I bought Don Driver's Svengali Pitch DVD, made a pitch joint, bought some wholesale Svengalis, practised the pitch like crazy, and went down to my local flee market and pitched Svengalis today.

I must say it is very hard work, and wears you down, but it feels good to get paid to do magic for the first time.

Is there anyone else who is just getting started, or is thinking about getting started and would like to share their experience?

Good for you Tunafish,
Yes it is hard work...but FUN hard work.Keep at it,it does get easer once you don't have to think about the pitch.
Thanks for your post and sharing.I would love to hear from others that bought my DVD on the Svengali pitch.
Have a good one,
Don

I pitched for about 5 1/2 hours and sold 17 decks, which I was pretty proud of.

I was nervous when I first got there, and my first goal was to just get through the first pitch. I sold one on the first try though, and it got easier after that.

I practiced the pitch a lot, and had it down well, but did not learn the "Larceny Trick". I think I would have sold a few more if I would have done that at the end of some of the pitches. There where several times when I knew they were close to buying one, but I couldn't push them over the edge.

I would say that was the weakest part of my pitch. I would finish the pitch and say " Who wants one, call out five!", and wasn't very good at pushing it on them at that point. I'm sure it will get easier as I get some experience though.

The toughest sale always seems to be the first one. Once one person buys, then everyone else thinks it's "OK" to get a deck, too, and that's when you make multiple sales.

Aside from the natural inclination of people not to part with their money, my guess is that some people may feel silly or embarrassed at buying a magic trick. But this is an equally silly idea -- the Svengali Deck is really just a toy, and people are always buying toys for their kids or themselves. So what's the big deal, anyway?

By the way, instead of saying "Who wants one?" I have tried saying "Who would like to be the first to own a Svengali Deck?" Just trying to turn a liability into an asset here -- instead of being nervous about being the first purchaser, the buyer should be proud to be the very first one! And it does seem to help push the doubters across the finish line, in a nice way. But I'm sure Don must have a better closer line (or lines)!! SETHB

Sethb,
Never "ASK" who wants a deck.TELL them.Look them stright in the eye point at them and say "You want one..take out $5.00 and send it up".

How about this line Sethb "don't wait for the guy next to you...he might be broke..go ahead take out five and send it up"

Hope this helped some.
Later,Don

Hey Don, I knew you'd have a good closer or two!

There is no question that we can't wait for people to make up their mind, we have to help them make it up, by convincing them that they want and need this great card deck. We know they want it, they know they want it -- it's just a matter of getting across the "finish line"!!

I wonder if it would also help to "remind" people during the pitch that the decks ARE for sale. ("The Miracle Deck is available for just $7, and I will be selling them in a minute or two, but I want to show you one more great trick that can be done with it" -- or something similar.) This is like a busker who has a good "hat line," but who also lets the audience know at several points during the show that he does work for tips, and hopes/expects to be tipped at the conclusion. That way, it doesn't come as a big surprise at the end.

This way, folks are not only watching the show but also deciding whether to buy the deck at the same time -- it's more efficient! Ironically, while people know that a pitchman is selling something, my experience is that most people have never seen a pitchman or a decent close-up magic performance, and tend to be a little bewildered by the whole thing. Perhaps they need to be guided or pushed a bit in this direction?

It's always my hope that giving an entertaining performance is sufficient to sell the decks, but I guess a little good-natured agressiveness probably can't hurt, either. As Don always says, we should be salesmen first, and magicians second. SETHB

SETHB,
Never tell them the price till the end...or the turn...than just start putting decks on the top as you say "one sold over there...one back there...another one over here" Even thou nobody is bring out any money.They will,you just have to push a bit.
Later,Don

Would it be a bad idea to have a sign that says how much the Magic decks cost?

This way it wouldn't be such a surprise when I start talking money. Or would this scare away potential customers?

Has anyone ever tried this?

Thanks
Matt

Matt,
I have seen some Svengali with a price sign.I don't like the idea.But your never know till you give it a try.
Later,Don

Avoid the sign.

Some folks will hang around to the end of the pitch just to see how much the deck costs. The longer they stay, the better chance you have of selling them a deck.

I picked up a neat trick watching Ron Popiel (easily the most successful pitchman of all time). He's owns RONCO (Pocket Fisherman, BeDazzler, Mr. Microphone, Showtime Rotissere, etc). He's on TV all the time. He's also a multi-millionaire... many times over.

During a pitch he will stop and say quickly (without actually waiting for an answer)

"...and how much do you think something like this would cost? You're not gonna believe it! Let me show you what else this thing does..."

Give it a try on your Svengali pitch. I've found that it keeps people around to the end just to see how "unbelievable" the deal is.

The longer they stay, the better chance you have of selling them a deck.

Charles

Cholly,

Genius material here. I just changed my pitch. Thanks.

Best Wishes,
Dave

What do you use for your pitch joint?

CW

If you have Don Drivers dvd he explains what he uses and actually gives you the plans to build on of your own. I highly recommend the dvd if you don't have it.

George

I have only pitched at Flea markets, so I use a six foot plastic folding table that I bought at lowe's. I covered it with a large black table cloth, and have a banner that covers the front of it that I had designed at a print shop. I used PVC pipe to extend the legs of the table so that it is high enough, and built a wooden platform to stand on.

A large improvement to my pitch joint would be to have the banner over my head, to increase visiblilty, but I haven't put in the work to do so.

Matt

I have a guy that pitches magic after my illusion shows and he always closes by saying "Now my only question is, do you want one or do you want two?" It seems to work. (He makes me an average of an extra $250.00 per show, and that's after I pay him).