HOW TO HIRE ENTERTAINERS by Al Lampkin

A guide to hiring entertainment for
company and private parties

PREFACE

There may come a time when you are the entertainment chairperson for a company or private event. Probably the hardest thing to do is determine the budget. You can do that by using the worksheets in my e-book “How To Plan A Banquet” which can be downloaded free at http://www.allampkin.com/ The next hardest thing, will probably be determining what kind of entertainment you want. You can find some help with that in my other e-book, too.

But the big problem is finding and hiring appropriate entertainment. That’s what this e-book addresses.

A WORD ABOUT AGENTS

In the e-book “How To Plan A Banquet,” we included a limited discussion about entertainment, and our basic advice was to hire a competent talent agent who specializes in “casuals,” which means one-day or one-night events, such as parties, weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs and other fun events.

Some agents represent actors and actresses, and unless they have a department that handles variety acts and bands, they would be of no help to you.

Some other agents handle only major attractions and celebrities, and unless you’re working with a serious budget, they won’t be able to help you get a band for Aunt Sarah’s 50th anniversary party.

A variety agent is able to help you get that close-up magician, band, and sometimes even name entertainers like Reba McEntire or The Temptations. Those that specialize in variety entertainment are sometimes called “full-service” agencies.

How do you tell who is a competent agent? That’s a good question, because if you asked an agent if he’s competent he’d be a fool to say anything but “Of course!” If he’s not smart enough to at least SAY he’s competent, he probably isn’t.

Having been in the entertainment business for over forty years, I’ve seen a lot of people set up shop as agents. Some last, some don’t. Of course, the test of time is not the ONLY criterion, but it obviously is important. A huge percentage of my business comes from people who either have used my services before or are referred to me by someone who has. I suspect that it’s difficult to stay in this business and do a lousy job. Like most businesses, we’re dependent on repeat business and referrals; so longevity is a top criterion for deciding who is a competent agent.

FINISH ARTICLE HERE

For More Information http://www.allampkin.com/ or email us at info@allampkin.com

HOW TO PLAN A BANQUET by Al Lampkin

Introduction

The purpose of this booklet is to help you, the unfortunate person that got stuck with the responsibility of planning and implementing a banquet, to put on such a great event that, when all is over, you can glow with pride and bask in the compliments and adoration showered on you by those who attended. WOW! Is that possible?

First time planners are often stricken with complete fear! “What? Put on the banquet? Where? How much are tickets? Do we have entertainment? What is the reason? How much do we charge? Oh, no, this’ll keep me up nights!”

Even those that plan events over and over again still fear that something will go wrong and they will be the subject of ridicule.

Hopefully we can allay the fears and quell the butterflies in your stomach by helping you through the entire project. You know how to eat an elephant? – one bite at a time...and that’s what we’re going to do...take one “bite” at a time.

There are a lot of questions you need to ask. First timers probably don’t have the foggiest idea what questions to ask, so, the first thing we’d better do is outline these for you. Perhaps the easiest way to do that is to fill out a form. (I love forms!)

If you were to phone me and ask me to help you make arrangements for a special event, the first thing I would do is reach for a blank form, and over the phone we would fill it out. When I had all the information, I would be better prepared to help you.

Let’s begin with fact finding. The following are things you’re going to have to know or determine. If you’re planning a weekly, monthly, or annual event, a precedent has been set and it’s usually pretty easy to find out how it was done before and then just follow in the footsteps of those who preceded you. But often this event is the first of it’s kind, or else the people who planned last year’s banquet have moved on and you’re left without a clue as to how is was conducted.

FINISH ARTICLE HERE

For More Information www.allampkin.com or email at info@allampkin.com