On this episode of On Cam Ready when you need a talent agent and what it takes to get booked as a broadcast news guest. The five must haves that you need to include in your picture producer if you want to be on a show is number one. You must prove that you are a credible guest. You must prove that you have a perspective and that you're wanting to talk about a relevant topic, trending topic, something that's in the news cycle right now.
You need to prove that you're going to provide some sort of a benefit to the viewer. We want to know. If it's going to be good TV, are you good on TV? Is your subject and and how you're going to present it. Is that going to be good on TV? And then also, we need to be clear about your perspective. You know I need to know after reading this, okay. Here's what they feel about this. Here's what they want to talk about this and and quick easy snapshots.
Those are the five must have and you're in your bitch. You want to get both back Participation. That's can you see across. She's a talent agent based in California. And we have a lot to talk about on this episode of On Cam Ready. Hello everyone. I'm Jamie Maglietta, a season television news producer who's turning the camera on herself to help you shine on social and look outstanding on camera. I have experience in production, management, podcasting and live broadcast news.
In addition to this conversation about what it takes to really secure an opportunity on television news, we're also going to take a deep dive into when you need a talent agent and why you might need a talent agent. This conversation is really for professionals who are looking to either pitch the press, expand on their media appearances, or for producers who are actually looking to pivot into a new career within the media ecosystem.
And if you are someone who is looking for a producer, I also offer services as a consultant, podcaster, and content creator. So be sure to check out my website on camready.com. One question I get asked the most is when do I need a talent agent and why do I need a talent agent? I've even had people insist that they need a talent agent in order to get television appearances. I always say that's not the case. And one thing I say quite often is, you know, you need a talent
agent. When the talent agents are coming for you, if they're coming to you, then you know you're in a place where you should start figuring out if you need a talent agent or actually who you want to go with. So with all those questions, I figured, let's reach out to Kanesha Cross. She is a talent agent now, but she actually started her career as a television news producer. She's a journalist, and what I love about that is she can bring that experience to her work as a talent agent.
She can also help you figure out when you need one and when you don't. So on this episode, we're going to start off by talking about how you can secure on camera opportunities without a talent agent. Let's welcome Kanesia Cross. Kanesia is with us now. Kanesia, why don't you tell us a little bit about what you do? I gave a small intro, but why don't you explain more about how you're a talent agent and what you did before you became a talent agent? So, yes, now I am a talent
agent. So I was a news producer for about 15 years and now I've transitioned into becoming a a talent agent. So what I do is I represent on air personalities, so news anchors, news reporters. I also represent news producers as well, some news managers, entertainment hosts, yeah. So people that are working in the media industry, I would say. And before that I was a news
producer for 15 years. So yeah, I produce everything from, you know, typical newscasts, you know, health shows, lifestyle shows, politics, sports, little bit of everything, yes. And one thing that producers get a lot of our pitches and you know, I constantly have to tell people, you know, how to pitch or how to connect with the press and when to pitch. What would you tell people when they ask about, you know, hey, I said, if they say to you, hey, I
sent a pitch, what do you think? Like what? What do you usually tell? People, OK, Yes. That is, that is like one of the most popularist questions. You know people who are like authors or owned companies, or you know experts and servers. Yes. Yeah, always want to, you know, be featured on the show. And so the big question is, you know, how do I do it? So the number one thing is, it really starts with your pitch. So as a producer, you know, we come to work every day in our
e-mail. We have like tons and tons and tons, dozens, hundreds sometimes of pitches, right? So but The thing is, we need to go through these pitches because just like, you know, you guys want to be guests, we need guests too, to kind of fill our show. So we're going through these pitches and there are five key things that every producer is looking for in a pitch to determine, OK, if this is going to be a good guess, right. So I'll tell you what the five things are.
So first thing is that we want to know is, you know, are you a credible guest? Our job as producers is to, you know, we're servicing our viewers. So I want to know within your pitch that whatever your talking points are, whatever your perspective is that there's going to be a take away from the viewer, you know. So it's really important that when you think about what you're going to be talking about, you think about it from that point
of view too. You know is is the viewer going to be able to walk away with at least one tangible tip tool strategy. And I always say too, it's maybe you it's, it's sometimes good to outline your talking points or your segment And you know, here's the strategies for this or, you know, here's the keys to this or here's the steps to this, you know, So that way it's easy for the producer and then also the viewer to see that and identify that take away, you
know. And so that that shows that you're giving, you're adding value and there's some sort of a benefit there to the, you know. And another way way to offer a benefit too is by having a new perspective. You know, a lot of times when there are popular topics or, you know, things that people are talking about are even, you know, just something simple. You know, if you're like a psychologist and you're talking about, I don't know, maybe there's, you know, a school shooting or something.
A lot of times similar professions come on and give the same type of tips or the same thing, the same perspective, the same point of view, right? So no, you can add value if you're offering a different perspective. You know, you're adding something to the conversation that not everyone's talking about. So we want to know what benefit you're going to offer to the viewer when you come on the show. Is it going to be good TV? You know, do you know how to be
on TV? Do you have a good personality? You're going to be able to bring energy, you know? Are there any visuals that are going to go along with your talking point? So you know, those are some things to think about too. If there any props you can bring, you know, show something, you know, if there are some like strategies or tips you want to give that to the producer, we can make a full screen. So again, good TV, is this
segment going to be good TV? Because a lot of times, you know, we don't want to always just see someone just talking, talking, talking, talking, you know, for 5 minutes. So is a good TV. So these are, these are all the things that you need to be thinking about improving to the producer in your pitch that we're looking for, you know, clarity about your perspective. So I need to be able to read this pitch and be very clear. OK, I get it. I get what they're going to come on and talk about.
I understand their perspective. This is good. So I feel like if you can present all five of those things in a pitch, you'll get booked, yeah? I would agree and I'm actually going through this right now. I've written out like 50 tips. I started to record them.
I have one video up at this moment of 10 first 10 tips and really I'm focusing on the social media element like because you know, as producer producers, when we get those pitches as she's saying we are going to look at or is this person a legitimate guest, Does this person hold the weight and can they provide value? And then we're also trying to figure out would they be even good on television? And those three things you can find out in this day and age on
social media. Because if you are a professional in my opinion, who wants to be on TV or wants to be quoted in papers, you should already be putting your professional foot forward on social media knowing that the press is also there potentially looking at you and considering you as ATV guest. Absolutely.
So if I were to sum up, you know the points that she just made, actually Kenisia, if we were going to have a guest on to talk about this, they would have to at the end of their their tips list out the five for a sound bite. So why don't you just tick through the five that you just mentioned real quick and maybe I'll use it as a sound bite. OK, the five must haves that you need to include in your picture producer if you want to be on a show is number one.
You must prove that you are a credible guest. You must prove that you have a perspective and that you're wanting to talk about a relevant topic, trending topic, something that's in the news cycle right now. You need to prove that you're going to provide some sort of a benefit to the viewer. We want to know if it's going to be good TV. Are you good on TV is your subject and and how you're going to present it. Is that going to be good on TV. And then also we need to be
clear about your perspective. You know I I need to know after reading this OK here's what they feel about this and here's what they want to talk about this and and quick easy snapshots. So those are the five must haves in your in your pitch if you want to get booked by producer. And even when it going beyond the pitch, you know here we are two producers essentially talking things out to help you guys who are watching or listening figure out how to secure that earned media.
And you know, beyond the pitch, you also want to be building relationships with producers and journalists who are behind, you know the scenes on a print article. Because you your pitch may not work right now, but it could work down the road, and you want to make sure that they remember you. Right, absolutely. I mean. Is there anything that you would suggest that people do to try to build relationships?
Yes. So one thing I always say is that you know even if let's just say you, you actually do get booked in that first time on always try to meet the producer personally, you know, bring a thank you card, you know, a small Starbucks gift card, you know what I mean?
Anything that you can do to you know so they so that they can remember you because like producers we're looking for guests all the time you know and if you're someone who was good and and you're you know we met you as memorable we're going to book you over and over again. So I just think get being creative and and you know like you said building a relationship with producers is very important. I I don't recommend calling on the phone just because during
the day, yeah, we are swamped. We're slammed and you don't want to go into the category in our minds of this annoying person such and such. You know you don't want to remember you by that. So anything that that you could do to even if you know if you stopped by and dropped off something, you know, you may not have time to you know meet us face to face we're working. But anything you can do, you got to be creative to get your foot in that day.
But like you said, building relationships is important. Even reaching out on, you know, on LinkedIn, you know, things like that, Anything personable you can do because, you know, I think a lot of times people just, they just look at us as like producers oh, and put us on this pedestal. We're just people just like you. And if you're cool, of course you're. We wonder. That's what we want to work with people that are cool.
Professional. Yes, That we can just call and be like, come on. So yeah, that's what I was saying. And the. One thing I'll say, yeah, I'll tell the people, I'll tell people is you want to look at this like dating or building a friendship. You know, when you meet someone for the first time, are you like, let's get married? No, you're not. You're taking your time. You're trying to feel them out. You know, you're figuring things out and saying, OK, let's get to know each other.
The same thing needs to be thought, thought about. When you're about to pitch the press, you don't want to just pitch, pitch, pitch and never put in any work to build a relationship because that producer is instantly going to put you in the delete folder the next time they get a pitch if they start to think of you as an annoying person who just wants
to get married, right? Yes. One, one other thing I was going to say too about like you know, even just when you're at the stage of just kind of even wanting to be on TV, you know, it's really important to pay. What is, what is your intention, You know what I mean? It's really all about the intention.
And if if your intention is really just about you, you know just for you to get air time or just you know for you to try to get some more customers, you know that that is putting out less energy towards you probably getting what you want. Whereas if you are your intention really is to help or to you know shed light or just really be of service, you know that that energy will come through too.
So I think it's very important to to even before you start this process of wanting to be on TV, like be clear, you know, what is your intention, what's your why? Yeah, what is your why? And that's important for anyone really, even your why on social. 00:14:01,520 Like we're saying, if you're going to pitch the press, the press is going to look at your social media. The the two places.
I say you really need to be, for as a professional nowadays is you should be on Twitter. You should be there weighing in on stories that are relevant to your industry. If you're an expert and you want to get noticed by the press, potentially, you know, without pitching and I'm going to say I'm saying Twitter, but I should say X, because you know, I'm sure that name is officially being changed at this moment.
But the other platform I would say is pick a social media platform, either Tiktok or Instagram, whatever really works for you and your audience like the people you want to offer that value to. If they're all on Tiktok, you should be on Tiktok. And if your audience that really consumes what you're trying to put out there in the world is on Instagram, you should be on Instagram. If they're on both, be on both. OK, but just know that the media is there, so showing up is important.
Absolutely. And we look at that like you said we do. We do look at and we look at how many eyeballs you have, how many followers you have because you know, if we're like, OK, we bring this person only have this many followers, they're bringing their, you know, bringing their followers with them. So that matters. I mean, it's social media. It's media. So, you know, you say you want to be part of the media. That's part of it. Definitely start.
Exactly, exactly. And to the point she made, you know, we also want to see, hey, are they going to share this clip if we put them on the show? And could they start to bring a following as she's mentioning to our network or to our show? Those are important. And now that you're a talent agent, I'm sure some of those meant those. Those thoughts even went through your mind when you're trying to
find people to represent. So why don't we move our way over to what it takes to actually be a talent agent? And then we'll break it down into what's useful for everyone who's listening that wants a talent agent. So why don't you tell us a little bit about your Segway from producer to talent agent, so? This is also a question that everyone pretty much asked me, like how did I get from producer to talent agent? Because it is kind of one of those things where no one knows
like how do you become a talent? You know, is there like a job application you fill out OK. So. It it it's kind of a so I I actually got recruited to be a talent agent. So I I I think that's really kind of how it works. You know there's different talent agencies and not all are the same. You know some are better than others. We'll kind of get into that a little bit more.
But you know talent, age, talent agencies are essentially you know, building, building their team and they, you know, they have they own, they want people that are going to represent the agency the way the agency is putting out that what they can offer talent, you know what I'm saying? So I, I got recruited to be an agent. I think a lot of it too is because of my producer background. So my agency that I work for is called OTA Talent. We are the best.
I don't say that because I work there, but that's why I work there because we're the best. But OTA, so all of our agents at OTA are former journalists, which I think is very important. 00:17:12,839 And so me with my producer background, just kind of bringing that expertise to the agencies, yeah, you know, they could see the value there. You know opportunity to get more producer clients and just kind
of expand what we can offer. So yeah, that that is kind of how and it was a it was a big risk for me to take that you know to move into that direction with my career because it's not something that I ever I didn't have a goal to be an agent. I never had an agent. So I didn't even really know that much about what agents do. I was at a crossroad in my
career. I was, you know, going to go One Direction, take AEP position and then I had the agent opportunity and I just, I chose me, you know, I feel like along with the agent around was more me betting on myself more than betting on, you know, just a job which I have been doing the whole time and it it was the best decision I've ever made in my career. I love what I do. I love being agent.
Yeah, I really, it's like really who I am just at the core of of me. And like everything that I've done in my life and my career, all my experiences, all things I'm good at, literally I use them all. Being an agent, everything. I love it. And you know, as we're talking, there have been media layoffs where there are producers potentially listening, thinking, oh, you know what, I never thought about being an agent before. Is there anything that you would
advise them to do now, if that's the direction they want to take? 00:18:39,920 Should they be just like a professional trying to pitch ATV show, reaching out to agents and trying to get their foot in the door? Or are there, you know, types of classes or courses that they should be investing their time into? I don't know, just quickly if you have any thoughts for those that might be listening, it just came to my mind.
I would say reach out to an agent directly, you know, and I I would you know kind of just maybe talk to some of their colleagues who have agents and on air talent and you know word of mouth is best because you you do like I said not all agents are that great, you know, so you do want to you know get referrals and do some research. But certainly I would just say yes, if you want an agent reach out, reach out to me is really what you should do. But yeah, reach out to some, to
some agents and do some research and get some referrals for sure. 00:19:25,800 And we're. Talking to Kenisha Cross with OTA, how can people connect with you if they want to reach out? So you can go to our website otatalent.com and under meet our team. You'll see my bio and my contact information. I'm also on LinkedIn under my first and last name, and you can reach me on Instagram at KKAY dot crossover. Yeah, and. On Instagram, she has a great personality. There.
She is so wonderful because one of the things that I always will tell people is you need to be treating your Instagram nowadays as your own media channel. And then on any TV show you have your hard news, right? Your talkers. Your soft fluffy excitement entertainment stories, you know and then the must airs, right. Like I have to put this out there. Kind of like your commercials, but they're not because they're in the show and that's the way
you treat you. You sort of treat your Instagram that way. You know you're a little bit of everything. It's like this is what I'm doing. This is who I am. This is my business. And I think that you know more people are are navigating social media and struggling with it because they don't know how to be themselves. And I just, that's what I was drawn to when I first came across you on Instagram. So I just thought I'd throw that out there for anyone who's looking for a nice sample bar
too. It's not, it's not easy. It's really like a second job, you know? So I do have a lot of empathy for people who are, you know, kind of struggling with, Oh my gosh, I got to do the social media thing and then I got my job. So, yeah, But thank you. I appreciate you saying that. It is hard. And it is all about just finally embracing who you are and putting yourself forward, right, and putting yourself first, which is what you're doing right
now with your change in careers. I think that's great. So the big question guys, everyone is always asking how do I get a talent agent and do I need one? And I just constantly am telling them you really will know you need one. When then how? When telling agents are knocking on your door. But what do you think to that? When I when I'm telling people and giving this advice, am I? Am I half right? Am I right? Yeah, you are right.
So, you know, interestingly, one thing that I found is that a lot of people really don't know what an agent is, what you know, what is the point of it? You know, if they need one, when do they need one? And I think the biggest kind of, you know, scary part of it for people is, you know, they just think they're just thinking about the money. Like I can't afford to pay someone a portion of my salary,
you know. But The thing is, having an agent, having representation, having a good agent is the money is like the last thing you're even worrying about because if you have a great agent, your agent is going to get you more money than you could ever get for yourself anyways, you know? So at the end of the day, if you have a great agent is literally going to be a win win. You're going to get all the benefits and value that comes with having an agent.
And you're not even going to be thinking about the money because you're going to be making money that you would not have been able to probably get on your own and things like that. So there's so much value to to having an agent. And I think how how you determine if you need a agent is if it's just a few things. Like a lot of times people will suggest that talent should get agents, you know, more when they're looking to maybe go to the top 10 market or top 20
market or something like that. You know which. Yes, you know, because the industry is kind of set up to where you kind of do need an agent when you're kind of trying to get those bigger jobs. But I'll tell you this, the benefit of of having an agent, you know, early in your career and not everyone can get an agent. But if you can get an agent early in your career, I'm telling you it will make it will like level up your career so
much quicker. You know it it will elevate you take your career to the next level way faster, right. So you know me as an agent. I one of the biggest reasons why a lot of people come to me is because of my coaching. You know, so I I make I have all my clients do coaching. Even once I get them their new job. I still you know do regularly coaching just because I want all my clients to be the best of the best.
But you know having an agent early on, you're able to kind of you know establish some career goals and then your agent is always working ahead of you kind of creating this strategy you know for your career so that you're in alignment you're going towards your ultimate goal. You know, it's not just one job here, next job here, next job here, next job here. And it's, you know, people think to it, Asian is just about
getting you your job, right? But I mean, that's one of the big things, getting, getting you the job. But it's so much more to it than that because like I, I really feel like, you know, I don't want my clients to, you know, look at me like it's all on me to get them a job. Because I my perspective is that my job is to, you know, motivate them and build them up and, you know, you know, heighten their perspectives about themselves so that we're both getting you this
job. You know what I'm saying? Because I can, I can open up the opportunity and get you an interview, but you're the one you're going to have to go into that interview. You're going to have to believe you know the value that you can bring. You're going to have to know how great you are. You're going to have to know that you put in the work.
So you deserve to be here. You have to do that too, you know, and a lot of times when I sign with people, you know, they don't have that that confidence because this business is hard. You know, the news business is, you know it, it's tough and it's just like, it just keeps going, keeps going, keeps going, you know. And so you never really have that time where you can stop and and reflect on how much you've done and how far you've come and how really just how good you
are. And you, you never really hear that, you know your news directors, they're not calling in the office, you know, weekly, like you're doing a great job. Here's what I like, you know? So it's like you're just working every day and not really getting any feedback.
So I feel like, you know if you had an agent, you know, which is what I do with my clients, you know, just having that person building you up, building you up because it's already there, you know And I I sign people who and I work with people I can I see it right away. So like I have like this gift. Like if I if I talk to them or when I even when I see demo reel, I see a the vision like forward. I don't even see what I see. I can see forward.
You know, and I know, OK, this, this, this is a person that I should be working with. And so my job is to help you see that vision. Vision. So we're working. We're working together. You know, I don't want my clients to have the mentality of it's they're just depending on me. It wouldn't happen without me. No, you could. You could do it. I'm just the one facilitating, you know, getting you there to knowing your worth and knowing your greatness. Because, you know, it's really,
it's really them. And I feel like that's what most people need in this business more than just, you know, the X's and O's of what I do on a daily basis. So yeah, you're just. Taking the chance you're betting on them, Yes and I. I believe it too. I believe it because I invest a lot in them. You know, I don't get as a as an agent, I don't get paid for my clients until I deliver, until I give them a job and they get
paid on their job, right. So I'm investing sometime a year and a half, you know, I'm doing coaching with them, building them up until you know they it's time for them to get a job and and yeah, until I even get paid. So I I have to believe in them. And I also got to believe in myself too, that the investment I'm making in them is going to pay off for both of us. Exactly. You know, when I was younger I was in my early 20s and everyone you know back story real quick.
I in high school was on TV in the mornings. We had a local access show at coming out of our high school, right. So put anchor the morning show and help out with that and went to college and I was like, OK, I don't want to be on TVI, like being behind the scenes, you know, That was my whole thing. But when I was at Fox News Channel, I wound up having people say you should be on TV. So I was like, OK, fine, let me, let me, let me give it a shot, right. So I started to put together
content for foxnews.com. All of it is not live, except for the fact that I was on their live show, foxnews.com live, right? So I was a guest and I would come on as a reporter, whatever they needed because they needed to fill seats in the beginning. But they launched this, right? So a colleague of mine said, you need an agent. And I was like, OK, so I put together my reel and I worked with the two anchors there. I'm putting my reel together and I brought it over to this agency.
And they they looked at it. And I swear to kid you not, they're like, was any of this live, like live on television? I'm like, no, it was live online. No, I'm sorry, You're going to have to get live experience before you can be considered. So this begs a question, is that still the case? So if people are listening and they want to be on camera, can they be making their starter
reel using taped content? Or do they really need more live recordings of themselves to get the full benefit of being of for when they pitch? Sorry to stumble over my words, but get what I'm saying. Uh, huh. So I say use whatever you have, whatever you can do. So I, you know, I sometimes, you know, I've had a client who had no experience, you know, was just kind of doing this thing on social media. But you know he he had an IT factor but it was just all on social media and we made a whole
mock demo. I had him go out and and you know be a reporter and write the story all mock. Yeah. Pitched him. Yeah. He got his first first on air job. So whatever you can do to showcase that you can do it. That's what you need to do because you know you're not going to have anything live if you've never had a live job. So you know it.
It it is really about taking the initiative and doing what you can, you know, and a lot of times you know news director, hiring manager will yeah, respect that, acknowledge it and give you and give you a chance. And with the MMJS, like for anyone who's in journalism school right now, maybe listening or young in their career or parent, you know, there's also the MMJS which really do seem to take in people
right out of college. So having your reel from, you know, shoot shoots that you've recorded around campus or in your own city do seem to help people get those jobs to land. And and I really do like hearing that you've found people on Instagram or social media and really said, hey, there's an IT factor here because that also helps people listening that are that are putting themselves on camera across their social media platforms hoping for it to become something more right.
So keep on going guys. If you're listening, keep on going. You're gonna never. Give up on your dream and it's it's never too late. Anything can happen and I I always tell people that like I'm an extreme optimist. I I, I do believe anything, you know? And I I've done things in my career, even as a producer and as an agent, that people like that can't happen, you know? But it happened. So yeah, you never know. Let's try. Yep. Keep going.
And so, you know, some people are always asking, do I need an agent to get more appearances on TV or do I need an agent to become a contributor? So I guess, you know, I think it's a little hard to really say about the contributorship because again, I think that depends on the news. Like a news network isn't going to hire someone as a contributor if their focus is, you know, COVID when Covid's not happening
anymore. So there there's some inside baseball things here that we could kind of flesh out with this question. So I just want to see what your first thoughts are on that. So my first thought is it, you know, people have to understand it is not easy to get a contributor job. You know, getting paid to, you know, be an expert on a show is not an easy thing to do, you
know. So it it sometimes will be challenging to get an agent to kind of help you do that unless you know you're at the point where they kind of want you already and you're bringing in an agent to to kind of negotiate the deal and seal the deal and things like that. But ideally what you want to do on your own is, is what we kind of talked about the beginning of the podcast is pitching yourself
to be on these shows. Because the more you're on the shows the more you're branding yourself as this expert and you're making relationships with the you know producers and and the people at the network hiring managers And the more you come on and if they like you and they see your value that's really how you get you know contributor role. It's it's never a situation where it's like you know you'll see a pulse where like hey we're looking for a contributor or
we're hiring. It's it's it's an inside thing, you know, but you got to do your part and yeah, if you go hard and and you know you're good on TV and you're getting these appearances, there's there's an opportunity opportunity there. And and on that point, you know, we had a guest on who's who is now. I think she's more in publicity like helping people land those on camera opportunities.
And you know, the one thing that she mentioned, which really kind of is what you're saying as well, you need to make yourself desired, right. So the way you're going to make yourself desirable is by being everywhere. So that if one network wants you often like every week, and then all of a sudden they can't get you because you are on another network, that's going to make that show or that network want to figure out a way to keep you from everyone else.
And so that really does make the difference. And So what she's saying here, guys, is you need to be pitching yourself out there, getting those earned opportunities, right, Earned media, not paid right, where you're showing up on different networks and the competitors so that they start to really feel that they need you, right? They really want you. I agree.
So what? What other tips do you have to help people that are really trying to navigate this media ecosystem and trying to figure out whether or not they need an agent? I would say to really kind of, you know, two questions that I asked. You know, when I talk to prospects on the phone, you know, I always want, you know what's your short term goal? What's your long term goal. You know what what is the, you know what's the big vision that God gave you for your career,
you know. And so I think when you're able to kind of look at what that big vision is for yourself, then you can ask yourself, OK, can you yourself create a clear path to get you there and do you feel like you can literally execute each step to get you there? Then you might be good, might not imagine, you know. But if that vision, you know that you have in your mind that God gave you is, is is big and
it's overwhelming to you. And when you kind of look at the path to get there, it's not clear to you how you can get there or what even you need to do to get from step to step to step. That's where having an agent because you know you need an expert.
You want to experts you know essentially I'm an expert in the business and and what's so great and this is a point too is that if you get an agent, you should get an agent that has worked in the business because agents, you know most agents only know the business from like a agent perspective which is way different from knowing the business from being in the business. You know. So I recommend get an agent who knows the business because I know you know like I know the business.
I I know the politics of this business. I know you know I'm talking to news directors every day. I have relationships with them. You know. So I can always, you know I'm calling a news director telling them about my talent Here's why my talent is great. I'm not you know, whereas you would just be submitting your application online you're seeing a post. You don't even know if that job is really available.
So really, really seeing what it is that you want and you know and and could you use some help and support to get there. How good do you want to be when you get there You know do you want some somebody that can coach you? Do you want somebody that can can pump you up, be your cheerleader, be in your corner, All all these great things that agents do? That's I think that's really the the biggest thing because sometimes, you know, not
everyone has an agent. Some people, you know, they, they don't have an agent and they've been able, you know, they're just they've just been able to kind of do it on their own. But what I will say though is that most of the time even people that do it on the, you know, good job on their own, they do end up leaving a lot of money on the table, you know, whereas you could have gotten more money. I know that there's more money
there. So you know kind of get get the shorten of this Dick and then you just don't have I feel like when you have an agent sometimes you know like you know your news director and they know you have support someone in your corner so you know they can't really you know kind of play with you as much as maybe they can if someone doesn't have any sort of representation or or things like that.
So yeah, I think every it's a it's an individual thing but it depends how how hard you want to go on your in your career and and how much you want to invest in you that that's really the key to determine if you want to get agent or not. I love it. And just to sum up a few of the points that we've really made throughout this conversation, you know, she's talking about being a talent agent.
Talent agents are really there to help negotiate on your behalf, help you make as much money as possible when the opportunities are there, right? If you are someone who want to be on camera and you want to be ATV Anchor or ATV Reporter or A, you are a desired producer, You can go for an agent to help
navigate that on your behalf. And if you are someone who is already kind of has the foot in the door and wants to be a contributor and they, the network wants them as a contributor, the talent agent can help negotiate and navigate that direction on your behalf. But really, you shouldn't be looking for a talent agent unless you're ready.
And just like we were saying, when it comes to pitching, whenever you're pitching yourself to the media or to the TV shows, you want to make sure your full package is there. So if you're pitching as an entrepreneur or an author, right, you're going to make sure that you have all your ducks in a row. You have a website, you have a good social media presence, You can prove that you can offer
value. The same thing goes if you want to be a reporter or an anchor on television, You want to have your full media presence out there, and you want to already be someone who's weighing in or knowledgeable about the industry or their niche. If you're a business reporter, you should already be leaning into being a business reporter, even if you are in college. And so those are just some of the points that we're making. And I hope that you found this
episode as useful as possible. Please be sure to find us online down in the description. I'll have a link to OTA as well as other links to Kanesha Cross and I hope you'll reach out to us. Be sure to like this video and subscribe to the channel and reach out and let us know if you have any other questions. Any other final thoughts, Kanesha? Yeah, you know have.
If you're unsure about if you need an agent, take calls with agents, reach out, take calls because the agent will let you know if you're ready or if you're not. But I highly suggest finding a great agent because a great agent will take your career to the next level and we'll take you to the next level as well. Thanks again everybody. Thank you. Thank. You for having me?