Chances are, the reason you’re not getting a call back is not because of the way you look. The mistake a lot of young models make is that they wait for the agencies to call them back. A lot of agencies, as a rule, will not pick up that phone. Believe me, agencies are not desperate for pretty faces.
Even in a small town market there are plenty of young, pretty aspiring models. Agencies want attractive, aspiring business people.
They work very hard to get those advertising clients and they know that they’re going to take this young girl and send her out to meet these clients. They want to know that they’re working with a young woman who can represent not only herself professionally, but the agency as well.
So what am I supposed to do?
Make a phone call.
Wait five business days from the time that you submit your pictures and then call the agency and introduce yourself. “Hi, my name is … I sent you some photographs of myself last week and I’m very interested in coming in so that I can sit down and talk with you about working with your agency.”
Now, notice a couple of important things in that request. Number one: there was no mother, may I? It wasn’t a question of, “Do you like me? Do I have what it takes? Have I got the stuff? Can I come and see you, please?” No. It’s a business negotiation. You have made a decision to become a model. You would like to meet with them and speak about working with them. Why do I say that? I say that because the agency is not the boss.
In fact, the model hires the agency. It never quite feels that way, since the agency gets to decide if they want to work with you, hence, sign you, and they’re going to do their best to call the shots because let’s face it – it’s their clients. But the fact is it’s a partnership. The agency makes money when you make money, and you make money when the agency makes money.
So in short: don’t just send your pictures off in the mail or upload your pictures out into cyberspace and think that suddenly your phone is going to start ringing, a call back is going to come, that e-mails are going to show up, and that you’re going to be a famous model. It doesn’t work like that. This is a person-to-person business and you have to do business. So pick up that phone, introduce yourself and request that appointment.
