An agent’s job can be broken down into three distinct functions: signing, selling, and servicing. The first two are easy to define. Agents are constantly on the lookout for new clients, and we’re always busy pitching our roster to the casting community. But what about servicing? What exactly does that entail?
About nine years ago, I represented a well-known actor named Jeff who was the lead of a syndicated action show. His co-lead was a gorgeous woman named Heather. The two of them would solve crimes using a talking monkey or something like that. Anyway, halfway through the first season, Heather started dating the producer. That didn’t sit well with my guy, because he believed she was getting more attention because of the relationship. It got to the point where he actually called me to complain that she had been moved into a bigger trailer than his. Concerned, I called production and they explained that Jeff and Heather were in matching wagons made by the same company.
When I told Jeff, he went nuts and demanded that I come down to the set and measure the trailers. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Is that kind of thing beneath me? The answer is yes, but we were making a pretty penny on his commissions, so one bright Monday morning, yours truly left his ego at home and showed up on set with a stepladder and measuring tape. I’m sure the crew was amused to see a guy in a suit clambering all over those trailers like a well-dressed roach on speed.
Bottom line? The trailers were identical. Having proof made my client happy and he was able to move on to the next problem.
That’s called servicing.
Over the years, I’ve had many adventures in the name of 10 percent. I once helped a client post bail. I also drove a famous actor up to a rehab facility in Malibu. And best of all, I got to keep another actor company during her consultation with a plastic surgeon about breast implants.
Yes, the life of an agent is fun with a capital F.U.—and you can leave out the N.
But servicing isn’t always that extreme. Most of the time, it’s about the little things. Agents understand how difficult an actor’s life can be, so we try our best to alleviate some of that tension. This means checking in with our clients when they haven’t had an audition in several weeks. Letting them know we’re aware of the situation goes a long way toward keeping them off any metaphorical ledges.
And sometimes people just need to be heard. Who doesn’t feel better after sharing their grief with someone they trust? So if a client needs to vent after going down to the wire on a major opportunity that ultimately didn’t go his or her way, I’m happy to sit there and listen.
Servicing is about keeping your people happy.
This is a good move in the long run, because if you support your clients well during the bad times, they might remember how you treated them and decide to stay put when they hit it big and a larger agency tries to steal them away.
You see? Servicing is in everyone’s best interest. Even mine.
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