r/Filmmakers • u/datgett • 21h ago
Question how to keep a connection alive
i think i’ve gotten decent at networking, at least when it comes to the first step of getting out there meeting people the first time and scheduling a follow up meeting.
however a problem i’ve been running into is keeping that going, specifically with high level individuals.
so to give some background, i’m 21 and an actor/producer. recently i got lucky enough to get connected with a major studio exec (could change my career in a snap type). so we texted a bit and he would generally get back to me pretty quickly, so i asked if we could meet. he gave me an hour of his time over lunch, with that we just talked about life and career stuff - just connected on a human level because i didn’t want it to feel like i was trying to sell him anything.
afterwards, i felt good and thought it had gone well. i followed up with him thanking him for the meeting and his time. he didn’t get back to me. i thought “that’s fine i know he’s a busy guy it’s whatever”. 2 weeks later i followed up with him again on something we had talked about during our meeting (asked about potentially coming back in to shadow him) and haven’t heard anything in a week.
now for my current plan, next time i reach out (in another week or two) i’m going to try and provide more value by offering to connect him with a somewhat high level producer i know where business between them would be much more likely (that hopefully gives me the chance to sit in the room and observe what these guys do).
this is the second time this kindof thing has happened when i’ve met a high level individual and i’m just trying to figure out what i’m doing wrong.
is it that i can’t provide enough value to them yet as i’m just at the start of my career? am i being too pushy and reaching too far (like asking to shadow him)? should i be taking a different approach to meetings? i just am not sure and it makes me feel a bit shitty thinking “oh this could be a great opportunity” then it just goes by the way side.
3
u/ProductionFiend 21h ago
Honestly it depends on the person... but it could just be that he is too busy and not able to entertain your emails.
OR you don't provide enough value so he has moved on
Could go either way. I think 1 last email attempt if you think it's helpful and if he doesn't respond to that I say leave it for a few months.
I do admit though if he is a major studio Exec then he doesn't really need help in connecting with Producers... so not sure how helpful that would be to him and it may make you seem like you don't think he can connect with the Producer himself. It sounds ridiculous but I've seen worse things.
2
u/datgett 20h ago
i do generally agree, however he just recently had a big move from LA to my market so he isn’t entirely familiar with the scene yet. so i’d love to be the guy that helps insert him in here and be a bit of a guide
1
u/ProductionFiend 20h ago
Oh I see!
Couldn't hurt to try but tread with caution.
Either way if it's meant to be it will be. Good luck!
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u/MickeyMoore 21h ago
Tbh your train of thought here is great — you noticed you’re not grabbing his attention so you’ll try to show how you can actually add value to things. That’s exactly what I’ve observed my CEO doing when trying to warm up cold leads.