The dictionary is the only place where Success comes before Work.
A couple of recent situations made me think of this phrase. I believe that you can achieve any goal you set for yourself ASSUMING that you are willing to do the work necessary to achieve it. I also know that no one can do your work for you, and no shortcuts exist on your journey.

I have previously commented and voice-over coach and actor Peter Rofe noted in an article this week:

There are a lot of people who want to get into voice-over work because they have the misconception that it’s a get-rich-quick scheme, that they can stay at home, record their voice in their pajamas, unshaven in a T-shirt …
and make lots and lots of money.

Now in some cases, that’s true, but usually for well-established voice artists.

I frequently receive calls and e-mails from people who want to get started in voice-over, study with me, request demo critiques, ask my opinion on teachers and classes, etc. A few weeks ago, I saw a message on a forum where I’m a regular contributor. Like so many other people who contact me personally, this person wanted to get into voice-overs because she has always been told that she had a nice voice. A forum member directed her to search for my posts, read what I had written and perhaps send a private message to me if she still had questions.

At 12:24pm, she responded that she would take those actions.

At 12.30pm, I received a private message from this same person. She wrote that she posted the question in the forum, and someone suggested that she contact me.

I responded to her first by quoting the advice to read what I’ve already written. I added: That’s my suggestion as well. While I can appreciate and understand your excitement, you would find the answers to many of your questions with a little research.

A couple of Saturdays ago, I received a phone call from someone who introduced himself and then said, I need an agent. During his somewhat lengthy voice mail message, he proceeded to do a few impressions for me and told me how to find him on YouTube. He also told me about a holiday CD he had created that he said the people loved.

If I had to predict which of these 2 people would be successful in realizing their voice-over dreams, I would pick the second person without hesitation.

Person One seemed unwilling to do even the least bit of work. A mere six minutes elapsed between the times that she learned about me and I received her message. She did not search for my posts and read absolutely nothing before firing off a message to me. I also was not pleased that she misrepresented to me the forum poster’s advice.

Person Two, however, already was doing some work, had looked at enough of my web site to learn my agent’s name and obviously was not afraid to enthusiastically promote himself. Calling a fellow voice talent, especially on a Saturday, was an unusual tactic to employ in his quest for agent. I don’t fault him for making the effort. He had an idea and took action; you never know when an inspired action will bring results. When I returned his call, I told him that I am a voice talent marketing myself, and I wouldn’t be able to help him get an agent.

As I tell everyone who asks, you will achieve your dreams by putting one foot in front of the other and taking some small step toward your goals everyday. Just remember — your success is defined by your work!

 

A few weeks ago, Drew told me that he found himself critiquing the voice-over actors on local radio commercials. He said he could recognize voice talent who need more training because they haven’t learned how to sound conversational in their reads. Among other things, he astutely detected that amateurs invariably let their voices trail off at the ends of sentences.

That same day, I called a major entertainment venue here in Atlanta to learn information about an upcoming event. I was rather shocked to hear a voice message in which the events and ticket prices were read in a choppy, uneven manner by someone with an accent. While some local commercials are produced by people with limited budgets, this complex has revenues in the millions each year. Its operations department unquestionably could afford to hire professional voice talent but has not.

In both cases, a professional voice-over artist like me could be tempted to offer her services to these businesses to fix their problems. However, both the people producing the commercials and those at the entertainment venue don’t think that they have a problem. My efforts therefore would fall in the category of unsolicited advice and most likely anger the people that I most wanted to impress.

I learned this lesson the hard way. As I was beginning my voice-over career, I wrote an e-mail to a local car dealer who runs a lot of radio ads. With my infinite wisdom, I explained that the dealer’s ads about Jenny in the office making a Bundt cake for all of the salesmen was offensive because it presented a very sexist and condescending attitude toward women. Mind you, I sent this message in the late 90s or early in this decade. The ad WAS sexist, but as a new voice talent who had no connection to this advertiser, it wasn’t my place to point out that fact. Naturally, I happily identified myself as a voice-over talent and offered to assist the dealer with future commercials.

I have auditioned for that dealer’s spots on numerous occasions but have never booked one. I have listened to my auditions against the ads that ran on the air. My vocal qualities and copy interpretation are eerily similar in many cases. Since I’m a positive person, I believe that maybe the producers knew the talent selected for the ads or perhaps never heard my auditions. I have to be honest, though, and acknowledge that an equally likely scenario is that my unsolicited advice was considered criticism and destroyed my chances of booking work with that advertiser.

“If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it”

is an old adage that holds true in business. Bob Bly, a well-known and highly respected copywriter who has written many books, wrote a story with that title several months ago in the Early To Rise e-zine. He details valid reasons that you shouldn’t offer unsolicited advice.

When I feel my unsolicited advice could be perceived as criticism, I will keep it to myself, as Bly suggests. For instance, a nearby restaurant opened in the location of a previous restaurant. They changed the name and menu, which gave the customer one set of expectations, but kept the interior furnishings from the previous owner. The result was a hodge-podge of a poorly conceived restaurant with no unique identity.

During our one meal there, I told Drew a number of marketing ideas I instantly had for the establishment as soon as I walked in the door. I often have marketing ideas for businesses but usually don’t say anything because I don’t know the people. I didn’t say anything in the restaurant. It closed after being open less than a year.

If I am merely offering ideas for some new marketing twist, I don’t think the case against unsolicited advice is so clear-cut. When I am working with my clients, I feel that one of my value-adds to them is my marketing mind. I ask them if they are open to suggestions to changes in copy. If I see a way to promote their services, I enthusiastically point it out to them. My clients know that we have a collaborative relationship, and they always seem appreciative and excited about the leads, tips and ideas that I give to them. Certainly, when I am pitching an idea like an audiobook to a prospect whom I have targeted, providing a list of specialty marketing channels may be the key piece of information to seal the deal.

I still wonder what to do about those people who are in the category of potential clients. If I have a marketing idea for someone with whom I’d like to work, should I share it with them when we have no prior business relationship?

In three cases dealing with multi-million dollar corporations within the last month or so, I decided the answer was yes. The ideas had nothing to do with voice-over and nothing to do with me, but everything to do with the brand enhancement of the companies involved. (In keeping with Bob Bly’s recommendations, I wouldn’t have submitted the ideas if they could have been viewed as self-serving.) I suggested that 2 companies could partner on a promotion which would benefit both of them as they share the same target market, and I proposed a niche advertising campaign for a third entity.

I carefully researched the recipients so that the ideas would have the best chance of landing with the right decision-maker, but I can’t say whether anyone read my letters. The companies may not like or be able to implement my ideas. Like Bob Bly stated, these companies didn’t pay me for my ideas, so they might not find them valuable.

It’s one thing to approach somebody saying, “Will you hire me and pay me some of your money?” That line of inquiry won’t win you any friends when you continue with a recitation of perceived defects, like the web designer profiled in Bob Bly’s article or my letter to the car dealer. It’s another thing to approach somebody and say, “Here’s a way that you can make money!”

I think what you put out in the Universe comes back to you. If I was of service to someone else, the Universe will be of service to me. I sent these ideas freely, without any expectation of reward. I truly love all 3 companies and want to see their continued success and market domination. Of course, if any of these 3 businesses ever wants to engage me to voice commercials, point-of-sale and trade show presentations, training programs or anything else for their stellar organizations, I will be more than delighted to join their team!

 

When Drew and I recently visited the Great Pyramids in Egypt, our attention was instantly focused on something. You might think we were riveted by the awe-inspiring majesty of the ancient structures that we were visiting. While we were certainly thrilled to be standing at one of the 7 Wonders of the world, we couldn’t totally concentrate on the moment as we defended ourselves against the onslaught of sales pitches of the many vendors who rushed up to us as we stepped onto the Sahara sand.

If you stood still for more than a few seconds, someone would approach you, offering to sell you something, take you for a camel ride or shoot your picture. I began to think that the sellers outnumbered the tourists.

People were hawking everything imaginable to remember your experience at the Pyramids: postcards, calendars, camels (both rides on real ones and small toys) coins, stamps, papyrus pictures, and, of course, head wraps.

In fact, head wraps seemed to be the most popular item sold by the vendors, and most of the people appeared to have identical packages of white cloth which you would tie to your head with colored rope rings. These wraps looked like the traditional Arabian, white scarves with rope rings that you see in the movies. Most people were selling them for a dollar.

When we went to the Pyramids, we didn’t have it in our minds to buy a souvenir of our visit. We and our fellow travelers had spent a lot of time, money and energy to journey to the Pyramids; all we wanted was peace and quiet to enjoy the view. All the vendors wanted was to use our limited time and waning energy under the desert sun to relieve us of money for their trinkets.

In this setting of vendors barking their prices at us as we passed them, my marketing mind couldn’t help but think: How does a person selling a product that is the same or similar to his competitors distinguish himself in a saturated marketplace? The observations I made during my trip to the Pyramids are tips that you can easily employ in marketing and improving your voice-over business.

Drew and me in front of the Sphinx and PyramidsOne of the more unusual selling approaches occurred when one person forced one of these white head wraps into Drew’s hands, started walking with us and told us he was giving us a free gift.

Observation #1: The word FREE is one of the most powerful words in the English language. When someone offers you a free gift, you can’t help but feel intrigued. Of course, our society causes us to be cynical and look for the ‘the catch’ to any offer. In your voice-over business, you can entice people with free reports, free auditions, free script assistance, free revisions in short, whatever you feel adds value to your business without taking away from your bottom line. You ARE in the voice-over business to make money, aren’t you?

He proceeded to ask us if we were American. When we said we were, he told us that he loved America and wanted to travel here someday.

Observation #2: This seller was trying to create a relationship with us. People like to do business with those with whom they have a relationship. While everyone else was simply yelling prices at us, this guy was actually attempting to develop a rapport with us.

Once he had established our nationality, the Pyramid peddler suggested that it would be nice if we could also give him a gift. (Ah, HERE’S the catch!) He didn’t specifically ask for money, but we knew he wanted money. We quickly gave the so-called free gift back to him.

Observation #3: If you give away something for free, you can’t have any expectation of getting anything in return. If you anticipate a quid pro quo, you risk offending your prospects and a loss of any future sales.

Observation #4: When you’re in a sales situation, you need to have a firm price for your product (as in voice talent and services) and be able to speak to people about the benefits they will receive from spending their money with you.

We also visited the Sphinx, which is located at the site of the Pyramids. Here, the peddlers offered the same merchandise as at the Pyramids but also added scarves and crystal Pyramids. Souvenir shops lined the road, but I didn’t see an official souvenir stand at either site. I suppose that anyone who wants to sell stuff could do so.

We had successfully skirted around the sea of sellers while entering the chamber to the Sphinx. Our guide even shooed away one particularly pesky merchant by speaking rather sharply to him in Arabic. On our way out, though, Drew noticed someone selling a head wrap that was unlike the 100 he had seen prior in the day. All of the others were small pieces of white linen fabric, while this one was a large, black and white checked fabric similar to one worn by a former Mid-East leader. Drew stopped to inquire about it.

Observation #5: Find a niche and fill it. I know that may seem easier said than done, especially when I’m talking about the voice-over industry, but we all have unique voices and unique backgrounds that we bring to the microphone. Figure out your signature sound, and find a way to use your experiences in your marketing. Also, if you have some tie-in to a celebrity, use it!

Drew and the vendor haggled about the price of this head wrap for several minutes before Drew finally bought it at a price considerably lower than the dealer’s original price. However, Drew did pay more for his head wrap than the white linen wraps seen at the Pyramids and more than he originally planned to spend.

Observation #6: Just because everybody else in your sandbox is charging low prices and negotiating price cuts with every new prospect doesn’t mean that you have to follow the trend. When you cut your prices, you are the one who bleeds. If you want to charge and achieve a premium price for your voice-over talent, you need to be ready with factual, persuasive reasons based on quality, service or other aspects why the prospect should pay the extra money. For an in-depth and fascinating discussion of this subject, I cannot recommend too highly that you get Larry Steinmetz’s book How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors: Winning Every Sale at Full Price, Rate, or Fee.

Observation #7: Even in a market that is saturated with vendors, people are willing to increase their budgets to acquire a quality product that matches their specifications.

Drew shows off his new purchaseFollowing the visits to the Pyramids and the Sphinx, we were taken on a Jeep safari and camel ride at the Saqqara Country Club near the 4000-year-old Step Pyramid, which we also visited. Both the Jeep safari and camel ride were included in the package price for the day trip to the Pyramids. Our camels were led by Bedouins walking by the camels on foot, and our guide told us that $2 was a customary tip for these ‘drivers’. Consequently, Drew and I each put $2 in our pockets with the plan to give it to each driver at the end of the ride.

The camel ride lasted 30-40 minutes, which was longer than we expected. During the entire ride, our drivers kept asking if everything was okay. They were eager to please and ensure that we were having a good time. However, they didn’t know a lot of English, so the rest of the conversation consisted of constant requests for money at the end of the ride.

I was uncomfortable during the ride because I only had one foot in a stirrup. I never found the stirrup on the right side, and I kept feeling like I would fall off the camel’s back. I told Moses, my driver, about this problem numerous times. Maybe he didn’t understand me since he would respond by telling me about needing money to feed his wife and 5 hungry children.

Observation #8: If your client reports a problem to you, you should fix it immediately. Listen twice as much as you talk. Do everything in your power to maintain your client’s trust.

Sami, Drew’s driver, gave the reins to Drew so Drew could steer the camel. Drew gave his camera to Sami and asked Sami to take our picture. Though we’re sure Sami doesn’t own a digital camera, he did a great job in using Drew’s camera. When people say I look extremely happy in this picture, I tell them it is because I was reunited with my Sheik of the Desert, who had been leading our little caravan of camels. Drew says he thinks I’m laughing because I know the hot, bumpy ride is almost over. 🙂

My Sheik and me on our camel ride in the Sahara DesertWe decided that, contrary to the advice of our guide, the drivers deserved more than a $2 tip for the long walk and value-added service. Drew had a mixture of US and European currency in his wallet. He gave a US $20 to Sami; however, he gave Moses a 20 Euro, which was worth around $25 due to the exchange rate. Even though Sami took pictures of us and gave Drew the reins of his camel, Drew paid Moses more because Moses was taking care of me. Also, Moses was also missing many teeth and had a larger family than Sami. Drew wanted to do more to add to Moses’ prosperity than to Sami’s. Rather than thanking Drew for his generosity, Sami was jealous of the amount given to Moses and demanded that Drew give him $5 more. Drew refused.

Observation #9: Do the best job that you can do and express gratitude for all of your blessings. Convey your appreciation to your clients for choosing you as their voice talent and for their prompt payment of your invoices. You would do well to set up a regular system to maintain contact with them that shows them you are thinking of them and their needs, not yours.

Observation #10: We live in a global economy. If you don’t have a passport, get one. If you have a passport, use it. Travel the world to spend time in other cultures and see how other people really live as opposed to taking your world view solely from the things that the media chooses to tell you. I can’t promise that you will gain creative ideas about your voice-over business, but I can promise that you will gain a perspective about your place in this world and an appreciation for the abundant lifestyle you are privileged to lead if you are a voice-over artist.