105 – He’s the “Magic Man”: Tom interviews Dean Hankey

Episode 105 – Dean Hankey
[00:00:09] Welcome to Screw the Commute. The entrepreneurial podcast dedicated to getting you out of the car and into the money, with your host, lifelong entrepreneur and multimillionaire, Tom Antion.

[00:00:24] Hey, everybody, it's Tom here with episode one hundred and five of Screw the Commute podcast. We got Dean Hankey with us today. He's also known as Dino in Reno. And he he knows how to deliver a message that rocks in a way that will make a long lasting bottom line impact on your business success. So we'll get to him in a minute. Last episode was 104. Wendy Kurtz, she wasn't 104. In fact, she looks like she's 12 years old all the time, never ages. But she's been billed as the Empress of PR by Mark Victor Hansen, and he's the co creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing Empire. And her work was inspired by that connection with Mark. She also says she had the distinct honor of meeting me through Mark. Hey, don't forget, our podcast app is available now on the iTunes store. You can go to screwthecommute.com/app and it does all kinds of cool stuff. I mean, you could be listening to your podcast and get a phone call. It'll pause automatically. And when you're done with the phone call, it'll start right back up and all kinds of cool stuff like that. We have complete instructions on how to use it and where to get it at screwthecommute.com/app. Now our Roku TV channel is now available. You if you don't know what Roku TV, it's like an on demand TV can buy a 40 dollar box at Best Buy or Amazon or wherever you want Wal-Mart and stick it into your smart TV and some of the TVs now are Roku TV as they're called. So they're already set up for it. And there's thousands of channels that you can put all your favorite stuff, Netflix in there and everything all in one place. And it's got a cool remote that it's got a headphone jack in the remote. That's a pretty handy thing. The public speaking channel is my first channel that is up there now. And we had Twelve hundred people install my channel in the first week and that blows away YouTube. So it's really handy thing in my channel's probably got a hundred grand worth of public speaking training on there for free. Or if you just get your Roku box, we're gonna have a protection dogs elite channel and a brutal self-defense channel, an internet marketing channel and a lot of that stuff. And then we're going to take it all over also to Amazon Fire. So we're really getting into the on demand TV world. Now, our sponsor is the Screw the Commute Private Facebook group where you can interact with me, my staff and with other great entrepreneurs and like minded people. It's a place where you can my staff and I put in training and business tips a couple times a week and you can ask questions and get feedback on things that you are doing. And I'll tell you more about that later, that can be found, at screwthecommute.com/Facebook.

[00:03:21] All right, let's get to the main event, Dean Hankey. He's a marketing magician and a people pro and he is a speak-tacular entertainer and implementer. Dean will speak, teach, preach nag you on the million dollar money making marketing magic secrets. And that's reminds me of the monstrous metal munching moon mice, which the M word alliteration show business to grow business for rock star results and sold out success. He's got 40 years as a passionate, proven profit producing. Here we go again. Professional entrepreneur, mentor, business author, radio and TV host. That is the speaker, trainer and showroom performer. Dean, Are you ready to screw? The commute.

[00:04:16] Every day hallelujah.

[00:04:22] You can hang it more than I can.

[00:04:25] Stamina when it comes screwing the commute.

[00:04:28] So tell everybody what you do now and then we'll take it back to the beginning and see how you how you got here.

[00:04:34] Sure. I very simply I do what I love and I help other people make massive money doing what they love. That's the short answer. And life is too short not to screw the commute and just do what you're passionate about and serve and support and help other people get more what they want, need, desire and deserve all at the same time. It's a win win, win way.

[00:04:56] I thought I found somewhere Rev before your name. Are you a reverend or is that like a moniker?

[00:05:04] I am a licensed ordained minister and have part of part of my life is is in the ministry and part of my life in the history of that is I was a wedding professional, i.e. we come from very much the same background the entertainment background. So I did weddings as a deejay, as a magician and of course, as a licensed ordained minister.

[00:05:26] As an Ordained minister. You could actually marry me.

[00:05:29] Yes, sir. With your permission.

[00:05:34] Oh, resisted that for a long time. So tell us more about how you work with people. You speak and you entertain a lot. You do a lot of things.

[00:05:50] Yeah, it's been a very eclectic lifestyle and spent 40 years as a professional performer in showrooms, casinos, cruise ships, corporations, mostly magic, hypnosis, game shows, you know, as a GP or general practitioner, you're got to kind of do I. There's aversion to starving, right? So so you've got to do what you've got to do. So you know, as you know, you master the. Yes, somebody says, hey, can you eat fire? Why, yes, I can. So spending and it's been helped, had a fairly successful speaker or rather a performing business, which is unusual because the industry is best recognized for its failures. You heard the phrase starving artist. And so so I began to teach other performers how to put more business into their show. And then other businesses started coming to me and recognizing this sort of thing. And so I began to coach them on how to put more show into their business, having them stand out in a unique, interesting and exciting way, leveraging the inside moneymaking marketing magic secrets of show business to grow business.

[00:07:04] You teach them magic tricks to do is open. You know the icebreakers are. What exactly are you doing?

[00:07:11] You know, there's principles of show business in the entertainment industry markets different than any other industry on the planet. I mean, what other industry boasts literally millions and billion dollar launches almost each and every weekend. And whereas the traditional marketing arena, it's it's a catch as catch can. You know, you throw stuff up against the wall and see what sticks. Entertainment marketing has specific strategies, strategies. And honestly, it's it's largely relational in that, you know, it's about your relationship to your audience, to your client base, to your customers. And we don't call them clients and customers. We call them friends and rock stars and legends and big champion.

[00:08:03] So give us some ideas of what kind of things you help him with.

[00:08:06] Sure. Absolutely. Let's say you're a retail brick and mortar store environment. And we know that you could spend thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars getting them through the front door. And then if you have not trained your your staff or your people properly, you could blow that up in two point three seconds with a negative guest interaction. So one of the things we try to do is create that first point of impact at the first point of contact. Like imagine for a second. Again, this may not be for everybody, but here's an example. You put a red carpet out your front door and then as you see guests coming in, your employees that are available, stop, do what they're doing and they run out to greet them with their cameras. And there there little, you know, almost like paparazzi and say, you know, your your. I know who you are. Can I have your picture? Can I have your autograph? And you'd, like treat them like the star that they are.

[00:09:02] And the guy turns around and runs away with his mistress. He was going to lingerie for. Busted. So you say pick a card. Any card. You do that?

[00:09:25] Yeah. There are certain magic based strategies that we teach and apply as well, but those are visual, hard to convey.

[00:09:33] Wouldn't that be a cool thing, though? You walk up and you go pick a card, any card. And it's like a discount coupon or something. No magic to it at all. You're just using magic. The idea of magic at the store to pick a discount coupon.

[00:10:02] So here's one that I could describe, that it's a business card strategy or a relationship strategy or a networking function. And you take your business card out, slap it on somebody's hand and hold it there and say, you know, I've made a prediction on the face of this card and you're probably familiar with this. So don't spoil the surprise. But but, you know, think of any one of the 52 cards. But before you answer, I would just want you know, we here at Tom Antion Productions have got your back. You can't be wrong. There's no wrong answer. Every answer has been thought of considered and every outcome. So what was this card you were thinking? They say the jack of spades and you flip the card over and every single one of the 52 cards is printed on the page, that card, you know, but there's some psychological principles of marketing, there's some fun stuff. You get a little laughter, you become now a CEO, which we refer to as a chief experience officer, and in our relationship, our job is to create an experience that people remember. Now, I promise you, if they throw that business card into a pile of 5000 business cards and they come to it 10 years later, they will pull out that one card and go, oh, yeah, I remember that guy.

[00:11:12] So it's so it's a lot of fun to do this stuff. But it's not hokey. I mean it's I guess some things could be hokey if they're used in the wrong setting. But I made a lot of money on doing stupid stuff.

[00:11:35] Amen brother. There's millions in stupidity.

[00:11:39] Well, I you know, I did this thing where I got a bunch of plastic cups at the hotel that the hard plastic ones that crack. Don't make a noise. And I was at this event with 500 people at the banquet and I was supposed to speak at a morning session the next day. And I thought, man, morning is not a great time. It was like an 8:00 a.m. session or something. So I went to every 50 tables and stuck it under my armpit and said, hey, watch everybody. And then I, like, cricked my head and smashed it. Made it look like I was cracking my neck, looked cracking up laughing and I tell them, hey, I'm coming through. Yes. There you go. You can do with the water bottle, too. Yeah. Yeah. And my place was standing room only. The next morning. And they begged me to do another event because people got up at 5:00 o'clock in the morning to get there and then nobody could get in the room. It was packed. So. So, yeah, this stuff a lot of people are too uptight to do this stuff. But in the right setting boy it can really mean a lot of money for you.

[00:12:47] Yeah, it's it's amazing. Again, if people tune out because you're boring, they won't learn anything. They won't learn a thing. They don't do anything and they don't do anything. Nothing gets done. What's the point? So absolutely the principles of entertainment, magic and marketing come together at the perfect at the perfect apex to create a real high level of impact because people will listen and pay attention. You're cracking your neck out loud and people will pay attention to what you're going to do next.

[00:13:14] Yeah. And a lot of this stuff doesn't take any sleight of hand or heavy practice or skill to do some of these self working gags you can get. I do one I tell him I don't have to go to the bank anymore. Everything is online. And then I miss out on all the giveaways and then I reach in my pocket. And I said they were given out pens and I pull a pen out with the big chain on it as if I ripped it off of the counter. You know, it takes no skill whatsoever but it gets a laugh. So let's take it back. Did you ever have a job?

[00:13:51] You know, I've never had a traditional job. I always was a performer. I started when I was, you know, a wee little fat, chubby Butterball kid at five years old, I started doing theater and I got my first magic kit when I was five. And it was it was all over but the shout.

[00:14:11] So then how did that progress?

[00:14:13] So absolutely. Yeah. So so I started doing, you know, magic shows on my porch for the neighborhood kids for a quarter a pop and any place and any place anybody would sit around long enough for me to do it.

[00:14:26] Was it a quarter each or quarter your total fee.

[00:14:29] No, no, no, no. A quarter each. This was in San Jose, California. Yep. And then on my first not my first. But I had done even as it is as a child because it was unique to be in your teens and tweens to be a professional performer. So I was doing IBM and Hewlett Packard and Kodak in my teens.

[00:14:59] And so how much practice did you put in?

[00:15:01] Oh, it was all I knew. So so, you know, I didn't I didn't consciously go on going to practice today. I was just so off the chain obsessed that it was all I did. You know, it was school and magic school and magic school and magic. And school suffered because of magic.

[00:15:22] So how much were you charging in those days?

[00:15:26] Actually, I was getting several hundred dollars for a kid doing magic shows back in the 70s. You know, that was pretty impressive. Yes. It's great that, you know, there are in-home family performers who are struggling to get a couple hundred bucks to do a birthday party. And I never did that birthday party route because I just you know, I saw a big. Kid, if you want to listen, if you want us to get more trouble with your kids, put me in front of them.

[00:15:54] So how did the hypnosis start coming into it.

[00:15:57] Yeah. Ormond McGill, who is recognized as the dean of American hypnotists, was the first hypnotists ever go on The Ed Sullivan Show. What's my personal friend and mentor in the Bay Area. So I was very, very blessed by geography to be so close to him. And he was a magician. He sort of adopted me and took me under his wing and trained me. And so I'm a board certified stage hypnotists by the California Hypnosis Examiners Board.

[00:16:24] So is it more mentalism or is a comic?

[00:16:28] Yeah, it was definitely a comedy driven situation.

[00:16:32] Some of that is hysterical. It's so funny. Especially when they know the people that are up on stage.

[00:16:40] Yes, exactly. Exactly. Hey, listen, when I was booking fairs and festivals and that was even entertainment director for our state fair, you know, the things that would outdraw all the other attractions and entertainment events was was the hypnotists and the karaoke for the same reason, just as you said, people would see their friends or see themselves on stage. And there's nothing more powerful than that than the human ego.

[00:17:05] Were you working the fairs, outdoors or indoors.

[00:17:09] Yeah, mostly outdoors.

[00:17:14] Wow. That has plenty of problems with that.

[00:17:18] Oh, boy. Howdy.

[00:17:21] So. So take us up a few more years in your 20s or 30s. How did it progressed. You're running a business now. Yeah. You were supporting yourself doing it, right?

[00:17:35] That's right. My first. I pitched, promoted, proposed and and produced and performed in my own theme park show when I was twelve years old. So it kind of went from there. So. And the nice thing is that as I evolved, you know, in an unusual circumstance, that I was actually getting some results, which is unusual for the entertainment industry, as I said, the starving artist thing. Right. So that's when other performers started saying, how are you doing that? And so I began to just share. I didn't have a business in mind. I didn't have a coaching organization. I just started saying, hey, well, here, do this, do that. They started getting results. And they said, hey, I made a couple extra hundred thousand bucks and I would have made some money. But, you know, all of a sudden, I'm now a coach and a mentor. And I the one thing I did have the sense enough, the savvy enough to document both teaching and training processes. And so what I was creating was information products. And I didn't even realize it back in the day.

[00:18:40] So you were creating training products?

[00:18:43] Yeah. So obviously, I didn't even realize it, but I had the good sense to record the process. So I was creating information and training products without even knowing it. In today's vernacular. And so I documented these processes and so I had said, I don't have time to train you here, read this or watch this or do this. And it just became a way for me to leverage my time still doing what I wanted to do. And then, of course, the market became, you know, phrases like infopreneur and things like that, where you actually had to take your products and services and leverage them to help other people get more of what they want, need, desire and deserve having to one to none kind of model of serving people.

[00:19:27] I mean, that's exactly how I got you know, I was just trying to be a really good speaker and I got people started begging me to help them. And that's when I wrote the Wake Them Up book in the wake of my speaking system. And then when the Internet came along, around 94 the commercial Internet. I was just trying to sell my own stuff on the Internet, and I got good at it. People started begging me to do that. So if it goes back to excellence, if you're trying to be really good at something people will notice. And not only can you make money from doing it, but from teaching others to do it.

[00:20:00] So, yeah, I love that Steve Martin phrase be so good it's impossible to ignore. And that's all we've done. It's not great. It's just that we create so much value is different than being good, right?

[00:20:15] Anything crazy, funny, bizarre happened in any of these shows?

[00:20:20] Oh, we don't have time for all of that. But, you know, certainly one time is as a performer, I'm doing this. You know, the spectacular illusion shown more touring around the country, raising funds for non-profit groups, organizations all over the country and all over the world. And so I'm doing this one illusion where I I levitate a beautiful girl. She floats up and then she floats back down within reach. And I throw a cloth over her. She floats up again. I pull the cloth away. She. Vanishes mid air. Kind of cool, right? Right. Well, one time, though. Wait a minute, I got that sound bite. So one time I'm floating her up, floating her up and I put the cloth over and she's floating up and almost out of reach. I grab the cloth and I whisk it away. I walk forward to take my bough and the people. Oh, wow. When they stand and they scream and shout and they're clapping, I'm going this trick is not that good, you know? And then I turn behind me and I notice everything. But her head has vanished and her head is now literally floating on mid-air as it floats off stage right. And, of course, you know, I mean, at that point, I had a little bit of experience, so I saw it. So I throw my arms up in the air and the audience goes wild and I take credit for it. But that's not how the trick was supposed to happen. Right.

[00:21:46] Well, I would do it that way every time. So what do you like best about working for yourself and what's the worst part?

[00:21:57] You know what? My boss is kind of a jerk. But he's he's taught me well how to screw the commute. So, I mean, even when I have to go out there and there's there's traffic, I'm going. I will. My wife and I just looked each other, said, we are so blessed. We don't have to deal with this all the time. Right. Exactly. So the freedom to do what you want, where you want, when you want, with whom you want as often or as little as you want. I just love that level of freedom, that choice to to make a difference. And and now with the Internet, do it in large part from home. And it may make even a larger impact because now my audience is in hundreds or thousands. It's it's thousands to tens of thousands to even hundreds of thousands, in some cases. Millions.

[00:22:42] Exactly. That's the kind of multiplication you can get by by doing this. So, yeah. So what kind of things can people get off you? You got books, you got programs, online courses.

[00:22:54] What exactly we have. We have. You know, certainly books, trainings. And I'll be honest with you, most of the stuff that I've created is now available for free with no barrier to entry, no opt in or any of that kind of stuff. We just give it away because I want to help people. And then when people find out what kind of love I have for them and they go, oh, this is what he gives away. Holy crap. Imagine what he charges for. Right. So we just create that's the model is this. We create so much value. We call the VIP create value that generates impact or results for others. Then you profit. It really is that simple.

[00:23:27] Yes. Great idea. Now, where can they get a hold of some of this stuff and tell us about some of the stuff they could get.

[00:23:33] Sure. They can go. Certainly go to payitforwardandprofit.com, which is a free it is a membership. But as a free member group on Facebook and if you go to payitforwardandprofit.com, they're cool free tools and downloads and gifts and trainables. And in once in all, we run into an offer of of a program or a mastermind or a mentorship or a membership or something that we have available. But again, we don't hit people over the head with them because we really, really want to serve people at the level that they deserve to be treated.

[00:24:08] Let me get this straight. You said it's a dot com, but it's on Facebook. Does it lead you to Facebook?

[00:24:13] Yeah, when you just redirect it.

[00:24:15] Okay, great.

[00:24:16] Yeah. Make it really easy.

[00:24:22] Okay. So we will put that in the show notes so they can just click on it and go over there. So we're going to take a quick message from our sponsor. When we come back, we're going to ask Dean, what's a typical day look like for him and how he stays motivated?

[00:24:37] Folks, screw the commute, private Facebook group speaking of private Facebook groups where you can interact with me, my staff or with other great entrepreneurs and like minded people. It's a place where my staff and I put in training and business tips a couple of times a week and you can ask questions and get feedback on things that you are doing. I give you quick tips that have made and saved me tons of money over more than 40 years in business. And myself and my staff also give you more in-depth postings on all kinds of business topics. So check it out in the show notes at screwthecommute.com or go directly to screwthecommute.com/Facebook. And we usually have some kind of deal where you can get in for a really like a dollar trial or something and then check it out. So screwthecommute.com/Facebook.

[00:25:27] All right. Let's get back to Deano from Reno. What's a typical day look like for you?

[00:25:33] Yeah, most days I wake up breathing, which is a blessing. And and, you know, I mean, having been in the entertainment for so many years, you know, usually it was used to be the crack of noon was when I'd get out of bed. But now it's you know, I get to bed instead of get to bed at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, get to bed at 12:00 or 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. And so I'm getting up by 7:00 or 8:00 or 9:00. And whenever I wake up, whenever my alarm clock is the sun, when my eyes open, which is another, you know, blessing of of this business that we get to do, and then I get up and casually do what I do, whatever I happen to do that day. And then eventually, I make my way into my office, which is in my my home. And then I start my day on that so that, you know, my day might start at nine, ten, eleven, twelve or my day might start the next day.

[00:26:29] Yeah. But how much you traveling?

[00:26:32] I used to travel a lot internationally as a performer and as a professional speaker. I used to travel all over all of Australia, Asia, especially as a cruise ship performer certainly. But I'm doing my very best to virtually travel. And then the opportunity I take to travel now are opportunities that somebody will pay me to come and vacate with them and hang out. And then I bring my bride and we go on a nice vacation at the at the behest of the people who want to have me in their life.

[00:27:02] So isn't that lovely? That is lovely. Somebody else is paying the bill. So how do you stay motivated?

[00:27:12] You know, that's a good question, I think, for me. It's it's the people that I get to help. Certainly my bride motivates me and certainly my family.

[00:27:24] You gotta be a people person to be in that field all these years. But then your home a lot now. So doing stuff online. So how do you keep keep that people thing? Is it good enough to be online with them?

[00:27:41] You know, it has turned into it's amazing how me how how practical this. I have people that we've met all over the world.

[00:27:48] I don't think we've ever personally met have we?

[00:27:50] Yeah, we have. We actually shared the stage at at a Steve Hart event in in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

[00:27:56] Oh, my God. Yeah. That's two hundred years ago.

[00:27:59] And that was in the 80s or 90s maybe. It was a while ago and I went to one of your butt camps while we were there and and got your speaker system and just absolutely loved and followed you ever since as one of the standup guys in this industry, which of course we won't go into that topic. But you are absolutely.

[00:28:25] Some magician made a lot of them disappear. They made appears that people that aren't so scrupulous. So what kind of parting thoughts would you have we call our people listening to this screwballs they want to run a business or get out or what they're doing and do some fun thing like you're doing?

[00:28:44] Sure. I'll tell you. For me, it's really simple. I leverage a simple three step system for getting anything you want on command and demand. It is this. We've already alluded to it already in our time together. That is this VIP find an add value, massive value and upfront number two that value must generate impact or results for other people. So they're appreciative. They are real results. And then you share in the profits by helping people get what they want, need, desire and deserve. So my job, your job, everybody's job is to help others achieve real results. You see little kids, teeny weeny little kids get rewarded for being good. But successful professionals like you and I, we get rewarded for producing results in others. I mean, don't believe it just show up at your job or your gig or your event next time and don't deliver results and watch what happens. So we're in the results business, not in the marketing of magic or marketing or speaking business like some gurus might have you believe we're in the results industry. And so the good news is I get to wake and help other people get real results and I simply get rewarded for the results I produce in others. And there's no more gratifying way to make a living, generate a life and a lifestyle than to help others and get celebrated and rewarded for the results you produce in others.

[00:30:09] Very, very well said. I'm so glad you took the time to come on with us today. I want everybody to go over to Payitforwardandprofit.com and we will have that and the show notes and see you get a hold of Dean. If you're in an organization or somebody that needs a great show and that's going to produce results. Remember, we got to have results. Dean's your man. So. So thanks for coming on man.

[00:30:42] I appreciate you, brother. You're a Rock star. Thanks.

[00:30:43] Thank you. And for everybody, make sure you download our podcast app. It'll make it great for you to take us on the road with you. And if you can go over to iTunes and subscribe and review, and that will really help us out. And if you know any youth, entrepreneurial youth and when I say youth, that's up to about 20s, early 20s. Have them get in touch with me at orders@Antion.com. We'll show them how they can apply to get featured on screw the commute. So thanks, everybody, and we'll catch you on the next episode.

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