Client Profile: Ken Carson: The Power of a Good Laugh

09.06.11

If Ken Carson's face looks familiar, you're probably right. You may have seen him holding a microphone at a Sounders game, your company's annual retreat, or even the Northwest Regional Emmys. You probably don't know his name, but that's OK with Ken - his happy clients do.

Just don't ask Ken what he does for a living. Asking Ken Carson to define his work is like trying to grab a pinch of zephyr for your pocket. Good luck.

"I'm the worst elevator speech-giver, is what I am," he says.

When pushed, Ken throws out the word "entertainer," which calls to mind a song-and-dance man, but that's not it.

"I can't sing, play an instrument, and I don't really dance well," he says. Early on he realized "I don't have any talent, but everyone's laughing at the things I say."

Over his 20+ years-career he has been a successful broadcaster, actor, and a standup comedian - but he now feels he's found his niche performing as emcee, host, and even auctioneer at live corporate events.

While he may not be his own best publicist, his clients, including the Seahawks and Sounders franchises, who have hired him as their on-field and special events host, keep asking for more.

Ken customizes television newscasts and game shows to help break the ice in product rollouts or employee appreciation events, which puts audience members at ease.

He sees his strengths as twofold: "I have a built-in sensor for the audience....a real ability to scan the room read the room and get them to laugh," which lets him suss out how far he can tease the CEO or lecture the audience on the new teamwork initiative; and a facility for quicksilver improv that keeps the party going when the power - or a skittish executive at the mike - fails.

Ken came to me in part because he needed help getting the word out. In the competitive 80s and 90s he only allowed himself to be hired through entertainment agencies - to stave off concerns from colleagues about "stealing clients." Then he says the dotcom bust and the economic downturn weeded out many agencies. When his Seattle agent finally moved shop to L.A. a few years ago, he knew he needed help getting more clients.

"I never had to talk money to clients, and I always had someone else to talk about how great I am," he says, so referred by another performer client, he told me "I have to start selling myself."

Ken says the key learnings he gained from our work together, are:

• Being able to assess my own value - "I always make fun of myself in social situations. I used to tell people 'I'm a professional goofball,' and (Lenora) would help me catch myself.
• Not under price myself - "I've learned to tell people flat out this is what I charge and leave it."
• Pursuing some things I otherwise wouldn't have done -"She gave me the confidence to try new projects."

Overall, he says "I certainly got more than my money's worth and value worth in hiring her."

Lastly, I want to point out that Ken is an excellent example of our last post, "Change your Business, Change Yourself." He's done a lot of work getting out of his comfort zone and learning to promote himself.