift could be a DVD of your best material, or perhaps a book you love reading that has influenced you, or perhaps you picked up on their sweet tooth and send a basket of chocolate covered strawberries, etc)
3. The Assumed Return – Within the above email, if you are brave and daring enough, you will also want to include the following gutsy lines: “You had mentioned this was the best convention ever, I am so pleased to hear it.  I would love to help you take it to the top again next year, as we make such a great team, and be an intricate part of the fabric of your events in the future.   Now that we are familiar with each other’s styles I can see how we could create more of your vision moving forward as a partnership.  Would you have time to discuss my return as next year’s Emcee if we set up a call for next Tuesday?”  Often, the client will have already mentioned to you that they need you to return and can’t do the event without you.  Firm that up at the gig.  But if not, and you feel you can pull this type of assumption off, then go for it, as some clients just don’t assume they can bring anyone back, whereas since you were an Emcee you have many tricks to still offer, where a Keynote or Entertainment Show only probably can’t.  This one practice of sending the above lines has helped me land hundreds of thousands of dollars in repeat business over the past decade.  Just takes guts.  
4. Random Phone Call – Assuming you’ve done Steps 1-3 already, and let’s say client may not have you back.  No problem.  Just wait about one month after all of the steps and one day make a random phone call to see how the client is doing.  This is to re-establish friendship and also contact so they can hear your voice and that you’re still excited about the event.  If you can tell on the call you’re not going to get the gig, then it is time to become Planning Partner #1 for them by saying, “I totally understand the need to bring in someone new, I would love to be considered in the near future, but until then let me be your best referral point so you don’t have to sift through 9 Million web sites.  Let me know what kind of Emcee you’re in search of, I have about 10 I normally recommend that can fulfill all of your needs, let’s talk about it.”  And then you LISTEN.  Take notes.  Understand that they may want more entertainment or messaging, better transitions or someone who speaks multiple languages.  This helps you narrow down whom you will refer.  Now you care only about helping them find the right fit so you become an invaluable part of their Planning Team and they will call you year after year for your suggestions.  And eventually will also have you back.  Your Promise here is To Serve The Client, not yourself.  Be helpful.  And then….
5. Refer The Best – Your Promise is to not just refer your friends, although they all may be, but to help the client find the best fit for their event.  Many Speakers & Entertainers would rather die by drowning than Emcee, but a few live for the chance.  Here, in no particular order, are the Emcees I refer because: A. They are amazing every time and love to do multi-day events, B. They have gone through my JHE Training and I endorse them, C. Some are Hall of Famers who make me look good for referring them.  These people will make your clients very happy.
   1. Jeff Civillico – Las Vegas Headliner at Flamingo and TV Host
   2. Kirk Weisler – Corporate Culture Extraordinaire & Master Storyteller
   3. Jessica Pettitt – Good Enough Now Speaker, Consultant, and MC
   4. Craig Karges – Extraordinist, Mentalist, & Speaker Hall of Fame
   5. Steve Soelberg – Award-Winning Stand-Up Comedian & Host
   6. Thom Singer – The Conference Catalyst & Certified Speaking Professional
   7. Steve Spangler – International Science TV Star & Speaker Hall of Fame
   8. Mark Kamp – Engagement Expert & Las Vegas Performer
   9. Ron Culberson – Author, “If Not Now, When?” & Hall of Fame Speaker
   10. Rob Ferre – World-Renowned DJ, Disney Trained & Creator of “Starting A Movement”
   11. Michael Hoffman – Certified Speaking Professional, Multiple 10-year Repeat Clients
       

       Refer Your Friends in the Business whom you know will be Awesome for your Clients

6. Serve The Client Indefinitely – A majority of the clients that have had me Emcee have also had me return.  However, eventually either they suggest it’s time to move on due to overuse or I have to.  Some can’t afford my growing fee (as I’ve cut back due to needing more time at home), others become a challenge to work with because they assume I don’t need to prep as much since we’ve done the event so many years together and the stage duties seem dumped on me, or I can just tell the audience has tired of my act.  Whatever the reason, know when it serves the client to help them find someone else.   A few of my clients come to me annually to discuss their event.  They know I’m not trying to win their business for me, they just trust me as a sounding board, an ear within the performance industry, who has their best interest at heart and can send them another Emcee, Speaker, or Performer as a referral just because I want what’s best for the client. Since they know this they trust my opinions and very often go with what I suggest.  I don’t recall the last time I was paid for doing this…in fact, I’ve never been paid for it by my clients.  But what I have are friends forever and we help one another.  When I’ve been in need of having a gig on the calendar I can literally call them and say, “Hey, I know you had me 5 years ago, what do you say if I come back as I really miss you guys and to be honest I need the work”.  They will hire me on the spot.  But it comes down to relationships.  That is all this business, and every business, really is.  Service matters, trust is essential, but keeping promises is what it’s all about.  If you are a Promise Keeper in your client’s eyes, they will come back to you for your services, or your referrals, or just to invite you to their retirement party as a friend.  Not a bad way to go about doing this business.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure of How To Emcee.  Whether you call it Hosting, Master of Ceremonies, or “Oh Man I Need to Introduce People To Stage and I Don’t Know What To Do!”, this has been fun and I hope insightful for you.

Let me know how I can ever help in your adventure of taking the stage and being awesome in any performance or speaking capacity.  My best to you in your efforts as Emcee.

 

~ jason hewlett

Jason Hewlett, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, is a Keynote Speaker for the largest corporate events in the world. His primary message, The Promise, is essential for Leadership, Management, Sales, Marketing, Direct-Sales Companies, and is a combination of engagement and entertainment meets inspiration.  Jason has even received standing ovations from IT guys.  He has been acknowledged as life-changing by Conference Attendees, C-Level Executives and Hollywood Elite.  jasonhewlett.com

Please click here to learn about how Jason Hewlett, Speaker Hall of Fame, introduces the opportunity for you, or someone you love, to have the gift of learning how to create a Career From the Stage and begin moving toward fulfilling a lifelong dream as a full-time speaker, performer, or entertainer.

To hire Jason to speak at your next event, inspire and uplift, entertain and engage, please contact Karen Harris at jasonbookings@cmispeakers.com