Top Shelf

THE BLURB:
Docc Hilford's Top Shelf includes everything you need to get
started in performing at Top End night clubs, restaurants,
and bistros - a special report and three of Docc Hilford's
Acts:

- The Invisible Stranger (Book) - Frustrated with
complicated Billet peeks that are cleverer on the page than
in the field? Tired of having to shove unfolded business
cards in your wallet just to read them? Hate switching slips
because it's so unnatural and you're sure to be caught with
the hidden note? Then take a modern look at an ancient page
from the medium's notebook and use the cunning brilliance
of...The Invisible Stranger.

- The Whispering Buddha (Book with Gimmick) - is one of the
greatest and strangest classics in magic. Greatest because
of it's simple and direct effect, yet strange because
probably no one has actually performed it! That's about to
change. Fifteen years ago, Docc Hilford developed a workable
method with his friend the late German mentalist, Punx. The
result was a routine that maintained the clean directness of
the original effect and made performance easy on the
entertainer.

- The Rosini Secret (Book) - Paul Rosini is remembered as
one of America's top card magicians and night club
entertainers. But few know he was an outstanding mentalist.
And he know how to make case with close-up mentalist - lots
of it! Docc Hilford spent over two decades searching for
Rosini's secret billet reading method. Through articles,
writings, and personal interviews. Docc has pieced together
what he believes is the technique that filled Paul Rosini's
pockets with cool cash.

- Special Report on 'How to Earn Top Dollar at Top End Night
Clubs, Restaurants, and Bistros. From Novice to
Professional, This report is meant for you. A calm, easy,
and fun technique to entice a manager or owner of a night
club, restaurant, or bistro to offer you a regular night to
perform at their establishment while maximizing your earning
potential. The report also includes Docc Hilford's routine
for performing at restaurants with this package.

MY COMMENTS:
Top Shelf is an ingenious marketing system that doesn't take
a lot of pages to describe (8 pages, 8.5" x 11" single-sided
monograph). It's totally different from the angle of
showing up at restaurants and competing with other
performers to get yourself hired to increase traffic.
Instead, you're causing the manager of the establishment to
want you to perform at the restaurant and on your own terms.
It's actually easy to do, and not at all unethical, but the
main "price," if you want to call it that, is that it does
take time. You can't just walk into an establishment, meet
the manager, and get booked in an afternoon with this
technique. That's not what this is about. What you're
doing is positioning yourself at an establishment so that
you can maximize your position and earnings. This is a
marketing idea that Bob Sheets and Bill Malone have used,
though Docc has tweaked it with his own ideas.

Several strategies that Docc employs in this Top Shelf
strategy involve some recently released routines that Docc
has marketed: The Whispering Buddha, The Invisible Stranger,
and the Rosini Secret. These are included in the package.
I've already discussed these in separate reviews and I'll
refer you to those if you want my thoughts on them. However,
when used with this system, they have a much stronger
impact.

My one complaint about this package is that, for right now,
the Top Shelf monograph is only included in this package.
Which means that if you want it, you have to purchase the
other items, regardless of whether you have them or not. If
you don't have any of them, and you wish to work in the
types of venues this addresses, then this is a bargain and a
no-brainer purchase decision. Also, if you do plan on using
the marketing strategy that Docc uses, this package still
has the potential to be worth far more than the cost of this
package. But for those who already have one or more of the
other three products, it's annoying to have to buy these
other products twice. I would have preferred to have this
package come out first and then have the other items become
available as separate items later.