4 Reasons Why Voice Actors Lose Clients

As professional voice over talent, we certainly want to create and maintain our great client relationships.  There are many things we can and must do to grow our voice over business.  When we lose a long term client or simply don’t get repeat business from a new client, there can be many reasons. Some of those reasons are out of our control:  the client doesn’t really hire talent often, they lose THEIR client, their client wants to change the gender, age, style of the voices they use, etc.  However, sometimes, we might lose a client due to something we have or have not done.

The following is an article written by Edge Studio addressing four common and likely culprits that might cause us to lose clients.   Do you see yourself neglecting any of these areas?  Have you let some things slide due to keeping busy with other matters or just letting yourself get off track?

Read the article, and double check yourself to make sure you’re doing all you can to remain marketable and employable!

4 Reasons Why Voice Actors Lose Clients

The fact is, the voice over industry is continually evolving. So if you don't evolve along with it, YOU'LL LOSE CLIENTS.

Voice talent continually ask for our help. They say, "I'm getting less work than I used to." We ask why. They're either not sure, or they guess it's because they've been battling allergies, their clients must have wanted a new voice, there must be more competition, their demo may be getting old, a new agent opened up in town,....... On and on.

There Are 4 Reasons Why Voice Talent Start Losing Work. Read the sections that pertain to you

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Vocal Delivery: ARE YOU NO LONGER TRAINING?

Story: A while ago, one of our clients hired a student we had just trained to narrate a large series of videos. They loved his voice.

Recently we hired him back to narrate another large project. This time, he no longer sounded good. He lost a good client. I asked if he'd been practicing. He said no.

There are 3 reasons why CONTINUED TRAINING IS SO IMPORTANT:

You can fall into bad habits (no one tells you why you lose auditions!) Other voice talent will get better than you (watch out!) Clients always need new styles (new styles for podcasts, self-guided tours,...)

Solution: At minimum, work with a coach every other month to ensure you maintain. Preferably, work with a coach every month to become better and offer more clients more styles! Remember: your vocal delivery is your livelihood!

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Home Studio Quality: ARE YOU RESISTANT TO TECHNOLOGY CHANGE?

Story: A voice talent sent me an audition recording. Their voice was PERFECT. But their home studio quality wasn't. The client did not like them. (Note that some clients CANNOT DIFFERENTIATE between poor home studio recording and poor vocal performance.) After telling the talent this, she replied, "But this used to be fine." Yes, 5 years ago, her quality was considered good for a home studio. Today, however, clients are used to better quality.

Here are a few other examples of not keeping up with technology: Talent ask if they can fed-ex a CD to me. "Huh?" Why can't they FTP it to me? Or oftentimes we hear slight noises in recordings. Why? I guarantee the talent will lose some work. Fall behind in technology, and your clients may leave you behind.

Here are technology items to stay current with: equipment (editing on old software is slower, so you charge more, and bid too high) editing software / file type knowledge (unfamiliar with the new file extensions for flash? this scares clients) delivery methods (still have "fed-ex" on your rate card? you look outdated)

Solution: Hire someone to visit your studio once every 6 months for a tune-up. Have them update your software, show you new editing features, check sound quality, and set you up for new file types.

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Marketing: ARE YOU COMPLACENT?

Story: At a recent voice over event, I was re-acquainted with a lot of old-timers who told me, "I'm not getting the amount of work I used to get!" Funny, I thought they hadn't marketed to me in years and subsequently I had forgotten about them and how talented they are.

Trust me: there is a reason why major retailers (Honda, Sears, McDonalds,...) continue to promote themselves. If they don't, competitors will eventually take over. IT'S THE SAME THING IN VOICE OVER.

Many old-times got all their work from a few clients and/or agents. But things change. Sometimes suddenly. Are you prepared? Or do you rely on a few select clients (who could suddenly go out of business), and meanwhile you're not prepared to market?

Here are marketing to stay current with:

marketing frequency (do you think single marketing efforts are still enough?) marketing types (do you think business cards are still all you need?) marketing messages (still trying to be a jack of all trades?) marketing quality (perforated edged, matrix printed business cards don't work today)

Solution: hire someone who knows voice over marketing to review your business plan (do you even have one? if you want to grow, you should have one). take a workshop at edge or even at a local college.

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Professionalism: ARE YOU BUSINESS-LIKE?

Story: One of our clients got VERY upset with a voice talent who we hired recently. So upset, they chose to replace him with another talent! Obviously we won't hire that talent anymore. But the weird thing is that the voice talent didn't even realize what they did wrong!

Face it: our little industry has grown up. It's now a big, professional industry complete with a set of do's and don't's. And sure, as with anything, as time goes by, there are more and more changes. So for those of you who are beginning your voice over career, you MUST LOOK PROFESSIONAL from the start. And for those of you already immersed in the industry, you MUST CONTINUE looking professional. If you don't, you chance losing clients.

You MUST always stay on top of: appearing professional (the jargon, the sequence of events,...) dealing with corporate types: knowing when to ask which questions the general in's and out's of the industry the ever-changing politics of the industry (unions, agents,....)

Solution: Study the industry. Speak with folks who are in it. Read books. DO WHAT YOU CAN to come across business-like. This makes a BIG difference in the amount of work you get.

Edge Studio

Voice Talent Advice # 10 - Voice Over Coach, A Necessity!

Although one of the Voice Over - How To pages on my web site is titled “How To Read Copy”, it is very basic practice information for you and not in any way meant to be a substitute for working with a Professional Voice Over Coach! When I started working as a voice over talent, there weren’t as many people out there coaching voice over. Many voice over performers began as radio personalities or DJs and started doing voice over for commercials that way. Some, like me, came from an acting background and migrated into the world of voice over. And, yes, people had always told me I had a great voice, too, but then, as now, that is not nearly enough to help you become successful as a working voice over talent!

When I produced my first voice over demo, I found ad copy from magazines and other sources including radio station DJs who shared copy they had at the station. I probably even picked up some from Soundworks - known as Cook Sound back then- where I was producing the demo. Not having a coach, I relied on the expert guidance of the audio engineer who produced the demo to direct me. Later, I always created demos from snippets of spots I had actually recorded for clients. At the time, that was what everyone wanted to hear - actual work you had done.

Today, everyone with any experience in voice over will tell you that it’s best to study with a qualified voice over coach and only create your first demo when you are ready. You can waste a lot of money producing a bad demo which may not help your career and could, in fact, end it before it begins! There’s just too much competition out there. Agents will not want to represent you if you present them with a substandard demo, and producers will not want to hire you directly with it either.

So, how do you find a qualified voice over coach? Word of mouth and referrals from working voice over talent are the best means of locating those coaches who can truly give you what you need to succeed. Then, you need to talk with the coaches, which may require paying for a session in some cases, in order to determine whether personality types mesh and to see what kind of a feeling you get for how this coach works and how they plan to help you reach your goals. This is an important investment in your career. Getting into voice over requires an investment, especially if you intend to build your own home studio as well. (More about that in another blog!)

If you’re still not convinced that you need a voice over coach to give yourself the best shot at succeeding in voice over, please know that after over 25 years as a professional working voice over talent, I studied with coach Nancy Wolfson, of Braintracks Audio in order to stay current and in top form. In addition, I have worked with others in workshops and tele-seminars. You always need to keep learning. In my blog post titled “I’m Not a Voice Over Agent”, I list Nancy’s link as well as links to other reputable voice over coaches I know.

I hope this helps you on your journey into voice over!

Melanie Haynes Southern & Texas Voice Over Demo

An agency just requested a "Southern" demo, so I just put together some spots I've done with a Southern or Texas dialect. One or two of them are on my generic Character Demo, too. Always fun digging through old spots looking for the right thing to use on a demo. It used to be that everyone recommended only making your demo with actual work that you've done, but that doesn't seem to be the trend anymore. Of course, you have much more control when building a demo from scratch.....sometimes, there just isn't time for that, though. It does help to keep a library of your voice over work for times like these - neatly organized in folders on your computer or server. It's not always easy to get copies of the finished spots, but it's sure worth a try!

Melanie Haynes Medical Commercial Voice Over Demo

I've done quite a few medical commercials in addition to other commercial voice overs. I just created and uploaded a new Medical Commercial demo to You Tube:

What does it mean to be a Successful Voice Over Talent?

Bill DeWees shares another of his voice over videos on being successful as a voice over talent. Good points and interesting info. I enjoy watching Bill's videos and find that he's no nonsense when it comes to running your voice over business.

I'm Not a Voice Over Talent Agent!

Almost daily, I receive calls and emails from prospective voice over performers looking for an agent. I'm not a voice over talent agent. I talk about agents in the "How To" pages on my web site and in my blog posts, so I think my voice over talent web site may be picked up by the search engines because of that.

If you are truly interested in pursuing voice over as a career, I'd suggest you read my "How To" pages on my web site and also my blog posts. I hope those pages and my posts will be of some help to you – at least point you in the right direction. I have received many appreciative emails and calls from prospective talent thanking me for the quality and depth of information I have provided free of charge on my web site and blog. I’m happy to help with some basic advice. I do appreciate receiving emails from prospective talent as opposed to phone calls. I spend much of my day recording in my audio booth, and I cannot often take time out of a busy day to go through a step by step process of how to get started in this business. That’s one of the reasons I have provided the information which is accessible at any time on my web site and in my blog posts.

To begin your journey, you need to understand that it's not just about having a great or unusual voice that counts, but what you do with that voice and how you market yourself!

Those of us who work as voice over artists study and work hard continually honing our craft and marketing ourselves just to work and survive in this business. However, there are many talented people who do that and still do not make a living at voice over. Also, realistically, getting started by taking classes, making demos, marketing, building a web site, creating your own voice over studio, etc., requires an outlay of approximately $4,000 - $5,000. All things to be considered......

It is best to work with a voice over coach (in person or via phone!) in order to make sure you are ready to create a demo and start distributing it. The last thing you want to do is create a demo before you are ready. It will not serve you well in trying to get an agent or trying to get work. There are many good voice over coaches out there who are willing to work via telephone if you do not live in their area. Several coaches that I have personal experience with are: Nancy Wolfson, James Alburger & Penny Abshire , Marc Cashman , and Rodney Saulsberry If you contact them, please tell them I referred you. I don’t make any commission for referrals, but I just like them to know that I’m thinking of them!

Do your homework, find a good coach, and dig in! All the best to you in your pursuit of a career in voice over!

Dan's Two Cents - Worth Much, Much More!

An excellent article from Dan(Daniel Eduardo) Hurst!

THE BRUTAL TRUTH

Published April 15, 2011

A young man I know that’s trying to break into the voiceover business asked me what advice I might give him.

There are a lot of websites that have lots of information on them about this very topic. There is so much information that needs to be considered when you go into this business, and I don’t need to rehash what so many others have already said so well. Google the subject. You’ll find barrels of info.

However, there are five things that I’ve found extremely important as I’ve grown my voiceover business. I’m not being mean here, I’m just stating the brutal truth.

1. It’s a business, not a hobby.

I’m always amazed at the folks who try to make it in this business who treat it as a hobby, yet expect to deal with people for whom it is a business. I mean, think about it. Why would I trust my project that is part of my full-time business effort to a hobbyist?

If you’re going to make it in this business, invest in it! Get some training. Get some decent equipment and learn how to use it. Work hard at it. Treat it as your job.

Or get out of the road.

2. It’s a small person that carries a big grudge.

Let’s face it. Business is tough. You will run in to a lot of people that will take advantage of you if you give them the chance. And sometimes you will get stung. Learn to be smart, aware, and cautious, but don’t let the stings make you bitter and angry. Nobody wants to do business with people like that.

The people that try to take advantage of you are not going to contribute to your success. Quit taking their phone calls and delete their emails.

3. Always drink upstream from the herd.

I often get asked how I manage to get some of the great voice jobs that come my way. The answer is simple: you find them where they are. Looking for them where everyone else is looking for them is herd mentality. Looking for the little jobs that get through the herd…well, that’s just drinking downstream.

But if you go upstream, where the herd hasn’t been, you’ll find lots of fresh opportunities.

4. Plow around the stump.

There are some things you just shouldn’t do. If you’re not a movie trailer voice, quit jumping in that puddle. If you’re not a fluent reader, quit pretending that you can do long-form narrations and audio books. If you don’t know how to act, quit acting like you’re acting.

In other words, do what you do well. Because if you don’t, you’ll get a reputation for not being very good at what you’re not very good at.

And finally,

5. Your biggest problem watches you from your mirror every morning.

You’re the one that’s going to make the right decisions or wrong decisions about your business every day. Your success or failure isn’t up to anyone else.

You’re business isn’t going to make it or fail because of someone else’s choices. If they don’t choose you to do a job, it’s still up to you to find someone that does want your service.

All you’re doing everyday in this business is selling and delivering a product. Regardless of what some sales gurus have taught, your clients aren’t buying you, they’re buying your product. If your product doesn’t measure up to what the client needs, no matter how much they like you, you’re out of work. That means your product has to be exactly what the client is looking for. And that means you need to focus on your best product, go sell it, and deliver it on time.

So, there’s my advice. And it’s only worth what it accomplishes.

Reprinted with permission here by Melanie Haynes

Melanie Haynes Voiceover Corporate Narration Demo.wmv

Melanie Haynes Female Voice Talent

Free Marketing Listing on Thumbtack

Check out my Professional Voice Over Services Listing on Thumbtack! It's free!

Professional Voice Over Talent

Thanks to Randy Kaye for sharing the info!

Want To Do Voiceovers?

Here's a video by Mercedes Rose, voice over performer and actress, which describes the reality of becoming a voice over artist. No hype, no jive, just the real world.

Good Folks offer help to Golden Voiced Homeless Man!

Yesterday, I posted the video of the homeless man with the golden voice. I just knew offers of help would come! TONS of others re-posted the You Tube video and the magic of the internet worked! Check out the latest! http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/homeless_man_with_golden_radio_voice_91PQ3yMBa58vOf1n4MuToJ

and also this interview: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/05/earlyshow/main7215450.shtml?tag=cbsContent%3BcbsCarousel



Voice over people are the best! They actually care about their own.

Voice Over Websites - What would you change?

Recently, I've received email from voice over talent regarding their performance on the largest voice over talent websites. The voice talent have been both experienced and unexperienced. In answering their concerns and questions I began thinking about the features that would make the ideal voice over website. I'm just talking about the mass listing websites for voice over talent rather than an individual's website for now. Those of us listed on one or more of these sites probably have a list of pros and cons, and I've just been musing about what would make a site really work for the professional voice talent out there. I've had many voice over friends who have tried some of these sites and finally given up because they don't get any work. Keep in mind, these are top notch working professionals! Are the websites running off the pros by trying to even the playing field too much in favor of the beginners? Are beginners lost in the shuffle because they can't compete with the pros?

Who is actually getting the jobs posted on these voice talent websites? Would it be helpful for the sites to post the winning audition, remarks/proposal, and bid? Now, THAT would be interesting! Maybe they could do that without actually listing the talent's name if that is a concern. It would just be really interesting and useful to see how the winning audition, remarks/proposal, and bid compared with what you sent, wouldn't it? You could listen to the winning audition and hear if you just really weren't right for the job - by the way, a great reason for these sites to require the clients to get really specific about what they're looking for rather than just "female middle age" or worse yet, "both" and not even an age range let alone any real description of voice tone and style! You could compare the technical quality of your audition to see if you're up to par, too. You could see the kinds of things written in the remarks or proposal sections of the audition response to see if it really makes any difference what you say. And the bid? Need I say more? Is the lowest bid getting the job? Are people bidding under the bid range the client is posting? Are you overbidding or are you underbidding! No kidding, that can sometimes be a factor!

Wouldn't it be interesting if the mass listing websites for voice talent would actually give this useful information? If listing the talent's name would be a problem, then leave that out. Or the talent listed on the site could agree to allow their winning audition, proposal, and/or bid to be posted. The audition is already won, and it could give some recognition to the winner! There are actually some sites who do this.

Let me know what you think.

Melanie

Real Person vs Announcer Voice Talent

Today, it seems the most popular voice over style requested is the "Real Person" read. To those of us who have been working as professional voice talent for many years, this presents some interesting challenges and opportunities. If we want to keep working and continuing to improve and expand our business, we have to keep up with the current trends in the marketplace. Although, our professional announcing abilities and golden tones are what propelled our careers in the beginning, we may find that we really have to work to give up the very things that used to make our style desirable! Of course, we don't want to totally lose those abilities, either, because they are still called for on occasion. We want to provide the best and most versatile voice over services possible.

The dilemma for me comes when receiving an audition that doesn't specifically state whether the client is looking for a "real person" read or more of a traditional straight announcer read. Which way do I go? Fortunately, I have the ability to do both, but therein lies the problem - which to choose? You might say, do one reading of each. Good advice, however, some auditions state that we may only give ONE reading. Without proper direction given, as is so often the case, the client may be cutting him or herself off from receiving some of the best auditions possible from some of the most experienced talent. The copy itself may sometimes give us the clues, but in my experience, that may not always be the case.

Will the "real person" read continue to be the most sought after in the advertising marketplace or will the pendulum swing back to requiring some sort of well modulated, pleasing, professional sound?