VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Philip Banks · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:42 am Post subject: Earn a living as a voice over

If in a particular field someone is making $5,000 per year there is a reluctance to tell anyone. Those in the same field making $50,000 will probably say something to certain people and those earning $5,000,000 will do interviews with the media and have T-shirts printed " I earn sh*t loadsa money".

Where are you going? How are you going to get there?

The subtitle to this CHAT section is "let's get busy". So let's do that. Needless to say if you look at voice over work as a bit of fun, some beer money or a hobby nothing said here applies to you.

When I left university my first job was as an investment management trainee with a large mutual fund company, it also had a life insurance section with a commission only sales force. Here's the "track" the new sales people ran on -

Weekly goals
1 - List of 100 telephone numbers (qualified names), leading to.........
2 - 64 people approached, leading to
3 - 16 appointments, ........
4 - 12 meetings....................
5 - 4 full sales presentations ..............
6 - 2 sales earning $250(approx) per sales

So, that's how it was done. Follow the formula above and you would earn $25,000 per annum as a life insurance salesperson. It worked lke a charm for those who followed the rules.

The interesting part about the above was that out of 100 sales people recruited, only two were with the company 2 years later. Why? The other 98 knew better. They knew there was an easier way to make a living as a sales person, they were all wrong.

Do you want to make a living as a voice over? You need the ability and the technology first and then all you have to do is follow the spirit of the life insurance sales approach and you will do fine.

I fully accept out of 100 of you, 98 know there is an easier way to make a living as a voice over. Don't like me for what I've written? That's ok. I'd rather you make a living and lose the Mr Popularity contest.

DaveChristi · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:15 am Post subject:

Phillip,

Bravo.
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Dave "Christi" Felton
The Character Voice Actor

TC · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 10:30 am Post subject:

Thanks, Philip. A few months ago you posted an abbreviated version of this, basically recommending just the original 100 contacts, and I printed that out for inspiration and have been working toward that goal.

Chuck Davis · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 11:32 am Post subject:

Phillip,

What you said totally "hit the nail on the head"....and the reminder is appreciated.

One of the hardest things to keep up in this business is the marketing. It's so easy to "let it ride"...but the next thing you know...business can dry up.

Personally I'm in a situation where juggling a full-time broadcast career with a faily buisy VO business makes the above pretty tough to accomplish at times. Yet, I do know how important it is to my eventual full-time VO/indy producer career goals.

Thanks again for the reality check.

Chuck D
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Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

Joniv · Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 3:57 pm Post subject:

Well put, Mr. Banksey! I spent many years in sales and what you've said is 100% the truth. Thanks for the reminder.
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Joni Lambert
www.jonilambert.com

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

This one really hit home for me because right now I am developing the skills necessary to put together a marketable demo....I am taking an "Acting for Commercials" class starting next week, a voiceover workshop starting in November (in which you leave with a fully produced demo) and of course working daily on recording myself, etc. (Thank God for a wife with a good job!)...Also reading, transcribing TV commercials and comparing my read to theirs, am a haunted house "actor" right now also and oh yeah, Toastmasters too on a weekly basis....my goal is to have a demo ready by the end of this year...
I know from my days as a realtor that my most financially successfully years were when I was on a strict program of X number of calls and presentations daily, no excuses, no whining, period. And it did really work.

What's frustrating right now is knowing that the calls need to be made, yet I really can't start making contacts without a demo....can anybody relate?

mcm · Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 7:52 am Post subject:

Rob, there is nothing to stop you making a database of people to call once you're ready. That alone takes a HUGE amount of time. Since you're good at goal-setting, you could make that a part of your daily routine and plan to add a specified number of contacts to your list each day. Get to Googling!

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Thank you, Mary. I needed that. Good suggestion and just the nudge I needed!

BTW when I read my post after submitting it, it sounded kind of whiney, and I apologize. I lapse into whining occasionally but fortunately snap out of it a lot quicker these days.....

Gregory Best · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 7:43 pm Post subject: here's a suggestion

Rob, In one of the Art of Voice Acting classes I took from Jim Alburger and Penny Abshire, Penny said the line you can use if you don't have a demo ready is, "My demo is currently in production, in the mean time, will be happy to do a custom demo for you with your copy." I haven't tried it, but it is an idea worth trying.

Greg

Philip Banks · Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 4:38 am Post subject: Re: here's a suggestion

scooter2 · Guest

Banksey,

I have to take issue with you.

I used that line years ago when I was "putting together" my demo..and got to read for and book three major narrative jobs. AND keep those clients for several years.

And it did not cost me a nickel to try.

So I also pass on that tip in my classes.

:"If you don't shoot..you won't hit."

donrandall · Guest

If one is prospecting and has no demo, it is possibe that one will come up with a suspect that requests a demo. Since there is no demo yet in existence, one has nothing to lose by using that dodge - besides, many suspects (who may become prospects) will prefer to have a brief custom demo anyway.

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Thanks for the tip, Greg. (And everybody else too!)...my mindset up to this point had been that if I called without a demo to offer I might be perceived as wasting their time but that could be what is popularly known in the sales world as "call reluctance"...

I guess I could call on the pretext of "getting the name of the person to send the demo to" and then fish for any current opportunities that may exist...amazing how similar this is to being a salesdog!

Deirdre · Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 9:46 am Post subject:

One of my recent new contacts specifically requested that I NOT include him in any e-mail newsletters.

I had to smile.
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IMDB

Christopher French · Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:18 pm Post subject:

Way to make a point. I need better equipment. Well, after I close on my house in a few weeks and get that nice check for some odd grand from the closing, I'm going to have Christmas early! Let's see. . .a solid gold condensor mic. . .a two million channel mixer board. . .a padded room for my insanity- er, studio. . . Ninja

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Christopher G. French

"The only limitations we truly have are the ones we place on ourselves." -Attributed to Donald Trump