Ancient Secrets to Capturing Your competitor’s Most Loyal Client’s Attention.

Every event planner should read The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene.  But, event planners are very busy people and the Audible version is twenty-two hours long, so let me save you some time.  Just read Appendix A “Seductive Environments.”  

But then maybe you shouldn’t.  Maybe what I’m about to explain is a little too powerful for you.  Maybe it feels wrong or unnatural.  

Or, maybe, it’s so natural and so psychologically perfect that it will help you develop extremely deep connection with your ideal prospects, get them to escape their usual limitations, convince them to embrace something new, and literally begin to fall in love with the idea of doing business with your company.

I’m not going to hide it.  This is psychological warfare, and it works.  

Sound interesting?  Here we go.

If you persevered through the other twenty hours of The Art of Seduction, you’d notice that all the great seducers and con artists that Greene describes continually took their targets to unique destinations.  They would escape to private chalets away from the city and travel to exotic events like Carnival.  They would visit luxuriant casinos, thoughtful salons, and first class hotels. 

And they did it for a very specific reason: they wanted to help their targets escape their usual, hum-drum lives and experience something new.  In the new environment, they were trying new things and doing new things.  They became open-minded.  All the “rules” and social mores of home were gone in this new place.  Maybe this Casanova guy isn’t so bad, right?

In business events, we’re doing the same thing.  Naturally, we’re inviting our top existing clients to spend some time at our hospitality event as a “thank you” for their business.  We’re refreshing the relationship with them and reminding them of how great it is to do business with us.  

But we’re also inviting our top prospects.  We’re inviting our clients to bring their friends, too.  Both are people who are unfamiliar with our company, and they might not want to buy from us because they have an existing supplier they’re already happy with.  

We’re going to change that.

At a hospitality event, we bring our clients into an “Invitation Only” space.   We take them to a private dining room in a luxury restaurant.  We offer them excellent food and the best wine and liquor, and we show them a great time.  They see surprising and impossible things performed by the magician.  We give them a nice gift as part of the evening.  The night is full of unexpected moments and surprises.

These experiences are what opens the client’s mind to new ideas.  To skeptical engineers and jaded executives who feel like they already know everything, magic is a big shock.  Suddenly there’s something they cannot explain.  They don’t know everything.  There are new ideas they should be open to.  Surprise gifts, new event venues, and new kinds of food and drink do the same thing.  

You’re showing them a new experience and teaching them about something new.  This makes you and your company fascinating.

This opens their minds to new opportunities and new ways of thinking about their business, too.  Back home, they have a dedicated supplier they work with every time.  They don’t need to change. 

But in this new environment, the prospect sees that you’re doing some pretty exciting things, too. They don’t have this experience with their current supplier, and they’re having a great time.   They feel like you value them, and they feel important.  Maybe your company isn’t so bad, right?

And, part of that event might be some signage featuring your latest innovation, or a large installation with your featured product.  No one forces your prospect to take a look at it, but it’s there.  The same product will be on display at your trade show booth the next day, too.  

There’s a short speech from one of your company executives, and the magician mentions the product on display as part of his magic.  No one demands that anyone visit the booth, but as the company host you invite them to come over and see how might save them money, give them more free time, or allow them to protect their family better.  

And if they’d like to know more, they’re welcome to visit the booth the next day.  And you hope to see them there.  You’re going to be busy, but you’d be happy to set an appointment.

And, yes, they’d like to see more.  And 10:30am would work fine.

Does it work every time?  No.  Nothing works every time.  

Does it work some of the time?  Does it work more often than calling up someone and hoping they answer the phone, visit your trade show booth, or open your email?  

You bet.

Just released: Mike Duseberg reveals all the “how to” steps to creating events that create sales referrals, and repeat business in his third booklet The Event ROI Revolution: A Planners Guide to Hospitality Events that Create Connections, Build Rapport, and Schedule Sales Appointments. Download your complimentary copy here.