Mick Haensler
Forum Replies Created
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“Mick, I wouldn’t pay much attetion to andy’s post”
I didn’t Tom. I used to be like Andy so I understand where he’s coming from. I was at a crossroads just like him. For me though, getting a “real” job wasn’t an option I was ready to embrace. So I reinvented myself and my company. I love what I do and get paid well to do it. When that changes, I’ll reinvent again. Change is the only constant. Great post BTW.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
Awesome news, Mick. To me, what it points out is that our job isn;t just production, and never was. production is one facet of the main job which is TO SOLVE THE CLIENT’S COMMUNICATION PROBLEM.
Sometimes that means make a video, sometimes it means nixing that and goin in another direction. And sometimes it means assessing the underlying foundations and needs, and telling the client what they didn’t know.Now, Mick is taking a risk in laying out his advice for free, sure. Some low-baller could undercut him, or some guy in the company can say they can handle this. But the odds are good Mick gets the job because he’s already proven he knows what’s going on. When somebody works that hard for your business, you’d be smart to give them your business.
Looking forward to the follow up and the happy ending.
Exactly Mark. While I would much prefer the old days(2007) when decent paying work just fell in my lap, the reality is those days are gone. Before I even pitch a client anymore, I’ve done a lot of back end work researching them, researching their competition. I get to know as much about them as I possibly can before that first meeting so when we sit down at the table, I’ve already brought something of value to them. More so, I’ve shown them I’m willing to go above and beyond just to get the CHANCE to work with them. Imagine what I’ll do when they hire me!!
Being able to do work we love is a privilege not a right.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
This Is Total Rubbish!!
Then you have a meating with a president of another multi million company. Your a video producer not a shareholder. You would be lucky to get past the receptionist.
After reading your profile it seems your ego and dreams seem to be getting ahead of you and slightly exaggerated.
I would not read into anything in this post!
WOW!!! You make a lot of assumptions Andy without knowing the situation.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
A recent conversation with a client we just signed:
ME: This video is a great idea, how do you plan on using it?
CLIENT: What do you mean?
ME: I mean, when I hand over the final product, what happens then?
CLIENT(starting to look uncomfortable): Well you know, put it on Youtube…stuff like that.
ME: Tell me about “stuff like that”
CLIENT: You know, Social Media…Facebook….stuff like that…
ME: I see. Before this meeting, I took the liberty of finding out about your company by doing a comprehensive analysis of your online presence. Which brings us to a crossroads in this conversation. I can give you a price on the video you want, produce it, hand it over to you, get paid and call it a day. Or….I can tell you what I found.
CLIENT: Uuuuuhmmmm…..do we really want to know???
I then proceeded to tell the client more about their company than they knew themselves, including that they didn’t even own their own website domain or have any metadata at all. They were for all intensive purposes, invisible. One week later, my new partner and I did a presentation for the Sales and Marketing Department outlining an online strategy in great detail that if they bought, would be worth 6 times the cost of producing the video to my company. We GAVE them this information freely. We SHOWED them that we weren’t some company out for a quick buck, we wanted a RELATIONSHIP with them. Yesterday, I picked up the signed proposal and deposit for producing the video and we are about 95% confident that they will buy the marketing proposal. This isn’t some little startup either, this is a 60 million dollar a year international company with production plants in several companies. The lead came through a Social Media contact. Furthermore, I just had a very productive conversation with the PRESIDENT of the wholesale company that distributes my clients products. He is very interested to see what we do and wants to meet in 6 months to discuss what my company can do for them. Tomorrow I am having lunch with an old friend who recently started working for a 160 million dollar non profit that needs some serious help, both media wise and marketing. If you are not adding value to what you do and are not sincere about your client’s success beyond your own gains, you will not survive this new landscape.
Everyone has access to the tools now. There is no reason for a client to hire you if you are not bringing added value to the table.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
First of all I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread, some great insights here and much food for thought. Perhaps I should back up a bit though and explain more precisely what we’re doing. First of all, we’re not producing videos FOR social media, we’re producing marketing videos that can be REPURPOSED for social media. And when I say social media I include the company web site(online hub), blog, as well as mobile applications and whatever else the tech gods throw at us in the next month. In doing this we are finding many of our clients are sorely lacking in the SMM arena. Let’s face it, SMM is a pain in the arse. It’s tedious, time consuming, and if you or someone in your organization doesn’t have a passion for it, it’s not going to be done well. We don’t sell this as some magic bullet nor do we paint an unrealistic picture of the ROI. SMM is not the end all be all, but it is a part of doing business for most companies in 2012 and if neglected, it can hurt a company. We’d like to help our clients avoid that.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
YESSSSSS! Thank you Nick. That is exactly what I was trying to convey with “The Parable of the Jerk Artist”. I just came away from a lunch meeting with a very conservative CEO of a mid sized company with 1 out 2 contracts signed and some very positive indicators that the 2nd contract would be signed shortly. This is big deal for my company as we usually work with small businesses and non profs. Moving into this level is extremely exciting. We got to that lunch via 2 other meetings where we had to sell the marketing dept and the Director of Operations. One thing became clear from the beginning, we liked them and they liked us. They aren’t shopping these projects to other vendors because they want to work with us, and that to me, is more important than anything….relationships. “Lawyer in tow” is usually the result of a relationship gone bad. Sorry Rick….
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
In researching this(I get a bit obsessive sometimes) I must acknowledge that I spoke out of ignorance and what Stephen is describing does not meet all 3 criteria of the legal definition of a “work for hire” and he has every right under the law to specify and limit the use of this production and receive additional compensation if the work is used outside of that provision. So bring out the lawyers!!
Going further down the rabbit hole I came across the story of a commissioned work that didn’t turn out so good for anyone. That being the sculpture Portlandia in Portland Oregon. The sculpture was created to be an icon for the city but because it was not contracted as a work for hire, the artist Raymond Kaskey slapped a multitude of restrictions on the use of the image of his creation. What was to be a destination piece of art and a source of income for the city, turned into an embarrassment and is now relegated to obscurity, literally, the city has planted 30′ high trees around the sculpture obscuring it’s view. And the artist, instead of being hailed as the great sculptor, is best known for being a jerk.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media -
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You don’t sound harsh at all Bill, that’s exactly the kind of dialogue I wanted. My partner is experiencing the same thing with the company he is currently contracting with. It seems a lot of the problem stems from unrealistic expectations brought on by sales pitches that promise the world. I would love the opportunity to chat with you one on one if you would be so inclined. My email is mickhaensler@comcast.net, thanks!
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media
Tech Now -
I have to respectfully disagree with Wayne here. You are being hired to make a video for a company. What that company chooses to do with that video is up to them. Put a licensing clause in your contract and you risk losing the client. It is a work for hire, not an original piece that you own. Just my two cents though and I could be way off base on this.
Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media
Tech Now