Monday morning. I was in the middle of going through all the stuff that had slipped past SpamAssassin, looking for those proverbial needles in the haystack of spam, when the phone rang.

Mondays are prime time for telemarketers, most of whom probably quit their jobs in fear of their lives by Wednesdays. So I was fully prepared to give the caller a piece of my mind and promptly hang up and get back to my treasure hunt for "real email".

Before I could ask the caller what he was selling, it slowly dawned on me that this was a real, live prospect. They want video coverage of an "apostleship" that would be held at their church in April.

I'll confess that I'm not all that religious, and had no idea of what an "apostle ship" was. It could be a ship launched from a rocket-type launch pad or a sailing ship that would carry an apostle across the seas. But I did know that things had slowed down since the new year and I was ready for some new business.

As it turns out, this apostleship was a bishop being promoted to apostle. But even more importantly, from a business perspective, was the manner in which I handled the call, all but assuring that any other videographers they might call, would not get this job. You too can use these ideas to seal the deal with prospective customers who call your business.

Step one: I wrote down the caller's first name, but I did not use it in the first minute or two. It irritates me when salespeople are presumptuous enough to call me by my first name right out of the chute. So I don't do it to others.

Step two: I asked the caller to explain the event; what was occurring and what was it's importance to those involved and to those who would later view the video.

Step three: I asked the caller to think carefully and tell me every person who would be speaking.

Step four: I asked the caller to tell me all about the music that would be played - quartets, bands, soloists, choir, music tracks, etc.

Now I'm ready to use his first name. I've shown interest in his event and shown that I consider his call to be important.

"Steve, some of the people you'll call today, won't have all these questions. Let me explain why I ask them. We take pride in producing not only great visual content in our videos, but great sound also. In order to get great sound, you have to have the right type of microphone for each speaker or musical sound source and you have to have enough microphones so that each source has its own microphone up close."

"I'm sure your church has a great sound system, but it's purpose is live audio for your audience. Our concern is great audio for your video. Sure, we tap soundboards, but only as a backup source in case of momentary dropouts in our wireless mics."  I further explained that soundboards usually have most all the mics turned on all the time, meaning that the mics in the choir will also be picking up the minister's voice, blending the echoey, blurred sound with the crisp sound of his lav mic.  While this may not be noticed by a live audience, it surely would be noticed in the video.

"Many videographers you call, may not have these questions because they're only going to use one or two mics and they assume that people are used to getting amateur-sounding audio on this type of video."

"Those same videographers will likely only use one or two cameras as well. That means they won't be getting audience reaction shots and shots with greatly varying views like we can get with our camera crane and Glidecam camera."

Then, I explained how we might have one camera high and wide on the crane, one wide enough to cover everyone on stage and one following the action up close. Other cameras would cover from different angles and two would cover the audience, one wide, one on a group of four people.

With each issue, I'd point out that this is how "professional" events are covered on television and that audiences have become sophisticated and will expect a professional video from them also.

I made the most of each piece of hardware we own - half a dozen wireless sets, half a dozen wired mics with stands, camera jib, four hi-def cameras and four standard cams, etc.

If gear isn't your strong point, use whatever is.  Maybe it's idealized editing effects, or super-smooth Glidecam moves.  You gotta have a niche, then use that niche to close your sales.

Then, it was time for...

Step five: Ideas. "A professional video should probably begin with a short bio of the 'star'.", I told him. "How about we open with some photos showing him growing up, graduating seminary and progressing through his career?". I proposed that his assistant might narrate and that we could shoot her greenscreened, so that the photos could stay on-screen, but in the background as we cut to her.

I explained that our teleprompter would make this narration as easy as reading a book, for their assistant.

Then, I made it clear that although their date was available now, there was no guarantee it wouldn't be taken before the day was over. I told him he should take all the time he needs to make a decision, but once that decision was made he should make a deposit as soon as possible to guarantee his videographer of choice would be available.

The phone call lasted about fifteen minutes. It pretty much blew out any one they might call who did not ask questions to learn the microphone needs. In fact, I doubt they'll even call anyone else, unless their budget just won't allow them to hire us.

SUMMARY

In short, here are the things I did to ensure we get this gig -

• Used the caller's first name, but not until I'd shown interest in his event and shown that I had ideas that he would find valuable.
• Picked one niche we're better than most of our competitors on (audio / # of mics) and drove it home.
• Used each piece of equipment that we have and competitors may not have, as a selling point.
• Gave the prospect at least one important idea for his project.
• Call to action. (Though a bit delayed. I told him he should call others and use care in making his decision, but that he should use all prudent haste to guarantee availability.)

CRITIQUE

There will be those who will say that I should have gone for "the close" and tried to get an immediate deposit. There are many good points to that argument. Here are my points against it -

Telling the customer that he should talk to several videographers and use care in making his decision is not only being honest, but it adds credibility. Also, I've learned over the years, that a customer sold through hard sales tactics, gets a stronger case of "buyers remorse" and ends up being more difficult to handle.