Spot the sales pitch. Don't buy into an agency or photographer scam.

One thing that really interests me is psychology and I personally study and research it massively. I have studied and practised the psychology of sales and what many people don't know is that when business's are trying to sell something they know exactly what to say and do to make you buy their product and the same goes for bad agencies and photographers who put it quite simply only want you for your money.

When I studied to sell time shares I was presented with a manual on all the ways to sell the time share and we were taught the psychological reasons behind them. One tactic was called a "take away" which is when you start the presentation off by talking about a luxury package with all the VIP frills for special VIP customers and then you shrug it off by saying something like "but we won't go into that too much because I can see that you are not right for this package", The psychology behind this is interesting because everyone wants what they can't have so by taking something away from somebody you immediately have them interested. Another tactic we were taught was to engage in a conversation by asking the customer a lot of questions about the product if they owned it instead of simply just presenting to them what it was in the hope that they might like to buy it. They would ask "if you had 4 weeks in an apartment every year how would you use them?" they might reply "I would use one week myself and sell the other three weeks which would help me pay for my time share" then the sales person might ask "who would you bring with you on your week" and they might reply "my wife, parents and children" and the sales person would continue asking questions because what the customer doesn't know is that they are becoming involved and attached to the product, they are feeling and believing that they are part of it and that the dream lifestyle of all these weeks all over the world and VIP treatment and free yacht hire can be a reality. When you manipulate someone into dreaming you are in a very powerful position as they are acting from the subconscious part of their brain and not their logical conscious part, which brings me to my point that when someone already has a dream they can easily be sold the reality of that dream becoming a reality.

An aspiring actress or model has a dream, that they have usually had since childhood and anything that can bring them one step closer to that dream certainly seems something worthwhile to them. They are taken over by their emotions and they are not thinking straight and clearly. But if they can spot a sales pitch when they see one they can easily eliminate the problem before they are taken advantage of.

An agent's sales pitch might be something like "wow you look amazing, I could get you into catalogues and on catwalks, I'm going to give my friend from Gucci a call and arrange a 'go see' for you", the model is now engaged, she feels how wonderful it feels to have all her dreams come true, she imagines herself in catalogues and on billboards and magazines as the face of Gucci. In her head she has 'made it', she has found an agent who wants to represent her, she is a real model. But then the agent might say something like "oh but sweetie, you will need some new pictures for your portfolio, these are a bit old, the lighting is all wrong and your hair has changed, I know a photographer I will set you up a photo shoot with and once we have the pictures we can start putting you forward for work" it doesn't matter how much it is at this point the model feels her dream slipping through her fingers and will find a way, if she doesn't have the money the agency will probably have some kind of payment plan in place anyway. A payment scheme is a typical dodgy agency signal.

I was caught out by this scam a few times but fortunately no major amounts of cash and it taught me some invaluable knowledge and confidence which I used back in the face of a similar agent many years down the line.

My friend had recommended an agency whose office was very near where I lived. So I rang up and made an appointment for a meeting. In fact I asked my friend who was helping me at home with paperwork and stuff around the house to book it for me. We went along and I introduced her as my PA and sat down with a young guy who was in front of a computer. There were tear sheets all over the wall of the male model who's name was the front for the agency. The guy went through my portfolio and said I had a good look but I would need some pictures done through them which would cost over £400, with a face of disgust, I spotted the scam and I flipped it around and started to question him "why do I need new pictures? what's wrong with the ones I already have?", "because these are not right for our website" he answered, "well" I said "what sort of pictures are right for your website?" he replied "we have a very specific type of client and we need a specific type of images to represent you on our website", "I have been modelling for a long time" I said "I have modelled for french connection and been in vogue, I have many photographer friends and I have never ever paid for a photo shoot, if you show me this 'specific type' of image I can replicate it with one of my photographers as I am not paying for a shoot when I can get one done for free" at this point the guy who was actually light skinned turned bright red and started stuttering his words and really didn't know what to say. Another guy from the other side of the desk stepped in and said "let me have a look at your portfolio" I showed him and then the other guy was asked to leave and he went out into the garden "I'm sorry" the other guy said "he is new here and doesn't really know what he is on about, he will be leaving soon. Your pictures are fine to go on our website." This guy later turned out to be a great help to me as I met with him at the office several times and went through all the many many pictures I already had and he helped me select ones to be edited properly to add to my portfolio. He also taught me that in order to make money as a model you need to give the market what they want instead of hoping the market will change and want you. This is a prime example of how respect can be earned from someone who is thinking logically and who knows what they are talking about.

Aspiring models don't realise that an agent works for them. The model is their client. That is why the best supermodels were discovered because the agent believed they found something special and so worked that little bit harder to get them to the top as they themselves were emotionally attached to their own discovery. Aspiring models think they are lucky to have an agent and they beg and plead for them to take them on. If you know your stuff and have the confidence and experience your approach should be "I'm looking for a new agent, what can you do for me?" this would say "I already have an agent but want a new one, tell me what you can do for me so I can decide if I want you to represent me or not". A very clever psychological flip I believe.

The same goes for acting schools who charge you to train with them and then say they will represent you once they feel you are up to their standards which of course you will need more training for, which of course they will be getting paid for. I figured this out once when I went to a woman for one to one acting tuition. She said she loved my look and would be able to get me more work and would be happy to represent me on her agency but of course first I would need to pay for more tuition at £40 an hour. She said first I would need new head shots which ironically her husband could take for £120 and a friend who could airbrush them for £50. When I explained that I had many photographer friends who could take them for free and airbrush them if she could show me an example she said I should get it done properly with who she recommended. It was at that moment that I knew she was more interested in my money than she was of me because if she really believed in me she could surely get her own husband to wave the fee until she got me the paid work she was adamant she could get me. A good friend told me about a play that his acting school, who also represented him as his agent, arranged for him to perform in. Afterwards the director raved about how excellent he was and how well he had done and then the boss of his agency who had watched it told him that he wasn't very good and that he needed more training. It would seem that perhaps his agent did not have his best interests at heart as they were making him doubt himself as an actor which is the opposite of what a reputable agency should do. An agent must believe in their client and motivate and inspire them to also believe in themselves so as to represent their agency in it's best light. Their object here was of course to get him to pay them for more training.

You have to think of all situations from a business's point of view so that you can spot the direction that someone is coming from. Like with a photographer who offers a free photo shoot but it's not until you arrive on the day that you find out that the photo shoot is free but if you want to keep any of the pictures that have been taken you will have to buy them for a stupidly high amount of money. That's why I always ask before if I will get all the images so I do not waste my time. My sister and I once went along to one of these, they called her to say she had won a free photo shoot but after the shoot when they tried to sell to me. I kept saying "I am a model, people pay me to take my picture I don't pay for them to take pictures of me" he could see we was a lost cause so he ended up giving us our favourites for a very very stupidly low price just to get rid of us.

Competitions are always a marketing tool, a way to get interest in a product. In my local shopping centre a local photography studio hire out a section in the middle of the centre and run a child modelling competition where people bring their kids along and have their picture taken for free and at the end of the four weeks a judge from a children's modelling agency come down to judge all the pictures and take the winner on their books. Wow, how exciting all these doting parents putting their children whom they believe are the most beautiful kids in the world into a competition and they might become models. From a business point of view all the people, potential customers for the studio, walking through the shopping centre now know that the studio exists and with clever flyer's and posters now know where they are and what services they provide and all the parents have the option to buy a copy of the picture taken. So all in all the studio is a big winner, they have received a whole lot of publicity and also earned some money, a good job.

It would be a shame to suggest that all agencies and photographers are out to scam you but the reality is they are in it to win it and make money. Once you can work out where and how they make their money you can work out if it involves scamming you in any way and if you keep your wits about you then you are sure to come up smelling of roses as the interaction you have from a respectful, confident, savvy individual is much better and more beneficial than that of someone who is weak and can be used and taken advantage of.