There's a casting office in LA that has booked me on three big Guest Star roles. They're huge fans of mine, I'm a huge fan of theirs, it's a big fat love fest. But before that, I spent six years seeing them in workshops and sending them postcards and not getting called in. Not once. I seriously thought they were using my headshot as a dartboard when they needed to blow off some steam.
Here's what was really going on.
There's a concept in marketing. It's called 'The Rule of Seven,' and it basically says that a potential customer has to see your marketing message seven times before deciding to buy whatever you're selling.
For instance, let's say you need a blender. And on the very day you decide you need one, you see an ad for a blender made by a company you've never heard of. Do you run out and buy it?
Probably not. Why?
It's not that you think it's a crappy blender, it's just that you don't know enough about it. There are lots of blenders out there, many made by companies you've heard of, even some whose stuff you've bought before, so you're probably going to go with one of them. If you see a few of the new blender company's commercials and like them, and a few friends get their stuff and like it, you'll be a lot likelier to buy something they make next time. But one ad is not gonna do it.
Yet actors expect it to be different for us. We meet a decision-maker (casting director, agent, producer, etc.) in a workshop or do a mailing to one we've never met, and think it's reasonable to expect it might lead to an audition or meeting… And if it doesn't, we think we either did something wrong or the decision-maker for some unknowable reason just doesn't like us.
Remember the blender. It has nothing to do with you. It's just that there are lots of actors out there, many the decision-maker already knows, and many s/he has worked with before, so s/he's probably going to go with one of those. But if s/he gets a few more mailings from you, sees that you've worked with people s/he knows, maybe sees you in something and likes your work, s/he'll be a lot likelier to call you in next time.
When I finally got called in to that casting office, they were thrilled to see me, because the years of workshops and mailings had worked. They felt like they knew me. And I felt pretty silly for spending six years thinking they were throwing things at my picture.
(For the record, seven is not a magic number. I've also heard it called The Rule of 13. The point is simply that you have to get yourself in front of someone more than a few times before reasonably expecting them to take the bait. It might be five, it might be ten, it might be thirty, but it's probably not gonna be one.)
So this week, give some thought to how The Rule of Seven applies in your career. Are there decision-makers you've given up on prematurely? Are you convinced there are some who don't like you, when maybe you just aren't far enough along in the marketing process? Are you setting yourself up for disappointment by expecting a response after one contact? Try recalibrating your expectations to accommodate The Rule of Seven, and see what changes!