When businesses want to engage celebrities for things like sales conferences, marketing campaigns, company anniversaries, and VIP customer events, it’s important that they work with someone who knows how to work with celebrities.
They need someone who understands the unique type of interaction that’s involved, how to make deals, and what to expect when working with entertainers. That person is known as a celebrity wrangler, and there are invaluable lessons business leaders can learn from the handlers of the stars.
Optimizing Opportunities to Network
As a general rule, both celebrity wranglers and businesses thrive on “who you know.” Most people attend key business networking events to make important connections and establish relationships that will either lead to landing new deals or closing existing ones. To optimize your success at these events, prepare by arranging meetings with key prospects ahead of time.
- If it’s made available in advance, get access to the list of attendees and speakers.
- Review the list and decide which key contacts you’d most like to meet.
- Reach out to those contacts indirectly through mutual colleagues, or directly by connecting on LinkedIn or calling their offices to request time with them at the event.
If you don’t set up key meetings ahead of time, you run the risk of your prospects being unavailable, creating a lost opportunity. At one conference, I was working to set up a meeting between a client and Sir Richard Branson, who was a keynote speaker for the event. I contacted his team prior to the event and provided a compelling reason for why my client and Branson should meet to discuss a shared cause.
Because Branson and his team understood why the meeting would be beneficial and what they would be talking about, he agreed to it. Even though he was bombarded after his talk, he honored our meeting—leading to a great discussion and a thrilled client.
Conferences are usually very busy, so if you’re unsuccessful at setting up meetings in advance, attempt to catch them at the event and politely request time with them or offer to follow up with them at another time. Briefly introduce yourself with a frame of reference that’s memorable. Be bright and brief:
- Mention an anecdote about a mutual colleague or experience.
- Comment on something they’ve said or written that impacted you.
- Make note of work they’ve done or a stand they’ve taken that you admire.
- Ask for their business card and tell them you’ll follow up on the topic when you both have more time. Then, be sure to do so in a timely fashion! They need to still remember you.
Success is in the Follow-Up
Be sure to follow up promptly and remind the person of the context of your conversation. Create a mutual win with a tangible, timely call to action. Demonstrate sincerity and professionalism by being prompt, brief, and relevant, while also offering something of value to him. If you can accomplish this, you will establish the foundation of a long-term relationship that’s about creating wins consistently and enhancing each other’s success over time.
Prove Your Worth with Trust and Credibility
It’s vitally important for people to have a sense that you inspire trust and exude credibility. These are the key points people consider when deciding to do business with you. They want to know that you are who you say you are, you have a proven track record of success, and you are an expert (ideally, the best) in your field.
- Convey confidence, sincerity, and authenticity.
- Let your track record speak for itself by providing demonstrable results.
- Provide references from people you’ve worked with.
Essentially, demonstrating that you’re the real deal cuts through many concerns and makes clients more comfortable. This is especially important in working with celebrities, as people often make false claims about the nature of their connections. Many people in the business world perceive entertainment professionals as “flaky” or as having a certain amount of exaggeration and puffery.
For a celebrity wrangler and for business professionals, credibility is crucial to forming professional, solid connections, which can even lead to future business opportunities. I had booked Jerry Seinfeld to perform for Cisco employees at an event, and when Seinfeld arrived, we had a few minutes to chat. Because of my reputation of over 30 years and my work with Apple, Seinfeld asked me to arrange a meeting between him and Steve Jobs. If you have a reputation of honesty and the ability to deliver on promises, people will begin coming to you to make introductions at your next conference.
Networking and referrals are crucial to a business professional of any kind. Failing to be effective in your connections can marginalize your services and make you or your business seem like a useless commodity. Seeking powerful referrals, making strong connections, and increasing your credibility will make your next conference even more valuable. You may not have celebrity status, but you can learn to network like a celebrity wrangler.