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INCOME Here Are Four Voice Over Compensation Scenarios That Can Drive You Crazy ...  By Dave CourvoisierSCENARIO #1: The Phantom Job The check arrived in an overnight mailer. It
was for more than $1,000, and was meant for the purchase of a
Rode Podcaster interface plus my first week's compensation. The client
had hired me to record weekly podcasts using equipment he specified
(the Rode equipment). But the
check came from an Oklahoma drilling company and had no accompanying
paperwork. Furthermore, I was to deposit the check, then send part of
that amount to the equipment vendor, and keep the rest for myself. I called the Oklahoma company, and they told me they were on the trail of an unapproved check disbursement. This
is a classic, albeit elaborate scam. The check would backfire, I would
be out hundreds of dollars, and there was never any podcasting job to
begin with. I had been
contacted by Facebook Messenger for this phantom job. Their messages were
convincng, but I'd written blog after blog about this very sort of
scheme. Even
outside the realm of fraudulent predators, many a seeming VO job
prospect can lift your spirits well before the meat is on the plate. SCENARIO #2: Immediate Offer, Then Nothing Happens I
can't recall how many emails, texts, messages and phone calls I've had
from prospective clients all over the world, making immediate offers
for this job or that work … and nothing ever happened. Never heard from
them again. This
sort of thing can be depressing for freelancers. We live and die by
our moxie, word-of-mouth, and referrals. To hear from a new prospect
out of nowhere, from your SEO efforts, or as a result of an outreach
program is fulfilling. Your marketing works! But
people are flighty. Clients are seeking only the best deal (read:
cheapest). If their first question is how much you charge for a
30-second spot, your answer could be the end of the conversation. I'll usually ask what their budget is, or how much they'd be willing to pay, and still feel like they got a good deal. SCENARIO #3: Slow Pay / No Pay Still
other clients agree to your rates, you complete the job, and then you wait
for months to get a check. Sometimes a partial payment arrives, with a
promise to send more in a month. Ugh. I've been stiffed a couple of
times - never getting a check, and losing what I thought was yet another
good client. A letter from a
lawyer friend on the legal firm's letterhead works sometimes, but unless
there was a signed contract, and you have bottomless pockets to
actually hire an attorney and take a client to civil court, there really
isn't much you can do - especially for overseas clients. I
personally do not require a contract of my clients. I've been told our
email exchange constitutes a legal record of our agreement if it ever
comes to that. Like I said, I've been dropped a couple of times, but
overall, 99% of my clients pay well and on time. If they don't, I cut
'em from MY roster! SCENARIO #4: Confusing Digital Payments Finally,
there's the confusing myriad of digital payment schemes: PayPal, Stripe, Square, Venmo, Cash, Zelle, Chase, TransferWise - and the
list goes on. I usually ask for a check in the mail. But a few of today's
clients aren't equipped to do that anymore. If they insist on
paying digitally, I ask that they pay the transfer fees. Some voice
talent say that paying the 2.9% PayPal transfer fee is merely the cost of
doing business today. But I find that hard to swallow. I always ask clients to
pay the fee. If they refuse, I'll suck it up, but I do so through
clenched teeth. When the payment arrives, I deposit or transfer it to my bank, but still can't rest. When
the check or digital record is verified by my bank, and I see the sum
move out of the "pending" column on my account, I can finally breathe. Job done. BTW: What's been your experience on this topic? -------------------- ABOUT DAVE Dave Courvoisier is a full-time voice actor and audiobook narrator based in Las Vegas, where he was formerly an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, producer and the main weeknight news anchor on KLAS-TV, Channel 8, the CBS affiliate. A former president and a founding member of the World-Voices Organization (WoVO), he also writes Voice-Acting in Vegas, a daily blog of voice over adventures, observations and technology, and is author and publisher of the book, More Than Just A Voice: The Real Secret To VoiceOver Success. Email: CourVO@CourVO.com Web: http://www.courvo.com Blog: https://courvo.com/blog More Than Just A Voice: http://courvo.com/more-than-just-a-voice |
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On a $1000 deal I would take 500 in cash and the other half in trade at 2 to 1… For example, $1000 worth of merchandise figured at retail. The true cost to the client on this half of the deal is actually around $500, but to you, you can use its full value or sell it off or trade it additionally with other people. You’ve already got your $500 in cash, now you have a thousand dollars worth of car rental, refrigerators, hotel or whatever it might be.
We loved to do our car leases this way… A $500 a month retainer to freshen up their spots on a two or three-year contract, they pay 500 bucks towards my talent retainer. If they went above that, maybe pay balance over in cash or could roll it over into future months.