The Guaranteed 3 Step Secret to Landing Video Work.
Now, imagine for a moment that you just sat down with a potential client to discuss the potential video project of a lifetime and you realize that you are wearing black socks with sandals which leads you to question your abilities to dress in the dark.
But like the trooper that you are (or have to be so that you can land this gig and buy some light bulbs), you decide to take the emphasis off of your walking appendages and place it on your keen and almost supernatural ability to understand the client’s needs and offer priceless creative solutions to their pain.
So how can you display this “supernatural ability to understand the client’s needs and offer priceless creative solutions to their pain”? Keep reading.
First, you must be as a boy scout. You must “be prepared.” Before you get in the car to go to the meeting you must find out everything you can about the client.
- You went to visit their website.
- Talk to your friends that may have worked with the client in the past.
- Read reviews about the company (both good and bad).
- Familiarized yourself with their corporate look, feel, identity and brand.
- Educated yourself on their products and services.
- If possible find some examples of media they’ve developed for their company in the past. If you can’t find anything then find some examples either of work you’ve done or other creative examples that can help get some ideas flowing. The quicker you can get the client’s mind off of “Can I afford this?” “Do I want to hire this person?” and onto “What will my video accomplish?” “How will it look?” the quicker you will be able to see money.
- It is highly recommended to get some idea of what the clients current challenges and goals are so that you have some idea of what they need and you can push their hot buttons. If it is not possible to discover the client’s pain before the meeting then make it possible.
- You may even want to make them cookies but then realize that you are getting a little carried away and eat them on the way to the meeting.
By taking the time to do your homework you accomplish three important goals.
- First, you demonstrate to the client that you care. After all, who wants to hire someone that does not care when there are plenty of your competitors who do care, and they own a nicer camera.
- Second, you show the client that you value their time by not wasting it asking questions you could have easily found the answers to on your own.
- Third, and most important, you arm yourself with the insight necessary to paint a powerful picture that illustrates to the client that you are the solution to their pain. You then become the epidural to their corporate labor.
Understand basic human psychology.
Everyone, makes decisions based on one of two things, a desire for pleasure or a desire to ease pain. In most cases, with corporate video, you are offering a solution to the client’s pain. You are not simply making a video. You are creating a solution to low sales volume or you are saving them money because their employees will now be better trained and more efficient. Once again, you then become the epidural to your client’s corporate labor.
To the client you are not “Joe’s Video House”. You are either a solution to a problem or you are not. If the client sees you as the solution to his or her problem you will be hired and the client will pay you fairly.
So what is that guaranteed 3 step secret to landing video production work. (And yes, this will work during a recession.)
Here it is. The guaranteed 3 step secret to landing video production work.
1. Learn the Client’s business, needs, dreams and pains. (Especially focus on the pains this is the most important tool in the sales process.)
2. Paint a visual word picture for the client that shows him or her that you are not only the best, but the only solution to their problem.
3. Give them a bid and shut up.
If you will execute these 3 steps correctly, with the right client, you will always land the project.
Remember that clients DO NOT care about color pull down, aspect ratios and RED 4K. All they want to know is “Are you the solution or not?”
Show the client that you are the solution and you will land the job.
Best of Luck,
Adam Nielson and Curt Clapier
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