We often offer entertainment tips for event planners looking to book acts for their next function, but another crucial part of our job is helping the UK’s best musicians, magicians, dancers and circus performers to navigate the ins and outs of the events industry.
If you’re a performer, corporate events can be a great way to supplement your income and fund your other creative endeavours. But if you’re an artist looking to break into the corporate market, you can’t just expect the bookings to come flooding in, you have to commit to turning a great act into a great corporate act.
To help you get started in the events business, here are five top tips to prepare your act for corporate gigs.
MODIFY YOUR ACT
This usually goes without saying, but if you’re planning on getting corporate gigs, you may need to tone down or modify certain parts of your act to better suit the corporate market. Remember that whenever you perform at a corporate event, you’re effectively representing your client’s tastes and sensibilities. This may seem like a straightjacket at first, but it’s a challenge that all performers will have to face at some point. Besides, thinking more carefully about your act and your audience can never be a bad thing in the long run.
CLOTHES MAKETH THE ACT
While talent is always the most important thing for an act, in the world of corporate events looking the part is almost as crucial. By putting that extra effort into the look of your act, you can really set yourself apart from the competition in the eyes of potential clients. This is something that circus and cabaret performers have long understood, but it’s also true for music and magic acts. It doesn’t have to be anything too outlandish, but a sharp, coordinated look can make all the difference.
GOOD PROMO MATERIAL PAYS FOR ITSELF
As a performer in the events industry, you can’t expect clients to take the quality of your act on good faith. As we mentioned earlier, you’ll be representing your client at their event, in front of their colleagues, superiors and often clients of their own. They need to be confident that the act they’re booking is slick, professional and reliable. Putting time, money and effort into good promotional photos, audio clips and video is one way of showing that you’re invested in your own act, and that you’re not just a hobbyist looking for a quick buck.
GET TO KNOW AN AGENCY (OR TWO)
There’s still a perception among some performers that agencies are mildly inconvenient middle men, and while we’re obviously biased on the issue, it’s a belief that we strongly disagree with. As an entertainment agency, much of our time is spent creating relationships with clients, venues and suppliers, so that we can better understand their needs,and offer entertainment suggestions that better suit their events. That means we do all the legwork; the sales, the marketing and the logistics, leaving the performing up to the performers. A good agency (like ourselves and our sister company Sternberg Clarke) can get your act in front of the right people to get you the best gigs.
BE RESPONSIVE
There are some fantastic opportunities in the events industry, but it’s fastest finger first when it comes to enquiries. If you’re responsive, flexible and open to ideas, you can end up playing in some incredible places for some amazing clients. We’re not asking that you stay by your phone 24 hours a day waiting for the call, but it’s always worth getting back to your agency contacts quickly to avoid missing out on some great events.
If you’ve got an act that you think would be a great fit for Trevor George Entertainment, be sure to get in touch.