Answering leads

Dorothea Aunger · Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007, 02:59 (GMT) Post subject: Answering leads

I am new to Voice 123 and check for new leads often. Most of the time they have already been answered by lots and lots of talents. Where do you draw the line, should you bother to answer if you would be far down the line. Does anyone know how many demos a talent seeker listens to?

Phyllis K. Day · Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007, 03:55 (GMT) Post subject: Re: Answering leads

Peter O'Connell · Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007, 01:58 (GMT) Post subject:

Just about everybody handles the lead response question a bit differently.

So I'll tell you how I do it and maybe that will help you.

My priority list when I look at the leads is:

1. BUDGET: What do they want and for how much?

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Does the client sound like they know what they are asking for or is it going to be a fairly troublesome project with folks who've never done a media project before.

3. CUSTOMIZED OR GENERIC: If many folks had their way, Pro VO's would be cutting auditions every second of every day...especially for those unique and precious message on hold requests (yeah, right Laughing

I'm sure the way I say "Thank you for calling..." is going to sound soooo much different for a customized demo than it does on my generic demo)

4. SCRIPT: Sometimes this priority shoots right to the top when I see a piece of copy I can't wait to sink my teeth into. Sadly, that doesn't happen alot

5. NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS: Look there are a billion people on this planet who think they have professional VO skills (key work "think"). 1/10th of those billion are subscribers to V123 so the response number is pretty big. Somewhere between 100-150 responses before I get to it and I just don't bother. My time is too valuable and I am fortunate to have firm business coming in on a regular basis. Everybody has their own individual threshold.

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Scott Pollak · Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007, 02:52 (GMT) Post subject:

Excellent analysis and breakdown, Peter. I agree wholeheartedly. It's not that I have tons of work coming in, but if I see a "5-10 minute script" and they want to pay $150, I ditch it. Someone out there will do it, but not me.

And realistically, I doubt any client is going to listen to 200 leads.

Scott Nilsen · Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007, 02:56 (GMT) Post subject:

I'd have to agree with "that other" Scott on this one. I did also like the systematic way it was broken down above. Can't be afraid to "just say no."

Dorothea Aunger · Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007, 02:29 (GMT) Post subject:

Thanks to all who responded, I guess I'll just use my best judgement , your breakdown, Peter, is helpful. Dorothea

George Karnes · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007, 02:43 (GMT) Post subject:

I just wanted to add my two cents. The thing I have noticed is that often a job poster, reposts a lead even after getting 200 responses so they must feel like they still haven't heard the "right" read.

That makes me loathe to not submit a response because the count is already high.

I agree with most of the other methodology as well. Especially on price/time. The other day, someone posted a lead for a test Anime gig and said they had no budget for the voice portion only the animation. It is hard to make a living on free gigs.

Nikki Saco

Peter's breakdown is pretty good. Let me just add that I wouldn't let the number of responses to a lead stop me from responding to a good job post. I know a couple clients who listen only to the middle or ending groups of 20 responses, under the assumption that VO artists who are working (and generally more experienced) tend to post responses less quickly than others because they're simply busier.

Like Scott, I've been deleting job posts that want 5 to 10 pages of script for $150. (Page a minute, right? At least that's what it is for movie scripts.) Anyway, to me that's not a good job post (unless it's for a charity or non-profit educational organization, stuff like that).

Also, if you're getting lost in the shuffle of responses to leads, you might have better luck by optimizing your member page, adding richer keywords or some content that sets you apart from other talent. I've been getting more direct emails from visitors to my member pages and my own web site lately. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what's drawing the attention, but my point is you definitely don't want to ignore your member page or the demos there.

One more thing: if you would like to be among the first to answer, don't wait for the V123 email notice of a new job posting. Try keeping one of your browser pages on your inbox for Read & Answer Leads and refresh the page from time to time. You'll see the leads there before the V123 system has a chance to generate the email to the masses.