How do retainers work for video production companies and freelancers?
Feb 09, 2023
Introduction
We all know that repeat profitable projects, with clients that respect our work and input, is the dream ticket for a video professional, or a production company.
But how does it work? How do we win retainers? How do we deliver them as video creators?
Well, in today's Q&A, we're going to find out.
Today's question is: How do retainers work for video production companies and freelancers?
Links
- Purchase: Retain for just $7 >>>
Transcript
00:00:00:01 - 00:00:23:04
We all know that repeat profitable projects, with clients that respect our work and input, is the dream ticket for a video professional, or a production company. But how does it work? How do we win retainers? How do we deliver them as video creators? Well, in today's Q&A, we're going to find out. Today's question is: How do retainers work for video production companies and freelancers?
00:00:23:13 - 00:00:47:01
Let's jump in. Let's roll back the years a bit. Back in 2010, I started my own video production company. I started it from scratch in my grandma's spare bedroom, to being valued at $20 million within eight years. We worked with brands such as Adidas, Nike and Yves Saint Laurent to name a few. We had 33 full time members of staff.
00:00:47:06 - 00:01:08:04
We had hundreds of freelancers working on projects around the world at any given time. But in 2018, I lost it. We filed for bankruptcy. I was embarrassed, worn out and honestly depressed. But then I read a book called Black Box Thinking. The subtitle struck a chord with me: “Why most people never learn from their mistakes, but some do.”
00:01:08:14 - 00:01:27:21
I had made mistakes, a lot of them. I made some bad decisions, but I also made some pretty good ones. You don't build a company to that size without doing something right. But after reading that book, I made a promise to my wife. I told her that I was going to go again, to build again. But I promised her that I would never make the same mistakes again.
00:01:27:22 - 00:01:54:03
So I set out to work. I took a year out and reviewed everything. I applied black box thinking to my experiences. And from that review, from a year of painstaking analysis, reviewing over 2,500 projects, over 5,000 pitches, proposals and quotes, there was one thing that I never did. I never had retainers. I never had long term contracts. My clients were never locked in for the long run.
00:01:54:03 - 00:02:23:05
And that meant that I could never forecast my cash. I could never invest confidently in the business, in offices, in staff, in myself, in my family. Whenever we faced a challenge or saw a cash issue coming up, my answer was always to win the next project. And that worked for a while. But ultimately it was my downfall. I knew that if I was going to keep the promise I made to my wife, I needed to develop a system that locked clients in for the long run and provided a recurring revenue stream.
00:02:23:05 - 00:02:53:16
And the good news is that I did just that. I now have long term contracts in place with brands such as Shell, Deloitte and The International Olympic Committee. But this is a problem that is so common in the video world. Our industry is typically built upon a project by project business model. So as small business owners, or even one man bands, when a project is coming to an end, or we see a gap coming up in our pipeline, we panic and head out to find that next opportunity, that next project, that next client.
00:02:53:24 - 00:03:17:17
And that's exhausting. It's stressful. And it means that we can never really enjoy what we love doing most, creating beautiful video content that we're proud of. Does this resonate with you? Surely there is a better way? Well, there is. In my time, I've been lucky enough to have built very strong relationships with many owners of the UK's leading advertising and marketing agency.
00:03:17:17 - 00:03:42:07
So when I was conducting that review, I reached out to a handful of my closest contacts in the industry and arranged what must have been 30 calls, coffees and lunches with the UK's leading marketing executives, agency owners and vice presidents. I wanted to understand why their companies were so successful, how they managed their client relationships, and I wanted to understand how this could work in the world of video.
00:03:42:12 - 00:04:08:10
Here's the thing. Your clients, or your prospects, whether they be marketing professionals, advertising professionals, business owners, whoever, only really care about one thing, and that is results. If you can show them the results, if you can show them that their investment into you as a video creator has returned a positive return on investment. Well, that's where they become putty in your hands and you can convert them to a retained contract.
00:04:08:10 - 00:04:29:16
Now, I cover the steps that you need to take to be able to do that within my book, which coincidentally is called Retain, and it walks you through the five step process that any production professional can take, whether they're a freelancer or they run a production company to attract, win and deliver retainers, you can get access to that book for just $7 via the link below.
00:04:29:16 - 00:04:52:06
But the framework that I created allowed me to keep my promise to my wife. I unlocked long term contracts, retainers with brands such as Shell, Deloitte, The International Olympic Committee. And life is somewhat different now than it was back in 2008. And because of the book, I've also been able to teach over 3,000 production professionals around the world to do the exact same thing.
00:04:52:14 - 00:05:13:22
But I'm not going to talk about how to win retainers in this video, I cover that in detail within the book. But I am going to show you what a retainer should look like and how to deliver on it. I've also got a few resources available for you to download, which will make delivering retainers an absolute breeze. So, what does a retainer actually look like and how do you deliver it?
00:05:13:23 - 00:05:43:17
Well, to be honest, it's very simple. As I said, your clients or your prospects only truly care about the results that the content that you're creating for them and the content that they are paying you to create is achieving. So a retainer is more about managing that ongoing relationship with your clients, keeping track of the results, talking them through those results, and - this is the big one - working with them to fill any gaps in their video marketing or communications plan when delivering a retained contract.
00:05:43:17 - 00:06:05:21
There are two types of meetings that you will run. The first is a monthly catch up meeting. Within this meeting you simply run through the content that you have created for them, look at the results, suggest ways in which you can improve poor performing content and ways in which you can capitalize on content that is popping off. Those meetings are typically delivered via Zoom and last about 60 minutes.
00:06:06:09 - 00:06:24:05
Now, at the end of the meeting, you take action on any of the strong or weak areas of performance that you identified and that's your monthly meeting done and dusted. Then on a quarterly basis, you run what is called a deep dive session. This is typically a little longer than the monthly catch up, but the framework is similar.
00:06:24:11 - 00:06:43:23
You review their content over the past quarter. Identify areas of weakness, areas of strength. But in this session, you also brainstorm content that can help them to drive better results. Below this video I've linked to the template slides for the monthly catch up and the quarterly deep dive sessions, so you can access them and start using them straight away.
00:06:43:23 - 00:07:03:20
But the one thing that we can't shy away from is that you will need reports. You'll need a system in place to track the performance of the video content that you are creating for your client. But that's what the Retain book does. It walks you through how to set that system up step by step, and - you'll be pleased to know - that it's so very simple.
00:07:03:20 - 00:07:23:07
Sometimes it's just about knowing what you need to do and how to do it. The book also shows you - step by step - how to set up the system in which you can track and report the return on investment that your client is achieving from their investment into you. And again, it's so simple. So in answer to today's question, that's really how it works.
00:07:23:07 - 00:07:46:05
It's as simple as that. You win a one off project, you identify areas in which your client can drive better results through the ongoing creation of video content, you track their results and then you talk them through those results on a monthly and quarterly basis. Video is powerful. It drives results. So when you have a system in place that allows you to prove those results, you move away from the project by project business model.
00:07:46:10 - 00:08:09:08
You move away from the feast or famine way of living. You can forecast your cash at least 12 months at a time. You can invest confidently into you, your business, your life, your family. And life (and business) becomes that much easier. So if you want access to that system, you can hit the link below and get the Retain framework in book form for just $7.
00:08:09:14 - 00:08:31:03
You can also download the resources that I talked about just now via the link below, and you can subscribe to my weekly emails where - on a weekly basis - I send marketing, sales and retention tips, training and how to's to over 10,000 video production professionals around the world. If you have any questions, simply leave a comment below, but hopefully you can see just how simple it is to deliver retainers,
00:08:31:07 - 00:08:39:00
create a recurring revenue stream in your video business, and build certainty into your video business. Have a fantastic day!
