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Expectations

Client Communications Checklist: How to Best Communicate with a Voice Over Client

October 19, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

By Laura Schreiber & Voice123’s The Booth 

This article is sponsored by Voice123.

You nailed the audition! Your voice is exactly what the client wanted and it’s that project you had a special feeling about. Now comes the difficult part; maintaining successful client communications throughout each stage of the project. 

 

It might seem easy since you already landed the job, but keep in mind that clients need to see value to continue the relationship or work with you again in the future. So when working with clients, whether it’s an audition, a direct booking, a booking from an audition, or a repeat client, you only have one chance to get that first communication right! When they reach out to you, it is up to you as the voice talent, to set the tone for how the communications will go. A warm, friendly, helpful response goes a long way in every scenario and helps to build the foundation for a great talent-client relationship. 

 

Do your best to make them happy every single time!

 

Common miscommunications when working with clients 

 

Miscommunication issues can take many shapes and forms. Messages can be taken out of context by cultural differences and delays can creep in if both parties are in a different time zone. 

I have worked with international clients and had some miscommunication issues, so often the more information that you can spell out at the start of work, the easier it is for everyone.

 

Worse-case scenarios: A client gets offended, gets the wrong impression, or pulls out of the project. Or a voice actor could jump the gun, miss a deadline, or drop the ball altogether by missing an important project requirement. 

 

How can these negative situations be avoided? 

 

From the first communication with a client, it is best to understand the intentions behind the project. If you can, ask questions about the tone of the project and specifically what they are looking for. Knowing the answers to these and other vital questions in advance of doing the work leads to successful client communications and also confirms that a booking is a booking.

 

To help you with this, here’s a checklist of vital points that you need to go through beforehand. 

 

  • Ask the client if they have a scratch track. 
  • Ask if they know what music they are going to use. (This helps me understand the tone and the pace of the voice over.)
  • Confirm the file format. WAV, MP3, or both?
  • Confirm if the client needs raw or edited audio.   
  • Confirm whom, where and when to invoice. 
  • Confirm your service agreement, payment, and revisions policy. 

 

 

A key takeaway for clients, in this case, is to contribute to a faster process by responding in a timely manner, being transparent about project details, and keeping a voice actor in the loop regarding any changes or delays. 

 

How to manage client expectations  

 

In general, all back and forth client communications should be prompt. If you are replying to an audition request, it is to your advantage to submit on the early side. Personally, as soon as I get an audition that looks appealing, I try to submit it. If you can be in the first ten submissions, that is ideal. Sometimes it is hard because of differences in time zones, or the demands of another project, but early submission is the key to getting booked. Once the client hears what they need, they will cast the job. They also would rather work with a talent who is responsive. 

 

When replying to emails, whether for an audition or for a booking, being available makes you easy to work with. If you reply quickly and are transparent in your business practices, you are far more likely to gain a client. Timing matters. If a client has a deadline, you do not want to be the reason why they have to push their deadline. Instead, make it easy for them to get what they need by both responding promptly and submitting promptly. 

 

Make all replies personal so that the client feels heard. Be sure to respond to all of their asks in your email and cover all bases. This also includes your turnaround time, pickup/revision policy, and payment terms. 

 

Do’s and Don’ts for setting the right expectations  

 

  • Don’t feel shy or afraid to outline your terms. Clear and transparent client communications benefit everyone.
  • Do find out the client’s intentions behind the project. Are they trying to increase sales, or drive more traffic to their website? And what is their target audience?
  • Do ask about the tone of the project. Often, the client has a specific sound; a voice in their head that they’re trying to match. Asking for an example such as a celebrity, similar sound, or even one of your samples could point you in the right direction. 

 

But how does this translate into a written message when working with clients? Here are some specific templates that can be copied and tweaked to suit your needs. 

 

 

Template 1: If you missed a client’s message  

 

Hi, Name, 

 

I am so sorry for the delay! 

 

I had to ________, but I am definitely available now. I always aim for professional and fast communication so I really apologize for this. 

 

If you’d still like to move forward with this, I’m more than happy to make it up to you by adding ____ free revisions instead of _____. And also willing to _________, as a gesture of good faith. 

 

Let me know and once again, sincere apologies. 

 

 

Check out the full list of free Client Communications Templates here.   

 

To sum things up, successful client communications are all about knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Don’t leave anything to chance. Prepare your communications ahead of time, follow the right format and tone, and always follow the 3 Ps when working with clients: 

Professional, Punctual, and Polite. 

But there’s so much more to communicating and working with clients. Read the complete Client Communications Checklist For Voice Actors in Voice123’s Voice Over Guide.

Filed Under: Business Management, Client Relationships, Voiceover Tagged With: best practices, client relationships, communications, Expectations, reply, response time, tips, tricks, VO, Voice 123, voice over, voiceover

The More Things Change, The More Some Things in VOice Over Are Somewhat the Same…

April 12, 2020 by Laura Schreiber

My Chat With Liz…

So last night I was chatting with one of my besties who is not in voice over, Liz. Liz is one of those amazing geniuses and every conversation could go on forever because she is a goddess of her own life. A phd in chemical engineering, she is one of the most grounded people I have ever met despite her super important job at a pharmaceutical company. We were initially chatting about Unorthodox which I just finished watching on Netflix, and then the conversation shifted to work. She had hoped that my work would be positively impacted by the pandemic, and then I think Liz got an earful that she did not really want about my experience as a working creative during the Covid-19 pandemic.

My Bookings…

What I explained to Liz, and what is interesting, is that during the Pandemic I continue to book what I have always booked, there is just less of it. So what am I still booking? Commercials, eLearning, and telephony/IVR. For me, the amount of jobs I typically have in a day or even half a day on some weeks I am having total in a week. I am thankful for every single booking, but the volume of booked work for me during the pandemic has gone down. Typically, I do a lot of radio commercials. The commercials I have booked this month have been radio commercials. They have been from steady clients who continue to send work. Some are for clients here and some have been for clients abroad, as far as New Zealand.

In terms of eLearning work, again, this is for clients that I had before the pandemic started. They needed me for specific work and we had live sessions booked via source connect. They were not canceled and I was very thankful.

The IVR work that I have had come in, believe it or not, has not been covid specific! This shocked me. It was just companies that needed messages. I gather some companies do not want to invest in temporary phone systems. I would not have predicted this, but this has been the case in the past two weeks.

My Auditions….

There have been some big differences in auditions so I think I should go point by point:

  • Quantity: On the pay to plays that I am on there are significantly fewer auditions. I continue to get a lot of private invitations and I am thankful for that, but in terms of daily numbers of postings, there is dramatically less. There also seem to be a lot of other talents submitting right away. On Friday, for example, I got an invitation for a job that wanted 10 auditions. My kids were off from school last week. Not remote learning, just on Spring Break, so I was giving them lunch. I waited about 40 minutes to submit, which is not so long. By the time I submitted there were already 32 submissions for the listing that wanted 10!
  • Rush Required: I see a lot of jobs, both from agents and on pay to plays, with RUSH in the specs. The turn arounds are very fast and they need availability to record in a very short window. I do not know if expectations have shifted as they know we cannot go anywhere, but I gather a lot of new content is needed and the clients are genuinely in a hurry to put out relevant content that makes sense in light of all that has changed, and the producers just need to accommodate the clients.
  • Source Connect Required: More than any other time in the past 5 years, I have seen Source Connect required when jobs are posted. I am seeing requests specifically for Source Connect more than Zoom, Skype, ISDN, or ipDTL. A lot of specs tell talent not to audition if they do not have the professional, paid for version of Source Connect up and running already.
  • Agent Specs Are Changing: Agent specs are becoming more specific than ever before and there is a sense of no-messing around. All of the above is true of the listings that agents are sending out, and some agents are sending out job listings before they even know the rates. Listings the previously would have been LA only are now open to those of us with Source Connect. Things are shifting…

Feelings About Supporting the Community…

In general it feels like everyone is being very kind and supportive. It feels like it is a time when a lot of people are looking to reconnect. Still, I have gotten my fair share of inquiries from those new to the industry or those looking to move into voice over now. When I started in VO, I never expected free advice, and this does not seem like the time for free advice. After years of working hard to build my business and coming up with clever and innovative ways to get on rosters, with no shortcuts, I find it frustrating when those who have been curious about voiceover for five minutes feel entitled to what the rest of us came by through hard work. This is not the time to expect the keys to the castle for free. I do feel that there is a profound difference between networking and keeping in touch and crossing a line. Let’s all use this time to lift each other up, make the community stronger, and help those in our network already who need it.

Filed Under: Voiceover Tagged With: auditions, Availability, bookings, commercials, elearning, Expectations, invitations, live sessions, RUSH Jobs, Source Connect, Specs, support, training, VO, voiceover, working mom

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