“If a picture’s worth a thousand words, why didn’t I become a photographer instead of a voice-over?”
That was typical Bill.
No “Hello” or “How are you”. Bill always comes in with some kind of wisecrack.
“Why do you look so happy?” I asked. “Just watching you makes me miserable.”
“I think I nailed that last audition, man. I totally rocked the house,” Bill said, beaming from ear to ear. “I even added some special effects.” He made the sound of an airplane on the runway. I was utterly confused. What audition was the man talking about?
Bill is no Shallow Hal. Bill is deep. A while ago,
Great message! One very important thing I’ve learned is this…, IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!” In sales, yes, this is sales. The guy paying you gets to call the shots. We are in a referral business, if we can’t focus and follow a clients directions exactly as they have requested, we lose. Your value and reputation in this industry is dependant on building a history of satisfied customers. In the long run if you continue to be difficult or present a negative attitude; you will find yourself booking less jobs. In sales there is an 80/20 statistic that covers all types of business. Simply put, 80% of the business is done by 20% of those working in the business. There are too many other people in this business that are trying to make a living. There are too many people willing to work for $5.00 or nothing, just to get their name and voice out there. Check craigslist.org and you’ll see how many postings are requesting voiceover artists to work for free, credits on the project or a copy of the job. Be humble and never bite the hand that feeds you.
You have the most interesting and thought provoking posts Paul and I just love your blog. I too found that fiverr.com and was a bit taken by surprise. Someone mentioned it on a discussion board so I checked it out. I just put voice in the search box of their site and up they came. All kinds of voiceover work for five bucks. That was a new one on me. One guy I listened to was actually pretty good. They have some interesting side offers too. One example being the same person could voice a spot for me, record a dirty greeting on my voice mail and advise me of the proper time to kiss a girl. I wonder if DC has seen this site yet. I’ll bet his reaction will be much like Brian’s. I’ll be interested to hear more opinions.
I hope you’re friend Bill has success but I so agree with you and Ted about the tact and diplomacy needed in this business. It’s one thing to be upset about not getting a gig you thought you were right for but the “gay” comment should have sunk him. That’s too far out of line.
Thank you for the great material as always Paul. You’re one of the people that helps keep me pounding the pavement.
Ted, I agree: our clients are our best credentials. It’s good to know what we’re worth and at the same time be humble and grateful for the opportunities that come our way. We ought to nurture our network, instead of antagonizing those who are in a position to help us.
Larry, thanks for sharing your experience with fiverr.com. I think we can agree that this is not a viable business model. It’s a recipe for poverty.
From time to time I like to watch one of those reality talent shows on TV. You’ll notice that not everyone can handle rejection with grace. People become defensive, apologetic, angry, insulting… and it doesn’t reflect well on them. It might be called reality TV, but not everyone seems to walk in with a good sense of reality. I’d call some of the contestants downright delusional.
I have had the privilege of interviewing a number of very influential people during my radio days. What struck me most was their humility and depth of understanding. They had no need to inflate their personality or put others down in order to feel good about themselves. There was mutual respect.
Keep on pounding the pavement!
Colleague Keith Michaels made an interesting observation about Fiverr.com:
“If you read this website’s terms of service, the person offering “the gig” actually gets $4.00, as the site takes a commission of $1.00.”
Would you ever post your services on Fiverr?