Sometimes You Have To Think Outside Of The Box
Lisa Stroth
Providing engaging narration/voiceover for Healthcare/Medical, eLearning & Training videos, Phone Messaging & Audiobooks
A few months ago I had the opportunity to work on an online learning course for a large medical based company, and in the course of that, they asked if I would be willing to take on transcribing some old audio that they wanted to have me narrate, but for which they had no script. I said, "sure, I can do that," and they expressed appreciation that I was willing to take that on even though it wasn't a service I typically provided for my clients.
That same company has recently reached out to ask me my rate to do #transcription for 100 hours of recorded audio. They didn't need new audio - just transcription that would make presentations given over conference calls 508 compliant. Now, my business is #voiceover - not transcription. But, I liked working for that company, and hope to do other narration projects for them in the future. I'd like to stay top of mind with them, and in my communication with them, I've mentioned that I would welcome the opportunity to provide narration for other projects. My email address is lisa@thevoiceovercure. My email signature has links to my website and my demos, and includes a brief statement about what I do. Because my background is in #healthcare, and the transcription is on topics that happen to be interesting to me, and much of the terminology is familiar. So, I said yes. You may think I'm a little bit crazy. You may be asking why would I do this, when it really doesn't directly relate to my voiceover business. Well, I said yes because I knew I could do the work, and I want to keep the door open with this company. I would welcome the opportunity for continued collaboration with them using my #narration services for their #trainingvideos and #educationvideos. Additionally, I thought, there may be other clients who would like to have this kind of service added to the narration I provide for them, and I will now be more comfortable taking on the extra work and will know how to appropriately charge for it. Sometimes you have to be flexible and think outside the box. That kind of thinking looks different for different people. For me, in this case, it looks like transcribing 100 hours of recorded audio in hopes that it will help to keep me top of mind for voiceover work with this company, and I'm OK with that.
Founder THRiVE Massage and Wellness
4 年Lisa, as a former corporate project manager and buyer, I can affirm that what you did here was absolutely the right thing. Corporate buyers are time challenged and often asked to solve for things outside of their core skill sets. When you provide efficient reliable solutions, you become the top of mind service provider. Plus, you’re a joy to work with, so there’s that! Great post!
Owner, JAW ENTERPRISES - YOUR CREATIVE PARTNER FOR JAW DROPPING PROMOTIONS
4 年Lisa Stroth so true. More than ever, we need to think outside of the box to stay relevant. Thanks for sharing.
Digital Content Writer | Mental Health | Healthcare | Wellness
4 年Great article Lisa! I’m sure they were glad to have your help and you have your foot in the door for future projects. Congrats!
Online Networking Fueled by Know, Like & Trust, That Triangle Strategy Helped Me Grow 28x, LinkedIn Coach & Corporate Trainer, Speaker, Published Author, Mom Taxi
4 年Lisa, useful info! When you are satisfying a need it is definitely a win-win!!!
Many voice over people would think this transcription service to be a pain in the behind, but in being willing to do it, Lisa has opened what I perceive to be many more doors of opportunity. I used to work at Cadillac Plastic in Louisville. We carried Plexiglas, Lexan, Delrin and other plastic sheets, rods and tubes. There was a Cadillac Sign Company in town as well. Fairly regularly we'd get a call from someone looking for plastic lettering for a sign. Instead of saying, "no we don't carry that", I'd usually make a call to the other place, get a quote, mark it up a bit and satisfy the customer. I could have just referred the caller, but instead, I satisfied their need. That's the key to what Lisa is doing: satisfying their need.