Like it or not, we are living in the era of craigslist. Someone will mow your lawn for $20. A photographer will shoot your wedding for $100 and so-called voice talents will record a 10-page narration for $50! This is the world we are living in. Every profession deals with low-ball inquiries from clients. You don’t have to like it but there are some things you can do about it. I used to get upset when clients would call me up for a quote and then come back to me, telling me they found someone else that can do it for less. Now, I just ask them a few questions.
1. How important is your business to you?
2. What is your marketing objective with this script?
3. How important is it that you have professional audio quality?
4. Is this person who can do it for less a professional voice talent?
5. Can I provide a sample for you first and then you can decide?
6. What is holding you back from wanting to pay my requested rate?
7. If I throw in a free voicemail message for your business, will you hire me for this rate?
8. Would you like to hear some samples of work that I’ve done that are similar to your content?
9. Did you know that 50% of the rate I am asking for is allocated toward my studio expenses?
10. Do you have Toto’s first album? (I always throw that in for fun!)
While cost is a factor in any business decision, it should not be the number one objective when hiring voice over talent. Take car shopping for example. Do you look for the lowest price tag or the car that will best fit your needs? The same holds true with a well-versed and seasoned voice talent.
No matter how hard you try, many will still take the less expensive route only to be dissatisfied with the quality of the talent and eventually hire a more experienced talent to record the voice over. In my career, I have had several of these clients come back to me after originally going elsewhere for a cheaper rate.
Thankfully, there are a lot of wonderful clients out there who understand that in order to move product, they will need to hire a professional and pay them what they deserve. When clients hire so-called VO talents for $20, it shows you what they think of their own business. The cost should not be a factor as the end product will result in exactly what you are looking for.
Hi Terry. Well said, as always. Just to cheer us all up, here’s a posting seen this week on a biz to biz site:
“I have a 500 word article to be converted into
a video presentation.
The article will be required to be narrated in an american accent.
I’m looking for someone familiar with powerpoint and windows movie maker.
(Female preferred)
I’ll pay you $5 for the job done”
Great questions, but I feel that they should be addressed in your first communication with the potential client, when they call you for a quote.
Asking “How important is your business to you?” right out of the gate is REALLY going to put any business owner on the defensive. Who WOULDN’T consider their business important, and who wouldn’t be offended by a stranger who even suggests otherwise? I think I’d be upset if someone asked me that in a non-rhetorical way.
And I would address all the questions in a less confrontational way…like this:
“Since it sounds like your business is important to you (question 1), I just wanted to find out your marketing objective for this script. (question 2).”
(they answer)
“Thanks for telling me more about the project. It actually sounds familiar to me since I’m a professional voice talent (question 4) and I’ve done similar work for other clients. Along with my quote, may I send you some samples of those so you can hear what I’m capable of? (question 8) Or, how about a free sample of me reading YOUR script? (question 5)”
(They answer)
“I offer to provide samples, because I know it’s very important to you to have professional audio quality (question 3). You should know that half of my rate goes directly to maintaining my studio (question 9). My rate for this kind of project is _____.”
(they respond)
“It sounds like you’re hesitant to pay my requested rate, and I respect that you want to spend money wisely (question 6). I want to work with you, so I’d like to offer a free voicemail message as well. Are you willing to consider my offer (question 7)?”
(They answer. If the answer is no, tell them you’ll send them a free audition anyway because you’d like to work with them in the future and you’re confident they will be pleased with the quality you can provide. The end.)
Maya,
If they are offering a fair rate for the project, I don’t feel it’s necessary to address all of the questions provided in my blog. Why waste time if you are both on the same page right away? And yes, those that ask us to do a 10-page narration for $50 rate sometimes need to be asked how important their business is. You can present it in a way that is not condescending. Text can be interpreted this way but it’s the tone in your voice that matters. I’ve had success using this strategy . If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have written a blog about this subject. I appreciate your perspective.
AMEN, Terry! You spelled it out nicely!
The whole idea, I believe, is to get a client to think differently… considering other aspects of VO work besides price alone.
And yes, I do have Toto’s first album! I keep their Greatest Hits CD, which won 5 Grammys in my car.
Terry, this blog entry of yours was cosmically-timed. Today a client asked me to do a job for a rate that was…not ridiculously low per say, but it was still a tad lower than what I would consider “economically fair” for lack of a better term. So I threw out a few of the questions you mentioned in this blog entry, and offered to do their phone message system for free.
And guess what? It worked! I got them to agree to the fee that I proposed. It was very gratifying to know that I convinced someone that my job was worth the extra money. Thanks very much!
-Dave
I agree! Good points. A client is either concerned with costs or results – and although budgets are a part of everyday business, a client who cares ONLY about costs is not someone I want to deal with!
I was told by a potential partner that my rates were high compared to what he was currently being charged. He was paying $5 a voice-over and said that it was a huge savings for him and his clients. He indicated that his clients paid him the same for a $5 read as they had for a Pro read and his clients they couldn’t tell the difference. I heard a few examples of his work. The VO sounded like it was recorded in a hallway with a built-in computer microphone. Very sad and worth every penny of $5.
Very sad indeed, Chris! It just goes to show that some projects aren’t that important to clients. Thankfully, there are a plethora of ones who care about their projects and willing to pay the rates that professional voice talents deserve. :-)
Terry, I understand your indignation at what you see as undervaluing of your professional skills. However, I take exception to your references to ‘so called Voice Talents’. In order to BECOME professional, ie get paid work and build a resume, those of us who are training hard have to start somewhere. Remember, there was a time when you were new to this industry! I train with well respected coaches in LA (including one you use) and have not yet made a demo, so consider it perfectly reasonable to seek low-paying and pro bono work to gain basic experience. Surely there’s room for all levels of experience, with appropriate recompense? I really dislike your insinuation that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
Trudy,
Thank you for your comments but I think you’re missing the point. Every voice talent is worth full rate whether they have one year of experience or fifty! That is what I was trying to illustrate. If you want to seek low pay jobs, that is your right but that tells me that you don’t feel confident enough to ask for a better rate. You are right in saying you have to start somewhere but even new voice talents like yourself are worth more than $50 for a 10-page narration. I am pleased that you are doing everything the correct way by getting professional training.
No question there’s always room to “negotiate”…but whore yourself? Never.
A famous quote from 18th century merchant, John Ruskin, hangs on my office wall: “I have no quarrel with those who sell for less, for they know best what their product is worth.”
And my favorite answer to clients who ask something unusual:
“You can have it FAST, CHEAP, or GOOD. Pick any two.”
I have been dealing with the “low baller” for over 20 year, and they usually are not around long. Plus, over the years I have learned that those looking for the “cheap” deal are ALWAYS the hardest client to please. When a client asks me to cut my rates because they have found someone who will do the job for less, I do not hesitate telling them to “go for it”. On occasion, the cheap deal seeker will call me back later to tell me about the nightmare experience they had and will ask if I can fix the mess that had been made. I usually will refuse them, because I am too busy to fit them in, whether I am or not.
In short, there are plenty of good clients out there, willing to pay a fair price for a professional job well done. Sometimes even, tip a little.
I say, stand your ground!
Hi Terry. Great blog! What would you recommend as the best wayS to determine reasonable rates for professional VO talent in a specific area of USA? Thank you.
I was in a Voice over group on LinkedIn and the conversation came up about the 5 dollar site, which I admitted to tossed a fishing line in a couple years ago and get one here and there (a $5 gig).
For a few years I also had been a passive free member to one of them Voices companies. I figured hey Ill try upgrading to a paid membership for a month or a quarter and see what happens.
What happened when I did the upgrade, is I spent many hours of the night doing various scripts and submitting dozens of free demos catered to the client. (Some call that “great experience.”) Blech.
How it felt? LIke a farmer tossing cracked corn and being one of a hundred hungry clucking chickens all pecking for that corn. It wasn’t nice or comfortable, and not a single one came though.
But in this LinkedIn group, I commented that when I finish one of my radio shows I will throw in a quick 5-dollar, 30-second “gig” since my equipment is up and running anyway, no biggie.
Most of those people stuck their virtual noses in the air and pretty much said I was devaluing myself, and royally gave me sneers and jeers.
One person actually stuck up for me, being new to the circle and all and kinda said gosh that’s fine, we should support each other and …
I stopped posting in that group, but just a few months later, my gigging started to take off, and now I am into audio books and what not.. making $50 for 2-3 minutes which come on now, that would be $100/hr.
A few days ago, I landed a $2k gig boiling down to $5/30 sec 10/min or $600/hour. Who can snub that?
Let ’em eat cake. I’m making my own waves and even though I stopped to kick a can and think a minute… I kept going.
Getting into voice acting is another realm, and quite fun, and just as lucrative. I love voice over work and am going to hire a man talent to join my little company and hopefully can grow from there.