I've done a little cold calling and although i was terrible(I just didn't believe in it, the company has been on watchdog four times). I did see people who were awesome, so i think skill and attitude rather than luck has a big role to play in selling anything.
Alot of it seemed to be answering the customers fears - Am i being ripped off? Am i wasting my money? Will i regret this etc.
Does that ring true in your experience?
Shooting fish in a barrel is actually alot harder than you'd think.
Originally posted by Frankie Rage: Maybe the combined Sales & Marketing capabilities of Sabriel, ScottTheDot and Frankie could crack open the comedy market!!
Originally posted by Frankie Rage: If you were to take an interest in the sales process Seth, you'd find out that 'The Approach' is one of the key issues in sales, and one of the most basic... I have done 'Commission only selling' to make bigger money. This means you don't eat if you don't sell and therefore you can't rely on luck in any way... One thing I can tell you is that when I have a sitcom pilot or a series of ten sketches I truly believe in, I will be in 'the right place at the right time' as I have twenty years of experience in doing that!... But you have to have a good and RELEVANT product ABOVE ALL ELSE!!!
I think there's a real danger in 'over thinking' all this, when it comes to trying to crack the business and break into doing our thing as a profession... The fact of the matter is, there is no surefire means to getting a foot in the door - except sheer perseverance and sweating and toiling until you have something worth showing to people...
I think some of the sales principles being referred to here are applicable... But while professional selling is undoubtedly a skill within itself, the process can often be labourious and rely on talking someone round over a long period of time... The key here is of course to be punchy and sell yourself (and offer the promise of much more to come) within a few lines in a cover letter prior to presenting your main goods... That's a lot harder...
But as I say, I don't think any of it particularly matters... There's not really any way of knowing who's right and wrong to submit to unless you have the right contacts who know where to place stuff (that's where an agent usually comes in if you can get one)... They'll read the first page of the material anyway to see what you're about, and see if it takes their fancy, and as long as that's tight with a good laugh or two, there's a always a chance they'll read on to page two and so on... That's all you can do...
Seth - the market is very small - ref Sitcoms anyway - how many people do you think there are in the UK who can actually muster the resources to create a professionally produced sitcom pilot?
However many it is, I suggest it's not that many...
But let's can it... I'm tired of me, so you guys must be too!!!
Originally posted by Frankie Rage: Maybe the combined Sales & Marketing capabilities of Sabriel, ScottTheDot and Frankie could crack open the comedy market!!
I've done a little cold calling and although i was terrible(I just didn't believe in it, the company has been on watchdog four times). I did see people who were awesome, so i think skill and attitude rather than luck has a big role to play in selling anything.
Alot of it seemed to be answering the customers fears - Am i being ripped off? Am i wasting my money? Will i regret this etc.
Does that ring true in your experience?
That's more foot in the door selling or 'doorstepping' ... but by phone. But yes that does ring true for pressure selling of that type.
The kind of selling required for anything arty like scripts (is it a craft or an art or a bit of both?) is more a question of marketing to find the right targets to approach and then just a very profession, courteous and consistent and relentless approach...
Ric do you think people out there are interested in ideas for individual sketches as contributions to existing shows/as an example of talent or is there only real interest in the complete package ie. an entire sketch show or finished sitcom? I've seen the odd advertisement for contributions over the years but it doesn't seem common. Just not sure if approaching with a couple of sketches however pant bustingly orgasmic would be sufficient to provoke an interest.
I'd say the best thing to do re: structure, is to read as much as possible of what's already out there from various eras... There are lots of published script books (The 'Seinfeld' scripts, for example - which are a fantastic example of the form), or alternatively, you can search for them online...
That should give a good idea of how a plot is set up and comes together... That's the real trick with sitcom - telling an engaging and fun story in such a brief slot (about 30-40 pages)... Good luck with it...
Yep... 'Curb' is similar to 'Seinfeld' in a lot of ways (given that it's the same guy) - but takes it a lot further and is far more adult... Looking forward to the sixth series...
