Matching Your Needs
Of course everybody dreams of a top ten agency like Ford or Wilhelmina, Elite or a legendary agent at CAA, William Morris, Endeavor ect. This is where be careful what you wish for comes in. Not that these companies are not the top of the top. However, an agent that believes in your talent and works for you is more important. There are plenty of agents that will take on clients and not book work or not put in effort or somebody who sells themselves. It’s not a hard job to get Tom Hanks into a movie or Chanel Iman into a fashion show. Agency’s are a business and need to make money. Exclusive contracts should never be taken lightly. A contract is taking a portion of your already short career.
When agent, manager, publicist shopping keep in mind who they are as a person. Does this person have people that look just like you? Do they want to change your genre? Are their credentials up to par? Agents will always look at you with a critical eye. Height, weight , skill, stats, experience, trustworthiness are all things they want from you. You need the same from them. A partnership is requires for both o you to make money. Chasing the almighty dollar is no easy task and the more you help each other the easier it gets.
It’s important to get as much face time that you can with your representation. They will be making decisions for you daily. It’s important that you both understand the personality and work ethic of one another. Keep things professional but be as accessible as possible. Always tell them how auditions or bookings went. Remind them to make phone calls to people you think may need to know who you are. If your new to the area, have them introduce you to potential clients and other people in the business. A client can’t book you if they don’t know you exist. If there are industry parties with clients or social events. Invite your representation to help work the room o press at the event.
In short, the name of the agency is great but its the agent themselves is what matters. Somebody who will sell you and work on your behalf is the most important.
