How I Got An Agent Offer In One Week

Hello everyone! Hope this new blog entry finds you all in great health and spirits. I’m really excited to share today’s blog entry, so let’s get to it!

On March 7th, I received a phone call from my agency informing me that they would be stepping down as a SAG-AFTRA franchised agency. And as a result, they wouldn’t be able to represent me anymore because I’m a union actor. They said that they could still represent me till mid-April, but that I was also free to start looking for new representation.

The phone call lasted a few minutes, and when we hung up, I was actually cool. I didn’t freak out. I didn’t start looking at the “loss” in this situation, but rather, the opportunity in this situation. I didn’t go into a dark place knowing that I would have to start an agent search from scratch. I didn’t look at the “burden” of having to start all over again. And look, there are millions of reasons for me to worry and stress over starting a new agent search.

For example, we are still in pilot season, and traditionally, that is considered the worst time to look for an agent. Pilot season is an insanely busy time for agents and they are not looking for nor have the time to interview and accept new clients. Actors are told to submit to agents after pilot season because that’s when agents drop some of their clients.

However, if you know me by now, I didn’t let that stop me. I said, “Fuck it. I’m going to start my agent search now.” Yes, that’s right! During pilot season! Why wait till mid-April when I can start now? Do it now. Do it now. Do it now.

I looked forward. I didn’t look at the burden of the workload ahead of me. Why? Because I know how to administrate the hell out of my career. I know what actions to take to get an agent. I know how to book the rooms that I walk into. I have a solid resume. I have a solid reel. I know my casting. I know what I want as an artist. I have a business plan. I have so many pros at my disposal. I’ve acquired agents before and I can acquire them again.

I set an intention to get an offer in two weeks. I got to work on March 8th with the first phase of research. I generated a list of agencies that spoke to me in terms of their mission statement and other qualifying factors that resonated with me. (The second phase is to reach out to my relationship map to see if anyone can act as a referral for me)

But back to the first phase and making sure that I followed it through to completion. I went through the list of talent agencies on IMDB Pro and focused on agencies in LA. I went to SAG-AFTRA’s website to get a list of SAG-AFTRA franchised agents. I cross-referenced both websites and created a spreadsheet of my target agencies.

I submitted to a total of 15 agencies. Each agency had different submission requirements and I tailored each submission to them. By Sunday, March 11th, I received an email from one of the 15 agencies asking to meet with me. I met with them on Thursday, March 15th and I received an offer from them.

One week later.

I went from not having an agent to having another offer.

What are the lessons I/we can take away from this?

*Intention without hesitation.

*Knowing that if I have to start all over again with something, that I have the tools necessary to get back in the game. That I have a system of actions, a structure, that will always get me back in the game.

*Rules can be broken. That it’s okay to go the other way. “Don’t submit during pilot season. That’s a no no.” I decided to go against that thinking and went for it. The turn over rates at agencies are frequent all year long. My intention put me in the right place at the right time.