As I relocated to Benin City to pursue my screenwriting career, I had great expectations. I was so going to take over the industry. There was something in me that hinted of revolution. I had unique ideas. Some special talent. I would be begged for writing projects, I imagined. But months passed and the writing gigs I had hoped for wasn’t coming through. And the ones which did had inexplicable payment delays. There were long dry spells and periods of plaguing doubts where I even began to question my sanity. I write well, so what was the problem?
I was a complete newbie in the film industry but I soon quickly learnt what every industry professional should learn.
Networking. It had nothing to do with how great I was. Humans are socially intelligent people and often have peculiar preferences. There is this popular expression “My spirit nor just rhyme with the person”, which implies that being good enough at your work isn’t the only criteria to access crucial opportunities in your chosen field or industry.
As it turns out, there is some sort of chemistry that is implied by networking. They have to know you, like you and trust you.
Know, Like and Trust (KLT).
My initial approach was to desperately run up to a filmmaker or producer – like someone selling sausage rolls in traffic jam – and say, “Hey, I am a screenwriter, I have a great, super-duper script. You will love it. Read it and shoot it. PLEASE. Abeg-oh.”
Of course, this horrible strategy landed me nowhere. That’s as questionable as a beautiful lady approaching a man and saying, “I like you. I am single. I want to get married. If you want to get married, let’s go!” The man will naturally be hesitant and probably think to himself, “If you are actually attractive, why are you chasing me instead of vice versa?”
With time, I had to learn to get into the natural flow of things. I closed deals better when I asked clients questions instead of throw my ‘ambitious’ ideas on them. I had to learn how to listen. I had to humble myself. Because the client always knows what they want better than you do. I had to cast the spirit of desperation aside and actually get to know the mindset of my clients. I had to know them, and see how our values and aspirations aligned plus my past works and recommendations also heightened my credibility and this ensured that the client could trust that I could initiate and eventually execute the assignment I was given with finesse. People actually want honesty and sincerity. They want to work with those they feel comfortable with.
And this knowledge opened a lot of doors for me. I had to meet business associates privately and get to know them personally. Because it’s not just about the work, but the people handling the work.
People are more important than money as they have access to a wealth of information and opportunities that would be of immense value they may never share with you simply because they don’t know you.
A most important thing with meeting any industry professional is to identify yourself and acknowledge them and see what you can do for them for free. If you succeed, overtime, this might endear them to you and eventually open doors for you others don’t have the access to.
When I learnt the power of networking, I soon realized I could accomplish almost anything I put my heart into if I just met the right person at the right time, behaved myself and actually take a profound interest in their hard work.
