Don't Give Up The Day Job
or
You'll Never Work in This Town Again...
How to get an agent.
To get work you will need an agent or a website or both. I have been working for 4 years as a lookalike, Ali G to start with and now Little Britain as David Walliams and I have had more work through my website than from any agents, but I have not promoted myself heavily to agents as I spent my time and money creating a website. My feeling was why pay someone 20% for getting me work when I could get that work myself and make 1/5th more money! Also I am self employed and I am used to dealing with suppliers and clients and have no problem phoning people chasing invoices. Not that I have had to do this on many occasions mind, but should the need arise I don't mind doing this.
However, the flip side to this is that some people don't have the temperament to chase people for money and this is perfectly understandable and a good reason to get an agent. Also they are basically unpaid sales agents working on your behalf and the only time you have to pay them is when they get you work, that is why it is worth getting one. But get a good one.
So how do you go about getting a good agent? Before you get an agent, or whilst looking for one, I would urge you to get a website, nothing fancy, just a few pages with some good images describing who you are and what you do and how to get in contact, once you have a website you have a global audience. Check out my personal websites:
As you'll see they are not vast and are done in the style of the character, but these simple websites are optimised to perform well on the search engines especially Google and as such have bought me in quite a few jobs. (I can do this for any lookalike, just drop me a line). And even if you pass the enquiries on to an agent from my experience they generate a lot of work and are generally worthwhile having, especially if you are serious about being a lookalike. In todays modern world Agents have to accpet that lookalikes will try to market themselves over the internet as it is cost effective and fairly simple to do.
So to help you in your search for an agent here are some pointers to prevent you from getting into difficulties and to maximise your chances of getting work.
1) Never pay to be on an agents books. It is now illegal for them to charge you for their service up front, they can charge you to be in their marketing materials, such as casting books or for a photo shoot etc... but this is rare and should be avoided, if someone asks you for money up front, or demands you be in a photo shoot to get on their books walk away, they are not a good agent and you'll waste your time and your money.
2) Never sign a sole agency deal or exclusivity contract, no one agent gets all the work so never sign to one agent. There are many agents with different clients and you'll never know where the work will be coming from so don't sign an exclusivity deal you'll regret it in the long run.
3) Be prepared to travel. If you have a car great, let the agent know, this will put you higher up the list when it comes to getting work, Public Transport is ok but not at two in the morning when you are trying to get back from a gig in central London or Wales!
4) Get a passport, some agents will have contracts for Army camps and clubs abroad so let them know you have a valid up to date passport. You are allowed to work in Europe without a Visa but any good agent will advise you about how to get adequately covered by Visas for working abroad outside the EU.
5) Ask the agent if they are a member of the Agents Association, it is not the be all and end all but if they are you are covered by their associations terms and conditions of membership.
6) Ask the agent how long they have been in business and who their clients are. Anyone who skirts around this has not been in business long and may be just getting you to sign to them to make them look better. I would sign anyway, Agents have to start somewhere, but beware when it comes to payment ask for a certain percentage up front (10%) or limit yourself to one job until you get payment for it and tell them this is your policy. If the agent is any good they will respect your professionalism. Remember no agent can guarantee you work, anyone who claims such is lying and their word should be taken with as pinch of salt. Submit your details to several agencies and follow up the letters with a call to make sure they received your details. Then sit back and leave it for a few weeks, but do chase them if you haven't heard anything within a month, they may have forgotten about you and agents will be used to artistes calling them, staying in touch.
7) Have great photos and top notch marketing materials. The agent will sell you on the strength of these photos and leaflets so make them look as good as you can. Have business cards printed up with your details on them and a good picture, and carry them with you always, you never know who you'll bump into. Make sure the agent puts your details on their website with your pictures. We use A7 sized postacrd, which allow you to get bigger pictures on them and are used by a lot of Lookalikes.
8) Check in with agents regularly, if you are in the front of their mind then you will get more work, update them if you have a new set of pictures, or if you have done some TV/Film work, it all helps to promote yourself. Approach the local paper and get a feature done when you get accepted by the agent, nothing sells better than recent publicity.
9) Talk to other lookalikes you know may know once you are up and running! Also share information as you never know who can help you. Agents are not all the same and offer different levels of service. But as long as you know beforehand then forewarned is forearmed.
10) Be nice, people remember nice people, always smile on jobs (unless you character doesn't!) but be nice to the staff at the venue or company where you are working. Try to remember their names, at the end of the evening ask them if their was any problems, try to speak to the person in charge and ask them if everything was ok. The next day call your agent for feedback and tell them you spoke to "the person in charge" and felt all went well. It just prevents problems occurring down the line.
11) Present you invoice promptly, you'll look professional and will be paid sooner rather than later, and after all it is showBUSINESS!!!
12) Always be wary about dropping your price and question an agent who gets you to do so, it is in their best interests to charge as much as possible as they are on a percentage, usually 15-20%, of your fee. It is up to you to price yourself according to how marketable your character or star is, more current newsworthy stars can charge more than others, but rates will depend on where the gig is, when it is (weekends are generally better paid) and what time of year, Christa,ms is always busy and so therefore supply and demand means you can ask for more. You can also ask for more if your star is red hot news, so keep an eye on the papers and if necessary get the right clothes and hairstyle for that particular moment, which brings me nicely on to...
13) Keep your look up to date. If the star has a new haircut, get a wig or have your hair cut similarly, after all if you look like them chances are you will look as good as them in the same styles and haircuts, and they will have paid thousands to be professionally styled, you get all that advice for free!
14) When working alone in a venue make sure you are adequately covered by security, I have been pushed and shoved and one memorable occasion punched at (they were so drunk they missed by a mile) but alcohol can make people do silly things so be aware and if in doubt ask for an escort. No one has the right to ask you to work in a dangerous environment. If you feel there is a problem, go and see the duty manager or person in charge immediately, voice your concerns and request that suitable immediate action be taken to remedy the sitaution and then tell them what you intend to do if it is not. NEVER, EVER, EVER walk out of a venue without explaining why, you will get a bad name and may never work again. Always try to come to a solution, even if it is limiting your appearance to behind the bar or on stage in the DJ box.
15) Be punctual, always get to the venue in good time to change and be ready. If you are running late call ahead to tell your contact at the venue. You should always have a local contact or events organiser to call, this helps prevent problems occurring due to lack of communication.
16) Be patient, if you are left waiting sitting around, so be it, remember you are being paid to do what they ask, even if that is boring!
17) Never defame the person you look like. If you are asked to do something that the character you portray would just not do, then do not do it, you are an ambassador for that person/celeb/star and misrepresenting them is doing them no favours. What if you meet them one day, how would you feel then?
18) Never claim to be the actual person, you can get into serious legal problems of you are promoted as the real thing and you go along with it. If a promoter has promoted you as the real deal then let everyone know you are not and that you had nothing to do with the scam. When people ask me on a job "Are you Ali G" I always reply (In character still) "No, I am Ali G For Real".
19) Never slag off a venue or an agent of another performer, it is a small industry and what goes around comes around! The same should go for agents however they can hear things, untruths, which they then repeat and like Chinese whispers before you know the phone has stopped ringing, this is why it is best to deal with any problems up front and staight on.
20) Enjoy yourself, after all being a lookalike is better than working for a living!
Now read: Are You a Lookalike
If you have any questions or want website advice then get in touch.
You too could soon be waltzing around at premiers, opening, exhibitions and galas being the center of attention and best of all, getting paid!
