Stephanie Ciccarelli Guest Blog

1,291 blogs in 2 years and 10  months, and never have I had a guest blogger.

I’ve been waiting for Stephanie.

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Stephanie & David Ciccarelli, Toronto 2009

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Uh, you may know her?  Stephanie and her husband are the founders and the force behind every aspect of VOICES.COM.

Besides that, she’s a wonderful person, accessible to an extent you’d never expect from a company owner, and somehow manages a lovely family in the  midst of it all.

Stephanie is a prolific, and astute writer.

Thanks for this insightful contribution, Stephanie!

CourVO

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Are Your Clients Motivated to Refer or Promote You?

Sometimes voice over talent can make it difficult for their clients to give them press or referrals.   Three main areas people consider before recommending anyone are:

1. How you brand yourself
2. What your website looks like
3. How you conduct yourself online

How You Brand Yourself

How you brand yourself is key.  Your brand communicates who you are and gives people a clear indication of what your purpose is in relation to their needs.

Anything from what your slogan is to the iconography you use will be received subjectively.  Is this a bad thing?  Not if your clients are in agreement with how you present yourself.  This could mean in a professional sense or in a personal sense.

We all know about the good things that can happen when people refer you so let’s take a look at why some people may not.

Let’s take professionalism.  There have been instances when a talent’s headshot (link the word headshot to http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2007/04/headshot_debate_voice_actors.html) was required for a promotional opportunity, however, the photo wasn’t as professional as it could have been and didn’t reflect the polish they put on the rest of their business.  The result?  Instead of using their headshot to accompany the public relations endeavor, their logo was selected or no image was used at all so as not to detract from their professionalism vocally.

Issues may also arise when a client feels uncomfortable associating their company with you brand.  Your voice might have been exactly what they had hoped for but your brand, whether it’s an issue with imagery, certain clients on your list or otherwise, may give them pause resulting in less opportunity for referral and or less enthusiastic referrals.

While you won’t get referrals from everybody who works with you, your steady clientele will do most of this heavy lifting on your behalf given that you ask them for referrals.  If you don’t ask, how can you expect to receive?  By approaching them for recommendations humbly you can rely upon their support in due course.

What Your Website Looks Like

Your website is your virtual storefront and is often the first impression of who you are to online visitors and prospective customers.

Does your website scream “I haven’t changed one iota since 1995, or even 2005!” Are people visually attacked by flash presentations they don’t expect? Maybe there’s audio that automatically starts playing (anchor text “audio that automatically starts playing” link to http://blogs.voices.com/castingvoices/2006/10/sound_off_or_sound_on_websites.html) upon the loading of your home page. Yikes.

Just like a voice over demo, you’ve got to keep your website up to date and perform maintenance on it at minimum once per annum.  In the very least, update the copyright year every 365 days!

Definite turnoffs for someone considering linking to your website include:

o    The cheesiness factor (unless that is your brand, in which case…)
o    Audio that plays upon arriving at the site
o    An unprofessional look
o    Inconsistent navigation
o    A ‘piecework’ or patchwork site
o    A one-page website that goes on and on and on…
o    Imagery that is offensive
o    Words that are offensive

Regardless of how insignificant the factor may appear when compared to the site at large, the fact of the matter is that people make snap judgments and act accordingly.

Many of the factors that prevent people from linking to sites are listed above.  I encourage you to give your site a mini evaluation and see if there are any areas that may need your attention.

How You Conduct Yourself Online

Last but not least, consider how your social networking or web presences may or may not affect whether or not you are referred.  This is related to the first area we discussed, Branding.

I won’t say much on this topic because it would be somewhat redundant.  Just bear in mind that the comments you make, the places you choose to participate at or the persona you present to the online world can shape how people choose to interact with you in the real world.

What Can You Do To Get Referrals?

My tips are to be genuine, helpful, and consistent in how you present yourself as a person.

In this day and age, business is intermingled with personal and many people find this new reality challenging.

Who is benefitting from this new phenomenon?  Those who are the same person in business, at home, and anywhere else they may find themselves.  Everything about you is part of who you are.  Being a whole person, meaning that you integrate your morals, ethics, faith and so on and apply them through your business, is nothing to be ashamed of… in fact, it’s celebrated and rewarded!

Being authentic is paramount to building relationships, earning business from your clients and being referred.

In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the virtuous character Polonius said to his son Laertes,” To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Being true to yourself in business may stretch you and even make you uncomfortable.  Though that is true, know that who you are and how you present yourself are related and doing anything less will not bring complete satisfaction.

Your clients want to know that they are working with the genuine article.  By being that person, the one they hope to work with, they will be more at ease when engaging you in business and also when referring you to their colleagues and beyond.

…..Stephanie Ciccarelli