What’s the expression, "If it works, don’t fix it." So what happens when "It doesn’t work anymore? Just keep going?"
This appears to be the case. Instead of stepping away from the traditional process and determining whether it still makes sense in today’s environment, just push on with the same approach as always … just push harder today?
Before I stepped away from repping a year ago, all areas of this Industry were feeling the pain. Today, I look at the Industry with a fresh eye and realize it’s just not working effectively. Quite honestly, it hasn’t been working effectively for a lot of people for a long time. Yes, change is scary and can be unpredictable. However, the predictable way isn’t working anymore.
So why did something that worked so well for so long, stop working?
When attention became a coveted commodity.
Smart advertisers have come to realize this already. Banging louder, more frequently will not necessarily win market share. The time We have available to "pay attention" to ads is an increasingly scarce resource. And We are tired of being inundated with unsolicited advertisements. In addition to all the clutter, We don’t need to care as much as we used to. The sheer number of quality products has increased dramatically, so much it doesn’t really matter which one we buy, they’re all a great value.
Do you see the parallel?
As human beings we have a finite amount of attention. Producers and creatives can’t watch every reel, remember every director or do everything. As the demand of life increases, the percentage of messages that get through inevitably decreases. Just as advertisers know, their product won’t get purchased if the consumer isn’t aware of it, the same can be said for our Industry. If your "great" work doesn’t get seen by the decision makers, is it great work? How do you break through the clutter of competition and capture the Holy Grail of attention?
Traditionally, talent is sold by speaking directly to as many producers and creatives as possible. There was a time this approach was effective. Producers had the time to find out who and what was new in the Industry. Creatives would select a director based on their reputation, the relationship they had with an Executive Producer or the (on-staff) sales rep, and even the reel.
In recent years, the ‘marketing’ of talent has included unique cassette covers or hundreds of sales calls, in an attempt to break through the clutter of competition and win recognition.
Net, producers and creatives have too little time and hold too much importance to stand for the inundation of messages they don’t want to hear, about a talent they’ve never heard of, using methods that annoy them.
The Internet is providing some interesting solutions. Whether you are a member of www.eCreativesearch.com or belong to the eGroup, Wheresspot, or the latest on-line community of message boards and talent directories, www.Spotz.tv , the role of the Internet is going to change how this Industry does business. And it’s doing so already.
I understand from my on-line communities, "a Web presence is expected, especially for those involved in any aspect of production." The 24/7 availability of basic company info, current roster with samples of work and the ability to get a flavor for a company is compelling and allows the producer or creative the ability to gather information in their own time, when they can pay attention.
In addition, giving the producer or creatives a relevant place to gather preliminary information is powerful. Why is it, when a producer calls a company asking for information, it’s interpreted as permission to "follow-up" with more phone calls back at that producer? No wonder producers are reluctant to place those early stage phone calls.
Not surprisingly, many companies with a Web presence report noticeable cost reductions and overall communications improvement. Why wouldn’t communications be improved? Imagine a producer calling you with a specific interest as opposed to being ‘interrupted’ for information on a purported job. Is it a surprise that a more meaningful relationship can be had when a person doesn’t feel under siege?
And now, something interesting has happened.
They’re coming to You, seeking You out in meaningful conversations because they’ve had time to get beyond the preliminary stages, and are prepared to talk. Prepared to give you their full attention.
This is a watershed moment in our Industry. The day we stopped pushing so hard and realized a new form of marketing Talent will change the effectiveness of our business, because the business has already changed. Websites are only the beginning, Internet marketing will influence how we do business. The traditional method of marketing Talent involved hard work, the new landscape of marketing will not be any easier, just more effective.
I challenge you to breakdown your preconceived notions about how to sell Talent and put it back together in a way that works in our new networked world. The concepts are pretty simple, but by no means obvious. Technology has delivered us the tools to walk away from the outdated sales approach of Willy Loman and to begin building businesses differently.
