entertainment industry coach question 744: Are there any no-nos for staying in touch with people?

I'll re-word that question to be: My lists of DONT'S when staying in touch.

1. Don't call someone everyday. This may seem obvious to you, but it's not to everyone. So, if I help one person, not to make this mistake, my job is done.

2. Don't forget to BCC when sending out a mass email about an accomplishment or an event! This mistake can get you blackballed. Seriously, privacy is a big deal in our industry. Don't be the person who shares everyone's contact info.

3. Don't call/email for no reason. It's transparent.

4. Don't be attached to your agenda. If you call someone and he/she says that it's a bad time, get off the phone. Don't say that you just need a minute or you just have a quick question. It's never a minute and the answers are never quick.

5. Don't send "good luck," "money angels," or any kind of emails that will make your business contacts feel like they are going to have bad luck forever or cause an angel to lose it's wings if they don't pass it on to 50 people they know within 15 minutes.

6. Don't forward a "warning" email about a guy who slashes peoples' feet from under SUVs, or sprays poison perfume, to your business contacts. In fact don't forward them to anyone without checking first on www.breakthechain.org. Most of these emails are fake.

7. Don't misspell names. Just don't. www.IMDB.com

These are all I can think of right now. If you have any doozies to share, please feel free to put them in the comments.

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entertainment industry coach question 705:How do I get contact information for potential mentors?

This was a question I didn't have time to answer on my tele-class call today. There are many different resources for finding contact information for potential mentors. It depends on their classification.

Start with the people you know to see if anyone is "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" to them and can get you the contact information. If not...

If they are in a union you can contact the union. You may be sent a directory, given information over the phone, or be allowed to send a letter which they will forward.

If they have a production company, you can get that information from IMDBpro, the Hollywood Creative Directory, and in some cases, Google.

Last resort would be to go through their agent if they have one. Before investing the time of researching them, call the agency to confirm that they DO forward their client's mail.www.theGreenlightCoach.com FIND ME

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entertainment industry coach question 624: Should I be sending out headshots or postcards to follow up a meeting with an agent or casting director?

Neither. If you had a meeting, I'm assuming that you already gave them a headshot. Your first follow-up should be a personalized thank you note. You are not asking for work, you are simply thanking the person for the meeting. Be sure to mention something that was said that had an impact on you, and any personal things you connected on. If the card reflects something you spoke about, even better.

I don't suggest putting your picture in the card, just write your name clearly. the reason for this is that you want it to be a genuine thank you. If the person forgot who you are but is touched by your words, he/she will look you up on IMDB (so make sure your pictures are up there and your credits are updated.)

Then you can follow up again a week or two later with a postcard, with a "marketing reason" for sending it.

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entertainment industry coach question 583: Yesterday on Buzz radio you said no dates on resumes. Can you elaborate?

I was talking about the mistakes people make on their resumes and one of them is to model a "corporate business resume." These types of resumes are done in more of a paragraph format and have the dates the person worked at each company.

As I said on The BuZz, your resume doesn't get you work, it gives you credibility. So with each word or number you put on your resume you have to ask yourself, is this something that they could say "no" to? And obviously if it may make them say no, you don't want it on your resume.

Dates can give a lot of information that people can say "no" to. For example:

1. If your first credit was in 1963, and the director looking at your resume was born in 1983, you may get passed over because the young director doesn't want an "old guy" telling him what to do.

2. If your first 10 credits are all in 2009, clearly, you just started last year. While you have ten credits, you may still be viewed as lacking experience because you've only been working for a year.

3. If your most recent credit is 2010 but before that your last credit was 2001, the person reading it may wonder, "why wasn't this person being hired?" You may have a great answer, like you left the business to care for a parent, but you may never get the chance to explain.

4. If your most recent credit is 2001, people will really wonder, why hasn't anyone hired you and a major red flag goes up.

You don't want to raise any flags, red, yellow, or otherwise. It's just safer to keep your resume simple and date free, in my opinion. Besides, if they really want to know dates, they can check IMDB.

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entertainment industry coach Question 488:I met someone yesterday and want to follow up. What's the best way?

I'm going to assume this is for professional reasons because you're writing to me and not a dating coach. My first question is: did you get contact information for this person? If so, good job. If not, time to do your research. You can start by contacting whomever hosted the 4th of July party (am I going out on limb by making that assumption?) to ask for contact information. If that's not going to fly, check IMDB Pro, social media sites, or do a Google search. Your last resort will be reaching out to all of your contacts to see if anyone knows this person (the whole 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon).

If you can't find contact information, you're pretty much stuck. But let's move on assuming you can get contact information. My second question is: did you discuss anything that calls for a follow up? For example: did the person suggest a movie you should see? Then you can see the movie and follow up to share your thoughts. Did the person give you any business advice? Then you can follow up to report your results after taking action. Did you discuss any shared personal interests, like tennis, surfing, or kids? Then you can follow up to plan a day to have a friendly competition, catch some waves, or take the kids on a picnic at Griffith Park.

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entertainment industry coach question 381: How do I capitalize on a current project when I'm off to work on another?

A-List problems. I love them! This is what I was asked by my client tonight after we watched the fabulous movie starring John Hamm and Josh Lucus, that he had produced and DPd. You see, he did such a GREAT job producing this film, that he's been hired to produce a slate of movies in Louisiana and he leaves on Tuesday. His film, STOLEN, is playing currently at the Laemmle Sunset 5. The more people who go, the longer it will stay in the theater. It was such a good movie. The acting was superb, the story heart-wrenching. If you live in in Los Angeles you should go see this movie!

So let me count.... that was 7 lines I just wrote promoting Andy Steinman and his wonderful work (now that's 8) Here's his IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0826150/ (9) The link to his movie facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/pages/STOLEN/315537805072?ref=ts (10) and the link to buy your tickets from the theater http://www.laemmle.com/viewtheatre.php?date=03192010&thid=2 (11)

Hence, the answer to the question is: HAVE YOUR FANS PROMOTE FOR YOU.

If you're a camera operator who wants work, but the DP who hires you isn't working, start a marketing campaign for the DP. If you want to stay on peoples' radar when you're off working, have other people promoting you.

While Andy is out of town working, as he keeps me posted on his successes, I'll be happy to promote him on my social media sites, in my blog, etc. If he has 20 other people doing that... he's creating buzz and you can too.

In addition to Andy, I'd also like to congratulate camera crew members, Boris Price, Nate Havens, Matt Mosher, and wonderful Still Photographer Jessica Brooks, who also worked on the project!

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entertainment industry coach question 346: How do I get contact information for potential mentors?

This was a question I didn't have time to answer on my tele-class call today. There are many different resources for finding contact information for potential mentors. It depends on their classification.

Start with the people you know to see if anyone is "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" to them and can get you the contact information. If not...

If they are in a union you can contact the union. You may be sent a directory, given information over the phone, or be allowed to send a letter which they will forward.

If they have a production company, you can get that information from IMDBpro, the Hollywood Creative Directory, and in some cases, Google.

Last resort would be to go through their agent if they have one. Before investing the time of researching them, call the agency to confirm that they DO forward their client's mail.

Question 149: How do I follow up with someone after a networking event?

Did you get contact information? If so, contact the person based on something you discussed that you want to follow up on. If you didn't actually speak, but the person gave out contact info to the group, send a thank you note (with some depth referring to what you got out of the evening) *NOTE: never ask for work in a thank you note. Let it be a genuine act of appreciation.

If you did not get contact info (why not?), look them up on IMDB pro and repeat above instructions. AND for the future when you meet someone:

1. Ask a question or find a common interest that sets up a reason to follow up

2. Ask for contact information and how they prefer to be contacted

3. Whenever possible, tell them when you plan to follow up

Be sure when you follow up, you're calling for something specific that they can say YES to. Don't ask for work before they know you, like you, and trust you.

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question 147: Should I change my name to sound like someone famous to get in the door?

You mean like change your name from Alexis Whisenstoneawitz to Alexia Jolie, so people may think you're related to Angelina and bring you in? I can't say it will get you in the door, but I can say, it could be to your advantage to change that last name, simply to make it easier for people to find you.

I've had clients with common names like "Smith" or "Jones" joke about changing their name to something foreign to give them an edge. Then I've had foreign clients seriously want to change their foreign last name so they'd fit in locally.

A name is not going to get you hired, unless you are actually related to a celebrity (and that's still no guarantee). Like the first example, if your name is too complicated it could hurt you. For example, as an actress, I've had to slate my name (when you say your name for camera at an audition). Because my name is a bit unusual, I've changed the way I pronounce it, specifically for slating, when I found people got more caught up in "what my name was" than my audition.

Be sure to check with the union you are in or may potentially join, to make sure there is no one else with the name you are choosing. While it may be tempting to get confused with an established celebrity, the pain in the butt to change your credits on IMDB, is NOT worth it. And people DO NOT take it lightly when people try to ride their coat tails, nor do the people hiring appreciate finding incorrect credits for you when they research you.

Changing your name is like creating a new brand--- CHOOSE WISELY.

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Question 26: What if I can't find anything on the person I'm researching?

This is a shortened version of the question I received in the comment section of Question 24.

So, you've googled, IMDBd, and polled your friends and there is nothing to be found on the person you're meeting with. 

1. If you're meeting at his/her office, quickly do a scan to see if there is something to ask about, comment on, or a common interest.

2. Focus on creating rapport.

3. Design general questions based on what the meeting is about.

4. Prepare your own stories to share so you'll feel confident about having something to discuss.

5. Relax.  If you couldn't find anything, the person knows there is nothing to find.

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