“A given act, with certain material which has been aimed at a specific class of audience, will be most effective when performed to that audience.”
There are a number of ways of finding a suitable act for your function.
Word Of Mouth
This is clearly the best method. You know someone who has used the entertainer before and recommends them; or you have seen them yourself at another event. Just remember to make sure that the event you want to book them for is similar. If you have seen an act go down a storm in a comedy club, this does not necessarily mean that the same act will be suitable for your sales conference. Similarly an act that is a hit at a stag function, will not necessarily be right for your employee and partners dinner.
The number in the audience can also enter the equation: some acts are great with small groups but struggle badly with large crowds. If in doubt follow up in the same way as you would for an unknown act as detailed below.
Direct Advertising
You could decide to choose an act from the Yellow Pages (although few after dinner entertainers advertise in this), by googling the Internet and looking at web sites, responding to some publicity through the post or by following up an advertisement in a magazine like the Corporate Entertainment Directory. Making the right choice from these sources is hard: as clearly somebody’s own publicity is only going to be singing their praises. The following pointers should assist you in your decision:
- Get testimonial letters from the act for similar events to which you are organising.
- Ask for the name of somebody they have worked for who you could speak to direct.
- Check if their publicity is corporate orientated. There are notable exceptions but if somebody performs at children parties they are less likely to be right for a room full of tough salesmen. Look at their web site. Acts tend to highlight their principle market.
- Make sure their act is appropriate. A magician who is a superb close-up performer is not necessarily a good Cabaret Act.
- Cost can be a guideline. If it is very low, this should ring alarm bells.
- Get the act to state how much they charge without giving away your own budget. If an act knows you had Jimmy Carr last year, their fee tends to go up! However the converse is not true. Just because an act charges a lot does not necessarily mean they are the right act for your event.
- Note the type of questions the act asks. Do they sound as if they are familiar with corporate events generally?
There are a couple of what would seem obvious ways of assessing an act’s capabilities which are not necessarily right.
- Relying on video footage as a means of determining whether an act is suitable. With judicial editing even the worst act in the world can look great on film. Furthermore somebody might have some superb television footage; but it is worth asking the question as to whether what appeals to a television audience also appeals to a corporate one?
- Requesting to see the act work first before booking them. This can be tough for the act as it might be hard to find an event which is suitable for you to come along to. And remember that many acts change their material dependent on the function. It would be unfair to judge whether an act would be suitable for an all male association dinner on the basis of seeing them at a wedding anniversary party.
Agents
“Advice from one act to another on how to get on in show business: ‘get a good agent!’”
If you do not have any personal recommendation for, or direct contact with, an act, then it is best to go to an agent. A reputable agent will recommend an appropriate act. It is not in their interest to do otherwise as clearly they want to do more business with you. They will want some sort of budget from you and the type of act you are looking for. They will then send you a list of acts which fulfil your criteria.
The best way to check out an agent is the same way that you might check out an act. Ask for their brochure and which other companies have used their services. Many agents specialise in private parties, weddings or social club shows. There is a huge difference between booking an act for a holiday camp and a sales conference. Make sure the agent you choose are geared up for corporate entertainment.
An agent will offer you acts they have on their books. This means they should have used that act before and have had good feedback from their existing clients. If you are a little uncertain exactly what the act does, and whether they are right for your function, it can be constructive to ask if you can speak directly to the act. The agent might be slightly wary of this because they think you might by-pass them and book the act direct. However a professional would never countenance this: particularly if they want more work from the agent.
Managers
People often do not know the difference between an agent and a manager. A manager is responsible for all bookings for an individual act. If you, or the agent you engage, want to book that act you have to go through the manager. Not all acts are managed: in fact the majority are not. The better known the act, the more likely they are to be managed.
An agent, on the other hand, will have a number of different acts on their books: they are not responsible for those acts beyond any individual job they get for them. Non managed acts want to be on the books of as many agents as they can: this increases the likelihood of them getting work. This is the reason that if you shop around different agents, the same acts might be recommended.
