| Tweet |
I realised today something I’ve known for a long time but never really actioned myself: phoning kicks email’s ass.
I was working on a marketing campaign for one of my clients today and I wanted to talk to another company regarding a partnership. Now usually I would spend a good 20 – 30 minutes crafting an email outlining all of the benefits they will receive, making it all really juicy, but today I just called them – introduced myself, and negotiated successfully in under 5 minutes, no waiting around for days to get a response, instant. In theory you could possibly negotiate two or three times more deals / gigs / sponsorships in the same amount of time using this theory.
To put it into context, when I was running Starharbour Records I would sometimes receive hundreds of demo emails a week, but probably only two or three phone calls at best, and as much as I hate to admit it, the musicians who called me were the ones who got my attention, even if it were just to say they were going to email me their demo.
Why? We’re social animals and talking to people just seems to work better than reading text in an email. When you phone someone you first of all have the ability to react to how the other person responds in real time (allowing you to customise your offer to increase the likelihood of getting what you want), secondly you can convey more emotion and trust through your voice than in a flat email… I’ve now just realised the irony of writing this blog post in text, woops! I’ll go on..
Knowing when to email and when to phone
In an ideal world you would use the phone to contact every person you want to reach out to except for during unsociable hours, when the recipient is away from their phone or when you can’t get hold of a contacts phone number in the first place. This is where email would be more appropriate.
My challenge to you is to phone five people today (or tomorrow if it’s a bit late). Select some potential local sponsors, venue managers / promoters, journalists, or anyone who might be able to help you and just talk to them. Finally, if you’re not using Skype, get it and start internationalising.
Over and Out,
Marcus
Image Credit: Jonburnell
Music marketing deals Music law deals Touring & gigging deals Recording deals Music publishing deals Music distribution deals
