How Something That Seemed So Right Could Go So Wrong
When I first heard about the sales funnel for voice over, I was elated. Basically, their funnel drew me in and it worked instantly. I had several thoughts. First, I loved the idea of paying less for pay to plays. I thought by starting a funnel I could change my pay to play strategy. To be clear, I do not think there is a voice over reality in which pay to plays cease to exist, I simply wanted to be less dependent on them. Next, I loved the idea of positioning myself to be found by the people who were hiring me. In all my years as a full-time actor, I spend A LOT of time doing direct marketing, and we all know this can be a craps shoot, a big roll of the dice. The sales funnel was appealing because I had hoped that through the marketing expertise of the folks I hired the people who needed me would find me and I could focus on what I love to do most, recording and coaching. It sounds great, right?
Perhaps I was also very willing to try because I very much liked and trusted the team I was working with. Rob is very well-known in the industry for his legal expertise and his daughter Mary seems quite savvy. I have put my own kids to work for me in the past and I loved that it was a father-daughter team and their vibe was great. I felt like we could make magic together.
Maybe I Jumped the Gun
In retrospect, Rob and Mary’s sample size at the time that I worked with them was NOT big enough. They had great success with ONE other voice talent who made back his investment in the first month. One. They also had their funnel running to draw in voice over actors and coaches like me, and it worked. Rob told me repeatedly that he had to turn the funnel off within days of running and as he was so booked and the he would have to do the same for me. Perhaps I should have waited until they had worked with more of these other talents to see what their results were before signing on for a three month deal. Or perhaps I should have opted for their one month option. I can say with certainty that signing up for a three month sales funnel with only one person prior was based on a lot of optimism and not a lot of numbers and I have never before in my business career made a snap decision like that.
So you must be wondering how a gal who has made spreadsheets for every single choice in her career, from who to do demos with to which microphone to buy, could make this choice so capriciously? One propelling factor was the lofty financial goal that Rob had set for the funnel. It was so high that I would have covered my daughter’s college tuition in one month, and my son’s by month four. When I heard the numbers, I felt determined to try. Who could pass this up if I could really earn that much from the funnel? I do, after all, have goals that I am determined to reach and this funnel sure sounded like a quick fix.
My Actual Experience
While working with Rob and Mary was as expected in terms of their bed-side manner, and they were responsive and kind, Rob over-promised and under-delivered in terms of the result of the funnel. It was actually shocking. We would look at the same numbers, and they would have a completely different analysis of them. Keep in mind the funnel was supposed to bring in dream clients with large budgets. It was supposed to weed out the undesirables. This was NOT my experience. My experience with the opposite. My dream clients were no where to be found. I had multiple people sign up for calls and not show up. I sent follow up emails and texts to those no-shows. After several weeks I had THREE total calls. One lady thought it was a job interview. One call was actually someone who was interested but did not move forward. The third was a man who had been on unemployed and just took a job as a janitor. He had a very limited budget and knew nothing about voice over and it seemed exploitative to even be talking to him.
Sadly, the funnel was not achieving its goals. It was disappointing. Rob, Mary, and I had a different perspective on how the funnel was working. We parted ways and I was thankful for the funnel to end. I lost both money and time.
I know another long-time VoiceOver professional and coach who started a funnel just after I did. Instead of directing her funnel toward coaching clients, she was going after automotive clients and attempting to market her automotive demo. Like me, she also stopped her funnel and parted ways with the team.
Final Thoughts
The most established member of our accountability group, Kim, has long cautioned that the VO community is always looking for “the next big thing”, and when it comes out we all jump on the band wagon. This happens every few years. It happened with voiceovers.com. I think, in the end, the sales funnel was like that for me. I was looking for the magic bullet, a quick fix. Instead I learned a lesson about listening to those who have been around and seen more. Next time I will slow down and wait for the hard data.
I had an experience recently and after the fact realized that dog painting is actually a great analogy for life as a voice over actor. If you follow my blog, then you know that I have two precious studio dogs, Violet and Daisy. Last week were were invited, with the dogs, to a charity event at my brother-in-law’s temple. The event was in support of our local food pantry, and we were going to do dog painting. Yes, that’s right, dog painting. Felix, my BIL, works with a guy named Jason to run the arts committee. Inspired by a Jackson Pollock painting done with chicken feet, they opened it up to community pets. The plan was to have people paint with their pets, make a group mural, and bring pet-specific donations for the food pantry. Often those who cannot afford food for their family, also cannot feed their pets. My daughter Emma signed us up and we brought dog food and treats to contribute. Even the morning of the event, I was very unsure of what we were walking into.
So, I see many parallels between dog painting and VoiceOver. Like the event, in VO there is no roadmap. We wake up each morning not knowing what to expect. We walk into live sessions and we don’t know how long they will be and what the folks will be like. Like the dog painting, there are no guarantees in voice over, no promises that things will work it. It might be fine, but everything could also have fallen apart completely with no hope of salvation. We have no crystal ball and we have to be prepared for any outcome.
I never thought I’d go dog painting. But I did and I loved it. Not only did I have fun with my pooches in the moment, but I gained valuable life insights and a refreshing perspective on being willing to try new things. Sometimes, even if you have doubts, as longs as what you are considering is safe, it’s worth trying!
Learning to actually incorporate breathing was hard. Voice actors need to learn how to breath and when to breathe. But being told to breath from your diaphragm and then automatically doing it at all the right places in the script are two very different things. That’s why this week fellow voice over coach Diana Birdsall and I invited Michelle Blenker into our Clubhouse room “Ask the VO Coaches.”
We were eager to ask Michelle about vocal fatigue. Whether you are auditioning or doing booked work, often your voice feels tired as the day goes on. Our voice is a delicate instrument, Michelle explained. She said our entire being is used when we do voice over. We use our body but our vocal cords take the brunt of what we do so we need to use our whole body to support them. As we bring air into our larynx, we want the air to float through and we don’t want to push air in. She suggests that we reframe our thoughts about where our voice comes from and focus on the diaphragm.
In order to increase this amount, you need to learn how to stand. Then, you need to engage your ribs and fill them more deeply with air. Lastly, you need to control how quickly the air is exhaled. When you learn to use your resonators properly, which are found in your sinuses and more, many voice talents discover that their true voice is actually higher than they realized.
It seems like that raspy sound is still popular. Still, just because they ask for it, this does not mean you have to provide it if that is not your natural vocal tone. When we speak, our vocal cords vibrate and bump into each other to create sounds. When this happens, we can get nodules. Then, the vocal cords don’t open and close properly. To prevent rasp, there is an exercise you can do:
One of our attendees asked a question about promo reads. He said that when he tried to get deep resonance he loses his breath. Michelle confirmed that he stands and he said yes. She directed him to put one foot in front of the other. Then, he was told to tuck his bottom under to expand the back ribs. Michelle said that as he releases his breath he needs to control it and let it come through more slowly. She then told him to do the above exercise in the tucked stance, letting the air flow in and out like a balloon.
Like with other genres of voice over, actors have to make a choice. Directors give input and Randy works with that. Randy shared an anecdote about her late, great friend Chris Corley. Chris is well-known for being the voice of the MLB network, movie trailers, imaging, and more. Anyway, once auditioned. He was cast in this role. Once hired, they told him his read was not what they wanted. But, he was so committed and they loved that commitment to the read. The choices we make when we read and the characters we choose matter so much across genres.
Fast forward quite a few years. Now I have the luxury of having a weekly Clubhouse Room, “Ask the VO Coaches.” This week voice over legend Scott Parkin was our guest! Whether you know it or not, you likely know Scott! He is the voice and face of many recognizable brands as he does both voice over and on-camera work. He actually started out on morning radio. Scott has a national Tide TV commercial and many more. He has also made appearances on well-known shows like “Grace and Frankie.” Scott finds that the relationship between VO and on-camera work is symbiotic. Scott shared that most of his work comes in through his agents at DPN. As a single dad, his daughter Miranda grew up socializing with other talents in the DPN waiting room.
