We all work in sales.
Alas, not many of us planned for that. We like to think of ourselves, after all, as artists. Artistes. Or at the very least artisans. We have studied, trained, fought and starved for our belief in the fine art of SHOW business. Not many of us aimed for the sales department.
Right?
Wrong!
We all work in sales no matter our job or title. Writers sell scripts to producers. Directors sell their productions to actors and disbelieving DPs. Producers sell to everyone - investors, directors, back to writers for the umpteenth rewrite, disbelieving editors.... (And everyone, turn by turn, sells their own visions right back to the director and producer.)
Fact is, we all sell all the time to everyone. We're all in show BUSINESS. We all know that in our heart of hearts; we just don't want to believe it.
Face it. If you're not selling, you're not doing your job. If you're not good at selling your scripts, ideas, vision, passion, the odds are good that you're out of work right now. Want to work? Accept your fate.
Time to toughen up. They lied to you in film school. Get over it and get to work.
Given that sales are a given for your survival, here are five steps to guide you.
1. Know exactly who you're talking to. The meeting is over if you begin, "Dear Sir and/or Madam...." Do your homework before you open your mouth.
2. Understand the needs of the person you're pitching. If you can't solve specific problems, move on. No one wants more problems; people want solutions.
3. Explain why you are the best choice. (Or your film, idea, script, talent, whatever.) Never, ever bash the competition; if you can't stand on your own, move on. Quickly.
4. Believe in yourself and your project, completely and unalterably. Anything less will come through like a grease stain on your best white shirt.
5. Picture the results, not the process. Never explain your film, never lay it out line by boring line. Show the finished film with your words. Share your vision. You are, after all, a filmmaker.
There are more rules, of course, more guidelines. But these five will stop the door from slamming against you on your way out.
One major thought worth noting. You have, at most, five minutes to accomplish all this and make your sale. No joke - five minutes. If you haven't closed the deal by then, close the door on your way out. The meeting is over.
That's not as hard as you think.
Consider how much information gets crammed into one thirty-second commercial. You have ten times that to do the same. The secret is the kind of precision and passion that comes from endless practice. That and a very clear vision of your goal.
Norman C. Berns brings a 35-year track record of award-winning films made with top caliber teams. He fuses digital with traditional filmmaking, adds marketing strategy and delivers shows that are on-topic and on-budget, yet out of the ordinary.
An Emmy-winning producer-director, his recent documentary series, "The Writing Code," aired for over an year on PBS and can be currently found in schools and libraries worldwide. Prior to that, he was part of the team that created the Internet's first webisodes, "The Hire," a series of five minute films sponsored by BMW.
A member of the Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity and The Internet Press Guild, Norman has been creating new films, writing about filmmaking, teaching film production and providing resources for filmmakers throughout his career. He can be found on reelgrok (http://reelgrok.com/normancberns).
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