Tradeshows are first and foremost about a trade... And, my trade happens to be magic.

Sometimes in this profession you need to make a rabbit appear, and sometimes a full size helicopter! Well, this is the place to learn about all your magic options.

As a blog entry I'd love to tell you more about the exhibit hall, the booths and the lectures, however, this IS a magic convention and a magician NEVER reveals his secrets. But, next time you see me in person perhaps I'll tell you some more about it ;-)

As a tradeshow magician I have to travel for a living, and my almost 2-million lifetime miles are mostly on American. Through thick and thin, boom and bust my frequent flyer card has gotten a work-out as I have stayed with American all these years!

There used to be a day when a "premier" customer always received "premier service" and respect... But, after the dot-com bust, that "respect" had been waning... Sure, I have always used the first-class check-in, upgrade privileges, and increased baggage allowance given to me by my flyer status, but something in simple human compassion and personal respect had gone missing over these last few years...

...On my "puddle jumper" flights from SNA to SFO this week something changed... On both flights (out and then home) the flight attendants addressed me by name, asked me if I needed anything, and then they gave me a free snack (the snack you usually pay a few bucks for from the beverage cart)... And you know what? I actually felt special and appreciated in-flight once again!

Recognizing your best and most frequent customers simply makes sense... After all, this small group of customers are the company's prime source of revenue. Good will and a positive experience can only help build business in a thin economic climate...

And as a great side benefit, these customers may even tell their friends about how happy they are with the company... And, those customers may even blog about it (like this) creating positive buzz and free advertising!

I sure hope THIS recession trend stays with us! And, I can only hope it catches on in other businesses as well.

Thank you American Airlines for making me feel a little special today :-) Keep up the GOOD work.

Once again I am caught on YouTube (without my consent or knowledge)... But, since someone went through all of the hard work to get it there I might as well share it with you... This is from last weeks Computex Tradeshow in Taiwan for SanDisk. The clip picks-up half way through the presentation, but you'll get the idea...

My only fear is that one of these days a camera is going to catch me in one of those rare instances where a trick doesn't go as planned, or I have a real tough audience (or a costume malfunction)... Until then I'm happy to share my serendipitous fame with YouTube :-)

For mainstream appeal the saying is "Will it play in Peoria"? But what if the majority of your audience speaks Chinese? "Will it play in Taipei" is a better question...When it comes to tradeshow magic, the answer is without a doubt, YES! 

Corporate-Fx is now "micro-blogging" on twitter! Follow us at http://twitter.com/CorporateFx

The dining room is EMPTY and I'm the only customer, so I am expecting  a quick eat-and-go service from the wait staff, (after all there are more waiters and waitresses in the restaurant than paying customers, right?)... Why is it that once I'm seated it takes a full 10 minutes to be greeted by my waiter? Five minutes pass and I get my coke and I order my burger... After waiting an additional 15 minutes my burger arrives (brought to my table not by my waiter but by the kitchen staff) and I ask for some 1,000 island dressing to put on my burger... I wait... and wait... (munch on a french fry) and wait... Finally, I just put some ketchup on the burger and eat it before it gets too cold.

Once I am finished with my meal the waiter stops by to ask me "How was the burger"? Too tired to complain about the lack of service I just ask for my bill... I wait... and wait... and wait... Then he brings the folder with the bill, I toss my credit card on top and again wait. The waiter has been doing his "side-work" like filling salt shakers and chatting with his fellow staff members.

Do you think I even tipped that waiter? Do you think I have a positive impression of that franchise? Or, a positive impression of the over-all chain? My personal experience with Chili's was a negative one... So I am less likely to visit Chili's in the next city.

The point???? 

It's the last hour of a three day tradeshow... The hall is DEAD EMPTY... All of you booth's staff have let their guard down. Some of the staff is reading their iPhone, others have wandered off to trade give-aways with the other exhibitors...

And, in this slow time a HOT PROSPECT walks into your booth... He pokes at the display, wanders around in the exhibit... And then, walks away... Maybe to the next booth... You just missed a REAL solid sales opportunity.

Do you think that prospect had a positive or negative impression of you company? Will he visit you again? 

The bottom line is, that it's easy to get distracted when it is slow.  None the less, when the hall is empty your exhibit IS still open, and your staff needs to be on full alert ready to serve and ready to sell.  ...Even at 3:00 on the last day.

Having a professional magician as a Dad, Lucas had quite an advantage over the typical "TV-Magic Kit" performances that most 9 year-olds begin with!

He performed a unique twist on the classic "Clippo" cut-and-restored effect followed by cutting his Dad in half with an illusion direct from the Corporate-Fx warehouse called "Modern Art".

Instead of my trying to give you each detail, I have posted his performance on YouTube.

If you watch it, Lucas sure would appreciate a "5-Star" YouTube rating... With enough encouragement he may want to follow in Dad's footsteps!