So you're looking for a voice over coach?

Well... 

Yes! They do exist!... but you might ask - how should I pick the right voice over coach for me? 

You’ve arrived at the point in your voiceover journey where you think you may benefit from the experience and guidance of a coach? 

Well done! For many, ‘getting a coach’ seems to be the last resort when ‘everything else’ has been tried out and attempted beforehand.

Really, coaching should almost be the first thing you consider when setting up your voice over business… 

Why?

Because a ‘good coach’ can help you dodge and weave most of the landmines awaiting a novice voice talent and get you on the road to success, a lot quicker than you’d possibly take to ‘find your VO groove’ all by yourself...

Here are 7 major points on how to know whether you’ve found a coach that can help you in your VO journey…

But before we start, let me take you back a little, or for some, a lot! to days at school when you came across that nutty drill sergeant type that shouted your name when you were in the wrong spot, made you do push-ups and climb a rope and build your muscles and improve your abilities to your chosen game or activity…

Were you close? Probably not…. Did your game improve from your coach's attention? Probably… my illustration is to help you appreciate that because of your coaches' experience, they can see where you are on your path to greatness and can help facilitate your growth and development in areas that you probably can’t see at this point…

Think of your coach as a really powerful flashlight when you are lost in the dark! The light makes it easy to see and a good coach can be super-helpful!

So how do we define who’s a good coach?

1. Are they doing what you want to do?

A good coach is successful and currently working in the industry you want to excel in…

Avoid old school voice coaches who no longer have an active career and want to constantly talk about ‘the good old days when they had it made!’ your coach needs to be busy doing voice work, relevant and full of current marketing ideas that have ‘the runs on the board’ for their own voice over business…

2. Are they accessible?

You’ve seen it all before…  you know, the untouchable celebrity persona who won’t answer emails or messages with anything other than an extensive FAQ list you’re supposed to wade through till you can find the right answer to your question, or copious links to obscure videos and of course if you can’t find what you’re after and have to contact the helpdesk, The celebrity support staff will send you a reference support ticket and attempt to get back to you within 72 hours...  

You need a coach who is human! someone you can talk to and interact with, ask questions of and most importantly get a timely response.

 If this is not the case, you are probably on the rat-wheel of a sales funnel and should seek an alternative coaching resource...Pronto!

3. Do they have a curriculum?

It’s important that you can ‘see’ a laid out path to your voiceover education

filled with specific topics and different pathways and levels that interest you, as we aren’t all on the same level of ‘coaching needs’ and your coaches' curriculum should reflect that. 

4. Do you connect with their message?

This one’s simple… Do you ‘get’ their personality? Does their coaching messages resonate with you? Can you see how this person has ‘done their homework’ by the resources and benefits offered to you and the tangible advantages you’ll attain by working with them?

5. Do they offer a payment plan and can you cancel your coaching at any time?

This point takes us back to the previous ‘sales funnel’ comment… 

There’s nothing more annoying than being ‘tied in’ to a program that has become irrelevant to you, or worse, a program you can no longer afford.

Life and business are full of peaks and troughs,  so ensure your voiceover education can ‘evolve’ with you at your pace, at your convenience, and with a payment plan and penalty-free cancellation. 

6. Do your goals and their goals match?

Ensure you do your homework and have a good look at everything you can find on your prospective coach before you sign up for membership…

Testimonials, Facebook groups, and reviews on the web are a great place to start when checking your coach out… What are other students and established voice artists saying about them? 

You’ll soon see if there's something that feels ‘out of sync’ with your plans and goals…

7. Resources, Resources, Resources…

This last point is very important because it will tell you everything you need to know about your coach's heart… Now listen carefully…

If all of your coaches’ resources are written, produced, inspired, and created by them alone, then, it’s clear, it’s really only all about them…

If however, your coach is pointing you to great books written by other people, videos they’ve seen and learned from, audio equipment, techniques, and tips they’ve discovered that they are happy to share… with the understanding that they have a business to run, it’s clear, They also have your best interests at heart!

To your continued voiceover success,

Anthony Pica