Are you communicating to clients clearly enough?

Episode Transcription

 

Den Lennie (2s):
Good day, guys. It’s Den. I’m back. Episode 239 of the, How to Scale a Video Business podcast. So, I had a week off. I had my second COVID shot. It was Pfizer and it knocked me out for 11 days. I was just fatigued muscle ache. Couldn’t even really speak. So apologies for no podcast last week, but we do have 238 other ones you can listen to. So I know you’re not going to run out of valuable content to hear check out anytime soon. And I guess it’s a lesson that sometimes you just got to stop and rest, and that’s exactly what I did, but I’m back.

Den Lennie (45s):
So I’m back with a vengeance. And as we come towards the last month of 2021, kind of looking forward to some downtime, actually. We’ll be taking two or three weeks off is not something I haven’t used to be able to do in video production. But nowadays we have the business running in such a way that we can be the masters of our own destiny. And that’s something I think most people really are looking for when they run a business. And we had a great call this morning with our VBA masterminders and just tying off some loose ends for the year, had some great discussions, actually around managing client projects.

Den Lennie (1m 30s):
And we came to the conclusion that video production is one of those industries that you just can’t really control a lot of the factors and the outcomes. And so with the best whirl in the world, you can set a timeframe up in pre-production, but it almost always blows out because of one reason or other. And we just have to accept that that’s how the business operates. But what we discussed was, factoring in a higher chargeable amount suit to allow for those fluctuations that happen. And even the best clients say, we want to deliver on this date, but more often than not, it’s the clients you’re waiting for.

Den Lennie (2m 17s):
Be it graphics, be it approval. It’s often the clients who hold things up. So it’s how to manage that, how to juggle that relationship in a way that doesn’t damage your business relationship, but at the same time, it doesn’t have you screwed in a corner with five projects that deliver on the same day. And what we discussed was in the early stages of pre-production, it’s actually about communicating a proposed timeline, but also articulating along the way with the client that if there’s a delay at this stage that might have an impact on a stage later on, which might in fact have an impact on project deliverables.

Den Lennie (3m 8s):
And so really the lesson we came to a conclusion of on today’s call was it’s about ensuring you have clear communication, but also a clear process and a system and a process for helping clients to understand what the different stages of production are. And I’m not just talking about pre-post and production. I’m talking about onboarding a client properly, having that conversation about how you like to communicate what the milestones are and how you’re going to be impacted if project deliverables don’t get hit because of a hold-up on the client’s end. That was a fascinating chat.

Den Lennie (3m 50s):
And our second call we did yesterday had a similar conversation around managing clients, but also managing team. And how do you manage your team members’ performance if they’re not performing quite in the way in which you feel they should be. And what we discussed was as a leader of a business, you always have to step back and try and see things from their perspective. I don’t think anyone fundamentally wants to do a bad job when they come to work, but they may not always have all of the information that they need. And they might be too scared to ask in case they feel silly.

Den Lennie (4m 29s):
Human beings, they never want to feel stupid. And what we’ll often do is rather than ask a question, we’ll just kind of ignore something and try and fudge our way through because the embarrassment of saying you don’t understand is sometimes too much for people. And so you wanna make sure that you’re providing an opportunity as a leader to ask the right questions. And one of the best ways you can do this is to sit down with an editor you work with, for example, and just say, hey, look, just, I’d love to see your process, show me your process. I mean, you look over someone’s shoulder at that process, you might discover a new way of doing something that you’re not familiar with, but they also might discover that they’re doing something in a long-winded way, which you can perhaps support with, by giving some support and guidance on another way of doing things.

Den Lennie (5m 23s):
And so it’s always very important when you’re working with the team to step back and ask yourself the question, have I given them all the information in a clear and concise way that leaves no margin for error? And the answer to that question is usually no, usually as business owners, we’re very busy. When we hire a team, we bring other people into the equation. And oftentimes, there’s a level of expectation that we just assume someone will fill in the gaps. And it’s of course not actually quite as simple as that is it? Filling in the gaps is a dangerous space to be. So the way we get around that is by having very clear systems and very clear processes that are fail-safe as far as possible.

Den Lennie (6m 11s):
And we do a lot of work with systems, a lot of work with processes. And, one of the things that I think filmmakers fear about systems and processes, they think it’s going to be a lot of work. In actual fact the way we do it, it’s actually not. In fact, the more process-driven and more systems-driven you are, the more creative you can be, the more freedom you have. So I just wanted to kind of see that idea with you today. And I will see you for a regular episode back on Thursday. Ask yourself, this. Has owning your own video business, been everything you dreamed it would be when you first got started?

Den Lennie (6m 56s):
It might be hard to admit, but think about whether you’re genuinely achieving everything you set out to when you made that decision to grab the camera and go it alone. Are you really working less? Are you really earning more? And are you really in control? Chances are you’re bloody good at what you do, but you’re having to work like a dog 70 plus hours a week, whether it’s filming, editing, marketing, or any of the other jobs that come with being the big boss of your own video company. When you’re managing projects constantly searching out for new clients and worrying about cash flow, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture or make real progress. Let’s face it. That stress is the last thing you need when you’re trying to run a profitable company that supports you and the people you care about.

Den Lennie (7m 39s):
Truth is a business that provides financial professional and personal freedom really is achievable, but maybe you’ve got that nagging feeling that you’re overworked, lacking stability, and struggling to get to where you really want to be right now. It could be that you just don’t know how to make a positive change on your own. So I created the video business accelerator coaching programs to really supercharge your video business. With these unique coaching programs, you’ll learn all the tools you need to get complete confidence in the success of your video business. You can take the first step on your journey to a successful business that doesn’t control your life. Let me show you how. Head over to denlennie.com and click on accelerator.