Communication Protocol; Telephone, E-Mail, and Social
Networking:
Use social media (myspace, facebook, twitter, you tube, etc), as
networking, promotional, and sales tools, but not as your primary
source of communication. If you start a communication on a social
network, transfer that contact over to regular E-mail and then
eventually the telephone and in person. Don’t try to limit
the format to that one social media. The reason why, is that they
are less reliable, they have more technical problems, are more
convoluted, and most agents or managers will not maintain contact
in that manner.
E-Mail
When E-mailing, create a template that automatically includes at
the bottom of every message, your name, title (what you do),
company name and address if you have one, your telephone numbers
you may be reached at, fax if you have one, email, and websites
including myspace, facebook, twitter, etc.
If you are a model, send images in the body of your email. Many
agents and managers do not like to open attachments from unknown
senders, or, just may not want to make time for the extra second
to open them. Be prepared to do the type of work in any photo you
may send. For example, I interviewed one model who I saw based on
the photo she sent me. In the image, she was tall and thin, in a
bikini. In person, even though she looked great, she stated she
would not do work in a swimsuit, as she was not comfortable with
her self. Be consistent in all your actions, and with how you
show your self. Make E-mails personable. Use the name of the
person you are addressing. Ask questions, give praise, and
declare simply and concisely what action you want them to
take.
Telephone
When leaving a message, always state your name and telephone
number first, repeat the number twice, then, state in brief, the
reason you are calling, the date and time you are calling and why
you want the person to call you back. You can then repeat the
number again briefly even a third time. You can also give them
your website to go to. Be sure to keep the message brief. Do not
babble.
When answering the phone, do not answer until you are ready to
talk and give the caller your full attention. If you answer the
phone, only to tell the person calling you that you are busy
shopping, driving, working, or such, why bother answering to
begin with? When on the phone, make sure you are in a good mood,
happy, upbeat, not distracted, and in a good reception area where
you can readily hear the caller and they can hear you.
Do not ever, ever, ever ask some one to call you back and leave
the message on your answering machine. No! You answered the
phone! Why try make them call twice? If you want that, you
shouldn’t have picked up the call to begin with! Always
have a pen and paper by the phone ready to take notes when you
call. Being online ready to look of information needed during a
call is also ideal when possible.
Continued on next
page. The Hollywood Sentinel, © 2009.
www.StarpowerManagementLLC.com