Clayton Makepeace has released the latest issue of ‘Total Package’. The featured article by Troy White is titled “The Criss Angel Method Mind Freaking Your Way To Millions”. [Article]


Clayton Makepeace has released the latest issue of ‘Total Package’.

The featured article:

The Criss Angel Method Mind Freaking Your Way To Millions

by Troy Whit

Fellow Business-Builder,

I am always on the lookout for hot up-and-coming trends.

Some of them are not new trends – rather, they are just going through a transformation and re-vitalization. Magic and illusions fit that bill.

Houdini was one of the most widely known illusionists and escape artists in history – and people still know who he was, and what he accomplished. It wasn’t until recently that I have seen a real resurgence of interest in magic, illusions, even the paranormal.

Criss Angel’s Mindfreak show has changed the game again.

Not only is he dressed the part to shock and surprise people, with his long wild hair (I had hair like that back in the high school days … doesn’t work so well for me now!) … but he is also doing his illusions in front of everyone on the street, for all to see.

He makes people levitate in a crowd, he floats on thin air above the Luxor in Vegas, he walks on screwdrivers in bare feet, and he lets Hummers drive over him while he lays on a bed of eight-inch razor-sharp spikes.

And I will never forget his fish-hook stunt where a dozen monster hooks were poked through the skin in his back, and then he was lifted up by helicopter for a 10-minute tour (nothing else holding him but the hooks in his back). All this time, you can see the hooks pulling the skin on his back, the blood flowing from the cuts, and the unmistakable look of excruciating pain.

Hard to forget.

What is really important about Criss Angel is that he has built a HUGE following and a multi-million dollar business in a relatively short period of time (or so it seems on the surface).

Criss has been doing magic and illusions since he was six-years-old, so his ‘overnight’ success story is not really true – it just appears that way on the surface.

So what does this magician have to do with building your business?

It’s quite simple, actually. Anyone in our shoes who runs their own business understands the value in a huge group of hungry buyers. Once you have access to that group, and you have something to offer them that they are eager to buy – you have a million dollar formula for success.

Let’s have a look at how Criss runs his multi-million dollar empire and how it applies to your business.

1) Criss is VERY engaging to his audience. When he starts doing one of his illusions, he is a master at using drama, suspense, and shock value to his show. You just cannot stop watching!

What three things could you do that compel your clients to visit your store more often? Your website more often? What would make them look forward to your next marketing piece or newsletter?

If it is a retail-type of store, could you offer something unique every single week? You could find a supplier for unusual items and buy a set number every week. The items would only be available one-time and are only available while still in stock.

For example, have a look at http://www.baronbob.com to see what kind of whacky and bizarre items they have for sale.

You may think this is too hokey for your business … but millions and millions of people disagree – they buy them!

2) What’s the illusion you want to leave people with when they do business with you? Criss is a master at making people think he has special powers, even bordering on the belief that he is possessed with demon-like powers.

Do you want to be the most successful in your city, your state, or your country? How can you show people that you are? Do you want to be perceived as the high end offering in your market (recommended), or the low end (tough to stay the winner at the low price game). Maybe you want to leave them with the illusion that YOU are the go-to person (or team) for your industry … someone they can count on to get the job done?

Think this through.

If you were to redesign you business right here and now, what could you add to the illusion that will attract the perfect client top your business?

3) What can you do that gets them saying “they can’t do that – it’s impossible. No one else does that!?”

Maybe you give two or three times the value. Maybe you offer unlimited 24/7 phone support. Maybe you send them advanced information every month on how to use your products or services – giving them ideas and tips that no one else offers.

You could do a customer appreciation party once every six months – giving them a party they will never forget, and a party they would love to bring their friends and business associates to?

If YOU were to buy from a supplier in your industry – what would YOU want to see? What would wow you? What would keep you coming back, and buying more each time?

4) Make them feel your pain and happiness. Find ways to engage them in your day-to-day activities. Daily blogs, monthly print newsletters, articles, even regular video spots on your website.

Show them you are a real person and that you also go through trials and tribulations in your day-to-day activities. Mastering the power to write with emotion can help you accomplish this (and Clayton Makepeace is a MASTER at this!)

One thing I work on with those in my coaching group is to talk about their past successes and failures (in their newsletters, sales letters, and e-zines). To talk about their family, their past, and their future.

When you involve people in your life, you bring them closer as clients and build a very unique bond that is not available elsewhere to them.

Write down some interesting facts about you, about you past, about your dreams, aspirations, failures and successes. Then think about how you can use those stories in your marketing materials. THAT is what people really want to hear from you – real stories, from real people.

5) Create your own fan club. Maybe a more appropriate term would be Preferred Client Club. Loyalty reward programs are very popular right now – and they give your customers a reason to come back and buy more, and to buy more often.

If you sell higher end products and services, give (or sell) them very high-quality jackets, golf shirts, even leather briefcases and portfolios. Criss sells videos, books, shirts, belt buckles, snowboards, office supplies – each of them branded with company information (but do not make it gaudy – subtle works just as well – THEY know where they got it – that is all that matters). Criss even sells his autographed books at a 400% higher price.

There are lots of loyalty reward companies out there – start looking around to get ideas on what others are doing and offering … you will be amazed at the creativity (and profitability) behind these programs.

One entrepreneur I was speaking with last week gets $18 back for every $1 he invests in his customer loyalty program … and he is the norm, not the exception.

I highly recommend you watch one of the Mindfreak shows.

Watch the people’s reactions. Watch how Criss uses drama to build up the anticipation for his next illusion (which is the real key to marketing and launching a new product or service – the anticipation of what is about to happen, and the fear they may miss out on something if they aren’t paying attention).

Way back when, I used to love doing simple magic tricks … and I practiced a few different ones. I am not sure where this interest dwindled … but I have recently begun learning more magic again.

This time, it is more for my kids than for myself. I have identical twin daughters, and they LOVE magic tricks. So we go out to the magic store and I let them get some simple tricks they can show their friends … and I get some for myself that I can wow them with.

If you have never been to a magic store
– now may be the time to visit one.
Ask them to show you some tricks. Ask them for ideas on tricks you could use with your customers (or kids) … and start to think different about magic and illusions.

Most people EAT THIS UP (as you will see when you watch the Mindfreak show). Be the one in your industry who learns to entertain and engage them … and be the one that gives them an unforgettable experience.

It may seem quite difficult to view your business like a magic show, but it may be the best thing you ever did.

Finding an idea in a completely unrelated industry, and then finding a way to fit your own industry, can be the most profitable breakthrough you will ever experience. So I encourage you to try. Find new ways to compel your audience (your clients) to want more from you, to anticipate what you will do or say next, and to look forward to your next big ‘show’.

It works for Criss, and he has built a multi-million dollar business (including a multi-year contract with the Cirque du Soleil production at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas).

It will work for you too …

To your success,

Troy White

Editor, Small Business Mastery

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Attribution Statement: This article was first published in The Total Package. To sign-up to receive your own FREE subscription to The Total Package and claim four FREE money making e-books go to www.makepeacetotalpackage.com.

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*IMNewsWatch would like to thank Clayton Makepeace for granting permission to reprint this article.

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