How and when to fight for your clients

This part is where the ties get loose and the gloves come on. There will be times when an agent needs to prove their client’s capabilities to a production company or studio. The agent must be prepared to go to any length to get their client that gig, because at the end of the day; the only person that knows what the actor is capable of is the agent. Now, we have to be able to distinguish what is worth fighting for and what isn’t. If your client has been to several call backs, and when I say “several”, I mean 3 or more…then it’s time to take the gloves off. When I say “take the gloves off”; I mean arranging meetings with the production company, studio head, or director to put your client in a more favourable light. Now, this part can be a little bit more difficult for agents just starting off in the business because they may not be as well known by casting, studios, or directors. But, for the most part; this is where some schmoozing could come in handy. Believe it or not industry professionals love to feel special, so taking them out for dinner or sending over a bottle of wine will always reflect favourably on you.  The agent needs to be just as respected as the clients, the willingness for industry heads to hear you out or give you the time of day is crucial for your business. Another way to fight for your clients is to reassure industry heads that the client is more than willing to work as much as required, given the standards allocated by Actra. A finishing move that you could potentially play at the end of a meeting is leaving the director, casting agent, or studio head with the clients reel, in order to show them the range of the actors potential.