5 Street Performer Secrets That Help You Attract More Customers

A bucket full of cash.

There’s no greater sight a street performer or “Artistic Hustler” would like to see then a guitar case, hat, or paint bucket full of crumpled up bills.

I realize it isn’t easy to gain peoples attention on the streets.

We are busy.  Going to and from meetings.  Heading to eat lunch.  Going to and from work.

Who wants to stop and get interrupted when we have to be somewhere in a hurry, right?

Well… the ones who do stop us do it for a reason.

And if they can stop us on the streets when our intentions are to get somewhere fast, then you know they are doing something right.

What if you could apply the same principles that the most talented street performers apply for your own business?  Heck, if they can do it on the busy streets, then you should be able to do it in the busy business world.

Watch this video of two street performers that attracted my attention during a busy day for me and I’ll break down below what they did and how you can apply their secrets.

So what did you think? 

Did they capture your attention?

Would you have stopped for a few minutes to watch them?

Both street performers had an audience and made some coin, so here are the 5 things they both did to attract busy individuals and turn them into a customer in minutes:

1.  Master Your Craft

Both of these acts have talent.  And there are thousands of street drummers out there who beat on cans.  But this first guy is different.  He has an accompanying drummer with a real drum set.  He is incorporating tricks and flare into his performance that others can’t do, and his rhythm is near perfect.  The opera singer sounds like he belongs in the Sydney Opera House.  Nuff said.  Make sure you master your service or product or you’ll be left in the dust.

2.  Command an Audience with Social Proof

Both of these hustlin street performers take command.  They have insane confidence (since they have mastered their craft) and because of this they attract a few interested spectators.  Once a few join in, they’ve created social proof and more will continue to join as well. We don’t want to go buy a product that no one else is buying, but if there is a line out the store then we want in as well.  The same is true with the street performer mastery… if no one else is watching, we won’t watch.

3.  Encourage Applause and Feedback

Notice with the first street performer his “partner” called out to the audience letting people know it was OK to clap and cheer for the drummer doing the fancy tricks.  This applause created more social proof and made each person feel that it was OK to make noise themselves.  In return this draws in more people on the streets wondering what is going on with all of these people cheering.  A way you can encourage your prospects is by encouraging current clients to recommend you, ask for referrals or even by posting testimonials on your on your site.

4.  Call to Action

Not only do they encourage applause and gain more customers that way, but they also have a call to action.  The first performers do it brilliantly by actually walking around with a bucket and asking people to drop in money.  I Love this.  People want to walk up and drop in money for the great talent being performed, but they are too scared to walk up.  When you make it easy for them and put the bucket right in front of them and smile… they feel more inclined to take out their wallets and give you money.  Make sure to have your “add to cart” buttons prominent on your site and your sales pages and have a clear call to action to make others feel comfortable about giving you money as well.

5.  Thank Your Audience and Customers

Notice how each performer “thanks their customers” in their own special way.  It might be a smile, bow, head nod, a “thank you” or simply by performing more and over delivering with their performance.  Do this with your customers in your own special way.  I like to send thank you cards with a box of cookies or brownies (and I even do personal thank you calls for those that buy my higher end products).  What can you do to thank your customers and make them feel great about what they just purchased?

There is a thing or two we can all learn about getting more customers and increasing our sales by applying these simple street performer hustle strategies.  Obviously you’ve got to have a great product or service to make your potential customers want to buy, but be sure to take a moment to watch what the next streep performer does in your city to attract your attention… and start applying what they do in your business (only of course, if you tip them first).