I love that stuff. It’s amazing. It’s magic.

But it wasn’t until I tried to learn a few simple magic tricks myself that I discovered the key to such effortless success. It didn’t come from the words being uttered, or the brand of top hat being used, or the type of cape being flung … those are just the props and tools of the trade. The success of the magic comes from  something we don’t see on stage … the endless hours of repetitive practice. Even simple slight of hand isn’t really simple … it is practiced and perfected before it is ever performed. The resulting trick performed to an audience must become seemingly effortless and automatic. It can be re-choreographed. It can be reinvented. Yet, the success is in being able to do it over and over again; not in being able to do it once every third or fourth try.

Can you guess where I’m going with this in how it relates to your business?

You are the magician of your business, and your customers are your audience.

Your customers are the ones who pay to receive whatever you promise to deliver. Whether it is a magic show, a product, or a service, you owe your audience (customers) an experience they’ll want to have over and over again.

The goal of simplicity begins with focused, rehearsed, and perfected behind-the-scenes work to achieve consistency.

Give your customers consistency, and you’ll solidify loyalty.

If you embellish with a few magic words and a prop or two, that’s great – but if you aren’t consistent, your audience (customers) won’t be loyal enough to keep paying the entry fee to see your show, or buy your products and services.

My long time followers of my former ezine and this blog know that consistency is my droning mantra of just about everything I write or try to advise on. And I’ll continue to drone on and on about it because it holds tremendous value to the ongoing success of your business.

Many of us focus on the props – promotions, signage, advertising – yes, these things are extremely important to attract people to your services and products. But if you are not delivering consistency to your customers and clients who are attracted to your props, they will not come back for more. Roughly 80% of your sales will come from 20% of your customers. That’s right, long-term success is in repeat business, not in pulling in new customers with gags and gimmicks only to have them leave after the first show.

Build consistency into your business by remembering the magician.

An audience may be dazzled by the words, hats, and capes, but if the tiger doesn’t disappear every single time, that audience won’t likely come back to see a second show.