Taji's Voice Emporium

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2 Responses to “Wisdom From The Readers”

1. on 07 Dec 2009 at 2:52 pm1    Paul Strikwerda

   Hey Taji:

   David made a number of excellent points. He’s right: some clients just can’t come to terms with the kind of money we get paid for what, to them, seems to be such little effort.

   Voice-over professionals make what they do sound so natural and easy, no wonder why so many people believe anyone could pull that off. In reality, voice-over artists are no different than other performers or athletes. When people hear a great pianist play or watch a well-know sports star at the top of her game, they usually don’t think of all the years these pros had to put in, in order to get where they are now. As they say: it usually takes many years to become an overnight success!

   Over the years, I have become more firm with clients that aren’t willing to pay reasonable rates, and more intolerant with ‘colleagues’ who operate as if they have no clue what those rates might be. I agree with David that we’re in the driver’s seat. That’s why I have clear Terms & Conditions, and if the client refuses to sign on the dotted line, that’s a big red flag. In general it’s always better to agree on the terms upfront. Trying to negotiate something after the fact is virtually impossible.

   Having said that, I must admit that I am also willing to be a bit more flexible if I have established a longer term relationship with a client and if the project is more or less ongoing. But those projects are far and few. Trust is essential, but it needs to be earned first. I also have to admit that I have a weak spot for non-profits which, from a business perspective, I probably shouldn’t have.

   Because people are working for a respectable cause, doesn’t automatically mean that they will treat you with respect. Being a nice and decent person and working for a charity are two different things. In fact, I noticed more than once that they will abuse the sympathy angle of the charity as an excuse to jerk you around (pardon the language). First they guilt-trip you into accepting a lower fee. Secondly, when it’s time to pay, there’s delay after delay.

   What’s the best weapon to deal with these situations? Well, first of all we should educate ourselves, then our clients and our colleagues. If we proclaim to be a pro, we should act like a pro. Unfortunately, as David mentioned, this line of work is infested with amateurs who are willing to work for a few bucks because their mortgage doesn’t depend on it. Clients take advantage of that. Why? Because they can!

   And did I mention the P2P’s yet? You know, the ones that put out handy dandy rate sheets and refuse to uphold these rates, claiming that it’s not their business to make sure their (paying) members get compensated fairly? In my opinion, this has contributed to the erosion of rates, and it has made it harder for voice-overs to put a reasonable price on their services. And with compensation going down, net 15 or net 30 is an interesting but insignificant point.

   
   
2. on 07 Dec 2009 at 3:04 pm2    Mahmoud Taji

   You know Paul… I think that is what is missing from my business flow. I don’t have a proper terms and conditions sheet.

   It also seems that I am crabbier and crabbier in my old age… cause just now I rejected a paypal payment because the client did not respect my wishes and send it as a paypal echeck but as a paypal instant payment. (on incurs a transfer fee from paypal and the other takes 5 day to complete but no deduction).

   So what I’m going to do is sit and write up a clear and concise Terms and Conditions sheet before I work with anyone… infact I think I’ll send it to the clients I already have and force them to sign it … since they are forcing me to accept their updated payment policies.

   Thanks for your input Paul, always appreciated.

   Taji

   
   

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