Latest / Studio B Sessions / Viral Instagram Ad Secrets to Skyrocket Your Production Company

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Viral Instagram Ad Secrets to Skyrocket Your Production Company · Studio B Sessions

• 0:04
  Vipul Bindra: all right, look who we have here, mr ben, thank you for coming what's going on, bro, how you doing I'm doing great.
• 0:11
  Vipul Bindra: Thank you for for coming.
• 0:12
  Vipul Bindra: I know you're a busy man.
• 0:14
  Vipul Bindra: You live a little far away, so driving here and coming to talk with me, you know, and kind of like we were talking.
• 0:19
  Vipul Bindra: The point of this is just, you know, when I started my production company, all the people that I thought were successful didn't want to share anything, and by the time I found people who were successful, I'd already figured it out and stumbled my way across to, I would say, somewhat of a little success in video field.
• 0:35
  Vipul Bindra: So these are just conversations where I'm genuinely trying to learn and then hopefully, you learn something.
• 0:40
  Vipul Bindra: And if the people watching learn something, then hey, even if they learn a little bit, and, worst case, they just have some entertaining conversation, right.
• 0:47
  Vipul Bindra: So that's the point of this.
• 0:49
  Ben Mangum: So, again, like I said, thank you for coming.
• 0:50
  Ben Mangum: How's things?
• 0:51
  Vipul Bindra: been man.
• 0:51
  Ben Mangum: I think your 2024 was amazing, right yeah, I mean, it was my biggest year yet, so I can't complain.
• 0:57
  Ben Mangum: Um no, there's always something to learn Bindra , from Vipul.
• 1:17
  Ben Mangum: So I'm excited, dude.
• 1:18
  Ben Mangum: Thanks for having me on I'm excited.
• 1:20
  Ben Mangum: other people can listen to it and find it maybe interesting, maybe boring, I don't know no, I mean, dude, I love the format that you're going for, because I've thought about doing a podcast before, but I always thought, like man, that sounds exhausting, like trying to come up with a main topic for an episode like how to use mark how to do marketing on social media, whatever, like you see it on some of those business podcasts, but I personally, I'm a big fan of the ones.
• 1:45
  Ben Mangum: I have no agenda.
• 1:45
  Ben Mangum: They're just bullshit and they're just talking.
• 1:47
  Ben Mangum: This is what this is.
• 1:49
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah now there's the agenda is to to just give be informational if we can yeah because the truth is, um, uh, you know I've been talking about this for years, but that was my main thing.
• 2:00
  Vipul Bindra: I'm a working professional.
• 2:02
  Vipul Bindra: I don't have courses or other things to sell to people, so there is no revenue from this.
• 2:06
  Vipul Bindra: This is I'm doing this purely out of fun, or, I guess, to want to do it.
• 2:10
  Vipul Bindra: That's why it took a few years to start.
• 2:12
  Vipul Bindra: I'm just glad it has started and that we're doing this, um, and, like I said, I'm ready to learn from you because I know you're doing things that I tried six years ago and didn't work.
• 2:22
  Vipul Bindra: For some reason, they are working for you.
• 2:24
  Vipul Bindra: I don't know if the market has changed or if you're doing something great.
• 2:29
  Vipul Bindra: Either way, it's fantastic, so so bring it there.
• 2:33
  Vipul Bindra: Where I want to start is, um, instagram ads, right, yeah, so I tried.
• 2:37
  Vipul Bindra: This is back in 2018, when I was like, okay, I'm no longer a freelancer, I'm gonna go all in and I'm gonna be a big production company.
• 2:44
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, okay, at least that was the thought process.
• 2:46
  Vipul Bindra: So I tried ads.
• 2:49
  Vipul Bindra: I spent thousands and thousands on Google and Facebook and Meta whatever and Instagram, and I didn't really get return, and all the leads that I would get would be like can you do me a music video, can you make me a commercial?
• 3:00
  Vipul Bindra: Okay, but I only have 200 bucks, or you know, they were not the leads that I was looking for, so ultimately, I just called it a total loss and moved on.
• 3:08
  Vipul Bindra: And I found success through referrals, and that's how I've been running my business, which is why I end up barely posting anything on instagram because I'm like oh, my ceos are hanging out at a golf course, not at instagram however, which is valid?
• 3:21
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah yeah, but but here's the contrast two weeks ago, when we last talking, you were mentioning how you've been running ads and you've closed deals that are in the thousands, which is incredible.
• 3:31
  Vipul Bindra: So talk more about that.
• 3:33
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, for sure, man, um, I, so I just have experience with Instagram ads, not Facebook or Google, so honestly, I don't really know why those didn't work for you.
• 3:41
  Ben Mangum: Um, but I just happened to fall into it with, like in the past year, in 2020, I mean, dude, really, since 2020, I've bought in so many courses and coaching programs which, like I'm, I don't refer the most part.
• 3:54
  Ben Mangum: I don't regret doing it all.
• 3:55
  Ben Mangum: Um, I credit to where I currently am, like majority, the majority because of that, know.
• 4:03
  Ben Mangum: Um, so anyway, the, the guy that I fell upon did instagram ads, like they call it like a follower funnel.
• 4:11
  Ben Mangum: That's generally what people call it, and do you want me to basically just like go into this?
• 4:17
  Vipul Bindra: yeah, I mean.
• 4:18
  Vipul Bindra: Whatever you want to talk about, man, this is unscripted.
• 4:20
  Vipul Bindra: Whatever I mean, I just want to genuinely learn.
• 4:22
  Vipul Bindra: I mean sure, what?
• 4:24
  Vipul Bindra: How are you finding success and, according to you, what do you think that is?
• 4:28
  Ben Mangum: for sure.
• 4:28
  Ben Mangum: I think one way that I'm finding success with instagram ads just feedback from the people that I talk to is the fact that I'm local.
• 4:35
  Ben Mangum: People, from what I've heard, or people's perception is like it's just this, like huge company in another state or something like that.
• 4:42
  Ben Mangum: So when you're targeting local businesses or you know, kind of just like your everyday guy that has a business type of deal, they like the fact that I'm local.
• 4:51
  Ben Mangum: So I think that's like a big factor.
• 4:53
  Ben Mangum: Then you have I mean, the type of strategy that I've been doing has been working pretty well for me.
• 4:59
  Ben Mangum: It's not that there's only one way to do something, whether it's marketing, growing a video business or it's ads there, it can.
• 5:06
  Ben Mangum: You can make whatever method work.
• 5:09
  Ben Mangum: I mean not that I've tried every method, but you know that's what you kind of.
• 5:12
  Ben Mangum: You see other people having success with other stuff, but, um, I, I just run, I run follower ads.
• 5:19
  Ben Mangum: So I target a local area like a 15 mile radius Uh, so I'm not like targeting the whole state of Florida or even that really big of an area, and then all I do is I get traffic to my Instagram page.
• 5:32
  Ben Mangum: So the only call to action on the ad is visit Instagram profile and then I'll basically just like walk through step by step what generally you should do so like.
• 5:41
  Ben Mangum: Then you have your Instagram bio optimized.
• 5:44
  Ben Mangum: You'd kind of be surprised that.
• 5:47
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, like people's Instagram, but it's not clear on what they do, or it's just like messy, or maybe it's vague.
• 5:54
  Ben Mangum: So, like you just want to like clean up your profile, make sure it looks good.
• 5:57
  Ben Mangum: Um, whether you know you have your name or you also have your production name, then make it clear on who you help and what you offer.
• 6:06
  Ben Mangum: Basically, I feel like I've changed my bio so many times that I don't remember what it currently is, but I think it's.
• 6:12
  Ben Mangum: I help service-based businesses get more clients on Instagram something like that.
• 6:18
  Vipul Bindra: That's very clear, though.
• 6:19
  Vipul Bindra: I mean.
• 6:19
  Vipul Bindra: It tells people what you do.
• 6:20
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, in the online space it's kind of douchey to do that.
• 6:24
  Vipul Bindra: I get kind of jaded and tired of like I help whatever, but at the same time, that's what you do yeah, it just helps.
• 6:31
  Ben Mangum: You know um so, and then you can also have like a keyword call to action in your uh in your bio.
• 6:38
  Ben Mangum: So like dm me the word video and I'll send you a free content guide or something like that, so that's a way that you can get more people to message you.
• 6:47
  Ben Mangum: But overall, this strategy is you target a local area, you get more traffic to your Instagram profile, then they follow you, and then you message them, and then you book a call and you sell them.
• 6:58
  Ben Mangum: That's the whole thing, really.
• 7:00
  Vipul Bindra: So it's like what we've done all the time.
• 7:03
  Vipul Bindra: It's just you're automating the, at least bringing the leads in through Instagram, right?
• 7:08
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah?
• 7:08
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, pretty much.
• 7:09
  Vipul Bindra: Are you doing any kind of A-B testing, like, are you running?
• 7:12
  Vipul Bindra: Hey, I shot four different things and to see which one got more response, no, are you running multiples at once or just one?
• 7:19
  Ben Mangum: Last month I did multiples, but they were different types of ads, so it was like one was a follower ad and the other ones were like retargeting to get a message.
• 7:32
  Ben Mangum: I actually didn't have good success with the messenger ones, but I'm assuming it was because I didn't have, like, any social proof within the retargeting one.
• 7:40
  Ben Mangum: So that's kind of something you kind of just change one variable, but I probably should you know AB test and do it.
• 7:46
  Vipul Bindra: It'd be cool.
• 7:47
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, it's funny for me to like talk about ads and I'm happy to but at the same time I'm like okay, I know I could be doing ads way better, or like maybe, but I'm still.
• 7:55
  Vipul Bindra: But whatever you're doing obviously is working.
• 7:56
  Vipul Bindra: So, but what I'm?
• 7:58
  Vipul Bindra: Instantly my brain just goes business, business.
• 8:00
  Vipul Bindra: It's like yeah it'd be cool to record three different things that ask the same call to action cta but they're different, so then you run them all three and see which one gets more views yeah and then you can kind of hyper analyze that why that one got more views.
• 8:14
  Vipul Bindra: Was it the title?
• 8:15
  Vipul Bindra: Was it how you were dressed?
• 8:16
  Vipul Bindra: Because, you know, sometimes I've seen on internet ads, even though it looks stupid, but the louder you are, people pay, pay more attention.
• 8:24
  Vipul Bindra: So silly things like that could actually be working.
• 8:27
  Vipul Bindra: And I would love to know from, instead of these online gurus, somebody I know and trust, if that's actually true.
• 8:33
  Vipul Bindra: So it'd be cool.
• 8:34
  Vipul Bindra: I mean, I hear that from other people.
• 8:36
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I don't do any like crazy split testing like that I probably should.
• 8:40
  Ben Mangum: But the only caveat or not caveat, but the only thing to know for this type of ad strategy is when you do the visit like visit profile ads, you have to post it as an organic piece of content first, and then you go into meta business suite and then launch it as an ad.
• 8:59
  Ben Mangum: So it's not like the traditional way where you go into ads manager and then you create the ad and you can add multiple ads within that ad set.
• 9:09
  Ben Mangum: That would be the more place where you can test the different hooks and stuff like that.
• 9:13
  Ben Mangum: But uh, yeah, so that's kind of one thing to know.
• 9:17
  Vipul Bindra: It would kind of be weird if I posted three of the same video organically and then, yeah, I guess you could, but I mean over a different space, I space, I guess, and then and boost them at the same time that's true also.
• 9:27
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I mean somebody actually I, I'm was wrong.
• 9:30
  Ben Mangum: I was running two ads at the same time but they were completely different, like messages.
• 9:36
  Ben Mangum: I mean.
• 9:36
  Ben Mangum: You know, they were different videos.
• 9:38
  Ben Mangum: It wasn't like super yeah, it wasn't the.
• 9:40
  Vipul Bindra: So what are you saying in one of these?
• 9:41
  Vipul Bindra: So give us an example like what would you, what should you say?
• 9:44
  Ben Mangum: yeah look, you're a service-based business and I know you're tired of spending hours at networking events passing out your business card, trying to grow your business.
• 9:51
  Ben Mangum: You're great at what you do.
• 9:54
  Ben Mangum: You just need more people to sell to every day.
• 9:56
  Ben Mangum: If you want to learn how to do this, give me a follow to learn how my client, josh, landed 12 new clients with only x amount of ad spent.
• 10:09
  Vipul Bindra: So it's like I did.
• 10:09
  Vipul Bindra: That's almost word for word in my ad.
• 10:10
  Vipul Bindra: I've heard it so many times editing.
• 10:11
  Vipul Bindra: It sounds like I've listened to this before.
• 10:12
  Ben Mangum: Yeah um, I do like a space where like look your service, because no, I think this is a pretty good.
• 10:20
  Vipul Bindra: I mean, I like what, what you just said, yeah yeah, like, uh.
• 10:23
  Ben Mangum: Sometimes instagram will cut off that like first half a second.
• 10:26
  Ben Mangum: So sometimes, like, so you're uh.
• 10:28
  Ben Mangum: Or like, look, you're a service-based business, so you have that little space.
• 10:32
  Ben Mangum: But, um, I don't know, I feel the need to kind of break this down.
• 10:36
  Ben Mangum: I feel like it'd be valuable and we have a long time to talk.
• 10:38
  Ben Mangum: So, yes, plenty of time I basically like do a market call out and then I have um market call out, do be location specific.
• 10:50
  Ben Mangum: One thing I didn't say when I was talking about that.
• 10:52
  Ben Mangum: I was like, look, you're a service-based business here in ocala, oh, california so like you're here you're yeah, you're a service based business here in orlando, and I mean you can get even more specific.
• 11:03
  Ben Mangum: So that's one thing that will, uh, get more people to resonate like, oh okay, orlando, this isn't just some big ad or whatever Um market call out.
• 11:14
  Ben Mangum: Then you go right into the pain point.
• 11:15
  Ben Mangum: So I know you're tired of spending hours at networking events passing out your business card, trying to get your business.
• 11:20
  Ben Mangum: That's a pain point, um, and then I kind of just resonated with them, like you're good at what you do, you just need more people to sell to every day.
• 11:28
  Ben Mangum: Or I could say you've been in business for five to 10 plus years and you're successful, but there's nothing more frustrating than feeling like you hit a growth ceiling.
• 11:36
  Ben Mangum: So I'm kind of resonating with them and then you do ideal outcome, um.
• 11:45
  Ben Mangum: So if you want a predictable way to grow your business without having to rely on word of mouth in this type of ad strategy, I would say give me a follow and check out some of my other content to learn how.
• 11:56
  Ben Mangum: Or if you're just running ads to a landing page, click the link below and book a call so we can do this.
• 12:02
  Ben Mangum: Or you may have something that you're trying to give away for free, like click the link below to get a call so we can do this.
• 12:04
  Ben Mangum: Or you may have something that you're trying to give away for free, like click the link.
• 12:06
  Ben Mangum: Click the link below to get a free training on my ad strategy that you can implement yourself, or something like that.
• 12:12
  Ben Mangum: So, um, and then you want to add social proof in there.
• 12:15
  Ben Mangum: That's huge, adding results and stuff like that so that's kind of like a little rough breakdown, like market call out pain point, ideal outcome.
• 12:29
  Vipul Bindra: I try to add a cta in the middle of the ad, like follow, and then I do another.
• 12:32
  Vipul Bindra: So you're doing two cts, okay, and so so.
• 12:34
  Vipul Bindra: So let's so.
• 12:35
  Vipul Bindra: Which is amazing?
• 12:36
  Vipul Bindra: First of all, you breaking down that, that's amazing.
• 12:38
  Vipul Bindra: But it's interesting that I did the six years ago and I remember doing it very similar, but I, I didn't, obviously.
• 12:45
  Vipul Bindra: But so I'm saying it's so crazy to think about that.
• 12:47
  Vipul Bindra: At least I was not doing the wrong thing.
• 12:49
  Vipul Bindra: So now they come to your profile, right?
• 12:52
  Vipul Bindra: What's the next step?
• 12:53
  Vipul Bindra: So they've come to your profile, they're following you.
• 12:55
  Vipul Bindra: Now how do you convert that to a call?
• 12:57
  Vipul Bindra: Cause?
• 12:57
  Vipul Bindra: That's the goal, right?
• 12:59
  Ben Mangum: Yep, that's the goal.
• 13:00
  Ben Mangum: So the ideal situation is they're going to watch your other content and the idea is to post valuable content related to what you're talking about.
• 13:08
  Ben Mangum: I don't only post about that stuff, like I post my life or I post other types of stuff, just because I do it under my personal brand or, you know, my personal page, whatever.
• 13:18
  Ben Mangum: So I see that they followed me and then I will check out their Instagram profile and I'll see that they run a business.
• 13:26
  Ben Mangum: A lot of times people it won't be obvious that they run a business.
• 13:30
  Ben Mangum: They may have a successful one, but they're using their personal Instagram to follow you.
• 13:34
  Ben Mangum: So the whole idea is to try and find, like some type of connection point that you can resonate with them and get them to respond, because people are probably somewhat used to like people hitting them up and it's just spam or whatever.
• 13:49
  Ben Mangum: Uh, people will copy and pasted this message to a hundred people, so you want to check out their profile and find something that you can connect with.
• 13:58
  Ben Mangum: So, um, maybe they have the same type of dog as you do, or, uh, they like to travel, or something like that.
• 14:07
  Ben Mangum: So it's like, uh, they or they went to a specific concert, or something like that.
• 14:10
  Ben Mangum: So I would say, hey, first name, whatever their name is.
• 14:13
  Ben Mangum: Um, I see, it depends.
• 14:17
  Ben Mangum: I'm I'm trying to say multiple things in one thing.
• 14:19
  Ben Mangum: So either it's obvious that they run a business and then I'm going to acknowledge that.
• 14:24
  Ben Mangum: So let's say it's obvious they run a business.
• 14:27
  Ben Mangum: So, hey, first name, I see you run a tile business here in Ocala.
• 14:32
  Ben Mangum: Your work looks amazing.
• 14:34
  Ben Mangum: How long have you been running your business?
• 14:36
  Ben Mangum: And then they'll say five years, oh, cool, like, how's business going?
• 14:42
  Ben Mangum: Or something like that.
• 14:43
  Vipul Bindra: Like you're just having a conversation.
• 14:45
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I just have a conversation with them and then, basically after that, once I get them to respond, in my case, I ask them, like, so how are you guys getting clients?
• 14:54
  Ben Mangum: Are you mostly relying on word of mouth?
• 14:55
  Ben Mangum: And they'll say nine times out of ten they'll say yes and say, oh, okay, cool.
• 15:00
  Ben Mangum: Like, have you ever thought about running local ads to get clients from your social media?
• 15:06
  Ben Mangum: Or have you ever thought about doing video content to grow your business?
• 15:09
  Ben Mangum: And they'll say, oh, I've thought about it, oh, cool.
• 15:11
  Ben Mangum: Well, I'd love to get on a quick call with you to learn more about your business and give you a rundown on what I do or I'm trying to, like think of something specific that I actually said, but it's yeah, I just say hey, I would love to give you like a quick breakdown on a, on a call um, just to give you a ton of value no sales pitch, or whatever.
• 15:32
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, that's pretty cool.
• 15:33
  Vipul Bindra: So you're I'm trying to be as specific as possible to actually give value compared to like oh you just message people it, so that's pretty cool.
• 15:48
  Vipul Bindra: So sounds like, run an ad, run it hyper, local, right and give an exact example in the ad of success.
• 15:50
  Vipul Bindra: So they know, you know, like, give them a pain point, address the local market, um, give an hyper, um you know, realistic example of how you were able to bring success.
• 15:58
  Vipul Bindra: You know, you, you get them to follow your profile.
• 16:01
  Vipul Bindra: That's at least one way you're doing it.
• 16:02
  Vipul Bindra: And then the ones that come to your profile, you kind of stalk them.
• 16:06
  Vipul Bindra: I'm just kidding.
• 16:08
  Vipul Bindra: But then you essentially try to start a conversation which is genuine in a way, because they wouldn't have followed you if you weren't interested in what you're doing.
• 16:18
  Ben Mangum: They followed you for a reason Exactly.
• 16:20
  Vipul Bindra: They weren't just following you because they wanted to learn about video business, because they clearly don't do that.
• 16:25
  Vipul Bindra: No, and you told them in the ad to follow you.
• 16:27
  Vipul Bindra: Exactly, so they follow through and that means also that means they're likely to buy, because they did follow through with the call to action.
• 16:36
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, and it's a very low barrier to entry.
• 16:39
  Ben Mangum: Call to action, like you're not telling them to fill out a form, which that can work too, but you're only going to get people who are like a very hot lead.
• 16:46
  Vipul Bindra: Like oh yeah, we need video right now.
• 16:48
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, at that point you know you're going to close or there's a high chance you can close.
• 16:52
  Ben Mangum: That is a much higher chance than this strategy, but you can attract.
• 16:55
  Ben Mangum: The cool thing is you can attract different levels of interest, like super high interest, medium interest, low interest.
• 17:09
  Vipul Bindra: Sometimes you get people who just exactly follow you, for whatever I did that, um, initially, for years, like my website, there was no way to direct contact me without filling out a huge form.
• 17:13
  Vipul Bindra: And what I found, though, that the leads that came in were incredibly, um, ready to buy.
• 17:16
  Vipul Bindra: Because they took that effort, they were ready to buy, but the here's the opposite side of it.
• 17:20
  Vipul Bindra: Ever since I stopped doing that, I do get a ton more leads, and sure, a few of them are not, you know, I would say, good leads, but we are closing people that I know for a fact wouldn't have filled out, yeah, that huge form because they weren't even sure about what they're looking for, right, they're just like, hey, I know I need video, and so they can't fill out a form and they don't even know what they want for sure.
• 17:40
  Vipul Bindra: So there's, there's strategies to both, and uh.
• 17:43
  Vipul Bindra: So, so now you've reached out, you get on a call with them, right, they're ready to buy, or they're ready to at least hop on a call with you.
• 17:49
  Vipul Bindra: What's your focus on the call?
• 17:53
  Ben Mangum: I mean, I just do a regular sales meeting with them.
• 17:55
  Ben Mangum: I tell them like oh, I'll tell them like, yeah, let's get on a call.
• 17:59
  Ben Mangum: I'll give you a quick breakdown on how it is, but like you do a sales call, quick breakdown on how it is, but like you do a sales call like you just, oh, like cool, Tell me a little bit about your business.
• 18:09
  Vipul Bindra: They tell you, and then you figure out the pain point, the actual pain point for them Exactly.
• 18:12
  Ben Mangum: So I've dabbled with a few different ways to do this.
• 18:15
  Ben Mangum: So, um, at first I was doing straight into an hour long zoom call, which works too.
• 18:23
  Ben Mangum: Or some people, if they're super local to you, go right into a coffee in-person meeting.
• 18:28
  Ben Mangum: However, they're not qualified at all, so you could be wasting a lot of your time by doing that.
• 18:34
  Ben Mangum: So, and that's where that form comes in, like you were talking about, but by doing a 10 minute phone call you can qualify them like oh yeah, we've been in business five years, we've been um, we're doing 50 000 a month or whatever.
• 18:49
  Ben Mangum: We want to get to 100 000 a month.
• 18:51
  Ben Mangum: So yeah, there's different ways that I've experimented of what works, because I don't use the discovery form anymore either because, like they came in through an ad, you message them like it could just be a limiting belief, but I'm not just going to send a form over this long form over it, cause I'm kind of on offense with these ads.
• 19:11
  Ben Mangum: Um so, um, yeah, a lot of times I will do like a 10 minute quick phone call, like okay, they weren't a dick, like all right, they have a business.
• 19:22
  Ben Mangum: I felt like I could help them.
• 19:24
  Ben Mangum: So I give them a very brief rundown of what I offer.
• 19:27
  Ben Mangum: So, like, I asked them about their business, their goals, pain points, just very briefly, and then I share a little bit.
• 19:35
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, so, like, what I do is, um, you know, I teach my clients how to do the exact thing that got you into my world.
• 19:41
  Ben Mangum: So, um, you know, we create the content for you and then we help you run local ads to help you get more customers.
• 19:48
  Ben Mangum: So it's like super vague, but, um, you know, I'd love to you know, typically, what I do is I meet people in person.
• 19:54
  Ben Mangum: That way you get a vibe for me, I get a vibe for you, that way you like understand who you could be working with.
• 19:59
  Ben Mangum: Um, and then I can, you know, dive a little bit deeper into, like, what you're looking to accomplish with your business, and I can share my exact process of how this works.
• 20:07
  Ben Mangum: So I do a quick qualifier call and then I either do in person or like a zoom call.
• 20:12
  Vipul Bindra: So, so what?
• 20:13
  Vipul Bindra: So let's look at a few examples of um, uh, what would they say that would make you not qualify them?
• 20:21
  Ben Mangum: Mm, they, they want to start a business or they've.
• 20:25
  Ben Mangum: I mean, this can kind of depend.
• 20:27
  Ben Mangum: They maybe they just started and their revenue is super low.
• 20:30
  Ben Mangum: But, however, I just spoke to someone today that started three months ago but they did like 50 000 in revenue.
• 20:37
  Vipul Bindra: They're so they have the money to run ads.
• 20:39
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, yeah, like they're good at sales, they're obviously like running a business.
• 20:43
  Ben Mangum: It's not like they made a couple hundred or a few thousand bucks because I wouldn't be able to pay a few thousand bucks.
• 20:49
  Vipul Bindra: You know what I'm saying?
• 20:50
  Vipul Bindra: That wouldn't be their priority, obviously, especially when, when they can't even pay their bills yet.
• 20:54
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so that's a big one like revenue.
• 20:57
  Ben Mangum: Um a big one would be like products.
• 21:00
  Ben Mangum: Me personally, I don't do like product-based businesses like service-based businesses yeah, I don't know.
• 21:07
  Ben Mangum: I feel more confident that I could help them compared to like, oh, I want to.
• 21:12
  Ben Mangum: I I don't even talk to people who have products, so I can't even.
• 21:16
  Ben Mangum: But you know what I'm saying?
• 21:17
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I know I do both.
• 21:18
  Vipul Bindra: I mean, obviously, products are a lot easier.
• 21:20
  Vipul Bindra: To be honest, I love doing product videos because I don't have to go to location.
• 21:23
  Vipul Bindra: Most of my shoots are travel or you know whatever go in a location.
• 21:26
  Vipul Bindra: However, just like you, I prefer service-based businesses, because here's the thing, as long as they say what they do which is my qualifier right like they're like, oh, we're a good plumber, I have to make sure they're a good plumber yeah but outside of that, here's, here's the the issue that I find like when somebody needs a plumber, they're googling, or they're asking their friend like, who's a good plumber?
• 21:46
  Vipul Bindra: they all say, yeah, we're a good plumber, right, and it's a website, or blah, blah, blah.
• 21:50
  Vipul Bindra: Then how do I know who I want in my house fixing my pipes and not causing a disaster?
• 21:56
  Vipul Bindra: And we've all seen online videos where the whole house flooded because they came to fix a tiny leak and they screwed up.
• 22:01
  Vipul Bindra: So a video to me would be amazing, because now I can see who the owner is, what their beliefs are, blah, blah, blah.
• 22:08
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, and I know it would work for me, so I know it would work for others.
• 22:11
  Vipul Bindra: So, which is why I think kind of probably why you prefer service-based businesses too, because we just have to show what they're already doing great, and video is the best tool to do that yeah, I mean, they're basically outside of selling the service, like you're selling the people and there's a lot of trust involved.
• 22:29
  Ben Mangum: But yeah, like people are coming into your home or, uh, it costs a lot of money to do the service, like they don't want to just spend their money with anybody.
• 22:37
  Ben Mangum: So video allows you to create that trust, create that connection with people and yeah, that's what.
• 22:43
  Vipul Bindra: And yeah, because people, yeah, people people buy from people who they know like and trust exactly and if you don't know them and they don't like you, they don't trust you.
• 22:51
  Vipul Bindra: Video is the best tool to build that um you know, virtually essentially, um, so yeah, no, that's incredible.
• 22:57
  Vipul Bindra: So, okay, now you're at the uh and I know I mean we're hyper focusing on this, but I think this is a cool thing.
• 23:04
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I mean, that's what I'm hoping If there's you or people that actually want to do it that I actually told you what to do compared to like.
• 23:11
  Ben Mangum: Oh yeah, just run Instagram profile ads.
• 23:14
  Vipul Bindra: It's like you wasted hundreds of dollars for no reason on your time.
• 23:17
  Vipul Bindra: So okay, so now you met in plus.
• 23:20
  Vipul Bindra: I'm just helping.
• 23:20
  Vipul Bindra: Hopefully somebody can understand sales, because here's the truth how much I am a filmmaker and I love the creative process.
• 23:28
  Vipul Bindra: There's enough.
• 23:29
  Vipul Bindra: You know how you say broke artists in this.
• 23:31
  Vipul Bindra: You have to be good at sales or you'll never get anywhere, no matter how good of an artist you are, and so and that's just how it is because, again, like me, there's a million people who'll say I'll, I'll come make a video for you.
• 23:44
  Vipul Bindra: You don't want to be the guy that makes a video, you want to be solving a problem right, yeah which I know we think very alike.
• 23:49
  Vipul Bindra: So, um, so, coming to um, to the meeting now, right, okay, so they're ready, they've committed.
• 23:56
  Vipul Bindra: You guys meet for coffee or their office or wherever you're meeting.
• 23:59
  Vipul Bindra: How do you like to lead that meeting?
• 24:02
  Ben Mangum: well, I feel like we should also get very specific yeah, no, let's get specific.
• 24:06
  Ben Mangum: Okay down to it, yeah yeah, um, so you get in, you build a little rapport.
• 24:12
  Ben Mangum: So you just like, maybe you ask them where they're from.
• 24:14
  Ben Mangum: I mean, you could build rapport over anything.
• 24:16
  Ben Mangum: Oh yeah, this weather sucks today it's raining, whatever.
• 24:19
  Ben Mangum: Um, I don't know their car, where they're from.
• 24:23
  Ben Mangum: So you build, like you don't just go right into business right away, but you do that for a minute or so, and then I think it's so important to set the frame for the meeting, like, you set the agenda and basically all you do is like cool man.
• 24:38
  Ben Mangum: So I have an hour set aside to meet with you today.
• 24:41
  Ben Mangum: I'd love to learn more about your business and where you guys are at.
• 24:45
  Ben Mangum: So, typically, typically, the way I run these meetings is I want to learn more about your business.
• 24:51
  Ben Mangum: I'm going to ask you a ton of questions just to like get really clear on what you want to accomplish.
• 24:55
  Ben Mangum: I'm going to ask you about you know, revenue and where you're at currently and where you're trying to go to, and then, if I feel like I can help you, I can share a little bit more about what I do and what our process is, and I can give you a quote in this meeting today.
• 25:10
  Ben Mangum: You know, does that sound fair.
• 25:11
  Ben Mangum: Okay, so like whatever you're, yeah, like whatever your offer.
• 25:15
  Ben Mangum: Maybe you do a second meeting, that's fine.
• 25:17
  Ben Mangum: You got to go build a proposal.
• 25:18
  Ben Mangum: But just tell them that like hey, you know I want to get a clear understanding of where you're at.
• 25:22
  Ben Mangum: I'm going to ask you a ton of questions.
• 25:23
  Ben Mangum: I like saying I'm going to ask you about money.
• 25:26
  Ben Mangum: I don't say that, but you know I'm going to ask you about, you know, revenue goals where you're at currently.
• 25:29
  Ben Mangum: That like helps me mentally bring up the money question without like feeling uncomfortable so like I ask them ahead of time like hey, is this cool?
• 25:39
  Ben Mangum: Like does that sound good?
• 25:40
  Ben Mangum: And they say yes, they agree to it.
• 25:42
  Ben Mangum: That does that sound good?
• 25:46
  Ben Mangum: And they say yes, they agree to it.
• 25:47
  Ben Mangum: Um, that was a huge game changer for me, because I remember a couple meetings where they just walk all over you like they're the ones asking you questions.
• 25:52
  Ben Mangum: They're talking so much about just whatever, um, and then basically at some point they're like okay, well, how much is it?
• 26:00
  Ben Mangum: and you just like you have no context or yeah yeah, or like you just don't have any authority either, like you didn't position yourself well.
• 26:07
  Ben Mangum: So I think, like setting the frame is huge, and I think, like I used to make that mistake too.
• 26:12
  Ben Mangum: Do you do that as well?
• 26:15
  Ben Mangum: No, yeah.
• 26:15
  Vipul Bindra: That's pretty great.
• 26:16
  Vipul Bindra: I always again not just like, but again very similar though I, if I am having in-person meetings, which, to be honest, nowadays I'm just like, I like qualified leads, just oh yeah, of course so they're already sold.
• 26:26
  Vipul Bindra: At this point I'm just trying to figure out the pain point.
• 26:28
  Vipul Bindra: But, yes, if I'm having a cold outreach or killed any kind of person that I don't know that well, I am always setting the agenda as in like hey, uh, thanks for meeting with me.
• 26:37
  Vipul Bindra: Just like you said, the.
• 26:38
  Vipul Bindra: So the goal today is to figure out exactly how video can help in your business, and once I figure that out, I'll be able to give you an investment amount that you need and then we can go from here is that, is that?
• 26:50
  Vipul Bindra: Does that sound good?
• 26:51
  Vipul Bindra: you know, I like how you said yeah, exactly, yeah, that's nice because if because my whole thing is honesty I've learned very quickly in this thing that because, again, I had a sales job before this, right, I had 15 people or whatever under me and I was a manager or whatever and I was like I don't want to do this, I don't want to.
• 27:09
  Vipul Bindra: It was miserable life I don't want to do.
• 27:12
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously I want to do sales, but I don't want to do it like how traditionally it's done.
• 27:15
  Vipul Bindra: The whole point of this company was to make my passion into my work, right.
• 27:20
  Vipul Bindra: So if I'm going to be miserable, I don't want to do it.
• 27:26
  Vipul Bindra: So my whole strategy since the beginning and it may not be the best strategy has been just be honest.
• 27:28
  Vipul Bindra: So I genuinely go in a meeting going like I'm how can I help this person?
• 27:32
  Vipul Bindra: And if I can't help this person, I will honestly be like look, video isn't right.
• 27:37
  Vipul Bindra: Like you said, you need more revenue or you need something else first before video comes in, because every business does need video.
• 27:44
  Vipul Bindra: It's just video may not be the solution to the problem they have currently yeah and as long as I approach it with honesty, I feel like the person can see through that and we can have a, like you said, honest conversation, because that's all we need to get to where we need to be yeah we're not trying to bs them with anything just just for the sake of it.
• 28:05
  Ben Mangum: Right like we're busy too.
• 28:06
  Ben Mangum: We're trying to have some trick questions exactly.
• 28:09
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, because our goal is the same that their goal is, which is what the problem is.
• 28:13
  Vipul Bindra: It's just funny enough.
• 28:14
  Vipul Bindra: You think they're business owners, uh, and I'm sure you've noticed in your meetings.
• 28:18
  Vipul Bindra: Half the time they don't really know what the core problem is.
• 28:21
  Vipul Bindra: No, because they'll say, oh yeah, we want to make more money, and but you have to deep dive, like, okay, so why are you not making money?
• 28:28
  Vipul Bindra: Is your product good?
• 28:29
  Vipul Bindra: Is your service good?
• 28:30
  Vipul Bindra: Like, where's the lack?
• 28:31
  Vipul Bindra: Is it just you don't have too many employees, or are you losing leads?
• 28:36
  Vipul Bindra: Are you not closing leads?
• 28:37
  Vipul Bindra: Like we have to narrow it down to the actual problem, to offer a video.
• 28:41
  Vipul Bindra: Exactly, yeah, cause how many times have you gotten a call where like, hey, I need a video, okay what video?
• 28:46
  Vipul Bindra: And they're like I don't know well that that could mean anything I don't know I could make a movie about your business for 10 million dollars.
• 28:54
  Ben Mangum: I don't know, what do you want like?
• 28:56
  Vipul Bindra: because that's like a wider.
• 28:58
  Vipul Bindra: It's like going to a restaurant saying, go give me food what?
• 29:02
  Ben Mangum: what do you want, yeah?
• 29:03
  Vipul Bindra: what do you like?
• 29:04
  Vipul Bindra: Do you have any allergies?
• 29:05
  Vipul Bindra: right, like anyway that's funny, I think right, oh yeah, for sure I think very similar, but obviously I'm not running ads, um.
• 29:11
  Vipul Bindra: But, like I said, to be honest at this point, I don't even like to do that much cold stuff.
• 29:16
  Vipul Bindra: Um, I like to meet with people that either I have worked with or that they've been referred to by somebody else because they are.
• 29:24
  Vipul Bindra: I don't need to.
• 29:24
  Vipul Bindra: I don't like to sell myself right, I know what I'm capable of.
• 29:27
  Vipul Bindra: I've already made, the last six years, 500 million plus revenue generated for the people who worked with me.
• 29:33
  Vipul Bindra: I don't want to go and be like, yes, I can make you money, because that's not what I'm selling.
• 29:38
  Vipul Bindra: I'm selling is great looking videos that hopefully solve a business problem and my other clients tell me that they work.
• 29:48
  Vipul Bindra: I've not had one client tell me they didn't work, so clearly I'm doing something good, yeah, but I don't want to go in a pitch.
• 29:54
  Vipul Bindra: You know, be like I'll make you 10x revenue, because what if they don't?
• 29:58
  Vipul Bindra: and then they're like well, you didn't make it you know anyway, but yeah, yeah, but when?
• 30:02
  Vipul Bindra: they come as a warm lead.
• 30:02
  Vipul Bindra: They already know what, what you do Right.
• 30:04
  Vipul Bindra: Then at that point I'm just trying to figure out the pain point and then can we do it.
• 30:08
  Vipul Bindra: And the biggest X factor, for me at least, is budget.
• 30:11
  Vipul Bindra: So sometimes they just don't have the budget to make video and I don't want to make a video that's not matching their brand level, like I've had where they have a, an, an app with millions of followers, right, and I budgeted them.
• 30:23
  Vipul Bindra: They wanted like an overall video like 10 grand, which is very low budget for a, for a video, um, at that scale.
• 30:30
  Vipul Bindra: But then they were like oh, we only have two, three grand and anyone else would have been like sure, I want the two, three grand, but I know I can't justice to the app with millions of followers, it's not gonna match, right, the video is not gonna be the quality that people expect an app like that to be.
• 30:43
  Vipul Bindra: Then at that point you go hey look, it's not going to match your brand's guidelines and I know for a fact nobody, anyone can't do that.
• 30:52
  Vipul Bindra: Um, but here's, when you're ready, just give me a call back.
• 30:55
  Ben Mangum: Like you know that that's yeah, that always feels good, yeah, anyway back to back to where we're outside my tangent.
• 31:00
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I love it.
• 31:02
  Vipul Bindra: Uh, so so okay, so you've you're, you've set the agenda and hopefully there's a buy-in.
• 31:07
  Vipul Bindra: Actually, let's go the other way.
• 31:08
  Vipul Bindra: I want to know what if they don't have a buy-in?
• 31:10
  Vipul Bindra: Have you had somebody go?
• 31:11
  Ben Mangum: I know that's not good or no, what they don't have a buy.
• 31:14
  Ben Mangum: Oh no, I never.
• 31:15
  Ben Mangum: Okay, that would be what I want to learn.
• 31:19
  Ben Mangum: No, sir, no, I can't okay.
• 31:21
  Ben Mangum: No, you've always had a buy-in, so that's great, of course yeah, so they bought in.
• 31:26
  Vipul Bindra: Um, then you obviously, I'm guessing I don't know, let me know if there's more to in depth in here, but I'm guessing you just run the meeting, which is what asking about the revenue?
• 31:33
  Vipul Bindra: Exactly and um what else?
• 31:35
  Vipul Bindra: I mean what?
• 31:36
  Vipul Bindra: What are typically you trying to find out?
• 31:38
  Ben Mangum: um, I would say I want to get clear on what they offer because sometimes people could like you can make assumptions and that's not what they're focused on, or something like.
• 31:47
  Ben Mangum: Like someone, I was talking to someone today that have a tile shop, but I just wanted to get clear that they wanted to focus on installation like flooring installations and I assumed they mostly did tile, but really they mostly do like vinyl plank and wood flooring.
• 32:03
  Ben Mangum: So you know if I just assumed oh, you want to get more showers, then I start talking like that.
• 32:07
  Ben Mangum: It kind of makes me look like a dickhead, like you know you're just making assumptions.
• 32:11
  Ben Mangum: So I like to just get clear on what their offer is.
• 32:15
  Ben Mangum: Ask them about their sales process.
• 32:18
  Ben Mangum: So like, how are you like?
• 32:20
  Ben Mangum: What does it look like?
• 32:21
  Ben Mangum: Somebody finds your business?
• 32:23
  Ben Mangum: You know, are you doing an in-person estimate?
• 32:25
  Ben Mangum: Or you know, are people finding you on Google and then they're filling out a form.
• 32:29
  Ben Mangum: So that can kind of just help you get a little creative on what videos make sense to help them out.
• 32:36
  Ben Mangum: So I'm just trying to think of examples that are different than just asking them what their goals are and what their pain points are, and what's the type of typical videos that you are selling out of these?
• 32:46
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, just an example.
• 32:47
  Vipul Bindra: I know they're probably wide variety of them but what?
• 32:49
  Vipul Bindra: Are the common ones mostly in last year.
• 32:53
  Ben Mangum: I mostly did short form, I think.
• 32:55
  Ben Mangum: I did about only three or four brand videos like video business cards, which is crazy.
• 32:59
  Ben Mangum: I used to do a lot of those.
• 33:01
  Ben Mangum: Uh, so you're focusing more on what Instagram TikTok stuff like that Like vertical content essentially yeah, okay, I mean, hey, it pays the bills, it pays the bills.
• 33:09
  Ben Mangum: Look, I was very against vertical video.
• 33:12
  Vipul Bindra: for a long time I've turned around, so I'm all for it.
• 33:14
  Ben Mangum: Make horizontal great again.
• 33:17
  Vipul Bindra: Look, I don't know why people can't turn their phone this way, but we have, as a society, accepted vertical content.
• 33:23
  Vipul Bindra: So as filmmakers, we have to learn to adapt and if we don't adapt, we're going to left behind.
• 33:28
  Vipul Bindra: Funny enough, the society is still okay with that, with Brian videos.
• 33:31
  Vipul Bindra: So if you go to their website, people are absolutely okay turning the phone, but if it's on TikTok, instagram, facebook, whatever, people don't want to.
• 33:39
  Vipul Bindra: People don't want to turn their phone around.
• 33:42
  Vipul Bindra: Um, but at the end of the day, like again, you're good, you're, you're, you're tapping the market instead of just being that.
• 33:47
  Vipul Bindra: That Dick filmmaker I was a few years ago saying I know, not for me, then you're losing all that business, right.
• 33:53
  Ben Mangum: That's crazy.
• 33:54
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, so that's funny.
• 33:55
  Vipul Bindra: I mean, it's not crazy, but it You're here to make money, your business, you have to go where what the market wants to pay you for I mean so no, that's very smart on your side.
• 34:10
  Ben Mangum: I enjoy the brand videos, though I like doing the longer format stuff.
• 34:14
  Ben Mangum: So I've kind of, when you start having several clients who are doing short form, I think it's all mindset, but sometimes I get burnt out on reels.
• 34:23
  Vipul Bindra: I'm like.
• 34:24
  Ben Mangum: This is not but then, sometimes when you do the brand videos you're like oh, that felt really good.
• 34:29
  Ben Mangum: Whether you're interviewing them or you can.
• 34:32
  Ben Mangum: You're kind of more proud of the final piece.
• 34:35
  Ben Mangum: It's more of a portfolio piece.
• 34:36
  Vipul Bindra: It's very impactful to them overall, because I find, and tell me this so you're doing reels, but the reels have a very short life.
• 34:44
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so you know a day or two, maybe, I don't know, a week, but they're gone, you know there's no uh, very few people are scrolling back um, you know, and looking at old content nowadays, so so they don't have the life like a brand video would no, not at all.
• 35:00
  Ben Mangum: and I I want to get back to pitching more brand videos because I was thinking like, okay, I'm just doing these Instagram ads, like people aren't going to their website unless they're coming from Google or whatever.
• 35:10
  Ben Mangum: But then I kind of realized I'm like, okay, we can make a brand video, then just pin it to their Instagram or you know what I'm saying, so I'm like cause it, it does make sense it, it does make sense.
• 35:23
  Ben Mangum: There's more work, it's more cost on their end.
• 35:24
  Vipul Bindra: But, like I, think it's worth it.
• 35:26
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, if it's the right business, you know.
• 35:27
  Vipul Bindra: So let's say the meeting's gone great, the, the.
• 35:28
  Vipul Bindra: The content is what they want.
• 35:29
  Vipul Bindra: They want the um, you know, the vertical videos or whatever the ads that you're selling them.
• 35:35
  Vipul Bindra: What's the package that you're typically trying to make for them and how do you present the cost?
• 35:40
  Ben Mangum: so the deliverables have changed.
• 35:42
  Ben Mangum: I keep doing that little australian show.
• 35:45
  Vipul Bindra: It's just me thinking so, yeah, what are the deliverables and how many?
• 35:49
  Vipul Bindra: To me that's very important, I know it's gone less and less and less for the same price.
• 35:53
  Vipul Bindra: That's how it needs to be.
• 35:55
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, so at first I was doing like 30 videos plus teaching them the ads for 8K which is, I think, a really good price.
• 36:06
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, no, very good price.
• 36:07
  Vipul Bindra: 30 videos, yeah, yeah.
• 36:08
  Vipul Bindra: And then I was like oh, this is a lot.
• 36:09
  Ben Mangum: So then I did 24, and now I'm pitching 18,.
• 36:13
  Ben Mangum: I think yeah, honestly, sometimes I'm like you just get a gut feeling.
• 36:19
  Vipul Bindra: You're like dude, I'm doing less video, so you're playing with the numbers still.
• 36:23
  Ben Mangum: yeah, it's still three months of content.
• 36:24
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so it's just less videos per month, yes, uh yeah, so so how do you come up to the number?
• 36:31
  Vipul Bindra: Six is the perfect number for a month, right now at least, because you know I'm guessing that's how you get to 18 yeah, actually now I'm thinking about it, I mostly do eight videos a month.
• 36:41
  Ben Mangum: Okay, that's what I'm at.
• 36:42
  Vipul Bindra: Because it's twice a week.
• 36:43
  Vipul Bindra: It kind of sounds nice.
• 36:44
  Vipul Bindra: So 24, yeah.
• 36:46
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, you can easily do six a month.
• 36:48
  Ben Mangum: It doesn't matter.
• 36:49
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, I mean the end day, it's the value of the content.
• 36:53
  Vipul Bindra: Okay, so let's say sure, let's stick with that one for now.
• 36:55
  Vipul Bindra: So two twice a week.
• 37:06
  Ben Mangum: Oh my yeah, oh my bad, go ahead, no, no, go ahead.
• 37:07
  Ben Mangum: No.
• 37:07
  Ben Mangum: I was gonna say like I'm even down to talk to you of just like advice from you of how I can adjust my offer, because some I go back and forth all the time.
• 37:10
  Ben Mangum: I guess it's the problem of overthinking of what's working or how you want to structure stuff and so no, and I'm happy to you know tangent there.
• 37:16
  Vipul Bindra: But personally, to be real, uh, that's why I'm talking to you I don't sell that much vertical content when I do okay, I'm trying to sell.
• 37:21
  Ben Mangum: I need to stop acting like this and act like no, yeah, yeah, you, you're no, y'all, no, you're doing better than me and vertical.
• 37:27
  Vipul Bindra: But now we do sell vertical.
• 37:28
  Vipul Bindra: I've actually have so funny enough, I say I don't.
• 37:31
  Vipul Bindra: I've sold it since long, long ago, before I was production company, because social media has been around a long time.
• 37:37
  Vipul Bindra: I remember at one point it was square videos because that's what was popular on facebook, but the so yeah, so we've always uh, I say that you know, like, I don't like vertical, but we've done at different aspect ratios all the time yeah, um, but the um, the way I sell packages is all encompassing, meaning I want to do a brand video, a couple testimonials, then we'll throw hey, we'll give you a few ads to run on social media, so so it's always part of a bigger package.
• 38:03
  Vipul Bindra: I'm not just selling, and if you want to talk about disaster, that was when I did try to sell only vertical content.
• 38:09
  Vipul Bindra: You know about that.
• 38:10
  Vipul Bindra: A couple of years ago I did try to pivot into a separate part of my business, oh, like cheap editing or something.
• 38:18
  Vipul Bindra: No social edge is what I called it.
• 38:19
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, yeah, no social edge is what I called it, where we were going to try and, uh, just pitch vertical content.
• 38:24
  Vipul Bindra: It didn't go well for me and I just realized I've marketed myself so much as the the filmmaker guy they talk about me in, which is good.
• 38:31
  Vipul Bindra: I mean, hey, I'm proud of it.
• 38:32
  Vipul Bindra: But the businesses at least I work to talk to me as the premium, better quality good choice, which I think again, my prices are too low, but still that's what they consider me.
• 38:42
  Vipul Bindra: Then I found that when I was pitching them this, you know, a whole month of content for a couple thousand bucks.
• 38:48
  Ben Mangum: They didn't want it because they were like, so that's what I'm saying.
• 38:50
  Vipul Bindra: I was like dude, I will make you one video for five grand or I will make you a whole month of content for two thousand dollars.
• 38:56
  Vipul Bindra: Which one do you want?
• 38:57
  Vipul Bindra: And they were like, oh, we want the one.
• 38:58
  Vipul Bindra: So it was like oh, so I am not the guy they want to come to for cheap content, which is fine Cause, remember, I wasn't even going to be the man making it.
• 39:08
  Ben Mangum: The only way financially I could work it was build a team, you know, and anyway point is yeah, I have not had some coincidences in there, like some variables that you just won't really really know, like maybe it's just how the client felt or just that client.
• 39:22
  Ben Mangum: So I mean, of course you could sell vertical client like your quality is amazing, so, but yeah, also it.
• 39:28
  Ben Mangum: Maybe there's a factor of reputation, but at the same time you need quality.
• 39:32
  Vipul Bindra: I think actually videos that are not that good quality do well on social media yeah, you really don't, because people are expecting.
• 39:39
  Vipul Bindra: You know, uG like user-generated content that is made with iPhones.
• 39:44
  Vipul Bindra: So I think that type of videos do better.
• 39:46
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, like I was talking about, my research shows that you got to be louder and chilly and you know, high energy, basically, and fast-paced, moving, fast cuts completely opposite of what I would call high quality content.
• 40:00
  Vipul Bindra: Where we're, you know, we're pacing ourselves.
• 40:02
  Vipul Bindra: To me, uh, when I'm making a video, a pace like sometimes just a pause, is worth so much to create, tell that story.
• 40:11
  Vipul Bindra: You can't do that on social media.
• 40:13
  Vipul Bindra: Somebody's gonna just already go to the next thing, you know I don't know.
• 40:16
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, yeah, yes, similar and different.
• 40:17
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, no for sure.
• 40:18
  Ben Mangum: I mean it is interesting because, like, I don't think I agree with you, but I also I think there's, you don't have to yell because I swipe past those people.
• 40:28
  Ben Mangum: I think they're annoying, so like sometimes it's very nice when people are more calm or whatever that.
• 40:34
  Vipul Bindra: Maybe I guess you're the alternate choice, but I think those other people are making millions of dollars.
• 40:38
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so it must work.
• 40:40
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I mean no I'm not saying that what you're saying is it doesn't work, but I'm saying you don't have to do it one way, of course.
• 40:45
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, you can do it the better way.
• 40:48
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, there's not one way to do it.
• 40:49
  Ben Mangum: Like one of my clients, Josh, like he's not high energy like that at all, he's like he has a country accent.
• 40:56
  Ben Mangum: He just kind of speaks a little.
• 40:57
  Ben Mangum: I mean he speaks normal.
• 40:59
  Vipul Bindra: But you know what I'm saying a little slower, I guess I feel like I'm making him sound.
• 41:02
  Vipul Bindra: Oh my goodness, controversy already started here just uh what are you trying to say people who have a country accent talk slower, we do?
• 41:09
  Ben Mangum: yeah, I mean I feel like I have a little of one, but uh no, no no, my point is is that I mean he gets views too, so it's it's interesting um no, I mean no, I completely with you.
• 41:22
  Vipul Bindra: Like your strategies is incredible and uh, and I love that.
• 41:26
  Vipul Bindra: What you're saying is is uh important that you don't have to be that noise, that that annoying person.
• 41:32
  Vipul Bindra: You can do it better and still get sales, which is what I'm saying.
• 41:36
  Vipul Bindra: You are succeeding doing something where you have to do these annoying things to find success and you're finding success, um, you know, doing it better is the way I would put it so but yeah, I debate.
• 41:50
  Ben Mangum: Going back to, um, what you were talking about.
• 41:53
  Ben Mangum: So, like last year, I think I only sold maybe about three projects that weren't just only vertical.
• 42:00
  Ben Mangum: Like I did a brand video, I did a, I think we did an faq and a testimonial and some reels and although they took longer, I you kind of feel good that it's like okay, those videos are gonna last for a long time.
• 42:16
  Ben Mangum: So I mean, that's what I used to only do, for the most part was like video business cards.
• 42:20
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, I think that may be the next evolution right, doing both or at least offering them the option.
• 42:25
  Vipul Bindra: Because, like we talked about in our meetup, the whole good, better, best strategy right.
• 42:30
  Vipul Bindra: I'm very much a fan of because even in the beginning same thing I was like this is the offer right.
• 42:36
  Vipul Bindra: Once you've built the offer, they get one option yes or no and I've slowly evolved to like no, there's good, better, best, because a it works human psychology but b you can genuinely then be surprised what people pick.
• 42:49
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously, most people are going to pick better, right.
• 42:52
  Vipul Bindra: So essentially what you do is right for people don't know you would um, you know you'd be the high I would say low cost solution.
• 42:59
  Vipul Bindra: Then you would pick the medium, which is the solution you want to sell.
• 43:03
  Vipul Bindra: You know which would have which would be higher price but would have better content or better time spent on it, and then the best would be.
• 43:10
  Vipul Bindra: Now here's your dream scenario that you want to sell them to, and most people obviously pick the better.
• 43:15
  Vipul Bindra: But you'd be surprised how many people have picked the best.
• 43:18
  Vipul Bindra: They're like no, we're the better, the better brand and we want best.
• 43:26
  Vipul Bindra: Now you're doing the value uh, it's rare.
• 43:27
  Vipul Bindra: But now you're doing the project how you would love to do it, right, but you didn't think the client had the money to do it.
• 43:30
  Vipul Bindra: And are there times where you're expecting to do better and then they go no, we'll just take the, the less option, but that's better, because most likely they would have said no to your regular offer.
• 43:39
  Vipul Bindra: So maybe that could be the next evolution for you, where I do it.
• 43:42
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I do that.
• 43:43
  Ben Mangum: Okay, so you already do that for sure.
• 43:45
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, yeah.
• 43:46
  Ben Mangum: So I mean I think I lost a ton of deals not doing that when I first started.
• 43:50
  Ben Mangum: I would just do like.
• 43:51
  Ben Mangum: I mean, this is me like.
• 43:53
  Ben Mangum: First, starting, or whatever you're like yeah, I do a video business card for like 2500 and like yep, that's it, which like some people said yeah, but some people yeah, you got to like make it look sexy.
• 44:04
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, exactly, I mean, hey, it works, it does.
• 44:06
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, but so and so and again.
• 44:09
  Vipul Bindra: I think people hyper focus on this.
• 44:11
  Vipul Bindra: The typical a hundred thousand dollars that you got to make in central Florida.
• 44:16
  Vipul Bindra: I feel like that's nothing, but also it's overhyped.
• 44:19
  Vipul Bindra: But now you're past that club.
• 44:20
  Vipul Bindra: Right, you're beyond, you're very successful, you had a great year.
• 44:24
  Vipul Bindra: How does that feel?
• 44:25
  Vipul Bindra: Is that any different?
• 44:26
  Vipul Bindra: Like I think it's overplayed to make over six figures, but what's your opinion on that part?
• 44:32
  Vipul Bindra: Like the creators over-focus on it, or what?
• 44:38
  Ben Mangum: I mean I balance being grateful and then also like I don't feel that successful yet at all.
• 44:41
  Ben Mangum: Uh, because I feel like there's a lot of well.
• 44:44
  Vipul Bindra: I mean I'll be honest, like I went from, like last year I did 104 and then this year I did 140, so it's really not I'm grateful, but it's not like oh, it sounds like.
• 44:54
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, you know, your life didn't change overnight.
• 44:56
  Ben Mangum: You're telling me not at all, and I also spent more money unfortunately so I need to get better about my finances.
• 45:04
  Ben Mangum: So I mean, I guess I just want to be honest with people, cause, like, some people may be starting out like, oh, that's amazing and it's like, yeah, I am grateful of where I pay my bills, doing video full time, which is dope, um, but I also feel like I have so much more to grow, or yeah, I guess that never ends, but, um, no, it was, it was cool.
• 45:26
  Ben Mangum: I mean, I guess, if you don't mind, I'll share my whole evolution, not my whole story.
• 45:29
  Vipul Bindra: But just like, absolutely like, I love numbers go ahead.
• 45:33
  Ben Mangum: Um, and it's embarrassing for me to say, but I think it's cool for people just starting out maybe yeah like covid happened.
• 45:41
  Ben Mangum: I got laid off.
• 45:42
  Ben Mangum: I was trying to do video full-time, like end of 2019, but it was part-time and it wasn't.
• 45:47
  Ben Mangum: I don't know I was barely doing it.
• 45:50
  Ben Mangum: And then I bought excuse me, I got laid off from covid and then so I had unemployment money so I'm like, okay, at least I know I can like pay my rent yeah, I guess and so I was like, screw it, I'm gonna start the business up, I'm gonna join networking I'm gonna do it um, and so that year I only made 18 000.
• 46:14
  Ben Mangum: Wow it was bad.
• 46:15
  Vipul Bindra: I mean, of course.
• 46:16
  Ben Mangum: I mean that's how a lot of time first years are, so, but yeah, and so and my wife was also you know, she was my girlfriend at the time like she was also paying quite a bit of the bills too, like she was understanding.
• 46:27
  Ben Mangum: Like, hey, you're just starting out like you know you gotta.
• 46:29
  Vipul Bindra: It takes time to get clients shout out to significant others man, you couldn't do this without a significant other who understands what it takes to be an entrepreneur, but yeah, yeah, no, she's always been supportive too.
• 46:39
  Ben Mangum: I think I can't imagine being with somebody who, like, would talk shit about you starting a business like you still haven't landed a client yet.
• 46:45
  Vipul Bindra: It's like can you imagine do that again.
• 46:48
  Vipul Bindra: But no, absolutely.
• 46:53
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah.
• 46:53
  Vipul Bindra: You're already going through so much shit.
• 46:55
  Vipul Bindra: You're already working long hours.
• 46:56
  Vipul Bindra: You don't need somebody nagging you at the end day.
• 46:59
  Vipul Bindra: You want a supportive partner.
• 47:00
  Vipul Bindra: That's very important, yeah and dude.
• 47:02
  Ben Mangum: I mean I.
• 47:03
  Ben Mangum: I mean I think it was a combination of things.
• 47:05
  Ben Mangum: My videos weren't that good.
• 47:06
  Ben Mangum: That was the reality.
• 47:07
  Ben Mangum: And then two just like not knowing how to sell and then not knowing how to market and I think when you're starting out at least for me, like I didn't have that much confidence either I'm like oh, I'm like trying to make videos for these business owners, like you know you know you're putting them up on a pedestal.
• 47:20
  Ben Mangum: But once you get to a certain level it's like you're almost like you need to get your shit together.
• 47:25
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, exactly.
• 47:26
  Ben Mangum: That's kind of how it feels, but uh, yeah, my second year I only did 32,000.
• 47:31
  Ben Mangum: It was bad still no but you job at an ad agency, my in 2022 and my salary was 75 which I was like okay, cool, like nice, you know I was making videos for them basically and and so I think I did a ton of videos during that time that I just got more confident with my skills.
• 47:53
  Ben Mangum: So then when I went back full-time 2023, I did 104.
• 47:56
  Ben Mangum: So, like my point, I guess my moral of the story is like when I was doing 1832, I looked at a hundred thousand, like it was this huge thing, like oh my God, and then I think just naturally I did it that fourth or whatever.
• 48:10
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, when I went back and did a hundred last year or 2023,.
• 48:15
  Ben Mangum: Um, I did was like, oh, that's not that crazy, like it was cool, I'm grateful, but like, and then this year I feel like I could have done so much more.
• 48:24
  Vipul Bindra: A lot of times I find myself being very lazy, but that's just how we are.
• 48:27
  Vipul Bindra: We're critical of each other, of ourselves, but no, that's an incredible journey.
• 48:31
  Vipul Bindra: I remember when you had come back full time after the ad agency and I couldn't understand it.
• 48:38
  Vipul Bindra: But now I get it.
• 48:38
  Vipul Bindra: See, the thing is, if you're not confident, it is better to go work for someone and actually get the skills up, or at least your confidence up, because here's the truth you're helping somebody in their business, or scale their business, or even if they're just their marketing department, you're doing their branding.
• 48:58
  Vipul Bindra: And if you don't want to embarrass yourself and get yourself blacklisted, right um, and then the biggest thing I tell people is uh, don't play around with somebody else's money, and and the easiest thing in this business is you don't need to.
• 49:13
  Vipul Bindra: the advice that I give people is you don't need to own anything, you don't need to invest anything or know anything as long as, as long as you're genuinely interested and genuinely want to do something.
• 49:24
  Vipul Bindra: Just look people around in the area, like Ben, who are already doing what you want to do, and I'm pretty sure tell me if I'm wrong if somebody hits you up and said hey, ben, I'm interested in what you're doing, I would love to get a cup of coffee, what would your answer be?
• 49:37
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, for sure.
• 49:38
  Vipul Bindra: Exactly right, so you surround yourself with people, want to be.
• 49:44
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously don't take advantage of them, but I'm pretty sure somebody came and said look, uh, tell me I used to do it.
• 49:47
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, exactly, and I'm saying and tell me if it's different.
• 49:50
  Vipul Bindra: There's two types of people.
• 49:51
  Vipul Bindra: One would just hook you up, hey, I'll come for free work.
• 49:54
  Vipul Bindra: Usually you'll say no right, if somebody you've never met, never had a coffee, just straight up like, hey, want to learn, I'll just come to your shoot.
• 50:02
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah right, you're not bringing them on.
• 50:04
  Vipul Bindra: But if they made an effort they were like, hey, here's coffee.
• 50:07
  Vipul Bindra: They met you a couple of times.
• 50:08
  Vipul Bindra: Now you know the person.
• 50:09
  Ben Mangum: They're not going to fuck up your set.
• 50:16
  Vipul Bindra: I'm pretty sure you'll be inclined to take up them off or you me free.
• 50:19
  Vipul Bindra: Slowly you could upgrade, maybe even pay them a little, and that's how you learn way, way better and faster.
• 50:25
  Vipul Bindra: Until you're confident, then you go.
• 50:26
  Vipul Bindra: Okay, ben, now I'm gonna hire you right, and to me that's just how it works.
• 50:30
  Ben Mangum: I think that's the best thing someone can do.
• 50:32
  Ben Mangum: I wish I did that 10 times, 100 times more, when I, in those first two years where I was struggling like I was too much.
• 50:37
  Ben Mangum: I mean it is what, like you know, I was trying to run my business, or you're trying to network, and which, like I'm glad I did, but like I remember, I went on.
• 50:46
  Ben Mangum: Uh, you may know him, kyle Loftus.
• 50:48
  Ben Mangum: He's here in Orlando and I was familiar yeah.
• 50:52
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, you, you may have seen him, but and, um, I just remember, like I followed him on Instagram or something and I saw that he was in Orlando and then I think it just offered to be a PA or something like that.
• 51:04
  Ben Mangum: I didn't ask for money and yeah, I was on there.
• 51:07
  Ben Mangum: I was like, oh, this is dope Like for me personally.
• 51:11
  Ben Mangum: It basically just validated, like, oh, this is the same thing I'm doing, it's still the same three point lighting setup.
• 51:17
  Ben Mangum: They just have better gear than me.
• 51:19
  Ben Mangum: Or you know it's just a fancier camera, and I saw how he was talking to the client.
• 51:24
  Ben Mangum: I'm like, okay, I do that same thing and it just gave me a lot of validation of like you're on the right path.
• 51:28
  Ben Mangum: You just need to keep leveling up, keep going, and I wish I did that way sooner to anybody who's doing it and, uh, I would have just learned so much faster being like a PA or just cause I would do.
• 51:41
  Ben Mangum: There's been a few like client stories where I'm trying to set up equipment I didn't know how to set it up.
• 51:47
  Vipul Bindra: It's so embarrassing.
• 51:48
  Vipul Bindra: Oh wow, can you hear one of those?
• 51:49
  Vipul Bindra: You don't have to tell us the name of the client, but yeah, dude, my first free gig um.
• 52:02
  Ben Mangum: I had one of those shitty light boxes where you can't even adjust the intensity.
• 52:03
  Ben Mangum: It's just one that you like flip on like an Amazon light and like it has I mean just like any softbox it has a little metal prongs.
• 52:09
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, you have to.
• 52:09
  Vipul Bindra: And, dude, I could not get it like through the thing.
• 52:13
  Ben Mangum: And I'm messing with it for like literally 20 minutes and we're like almost ready to shoot, and it was just so.
• 52:22
  Ben Mangum: Also, my I used to like ask my wife to come help me out on set, like she was there, and she makes fun of me sometimes, like yeah, you remember when you yeah so it wasn't a huge deal.
• 52:30
  Ben Mangum: But I just remember looking back like, yeah, that's kind of an example, nothing bad happened it was good experience, but like that's an example where you can kind of like ruin your reputation almost like if you do a bad job when you're first starting out.
• 52:44
  Vipul Bindra: So like I was kind of the opposite, where I had been making for a few years videos for a few years, but like I still sucked, like I didn't know lighting, I was kind of just doing it or whatever, but I started selling clients, like because I joined that, the how to sell facebook, yeah, look at that yeah, which I think that's how we initially met, right, yeah, I'm pretty sure I discovered you in that group and then, um, uh, when I was moving back to south as an orlando, left a few years for alabama, then came back, and when I did I was looking up who was local and I think you came nice, yeah, yeah.
• 53:16
  Ben Mangum: No, I just think there's a lot of people who get really good at filming but they still don't have the confidence to sell.
• 53:21
  Ben Mangum: But I was kind of doing the opposite.
• 53:25
  Ben Mangum: Looking back, my videos sucked, but I was still trying to sell.
• 53:28
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I mean, that's what matters.
• 53:29
  Vipul Bindra: Look, I'm telling you, like I said, I'm a filmmaker first, personally, I think then salesperson, but here's the truth Filmmakers are dime a dozen.
• 53:38
  Vipul Bindra: Good salespeople are rare.
• 53:40
  Vipul Bindra: So if you're going to learn any skill, yes, ideally you should know both.
• 53:44
  Vipul Bindra: You should be a good filmmaker and you should be good at selling, because even if you're hiring other people, you need to be able to judge them.
• 53:50
  Vipul Bindra: If you don't know what you're looking for, then you wouldn't have a good crew.
• 53:54
  Vipul Bindra: But coming back to it, I think you're far better off listening to, like, what you told about ad strategy, getting clients running meetings.
• 54:01
  Vipul Bindra: Because guess what, if you have, let's say, zero knowledge of video production and all you have to do is go out and hire people who are good at it?
• 54:09
  Vipul Bindra: Right, a lot of people forget that.
• 54:12
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, a lot of people don't think about that.
• 54:14
  Vipul Bindra: Like, video production is a collaborative thing.
• 54:16
  Vipul Bindra: Nobody can be good at it.
• 54:18
  Vipul Bindra: And even video, a lot of people think it's a one-person job.
• 54:20
  Vipul Bindra: You know, lighting is somebody else's job, sound is somebody else's job, camera is somebody's job.
• 54:26
  Vipul Bindra: You know these are 50 jobs that one person is trying to accomplish together.
• 54:30
  Vipul Bindra: You're not going to be good at it.
• 54:31
  Vipul Bindra: It doesn't matter how good you are.
• 54:33
  Vipul Bindra: You could be master of one, but not everything.
• 54:36
  Vipul Bindra: So at some point, especially if you're trying to scale to hire videos, you have to collaborate with others.
• 54:43
  Vipul Bindra: So you're better off just hiring somebody and getting good at sales until you're confident in your skills.
• 54:49
  Vipul Bindra: Now you've seen them do 10 times and you're like okay, I know, I can do it.
• 55:03
  Vipul Bindra: Or you know like, and then that's okay, if you want to nick some crew, make some extra profit, but at the end of the day, I don't know why people get so gung-ho about not hiring professionals and just doing everything themselves, because people will gladly pay you five grand.
• 55:10
  Vipul Bindra: And now you're fiddling with, like you said, lights.
• 55:11
  Vipul Bindra: Then you know, rather, you would have paid someone a couple thousand dollars to do it and you would have still made three grand profit and look like a champion.
• 55:18
  Ben Mangum: Right, I don't think that's a bad strategy.
• 55:19
  Ben Mangum: I wish I did that way sooner, did I was?
• 55:22
  Ben Mangum: I mean, really it was because I was selling low budget videos so I'm like I need all of this money.
• 55:28
  Ben Mangum: That was kind of the real and I was full time.
• 55:30
  Ben Mangum: So, yeah, there's a lot of things I would have done differently, but once I hired somebody, like good, they had a lot of equipment it was just everything was better.
• 55:40
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, you get cool bts exactly, plus you know you're able to focus on what matters most, which is the client right, exactly because you should be on your shoot focus, because that's what I do on my shoots.
• 55:50
  Vipul Bindra: If I'm touching equipment, obviously I'll help move stuff.
• 55:53
  Vipul Bindra: Then something's going wrong, because I should be focused on the client yeah and running the set.
• 55:57
  Vipul Bindra: I shouldn't be, and it's not that I don't love to.
• 56:00
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously part of me wants to like set up every light, set up every camera, change every little setting.
• 56:04
  Vipul Bindra: But the truth is I have to focus on running the whole set and make sure, like you said, the shoot goes smoothly and the client is happy.
• 56:12
  Vipul Bindra: That is the most important thing, and I can't do that if I'm going to try and be the technician.
• 56:17
  Vipul Bindra: So I'm sure now, when you started bringing people in, your clients are happier right yeah, I'd say so.
• 56:23
  Ben Mangum: I think it's just overall a more fun time there's more people like.
• 56:26
  Ben Mangum: If you have people on set that you gel with, you know it's a better quality video.
• 56:31
  Ben Mangum: Most of the time I mean in my experience you know um yeah, you're less stressed and you're more focused on the client maybe I it kind of made me better at like planning or like better at like communicating with the client maybe I it kind of made me better at like planning or like better at like communicating with the client because you're not worried about lighting for the
• 56:46
  Vipul Bindra: most part, like you know, you check the camera to make sure it looks good but yeah, and I'm sure your skills as a, as a technical person or as a creative person uh, filmmaking side have improved too.
• 56:56
  Vipul Bindra: Right, just having other people, because you're now learning from many different.
• 56:59
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah and yeah, and you've got to communicate better.
• 57:01
  Ben Mangum: And I think it makes you more decisive too.
• 57:03
  Ben Mangum: That was one thing like looking back.
• 57:05
  Ben Mangum: I'm like man, I was so indecisive and not confident as a director, and that's really important.
• 57:10
  Ben Mangum: It's one thing to you know you need to get open to feedback and you're open-minded, but at the same time, get more clear on your vision and what you want it to look like, and stuff like that.
• 57:20
  Ben Mangum: I think that just makes for a better set and better end result.
• 57:24
  Ben Mangum: So, yeah, I would.
• 57:25
  Ben Mangum: I would have hired people a lot sooner on set, most definitely I completely agree.
• 57:31
  Vipul Bindra: And that was, uh, my strategy day one.
• 57:33
  Vipul Bindra: I had first shoot as a production company, but I'd done enough freelance to kind of learn from it.
• 57:38
  Vipul Bindra: So, uh, first thing I literally was like I gotta, I gotta have bts, I gotta have assistance.
• 57:44
  Ben Mangum: I gotta have a producer.
• 57:46
  Vipul Bindra: I had julie, you know.
• 57:47
  Vipul Bindra: She was my producer and at that time she was not that much interested in video production.
• 57:51
  Vipul Bindra: Because I was like no, no, no, you couldn't come.
• 57:52
  Vipul Bindra: This is your script, this is you're gonna keep us, you know, in line and everything, and she did great.
• 57:57
  Vipul Bindra: But the point is like we had a full crew, like it wasn't just me.
• 58:00
  Vipul Bindra: I was like that was my thing from day one.
• 58:02
  Vipul Bindra: I'm a production company.
• 58:03
  Vipul Bindra: It's a company.
• 58:04
  Vipul Bindra: It's not me and I feel like that kind of helped me, yeah, and helped me propel, but it helped me.
• 58:09
  Vipul Bindra: First day I realized I was so focused on the client and the experience I would have never been able to do had I not had that crew with me.
• 58:17
  Vipul Bindra: Because because I was able to literally be like, hey, bring the soft box and, you know, set the slider up, can you put this chair in this angle, whatever, like there was people helping do everything and I was able to focus on then directing.
• 58:31
  Vipul Bindra: And I know for a fact, had I been like messing with every little thing, the product wouldn't have been as good.
• 58:36
  Vipul Bindra: And obviously I made tons and tons of money from that first shoot because I was able to get more work out of that and I don't think it would have happened had I not done that.
• 58:48
  Ben Mangum: I need to do that way better I think you're doing great.
• 58:50
  Vipul Bindra: But I mean to be real, coming back to your side, what you're doing.
• 58:53
  Vipul Bindra: Unless you're doing your back to your brand stories or testimonials or other stuff, I don't think vertical content needs a crew.
• 59:00
  Ben Mangum: Typically yeah, testimonials or other stuff.
• 59:02
  Ben Mangum: I don't think vertical content needs a crew.
• 59:03
  Ben Mangum: I typically yeah, I'd say maybe 70, maybe even 80 of the time I don't have help, but you don't need it for vertical content.
• 59:11
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I'm just outside, either handheld with a lav mic, or maybe I have a gimbal.
• 59:15
  Vipul Bindra: That's the most.
• 59:16
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, now I see that would be changing if you're doing back to like your brand story or stuff like that right.
• 59:22
  Ben Mangum: Anytime I did that, I always hired it honestly.
• 59:26
  Ben Mangum: A lot of times I just hire one person.
• 59:27
  Ben Mangum: I'd hire the dp, and then I would just be helping setting up lights too for a con.
• 59:31
  Vipul Bindra: You know talking head if that's what you're doing, yeah, it's fine, yeah yeah, that was all, all interviews and stuff like that, or I'd hire a second person to corporate video is so wide scale like I've been on sets where we're doing talking head and it's just me plus whoever's like directing, producing, for example, if I'm the dp and I set up everything.
• 59:51
  Vipul Bindra: And then I've been on sets where we're doing the same thing talking head but we have like 15 crew, we have alexas and cook lenses and I've set up like book lights and so much.
• 1:00:03
  Vipul Bindra: Set design.
• 1:00:03
  Vipul Bindra: Even at a set design point is like it can go uh, from really high scale, but at the end day you're just doing a talking head, it's just the scale is so wide it's crazy.
• 1:00:13
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, but that's awesome.
• 1:00:15
  Vipul Bindra: You've been on any large sets yet or no.
• 1:00:16
  Ben Mangum: No, I would love to, just to experience it.
• 1:00:19
  Ben Mangum: For what's?
• 1:00:19
  Vipul Bindra: crazy for me is technically I've hired you, but I was not there.
• 1:00:23
  Vipul Bindra: That annoys me, because I've been wanting to work with you for years and I technically did bring you in at least once, I was lucky enough.
• 1:00:30
  Vipul Bindra: And then I was somewhere.
• 1:00:31
  Vipul Bindra: I don't know where I was, I was Nashville or somewhere I was traveling.
• 1:00:34
  Vipul Bindra: I know for a fact I was not in town and so that kind of sucked sucked so you've technically been on my set without me being there.
• 1:00:42
  Ben Mangum: How was that experience?
• 1:00:42
  Ben Mangum: That was cool.
• 1:00:43
  Ben Mangum: That was a large set for me, but there was maybe eight people, yeah, six to eight people at least.
• 1:00:46
  Vipul Bindra: That was a big set, and I wasn't even there, that's it was annoying because I had a, I had you on and I think I kind of let you even lead because I was like I knew you had experience with interviews and stuff.
• 1:00:56
  Vipul Bindra: So I was like, hey, if you're doing any interviews, feel free to ask questions or whatever.
• 1:01:00
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, because at the end day you know it's not scripted again, it's just basic questions yeah um, and I knew you had done enough, uh brand videos or whatever to know, what to do about it uh well, the cool part.
• 1:01:11
  Ben Mangum: The cool part was that I've worked with emmanuel, I don't know maybe five times and he was the dp, so it was honestly very just collaborative.
• 1:01:18
  Ben Mangum: It wasn't even almost like I was running it.
• 1:01:20
  Ben Mangum: If that makes sense, I'm pretty sure I had a producer.
• 1:01:22
  Vipul Bindra: I had Julie there producing too.
• 1:01:23
  Ben Mangum: So I think you had a good crew with you, and then other people too.
• 1:01:26
  Vipul Bindra: They were all like.
• 1:01:26
  Vipul Bindra: Everyone had worked before.
• 1:01:28
  Vipul Bindra: So, like I said, the only unfortunate part is I wasn't there.
• 1:01:33
  Ben Mangum: But I think it went smooth right.
• 1:01:35
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, for sure.
• 1:01:36
  Vipul Bindra: I hope you learned something out of it.
• 1:01:37
  Ben Mangum: I don't know what, because like I wasn't there, I mean, I learned that the fx6s look very nice yes, they do, I learned that this big light source looks very nice yes, it does there you go um?
• 1:01:52
  Vipul Bindra: no, it was cool, I just no the thing with light is, you know, I was chilling, I was just asking people questions to be honest, yeah, I mean, hey, I'm glad you got paid to do that.
• 1:02:01
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, no, uh, to be honest, I did learn, sorry, I did learn you were.
• 1:02:08
  Ben Mangum: I'm like wow, he's very organized, not only just the planning, the pre-production, but then also even just like the cart, like on the day of the shoot I was like, oh, this is, this is the next level, and funny enough, like I wasn't even there, uh, but but that's my thing, you know to.
• 1:02:24
  Vipul Bindra: To be real, like, yeah, if I had to be call myself anything, I would be say pre-production king, because the truth is, um, you have to plan everything.
• 1:02:32
  Vipul Bindra: That's what video is.
• 1:02:33
  Vipul Bindra: Most of the work is in pre-production and I think that's what most people miss.
• 1:02:37
  Vipul Bindra: I had planned funny enough, like I spent very little time on this shoot, but I still had planned, um, where everyone was going to be, where the interview is going to be, what the lighting set it was going to be, what the cameras were going to be, and and to be real, it was my typical setup.
• 1:02:50
  Vipul Bindra: But that that was when you guys showed up and I wasn't even there.
• 1:02:54
  Vipul Bindra: 99 of the time, you guys can just go and like somebody you haven't you haven't even been on that set.
• 1:03:00
  Vipul Bindra: At least Emmanuel had looked at the location.
• 1:03:02
  Vipul Bindra: Um, you can just go and be, be creative and be successful instead of figuring things out.
• 1:03:09
  Vipul Bindra: And, uh, I think the only thing that happened that I got one video call about something from either you or Emmanuel, I don't remember, but I think you guys did the whole thing without me, my input, and I think it went great.
• 1:03:19
  Vipul Bindra: Like I, the client said that was the best video they'd ever seen of their company so that I mean, I don't know what else to say, you know?
• 1:03:26
  Ben Mangum: and I was so proud of it I'm like hey, I'm making money.
• 1:03:28
  Vipul Bindra: I'm not even there you know that's dope.
• 1:03:30
  Ben Mangum: It doesn't get any better than that right yeah, and that's a lot of pressure, like when you're working with a big company and you got a lot of people.
• 1:03:36
  Ben Mangum: You're not there, like I haven't done that.
• 1:03:38
  Vipul Bindra: That's dope yeah, it's really cool no, I need to get way.
• 1:03:41
  Ben Mangum: I mean, I'm just on this podcast and I need to get, like benja but uh I need to um, I do honestly.
• 1:03:49
  Ben Mangum: I do need to plan better.
• 1:03:50
  Ben Mangum: I do plan like for example, you're doing a brand shoot, like you're planning out the interview topics sometimes the night before, but um, chat.
• 1:03:59
  Vipul Bindra: Gpt is your friend nowadays are you using?
• 1:04:01
  Vipul Bindra: That for the social content are you doing on the fly like off the cuff?
• 1:04:05
  Ben Mangum: I still do chat gbt quite a bit.
• 1:04:07
  Ben Mangum: But so my main client, josh, he does roofing.
• 1:04:10
  Ben Mangum: I don't really plan anything anymore, unless for the short form at least, because I mean I've been working with him maybe nine months, maybe I don't know something like that and like at a certain point you kind of run out of like roofing topics.
• 1:04:26
  Ben Mangum: So like most of the time we show up he's going to a job, he's doing an estimate or we're going to a project and like he kind of just talks about what's going on.
• 1:04:34
  Ben Mangum: That's kind of like the vlog, kind of vlog style, just documenting, and that works for him, because he doesn't like the scripted stuff.
• 1:04:42
  Ben Mangum: My point is, yes, I do use chat gbt, but sometimes some of my clients I don't.
• 1:04:46
  Ben Mangum: Okay, um, I think it's really good for video topics, like if you educate it a lot, you give it a lot of information, but the scripts can be good too.
• 1:04:56
  Ben Mangum: But at the same time you need to make sure you go through and maybe use your own words or just I don't know, sometimes it's still yeah, it's, it's not what I find is is it's great for narrowing down things, as in the brain storming part of it, because that saves you so much time.
• 1:05:13
  Vipul Bindra: Now I don't.
• 1:05:13
  Vipul Bindra: I don't ever use final, so, like in the past, uh, scripted videos.
• 1:05:17
  Vipul Bindra: I've had to like, hire writers and be like hey, can you write this from?
• 1:05:20
  Vipul Bindra: scratch and it's annoying because you know they don't know your vision.
• 1:05:24
  Vipul Bindra: Now you're explaining versus now I love is I can.
• 1:05:26
  Vipul Bindra: Plus, I love how the you have to make chat gpd work I have to go and the way I at least make it work.
• 1:05:31
  Vipul Bindra: I don't know if it's right, I'm like okay, so you're a writer for bender productions, this is the assignment that you've been given.
• 1:05:36
  Vipul Bindra: This is the thing, and I'll literally feed it, like the whole thing, and I say it doesn't take but 30 seconds.
• 1:05:41
  Vipul Bindra: But you know I'm typing all this and then I enter and it's so funny it'll generally like narrow down to I don't know, here's 30 concepts and I'll go okay, uh, number seven and number 10 work great, rest are trash.
• 1:05:54
  Vipul Bindra: can you work more and find me more like that?
• 1:05:56
  Vipul Bindra: And then that's basically.
• 1:05:57
  Vipul Bindra: Um, it does.
• 1:05:58
  Vipul Bindra: But what's amazing is all this took me 30 seconds, so it's insane.
• 1:06:02
  Vipul Bindra: 30 seconds later, I have actual concepts that I like, and now when I go to a writer, I'm like okay, here's your concepts that I need you to work.
• 1:06:09
  Vipul Bindra: So now I brought their work from, let's say, I don't know, four days, five days, to like one day, because now all they have to do is the brainstorming, the hardest part is reduced.
• 1:06:18
  Vipul Bindra: So I don, the hardest part is reduced.
• 1:06:19
  Vipul Bindra: So I don't think it replaces writers, like you said.
• 1:06:20
  Vipul Bindra: The content it produces is still, I think, not that good, but it can narrow, at least for me, the concepts of brainstorming.
• 1:06:27
  Vipul Bindra: Like funny enough for this podcast.
• 1:06:29
  Vipul Bindra: I was like I gotta start a podcast, but this isn't paying me, I don't have time.
• 1:06:32
  Vipul Bindra: So I was like what should I name the podcast?
• 1:06:34
  Vipul Bindra: give me names oh, yeah, I was like oh, I like these two, can you give me more like that?
• 1:06:38
  Vipul Bindra: And then that's how I ended up picking a name, because I'm like whatever, who cares?
• 1:06:41
  Vipul Bindra: I mean it's not that big of a deal, but I spent 30 seconds on it.
• 1:06:44
  Ben Mangum: I mean that's like my, my effort with chat gpd yeah, like you said, the brainstorming part takes a lot of time and just like starting and that it can help you save so much mental energy just to like it's already writing stuff, so fast oh okay, boom, I forgot about that.
• 1:06:59
  Vipul Bindra: I didn't think about that, so I do use it plus I've been using this, so I finally upgraded my mac from m1 max to m4, m4 max, uh, macbook or whatever, and what I love is now it's kind of integrated.
• 1:07:12
  Vipul Bindra: So I love I used to have to in the past go to my emails, copy paste, chat, gpd, bring it back.
• 1:07:17
  Vipul Bindra: Now you can literally right click and say make it more professional, make it more friendly, and so it can essentially rewrite that uh, I don't know if have you seen that like that's so cool, so like you can do that, I do use it for you, yeah but it's like straight in the apple laptop.
• 1:07:30
  Vipul Bindra: Now I don't even have to go to chat gpd I haven't done that.
• 1:07:32
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, that's so cool because it's saving me again.
• 1:07:35
  Vipul Bindra: That's 30 seconds.
• 1:07:36
  Vipul Bindra: I don't even have to go anywhere anymore.
• 1:07:38
  Vipul Bindra: I just go straight into the email and just hit rewrite or whatever and it'll just handle it.
• 1:07:43
  Vipul Bindra: And that's incredible.
• 1:07:44
  Vipul Bindra: Again, that's what I'm saying.
• 1:07:46
  Vipul Bindra: I don't think it replaces writers, but it definitely helps us make the content faster and better.
• 1:07:52
  Ben Mangum: Absolutely yeah.
• 1:07:54
  Ben Mangum: Research or ideas yeah, I use it quite a bit.
• 1:07:58
  Vipul Bindra: That's awesome.
• 1:07:58
  Vipul Bindra: So I want to and I know we're bouncing back, but I want to, and I know we're bouncing back.
• 1:08:02
  Vipul Bindra: But I want to go back to your structure.
• 1:08:04
  Vipul Bindra: So I know you said you do three months, eight grand whatever, 24 videos, whatever.
• 1:08:08
  Vipul Bindra: How do you structure pricing?
• 1:08:10
  Vipul Bindra: So do they have to pay you all up front, or are you splitting them in three months or three payments, or how do you go about the payment aspect of it?
• 1:08:20
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, so I'll either do payments so like if it's 8k, sometimes I'll do um four months at 2k, or but the content is only for three months, so you're giving them content before the the payment.
• 1:08:34
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, they're just doing payments, yeah okay, uh, I'm just, I just make it an easy like uh even even number.
• 1:08:41
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, okay.
• 1:08:42
  Ben Mangum: Or like sometimes it's 6K or whatever.
• 1:08:44
  Vipul Bindra: So what do you use?
• 1:08:45
  Vipul Bindra: Like you're just setting up some kind of invoice, Do you do automatic?
• 1:08:47
  Ben Mangum: payments.
• 1:08:47
  Ben Mangum: I do HoneyBook.
• 1:08:48
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I do automatic payments, yep.
• 1:08:50
  Vipul Bindra: So they don't get to pick, like when the payment comes out?
• 1:08:52
  Vipul Bindra: Is that true?
• 1:08:53
  Vipul Bindra: No, Okay.
• 1:08:55
  Ben Mangum: So like, if it's on the 5th of January, it's going to come out the 5th of February.
• 1:09:00
  Ben Mangum: Dude, that changed the game.
• 1:09:02
  Ben Mangum: For me, at least me personally was like either retainer or automatic payments.
• 1:09:06
  Ben Mangum: Dude, because I remember last year, or even you know, those beginning years of, like, chasing down clients for invoices.
• 1:09:14
  Ben Mangum: They're like you know, sometimes that would be like your only client that month.
• 1:09:18
  Ben Mangum: You're like dude, I need this money Exactly and that would suck, suck you know you feel weird, you know just as terrible.
• 1:09:24
  Ben Mangum: And then automatic payments.
• 1:09:25
  Ben Mangum: That makes you sleep a lot better at night.
• 1:09:28
  Vipul Bindra: Have you had any fail yet?
• 1:09:29
  Vipul Bindra: No so everything's going good, yeah everything's going good.
• 1:09:34
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I don't need that.
• 1:09:35
  Ben Mangum: Juju, don't be talking about it.
• 1:09:38
  Vipul Bindra: Um hey, I, we were seeing what our filmmaker chad and somebody had payment issues.
• 1:09:41
  Vipul Bindra: I was like, oh that seems like a nightmare.
• 1:09:43
  Vipul Bindra: I haven't had that in a long time.
• 1:09:45
  Vipul Bindra: I've had now, um funny enough.
• 1:09:47
  Vipul Bindra: Again it's the low payment.
• 1:09:48
  Vipul Bindra: I've only had one issue ever with payment, and that too, um, again, I I take 100 of the payment before I do anything.
• 1:09:54
  Ben Mangum: It's just what it is I need to do that, so I'll sometimes split it, like you said, but that's fine, then they still.
• 1:10:00
  Vipul Bindra: The other part needs to be paid before we come out to shoot.
• 1:10:02
  Ben Mangum: That's good.
• 1:10:03
  Ben Mangum: There is no payment after Dude I can't.
• 1:10:04
  Vipul Bindra: But I've had, like you know, my partners.
• 1:10:06
  Vipul Bindra: I don't want to name them, but I only partner with some organizations and obviously that's where you're kind of coming a half out of my pocket.
• 1:10:15
  Vipul Bindra: So they signed the contract and they were like, oh yeah, we'll.
• 1:10:25
  Vipul Bindra: Uh, we don't have enough money right now.
• 1:10:26
  Vipul Bindra: Can we pay you after this event or whatever?
• 1:10:27
  Vipul Bindra: I'm like I don't care, you know it's half my money anyway.
• 1:10:28
  Vipul Bindra: I'm not making any money on this, this is just a bonus thing.
• 1:10:29
  Vipul Bindra: And then now, four months later, there's no payment.
• 1:10:31
  Vipul Bindra: And then the next event is coming up and I'm like, uh, we're not gonna film, I can't schedule anyone, I can't pay editors and I pay all my crew either on the day off or before you know, when the shoots happen.
• 1:10:42
  Vipul Bindra: Because, again, I want to be that type of producer who's not owing anyone anything.
• 1:10:47
  Vipul Bindra: Plus, you want to come work with me.
• 1:10:49
  Vipul Bindra: Point is, I can't do that when I haven't even received the payment.
• 1:10:52
  Vipul Bindra: I can't schedule people when I don't know how to pay them.
• 1:10:54
  Vipul Bindra: But that's only one time.
• 1:10:56
  Vipul Bindra: But either way, I didn't lose anything because the event hasn't happened.
• 1:10:58
  Vipul Bindra: So I haven't lose anything because the event hasn't happened.
• 1:11:05
  Vipul Bindra: So I haven't scheduled anyone.
• 1:11:06
  Vipul Bindra: So there's no loss per se, but it is kind of annoying.
• 1:11:07
  Vipul Bindra: So I can't imagine.
• 1:11:07
  Vipul Bindra: If you've already done the work.
• 1:11:08
  Ben Mangum: How that would feel.
• 1:11:09
  Ben Mangum: Oh, that's happening, not getting paid.
• 1:11:09
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, yeah, that's happened to me a few times.
• 1:11:11
  Ben Mangum: I would dude.
• 1:11:12
  Ben Mangum: I have to start doing that.
• 1:11:13
  Ben Mangum: I actually have one project now this is kind of crazy to say so like I did a 50 deposit and normally I do 50 after it's delivered, I need to start doing on the day of the day before the shoot.
• 1:11:27
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, before the shoot or two days before the show.
• 1:11:29
  Vipul Bindra: How are you gonna set it up?
• 1:11:30
  Vipul Bindra: I used to do that way 50 up front and then 50 at delivery.
• 1:11:34
  Vipul Bindra: Thing is I don't want to, which I mean I've never had a client say I don't love the video, but I don't even want that risk where they go, I don't like the video but I don't even want that risk where they go.
• 1:11:42
  Vipul Bindra: I don't like the video that's happening to me.
• 1:11:43
  Vipul Bindra: See, that's what I'm saying.
• 1:11:43
  Vipul Bindra: I didn't even want see.
• 1:11:44
  Vipul Bindra: My thing is I listen to other people and I say I don't want that.
• 1:11:46
  Vipul Bindra: So now it's just that, and 50% upfront and 50% before the shoot.
• 1:11:52
  Vipul Bindra: That's the only split option they get.
• 1:11:58
  Ben Mangum: And that too you, they, they agree to the budget, and then you explain that to them, or how would you do that?
• 1:12:05
  Ben Mangum: No, it's just in the agreement.
• 1:12:06
  Ben Mangum: So my proposal oh, so you don't even tell them on the call?
• 1:12:09
  Vipul Bindra: Well, no, no, I can't.
• 1:12:10
  Vipul Bindra: If they're like, I'm like, hey, okay, so the payment is just, uh, at the time of contract signing, or you have the option to split it.
• 1:12:22
  Ben Mangum: You can do 50, 50 if you want to.
• 1:12:23
  Vipul Bindra: That's an option, and but I would only offer it for uh, you know, if they bring it up, yeah, no, no.
• 1:12:25
  Vipul Bindra: Or if it's a decent amount, if it's like 20 grand, I want to offer it to a small business.
• 1:12:27
  Vipul Bindra: It depends.
• 1:12:27
  Vipul Bindra: Funny enough.
• 1:12:28
  Vipul Bindra: Clients who have money never question it, my biggest clients 30 grand invoice paid immediately.
• 1:12:34
  Vipul Bindra: I'm telling you, the bigger the clients get, the at least for me I don't want to say all big clients, but the payments come out much easier you I've literally had.
• 1:12:43
  Vipul Bindra: Now I've had that happen where it's like, hey, I've got a 15 grand invoice spending and they haven't even opened it.
• 1:12:47
  Vipul Bindra: Thank goodness I can track in my proposal software when they're opening it.
• 1:12:50
  Vipul Bindra: Um, so all I've had to do, funny enough, I'm like, hey, uh, I gotta buy plane tickets.
• 1:12:56
  Vipul Bindra: What's going on?
• 1:12:57
  Vipul Bindra: And the client goes oh, sorry, didn't even look at it and then before I can respond to that message, paid screenshot.
• 1:13:04
  Vipul Bindra: So it's not that they weren't wanting to pay, they just didn't look at it because they're busy.
• 1:13:08
  Vipul Bindra: It's always the 10 and under clients and they're like can we split it?
• 1:13:12
  Vipul Bindra: We can't afford it, and that's okay because they're small businesses.
• 1:13:15
  Vipul Bindra: I need to up my prices, man, yeah, but yeah, but remember, there's not that much profit.
• 1:13:34
  Vipul Bindra: That's my other side of it.
• 1:13:35
  Vipul Bindra: I know people talk to me and they're like has somebody who's done wide scale of, I would say, renting from yourself and maybe a couple of people, right, so you can make, and maybe an editor, you can make 50, 60% profit, if not more.
• 1:13:49
  Vipul Bindra: How much do you want?
• 1:13:50
  Vipul Bindra: to do yourself, you edit yourself, you can make that, but anything gets bigger.
• 1:13:57
  Vipul Bindra: You start to bring crews in and you start to bring better equipment in, do you?
• 1:13:58
  Vipul Bindra: Have to that's very good to see and that's a very good topic, though I don't think you'll get repeat clients, because here's the truth.
• 1:14:05
  Vipul Bindra: Let's say you charge someone 15K, right?
• 1:14:07
  Ben Mangum: Okay, and you still use the same.
• 1:14:09
  Vipul Bindra: For one video, or two videos, let's say, because that sounds like a realistic package.
• 1:14:17
  Vipul Bindra: We'll make you two videos,500 a video.
• 1:14:19
  Vipul Bindra: Now remember, you're charging them $7,500 per video, plus you're shooting them both on the same day and then you go and you bring the same equipment you would have for that 3,500 video that we were just talking about and the same assistance.
• 1:14:34
  Vipul Bindra: Are they getting the value?
• 1:14:36
  Vipul Bindra: Or you're making more money?
• 1:14:37
  Vipul Bindra: Because then guess what they'll do?
• 1:14:38
  Vipul Bindra: They'll talk to their buddy on the golf course who'll say, oh, we hired bindra and he brought big lights and big setups and the video looked nicer and there was a bigger crew and he paid more attention to us because he could, because you know he had a bigger crew and and so that's very good way in my opinion and again, it's not just me, it's a lot of bigger shoots, the minimum, like I I see what you're saying, I haven't done that, but like what do you think's the See to me?
• 1:15:07
  Ben Mangum: I feel like, if it's not some crazy commercial, you know you can, you're the director, you have a DP, you have a PA, maybe a grip yeah and a BTS if you want Sure, grip yeah and a bts if you want sure and you think that's.
• 1:15:25
  Ben Mangum: Is that what you consider?
• 1:15:26
  Ben Mangum: Having a bigger crew for a bigger project, or is that a small crew to you?
• 1:15:27
  Vipul Bindra: and that's what I'm saying.
• 1:15:28
  Vipul Bindra: It depends on the scalability and the client's expectations.
• 1:15:31
  Vipul Bindra: So, um, that's what I'm trying to say.
• 1:15:35
  Vipul Bindra: It's the budget right, their budget and reflects the quality.
• 1:15:37
  Vipul Bindra: They're not just paying you 15 grand because they want to and you can get away with it.
• 1:15:41
  Vipul Bindra: That's what the the thing is now.
• 1:15:43
  Vipul Bindra: Yes, some people do value-based pricing yeah and, yes, you can charge 15 grand for your video because you're making the millions of dollars.
• 1:15:49
  Vipul Bindra: That's a completely different sales strategy.
• 1:15:50
  Vipul Bindra: I'm just going by video production.
• 1:15:52
  Vipul Bindra: Okay, what we do.
• 1:15:53
  Vipul Bindra: You charge them 15 grand and then give them a video that somebody else can make for 1500 to 2000.
• 1:15:59
  Vipul Bindra: You're doing them disservice.
• 1:15:59
  Vipul Bindra: You're doing them disservice and it's a very good way, in my opinion, not to get hired again personally, because here's the other side of it.
• 1:16:06
  Vipul Bindra: Now, the scalability depends on the budget.
• 1:16:09
  Vipul Bindra: Now, if they say I want a talking head, right, and they're a large national brand, they know what the costs are.
• 1:16:16
  Vipul Bindra: They're not stupid.
• 1:16:17
  Vipul Bindra: Oh okay, so for 50 grand they expect.
• 1:16:19
  Ben Mangum: It kind of depends on the client, yeah exactly.
• 1:16:21
  Vipul Bindra: So I'm already budgeting in that we're going to have to rent two Alexa Mini LFs, two Signature Primes, maybe a set of Signature Primes.
• 1:16:29
  Vipul Bindra: I'm going to have to have DPs that can handle that equipment.
• 1:16:32
  Ben Mangum: Not everyone can operate that.
• 1:16:33
  Ben Mangum: Do they talk to you about that stuff, though it depends on?
• 1:16:41
  Ben Mangum: The agency is expecting you to have more gear, more people.
• 1:16:46
  Vipul Bindra: No for that budget so again, uh, some will stay direct.
• 1:16:49
  Vipul Bindra: So some come with full creative like, hey, this is the shot deck, this is this you're just directing or producing it.
• 1:16:55
  Vipul Bindra: Here's, uh, the equipment requirements or whatever.
• 1:16:57
  Vipul Bindra: Or we want you to come up with one one or the other.
• 1:16:59
  Vipul Bindra: But some are still like the clients where they're like this is what we want done.
• 1:17:03
  Vipul Bindra: But as long as you have prior relationship, they let you only, then not, but they let you just be in charge of it.
• 1:17:10
  Vipul Bindra: But what I'm saying is that is the expectation.
• 1:17:12
  Vipul Bindra: If I showed up with um sony fx6 on that big of a shoot, not, you know, it ain't gonna work.
• 1:17:19
  Vipul Bindra: Now they do have sometimes lower budget shoots.
• 1:17:21
  Ben Mangum: I've had that happen.
• 1:17:22
  Vipul Bindra: We're like, okay, uh, we're going to do a three camera interview.
• 1:17:25
  Vipul Bindra: This xyz celebrity is coming to town, right, you're going to do that and the budget is, I don't know, eight grand.
• 1:17:31
  Vipul Bindra: Then, yes, we're going to still use fx6s.
• 1:17:33
  Vipul Bindra: That's for the same agency yeah the budget reflects the people.
• 1:17:37
  Vipul Bindra: Cost is always higher than the equipment costs.
• 1:17:40
  Ben Mangum: So in that scenario, with an agency there, it's like expected for you to have, for example, the Alexas compared to the FX6s, like they understand.
• 1:17:51
  Vipul Bindra: That's at least what the demand is, but that's why the budget is higher.
• 1:17:54
  Ben Mangum: I don't think they're really nearly paying you money.
• 1:17:56
  Ben Mangum: Why would they?
• 1:17:56
  Ben Mangum: They want to keep all of it.
• 1:17:57
  Ben Mangum: So, okay, how about different scenario?
• 1:18:01
  Ben Mangum: Let's say uh, you know, for my package I did a brand video faq and some testimonials.
• 1:18:08
  Ben Mangum: I think I did an ad.
• 1:18:09
  Ben Mangum: Whatever, it doesn't matter, yeah.
• 1:18:11
  Ben Mangum: But let's say I charged 7500 and that they didn't ask about camera equipment it was just business at that level wouldn't care.
• 1:18:18
  Ben Mangum: Yes, and so let's just say I decided to charge $15,000 for a brand video and a testimonial video.
• 1:18:26
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah.
• 1:18:26
  Ben Mangum: Maybe we do an ad.
• 1:18:27
  Vipul Bindra: It still doesn't matter yeah.
• 1:18:30
  Ben Mangum: Can I not just hire FX6s?
• 1:18:33
  Vipul Bindra: You know a DP that has the FX6 and it doesn't Exactly.
• 1:18:35
  Vipul Bindra: I mean, again, you can do anything.
• 1:18:36
  Vipul Bindra: So it's kind of two different scenarios, right.
• 1:18:37
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, but here's the two ways to do it.
• 1:18:40
  Ben Mangum: But that's more profitable.
• 1:18:41
  Ben Mangum: Is what I'm trying to say?
• 1:18:42
  Vipul Bindra: Yes, so there you go.
• 1:18:43
  Vipul Bindra: There's two ways to do it.
• 1:18:45
  Vipul Bindra: One is you just make more profit.
• 1:18:47
  Vipul Bindra: You do the exact same thing you would have for $15,000 and you just put the extra $75,000 in your pocket.
• 1:18:55
  Vipul Bindra: Can you absolutely do that?
• 1:18:56
  Vipul Bindra: Absolutely.
• 1:18:57
  Vipul Bindra: If the client will come back to you and you give them a product that's worth 15k, why wouldn't they, why wouldn't you do that?
• 1:19:04
  Vipul Bindra: Absolutely?
• 1:19:04
  Vipul Bindra: You have to understand to that client 15 grand is a lot of money, yeah, right, for a lot of they want.
• 1:19:11
  Vipul Bindra: If they're paying you 15 grand, they're expecting 15 grand of value, right, yeah, the way they care about is they're wanting sales.
• 1:19:18
  Vipul Bindra: And then they want the video to look at a certain quality.
• 1:19:22
  Vipul Bindra: You know, on par of whatever.
• 1:19:24
  Vipul Bindra: The quality is what I'm saying, what my thing is and and maybe again, this is this, is this, which is great.
• 1:19:30
  Vipul Bindra: I'm glad we're having this conversation.
• 1:19:32
  Vipul Bindra: People typically who do videos at this point don't, don't even.
• 1:19:34
  Vipul Bindra: That's, not even a point.
• 1:19:35
  Vipul Bindra: That's why you're charging that much.
• 1:19:36
  Vipul Bindra: You're charging because that's what it costs to make it.
• 1:19:39
  Vipul Bindra: Right, my costs are.
• 1:19:41
  Vipul Bindra: I'm already initially going.
• 1:19:42
  Vipul Bindra: Here's the production fee, right, that's what the company makes.
• 1:19:45
  Vipul Bindra: The rest is all expenses.
• 1:19:47
  Vipul Bindra: Now I can make some more money because if I'm directing it or I'm the DP, I can take that day rate for myself, or sometimes I'm not, because if I'm on another project I want to hire somebody else, then that goes to them.
• 1:19:58
  Vipul Bindra: But I could make more money now by, you know, taking some of the roles.
• 1:20:02
  Vipul Bindra: But the the money is, this is for equipment, this is for people.
• 1:20:06
  Vipul Bindra: Now I have a lot of equipment so I can pull some of the rental into bender productions too.
• 1:20:11
  Vipul Bindra: But sometimes we don't have a certain which I mean rare but bigger equipment, like I used to have alexis, but I don't anymore because it wasn't worth.
• 1:20:18
  Vipul Bindra: I'd rather rent them.
• 1:20:19
  Vipul Bindra: The point I'm trying to say is, then, that cost is going to a rental company or to a.
• 1:20:24
  Vipul Bindra: DP I prefer, like you, I prefer a DP who has their own Alexa.
• 1:20:27
  Vipul Bindra: That way I can just loop that into one and maybe make an extra profit.
• 1:20:31
  Vipul Bindra: But the point I'm trying to get to is the video has to match the quality.
• 1:20:35
  Vipul Bindra: I'm saying, if you offer a seven grand video or 15 grand five times in a row, there's a high likely chance you won't be doing this for too long yeah, well, let's say, I don't know.
• 1:20:47
  Ben Mangum: I guess my point is that I understand what you're saying.
• 1:20:50
  Ben Mangum: Of course you have more expenses, whatever.
• 1:20:53
  Ben Mangum: There's a couple different scenarios.
• 1:20:55
  Ben Mangum: But let's say, you know, the two, three videos you're making for 15 grand are very high quality, kind of like the stuff that I worked on when I was directing, for you know, you got the fx6s, or you know, you have, I don't know, three people helping you like, do you think in your experience?
• 1:21:13
  Ben Mangum: I guess let's just call it branding yourself as the more premium?
• 1:21:18
  Ben Mangum: like, like yourself, like you have all the equipment you have the crew, do you think?
• 1:21:24
  Ben Mangum: Do you think that small let's just call it small businesses they're doing a couple million?
• 1:21:30
  Vipul Bindra: a year that they would be willing to pay absolutely if they want to play at the higher level, if they want to be?
• 1:21:36
  Ben Mangum: what type of client do you think would pay that much?
• 1:21:39
  Vipul Bindra: so funny enough, and I know the people have called her like hey, like he been to the premium, I'm actually a value option.
• 1:21:45
  Vipul Bindra: Funny enough, the people I'm competing against, uh.
• 1:21:48
  Vipul Bindra: So there's agencies, I won't name them.
• 1:21:50
  Vipul Bindra: They'll charge uh, for example, an organization, but this is a realistic scenario, I'm just not telling you the name, but they will charge this organization one million dollars for yearly content.
• 1:22:01
  Vipul Bindra: Right, I am the guy.
• 1:22:03
  Vipul Bindra: And again, very known agency, very known organization, nonprofit.
• 1:22:09
  Vipul Bindra: That's the video cost, that's the budget, that's the RFP that they put out.
• 1:22:13
  Vipul Bindra: I am the option.
• 1:22:14
  Vipul Bindra: I can come and do this for half a million, right?
• 1:22:17
  Vipul Bindra: So I'm saying, in the high-end scale, I am the value option, I'm not the high-end million, right?
• 1:22:22
  Vipul Bindra: so I'm saying, in the high end scale, I am the value option, I'm not, I'm not.
• 1:22:24
  Vipul Bindra: I'm basically saying I'll give you the ferrari at the price of, I don't know, a toyota, whatever, but I don't want to be.
• 1:22:27
  Ben Mangum: Yes, I'm not playing in the honda league yeah, they're like a bugatti, not to say anything bad about honda, but I'm not.
• 1:22:32
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, I'm not playing at the honda ikea, whatever low, I'm not a car person, whatever the low car value is.
• 1:22:37
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, I am.
• 1:22:38
  Vipul Bindra: I'm trying to give you a ferrari and actually give you ferrari.
• 1:22:41
  Vipul Bindra: There's a difference because, like I say, you can go and say I'll give you a ferrari the price of a toyota, but can you actually right?
• 1:22:47
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, I am saying no, I, if I come in and I am doing a video at that level, it's gonna be a video at that level.
• 1:22:54
  Vipul Bindra: I'm, I am the budget like video king in that higher price tier.
• 1:22:58
  Vipul Bindra: So technically I'm not the premium.
• 1:23:00
  Vipul Bindra: But yes, for lower clients, when I do which is my favorite work, like you, service-based businesses, for them somehow I become the premium option.
• 1:23:08
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, because I am slightly higher.
• 1:23:11
  Ben Mangum: Some people even I'm like eight, six grand.
• 1:23:13
  Ben Mangum: They're like exactly.
• 1:23:14
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so you are the premium option.
• 1:23:15
  Vipul Bindra: But you have to understand I am going by, look, I'm solving your problem and I will make you a great video and I guarantee you at that price point that's the only guarantee I'm giving you.
• 1:23:27
  Vipul Bindra: Nobody can make this video with more people, more equipment and better quality at that price point, because you cannot compare my $100,000 video with my $5,000 video.
• 1:23:36
  Vipul Bindra: That wouldn't be fair.
• 1:23:37
  Vipul Bindra: You can't go oh, vipple, you made this and then you made this track.
• 1:23:41
  Vipul Bindra: It doesn't match.
• 1:23:42
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah Right, but at that five grand, I'm saying nobody can come in, because I know for a fact they can't because they don't have the rental costs they can absorb and the equipment costs or whatever they can absorb.
• 1:23:52
  Vipul Bindra: And that's the advantage I have.
• 1:23:54
  Vipul Bindra: I wouldn't do this, to be real, I wouldn't be financially responsible if all I did was 5k videos.
• 1:23:59
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, of course, when I'm handling this, I'm like I'm absorbing this or I'm I'm taking this rental cost and I own this equipment that's getting used.
• 1:24:07
  Vipul Bindra: So when I go to my smaller talking head, whatever, I'm doing it because it's faster for me, it's faster for me to set up a 600x with the light dome 150 and quickly set up two socklers with two fx6s, just because that is actually efficient.
• 1:24:21
  Vipul Bindra: I'm not trying to show off or anything, but now that does play into it because that becomes an experience for the client.
• 1:24:28
  Vipul Bindra: They are not expecting that at five grand or four grand or three grand or whatever the lower tier price points are.
• 1:24:34
  Vipul Bindra: And then when somebody else they hire who shows up with two mirrorless cameras, guess what's going to happen?
• 1:24:39
  Ben Mangum: They go, oh why would we hire this?
• 1:24:42
  Vipul Bindra: It's not necessary.
• 1:24:43
  Vipul Bindra: You're absolutely right.
• 1:24:44
  Vipul Bindra: Typically, when you're working directly with a business owner, they don't care because they genuinely don't know.
• 1:24:50
  Ben Mangum: But they do care about size.
• 1:24:51
  Vipul Bindra: Size doesn't matter.
• 1:24:53
  Ben Mangum: That's what she said.
• 1:24:55
  Vipul Bindra: You know, because they don't know an FX6 or an FX3, but they can tell the size.
• 1:24:59
  Vipul Bindra: Tell me an fx6 or an fx3, but they can't tell the size.
• 1:25:00
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, tell me if I'm wrong, and then they will always hire the guy with the bigger camera.
• 1:25:03
  Ben Mangum: Now, that's why a lot of?
• 1:25:04
  Ben Mangum: People will fake it with the cinebacks and the matte boxes, and then you can I mean that's fine yeah, I mean that's the part of the game yeah, and I guess to be clear too, like what I was saying, like I have clients who have paid me 20, 30k over the year, but I've never had a client pay me 15.
• 1:25:22
  Vipul Bindra: Actually, well, I have had one client pay me 12K for one video, but it was a very long video it was like a 20 minute video as fucking hell, so I don't even kind of count it.
• 1:25:32
  Vipul Bindra: I mean that's fair.
• 1:25:34
  Vipul Bindra: See, you charge 12K because you spend a lot of time on it, so the value is there.
• 1:25:38
  Ben Mangum: I guess my point.
• 1:25:38
  Ben Mangum: Like you did answer the question, I don't know premium, which we'll call it fx6 yeah, whatever the yeah, you know great great lighting whatever into the local smaller business market sure it's kind of like that next price.
• 1:26:00
  Vipul Bindra: I mean it's not that much more money but it's still quite a bit for, like, let's just call it a local business but yeah, absolutely I could, and that could be the option like I I was telling people look, if I'm free, um, not to again, we're not trying to sell anything here.
• 1:26:12
  Vipul Bindra: But option Like I was telling people look, if I'm free, not to again, we're not trying to sell anything here, but that's like I was telling you, look, I always tell people there's no ROI in equipment, especially if you're playing in those lower numbers.
• 1:26:20
  Vipul Bindra: So if you go out now you're a sales guy, you go out, you tomorrow sell somebody a 10K or 7K.
• 1:26:27
  Vipul Bindra: 7k would be more realistic, um, uh, 7, 7,000, 7,500, talking head.
• 1:26:33
  Vipul Bindra: Right, you can bring me out.
• 1:26:35
  Vipul Bindra: And now you, you could pull in.
• 1:26:37
  Vipul Bindra: I don't know how much you pay an editor, but you could pull 5, 6k easily, right, 5k.
• 1:26:41
  Vipul Bindra: Give editor a thousand k, pay 1500 to me and now you can have a massive set.
• 1:26:45
  Vipul Bindra: Right, you've impressed them and the client will go yes, this was worth it, as long as, again, your editor is good in the end, final video matches their expectations.
• 1:26:55
  Vipul Bindra: You don't have to have zero investment.
• 1:26:56
  Vipul Bindra: You can still make a lot of money.
• 1:26:58
  Vipul Bindra: But the only way you can do that is with rentals.
• 1:27:00
  Vipul Bindra: People need to understand stop buying everything, Cause if you can't play in the higher level, then you don't need to buy buying it.
• 1:27:07
  Vipul Bindra: You always rent.
• 1:27:12
  Vipul Bindra: Even me like, like I said, it was a mistake buying an alexa.
• 1:27:14
  Vipul Bindra: It didn't, didn't get used enough for it to be worth it and we're in central florida where the rental market isn't high enough, so it made more sense to just rent it when I needed it than to keep it on hand.
• 1:27:23
  Vipul Bindra: But but it makes sense.
• 1:27:25
  Vipul Bindra: With the fx6, because the rental market is huge, I'm making thousands and thousands of dollars of the camera just in rentals and forget my use and use another set.
• 1:27:36
  Vipul Bindra: So the ROI is how I determine.
• 1:27:38
  Vipul Bindra: Even though I'm a gear freak and I love gear, I don't keep anything that doesn't make ROI.
• 1:27:44
  Vipul Bindra: If it's making me an ROI is an investment.
• 1:27:46
  Vipul Bindra: So, coming back, I hope that answers your question.
• 1:27:49
  Ben Mangum: But what I'm trying to say is, honestly now, the more that you explain it, it I'm like that was kind of a stupid question.
• 1:27:53
  Ben Mangum: No, no, that's.
• 1:27:54
  Vipul Bindra: There's no stupid questions, because people do do that.
• 1:27:56
  Vipul Bindra: I've had people where they go.
• 1:27:57
  Vipul Bindra: They have never had a 10k project and then they finally will.
• 1:28:00
  Vipul Bindra: And then they'll hire two of their buddies to come assist them for a couple hundred bucks, which is fine, and they're like look I made 90, and they would have been better if they made,500.
• 1:28:09
  Vipul Bindra: And then, a year later, I'm like awesome, so what else did you do with that client?
• 1:28:13
  Vipul Bindra: That's cool, because that's how you get to bigger and bigger leagues.
• 1:28:15
  Vipul Bindra: And it's like, oh, they never called me back.
• 1:28:17
  Vipul Bindra: Well, why do you think?
• 1:28:19
  Vipul Bindra: Right, because they don't know the equipment, because you're working directly with them.
• 1:28:23
  Vipul Bindra: But they know what value is Right, they know what they expect and uh, like I was talking, our meetup client experience is important.
• 1:28:33
  Vipul Bindra: So there's the experience of sales, right.
• 1:28:35
  Vipul Bindra: Then you do your pre-production call, but when you shoot, that is the first impression.
• 1:28:41
  Vipul Bindra: Sure, the video is the final impression and that's what ultimately matters yeah but if that sucks, they'll always go.
• 1:28:48
  Vipul Bindra: The video was great, but let me try someone else, and when they do and and I'm not the only one I don't want to be like I am some something doing.
• 1:28:55
  Vipul Bindra: Of course there's hundreds and hundreds of people, players that play in the game like a real production company, right, and they'll happily, you know, make a good video then, or whatever that cost factor is then they go.
• 1:29:09
  Vipul Bindra: Why am I gonna, or their agency's gonna, go?
• 1:29:10
  Vipul Bindra: Why am I going to, or their agency is going to go?
• 1:29:11
  Vipul Bindra: Why am I going to hire this person who just wants to pocket the money?
• 1:29:15
  Vipul Bindra: And they're not going to get the better ROI right.
• 1:29:18
  Vipul Bindra: At the end of the day, for businesses, it's all about money.
• 1:29:20
  Ben Mangum: It's not about video for us.
• 1:29:21
  Vipul Bindra: It's about and that's what people don't get.
• 1:29:24
  Vipul Bindra: It's like hey, why would you use An Alexa?
• 1:29:26
  Vipul Bindra: My FX3 can do 90% of that.
• 1:29:29
  Vipul Bindra: Yes, it can, absolutely, but that 10% matters.
• 1:29:31
  Vipul Bindra: That's why we're using it.
• 1:29:33
  Vipul Bindra: But I wouldn't use it.
• 1:29:34
  Vipul Bindra: Like, even if I owned an Alexa, I wouldn't take it to my, to that brand video.
• 1:29:39
  Vipul Bindra: We're about to make this hypothetical.
• 1:29:41
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, that'd be silly, because now our data rates are higher, our SSDs we need to dump.
• 1:29:46
  Vipul Bindra: We need to do this, like, we don't have time for that, right?
• 1:29:53
  Vipul Bindra: Um, so fx6 is a better choice at that moment.
• 1:29:54
  Vipul Bindra: But now, on the same thing, you're like can, can I use two iphones?
• 1:29:56
  Vipul Bindra: There's the other side of it.
• 1:29:57
  Vipul Bindra: Absolutely should you.
• 1:29:58
  Vipul Bindra: Are you going to use two iphones?
• 1:30:00
  Ben Mangum: no, but.
• 1:30:00
  Ben Mangum: But the quality is there the new pros.
• 1:30:02
  Vipul Bindra: You can even record in log and that's what I'm talking, it's the, the client but it's like they're paying you.
• 1:30:07
  Ben Mangum: You know what I'm saying?
• 1:30:08
  Ben Mangum: Exactly, exactly.
• 1:30:09
  Vipul Bindra: I don't even have to.
• 1:30:10
  Vipul Bindra: But that's what I'm saying.
• 1:30:10
  Vipul Bindra: See, that's the exact scale that it goes into.
• 1:30:13
  Vipul Bindra: But the funny thing is you don't need to own any of this.
• 1:30:16
  Vipul Bindra: You don't need to buy anything If you want to start playing in that league.
• 1:30:19
  Vipul Bindra: All you need to do is just go sell it, because there's people with those equipment and that skill set, that are ready to be hired by you.
• 1:30:31
  Vipul Bindra: You'll be the boss, uh, and making still the most amount of money, though I don't.
• 1:30:34
  Vipul Bindra: I do want people to know the profits, like right here in this hypothetical uh, uh, you know brand story video, which is not that hypothetical.
• 1:30:39
  Vipul Bindra: We've done videos of that, right?
• 1:30:41
  Vipul Bindra: Um, you're pulling 5k out of 7500 budget.
• 1:30:45
  Vipul Bindra: Very good profit, right?
• 1:30:46
  Vipul Bindra: Maybe a couple of days of work plus meetings, one for editing, let's say, one for shooting.
• 1:30:52
  Vipul Bindra: But on the other side, same thing.
• 1:30:54
  Vipul Bindra: If you're I don't know making a 30K brand video, guess what?
• 1:30:59
  Vipul Bindra: How many meetings there are going to be?
• 1:31:00
  Ben Mangum: True.
• 1:31:01
  Vipul Bindra: How much equipment there's going to be, how many pre-light days there are going to be.
• 1:31:04
  Vipul Bindra: There's more work, and so the profit may be less than 10K, 12k, 15k, I don't know out of the 50K, but technically I think you made less profit overall per day.
• 1:31:13
  Vipul Bindra: So I tell people all the time there's more money to be made if you want to play with small businesses, because you can pull a higher profit rate and still make them happier, because two FX6 will please and an FX3 maybe that will please any small business.
• 1:31:32
  Vipul Bindra: The problem is why I like to play in this middle ground, because not that many small businesses have a 10 15k right to just spend every other month, at least in my opinion yeah versus the people who do have it.
• 1:31:44
  Vipul Bindra: That's the scale that they're expecting, and I'd rather not go chasing, you know people, because the thing is they're like, oh, we would love to work with, but we don't have that kind of budget.
• 1:31:53
  Vipul Bindra: Then what's the point?
• 1:31:55
  Vipul Bindra: You know?
• 1:31:56
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I don't know, I don't know, I think both are valid.
• 1:31:58
  Vipul Bindra: No, I hear you.
• 1:31:59
  Ben Mangum: I guess I've just been kind of debating and I asked all those questions because, like, I kind of like what we were saying.
• 1:32:06
  Ben Mangum: Like you know, know, you do the brand videos and this and that compared to just doing vertical content.
• 1:32:11
  Ben Mangum: With the vertical content I very much productized the offer and I made it, I mean pretty affordable you know what I'm saying, like for the amount of videos.
• 1:32:20
  Ben Mangum: It's not the same work as a brand video, but it's almost like this yin and yang of you know.
• 1:32:26
  Ben Mangum: Should I go back to doing more?
• 1:32:29
  Ben Mangum: I guess longer format, trying to pitch bigger prices, or should I like?
• 1:32:35
  Vipul Bindra: you know what I'm saying and I think that's something you've got to play with.
• 1:32:38
  Vipul Bindra: I think this would be exactly okay.
• 1:32:42
  Vipul Bindra: What I'm thinking is it would be better to add to your best option right, so you offer good, better best, and in your best you're like, hey, you get this plus you get a brand video right, and if they pick it, then you get to do that.
• 1:32:54
  Vipul Bindra: But I don't think you should take away from the offer that you're having success in sure because biggest, I think, mistake would be you're like I'm tired of it, which I get it.
• 1:33:05
  Vipul Bindra: If you're doing the same thing over and over again, no matter what scale, you get bored, um, uh, then you just stop doing it, and then now you're not making the revenue that you were, uh, but nothing stops you from also offering those at the same time.
• 1:33:19
  Vipul Bindra: And you know, and you're good at them I've seen your brand videos so they're great.
• 1:33:22
  Vipul Bindra: So why, why not offer them?
• 1:33:25
  Vipul Bindra: You know?
• 1:33:25
  Ben Mangum: true, but I don't think you should take away from vertical because there's higher profits like you said, said you can make bigger profit.
• 1:33:32
  Ben Mangum: If you're the one doing a lot of that, I mean you could hire somebody else to shoot yeah.
• 1:33:36
  Vipul Bindra: And but, but it's easier to find.
• 1:33:37
  Vipul Bindra: Uh also people at that for vertical content cheaper because, they don't need to be that highly skilled, highly technical people.
• 1:33:46
  Ben Mangum: But at the same time I have done that.
• 1:33:47
  Ben Mangum: I mean, I guess I'm just sharing this, maybe there's.
• 1:33:49
  Ben Mangum: You know, you just got to be careful of who you've hired because you could hire somebody at a lower rate.
• 1:33:55
  Ben Mangum: Maybe they have a good camera or whatever, but maybe they don't have as much experience talking with a client that you know.
• 1:34:03
  Ben Mangum: You gotta definitely vet your people.
• 1:34:04
  Ben Mangum: Yes, you gotta.
• 1:34:05
  Ben Mangum: I've had.
• 1:34:06
  Vipul Bindra: I've had uh, not that, but I've had mistake of um again.
• 1:34:10
  Vipul Bindra: I'm very careful about who I bring to my set of vet people, but I've had mistake where I didn't realize and these are things you have to test out in public because you won't find that easily but where they start talking about their girlfriend, their family or something that went wrong in their life, I'm very easy to talk to Like I'll talk about anything with someone, but in front of my client, no, I mean we don't want to talk.
• 1:34:31
  Vipul Bindra: We can joke around and have fun, but we don't want to be talking about personal issues or you know things like that.
• 1:34:35
  Vipul Bindra: That becomes unprofessional very fast.
• 1:34:37
  Vipul Bindra: I've had that happen where I'm like, oh, I can't bring this person again, despite their skill level, because that's a negative experience, because my client doesn't need to be hearing about you know what your girlfriend did at home?
• 1:34:50
  Ben Mangum: or whatever, whatever.
• 1:34:50
  Ben Mangum: You got a rash yeah.
• 1:34:54
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, exactly.
• 1:34:55
  Vipul Bindra: And maybe it's fine when we're chilling at lunch when there's no one around.
• 1:35:02
  Vipul Bindra: Whatever, I don't care.
• 1:35:04
  Vipul Bindra: To be honest, I'll talk about it.
• 1:35:05
  Ben Mangum: Yeah.
• 1:35:06
  Vipul Bindra: Like you know, we were after that event.
• 1:35:07
  Vipul Bindra: We were like chilling, we're talking Cool.
• 1:35:08
  Vipul Bindra: No, who cares?
• 1:35:14
  Ben Mangum: But I wouldn't have that conversation that we had in front of a client, kind of like that.
• 1:35:17
  Ben Mangum: Right, yeah, exactly, I guess to me.
• 1:35:17
  Ben Mangum: I think the reason I was asking all this stuff is just beginning of the year.
• 1:35:20
  Ben Mangum: You're trying to think okay, I want to scale which, because there's so many different ways you can go about this business and like the offers.
• 1:35:27
  Ben Mangum: If you you know people say it all the time like the offers.
• 1:35:30
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, one of the most important parts, exactly I think the offer should still be the same, because I don't think you can and some people do that.
• 1:35:37
  Vipul Bindra: Now, yes, as a DP, if you're trying to be a DP, it may make sense to buy, let's say, your Alexa Mini or Mini LF and then now you can market yourself.
• 1:35:47
  Vipul Bindra: Look, I'm a DP, I come with this and you may get work because there are productions that are just looking for we need an FX6 DP or we need an Arri Alexa Mini DP, but as long as your skill obviously matches with what the camera you have.
• 1:35:59
  Vipul Bindra: But that camera will get you work.
• 1:36:00
  Vipul Bindra: But as a production company owner or as somebody who's working with small businesses, there's no ROI in that.
• 1:36:06
  Vipul Bindra: You will not find a single business owner who will pay you, because even fx6 or an arielx, they don't know the difference right, they can see the size, like we were talking about.
• 1:36:15
  Vipul Bindra: So I don't think your offer should have anything to do with equipment.
• 1:36:18
  Vipul Bindra: Your offer should be like you're offering now like hey, here's what the business problem is, here's what the solution is and here's what the cost is after you met them to solve that problem.
• 1:36:29
  Vipul Bindra: Now what you can do is offer again a higher end solution where the production quality automatically should increase because it's a higher cost option sure, that makes, yeah, that makes sense.
• 1:36:41
  Vipul Bindra: So your okay, so your percentage profit may drop on that higher end option, but the number may be higher if that makes sense it shouldn't take you longer to make it, especially with small businesses.
• 1:36:53
  Vipul Bindra: You can shoot most things in a day or two.
• 1:36:55
  Vipul Bindra: At least that's what I think.
• 1:36:56
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, what do you think?
• 1:36:58
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I mean I agree with that for the most part.
• 1:36:59
  Ben Mangum: Sometimes I've found like certain industries kind of suck, like not that the industry sucks, but just the type of project, because ideally you're like oh, we could totally shoot this in one day.
• 1:37:10
  Ben Mangum: Which a lot of b-roll and talking parts you can.
• 1:37:13
  Ben Mangum: However, sometimes you want the client.
• 1:37:16
  Ben Mangum: They're the clients like oh, like you know, you shot the before, can you come back and like shoot the after, whether they like did tile work or whatever you know so like there are times sometimes, where I go back to the same job like three times and there's not a crew, it's just me
• 1:37:30
  Vipul Bindra: so I do it anyway, but yeah, and and that that's okay to do.
• 1:37:33
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously I've done that too, but at least in my contracts I I have clear definitions of this is the project, this is how many number of shoot days, this is how many number of crews you're gonna get.
• 1:37:44
  Vipul Bindra: So so we're gonna come out like two times, you know, to your shoot.
• 1:37:50
  Vipul Bindra: So third time I'm coming, there's extra charge.
• 1:37:52
  Vipul Bindra: But like you, I have done that and I will, like I had have had, but again, only for small businesses, never for the large.
• 1:37:59
  Vipul Bindra: But we have, uh, they're like oh, can you come get this pickup shot or whatever, and and I'm like, sure, but it won't be a whole crew, but I'm happy to grab a camera and go get a quick shot, because yeah, you care about the relationship yeah, because me the relationship is far more valuable than that and 10, 15 minutes of my time is not worth creating a negative experience, but only again.
• 1:38:20
  Vipul Bindra: This is once in a while.
• 1:38:21
  Vipul Bindra: This is an exception, and again, at the end, it will help me create what you call better product at the end.
• 1:38:27
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, and you're not trying to take it.
• 1:38:29
  Ben Mangum: You know Exactly.
• 1:38:35
  Vipul Bindra: You can kind of tell if they are.
• 1:38:36
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, but I've had uh.
• 1:38:36
  Vipul Bindra: So I'll give one example.
• 1:38:37
  Vipul Bindra: I've had a slightly negative I wouldn't call it that negative but I had a client, um, who wanted us to make a course.
• 1:38:40
  Vipul Bindra: And you know me being nice because, um, you know she was new to this and she didn't have enough budget.
• 1:38:45
  Vipul Bindra: So we were like, sure, we'll create the course for you.
• 1:38:47
  Vipul Bindra: I think we discussed on a 10k budget or whatever for two and a half hour course.
• 1:38:52
  Vipul Bindra: Dude, that's like incredible rain, uh, and high production, four cameras, yeah, you know, full crew, anyway I, and that's because I want to help her out.
• 1:38:59
  Vipul Bindra: But then the, the miscommunication there was, you know, she had option of spanish or english and so I was like, look, you tell me the language you want to make, and we definitely can, can make two languages.
• 1:39:09
  Vipul Bindra: And, um, so we chose english because, even though that's not her first language, that's where the market would be bigger, right, she can make more money.
• 1:39:17
  Vipul Bindra: But I was like, hey, as a bonus no, that's my mistake, the lessons learned.
• 1:39:21
  Vipul Bindra: I was like, look, here's what I'll do.
• 1:39:23
  Vipul Bindra: Until we can make a spanish, I'll just give you a dubbed version for free.
• 1:39:26
  Vipul Bindra: Now it's not perfect, but it's something until you know.
• 1:39:30
  Vipul Bindra: You have a spanish dedicated version exactly two and a half hours of freaking dubbing, but that doesn't mean there's any editing, right?
• 1:39:35
  Vipul Bindra: Because we're just covering.
• 1:39:36
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously, if it's our native language and spanish, the lines will be shorter, so there'll be gaps.
• 1:39:42
  Vipul Bindra: So what happened is we gave her the english version.
• 1:39:43
  Vipul Bindra: She's like amazing, this is exactly, you know, perfect, blah, blah, blah.
• 1:39:46
  Vipul Bindra: Exactly what I expected, because I know we went above and beyond.
• 1:39:49
  Vipul Bindra: And now I'm like okay, let me dub this in Spanish and darn it, man.
• 1:39:53
  Vipul Bindra: And we had recorded her, so it was her voice.
• 1:39:55
  Vipul Bindra: And then she's like but there's too many gaps.
• 1:39:57
  Vipul Bindra: And then the whole negative expression there's too many gaps.
• 1:39:59
  Vipul Bindra: It's not good.
• 1:40:00
  Vipul Bindra: Why is it not edited?
• 1:40:01
  Vipul Bindra: And obviously the contract says it clearly.
• 1:40:03
  Vipul Bindra: I know in the community, I was there in the meeting.
• 1:40:05
  Vipul Bindra: I told her, but that is now months ago, right?
• 1:40:08
  Vipul Bindra: So she's like expecting this to be edited, so you have to be very careful about it.
• 1:40:13
  Vipul Bindra: So the experience wasn't the greatest, but I had to like break it down to her Look, there's going to be no editing.
• 1:40:18
  Vipul Bindra: This is already for free.
• 1:40:19
  Vipul Bindra: It's cost me, you know, a decent amount of editing hours with a Spanish editor Plus.
• 1:40:28
  Vipul Bindra: It's not worth it.
• 1:40:29
  Vipul Bindra: Anyway, this is just an option and and most software, they should be able to select english and spanish.
• 1:40:32
  Vipul Bindra: You don't want it to be.
• 1:40:33
  Vipul Bindra: It's not a separate video, it's just an audio track.
• 1:40:35
  Vipul Bindra: Point I'm trying to make is yes, when you're ready, we'll make a spanish version, but this isn't it yeah, anyway, maybe that favor should have been a couple photos.
• 1:40:44
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, exactly, right, so I've learned my lesson.
• 1:40:47
  Vipul Bindra: Sometimes doing going above and beyond isn't worth it either.
• 1:40:50
  Vipul Bindra: So now my current strategy is what I do is just simple.
• 1:40:53
  Vipul Bindra: I promise them this number of days, this number of people, this number of cameras, like.
• 1:40:58
  Vipul Bindra: So it'll be a two-day shoot with three cameras, three equipment.
• 1:41:01
  Vipul Bindra: I always bring an extra camera and an extra person.
• 1:41:05
  Vipul Bindra: I already planned for it.
• 1:41:06
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously this isn't typical vip.
• 1:41:08
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, exactly.
• 1:41:09
  Vipul Bindra: So they'll always get more than what they expect.
• 1:41:11
  Vipul Bindra: That's my strategy.
• 1:41:12
  Vipul Bindra: So they're like expect, and I'm very clear about it.
• 1:41:14
  Vipul Bindra: So that's why they know they're like okay, so I'm gonna have three cameras, two day shoot, three people and they'll always be four people, you know, one extra camera and and obviously, same number of shoot days.
• 1:41:25
  Vipul Bindra: I'm not upping that, but the point is then they get always impressed.
• 1:41:28
  Vipul Bindra: So my clients are always having a positive experience and there is a producer advantage here too.
• 1:41:34
  Vipul Bindra: If somebody calls in, I'm not going to be short people, right?
• 1:41:37
  Vipul Bindra: I'm going to just have what I planned on having, because that can happen.
• 1:41:41
  Vipul Bindra: You know, somebody can get sick or whatever.
• 1:41:42
  Vipul Bindra: Ideally not, but the point I'm trying to make is there is an inherent advantage in that, and I always do that because at the end day, a relationship to me far outweighs um anything else yeah, no, that's smart one thing I meant to ask you earlier what, um what proposal software do you use where you can give them the option of 100 up front or 50?
• 1:42:06
  Vipul Bindra: so I use something called better proposal so it has the option.
• 1:42:10
  Ben Mangum: I think again like they can click that.
• 1:42:12
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so they have, so they can.
• 1:42:14
  Vipul Bindra: So you can basically create options and you can select that that they can select.
• 1:42:18
  Vipul Bindra: Only one of them Got it, so they essentially select and it automatically makes that the total price.
• 1:42:24
  Vipul Bindra: And I've done that for options too, because sometimes lower end they don't have budget for like a makeup artist, so lower end they don't have budget for like a makeup artist.
• 1:42:32
  Vipul Bindra: So I'll say mua, you know, I don't know whatever the rate is and optional.
• 1:42:34
  Vipul Bindra: So if they check it, it just adds that.
• 1:42:35
  Vipul Bindra: But if they don't check it, yeah, you know, nice it's, it doesn't affect anything.
• 1:42:40
  Vipul Bindra: But but then it'll say optional and then why to add it?
• 1:42:43
  Vipul Bindra: You know you'll look great.
• 1:42:44
  Vipul Bindra: You know I recommend it.
• 1:42:46
  Vipul Bindra: I make none of this money because I'm basically just taking away the processing costs and passing that along to a makeup artist anyway.
• 1:42:53
  Vipul Bindra: Um, uh, but some people do, some people don't, and that's fine with me.
• 1:42:58
  Vipul Bindra: I just don't want to have that conversation.
• 1:43:00
  Vipul Bindra: It's not worth me losing a client over a makeup artist.
• 1:43:03
  Vipul Bindra: It's, but it does make my product look good so it's worth to have give them that option.
• 1:43:07
  Vipul Bindra: So stuff like that.
• 1:43:08
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, I highly recommend it.
• 1:43:10
  Vipul Bindra: I've had good, good results with better proposals.
• 1:43:12
  Vipul Bindra: Um, and especially, like you said, that good, better, best option.
• 1:43:17
  Vipul Bindra: I do like that you can add all three and they can pick, and, but I will.
• 1:43:20
  Vipul Bindra: What I do like about it is you can already have one pre-selected.
• 1:43:23
  Vipul Bindra: So I always do the better as pre-selected so they have to manually click on the lower the high.
• 1:43:29
  Vipul Bindra: They want to change so the total is already what I want it to be, you know, and I'm fine.
• 1:43:34
  Vipul Bindra: I mean either way.
• 1:43:35
  Vipul Bindra: That's why I put the three options in there they make a different option.
• 1:43:37
  Vipul Bindra: That's fine, but I already have pre-selected what I want in there.
• 1:43:40
  Vipul Bindra: Okay, but so they have to manually go in and then yeah, yeah, I mean I'm pretty positive.
• 1:43:47
  Ben Mangum: So with honey book, that's what I've used you can do.
• 1:43:51
  Ben Mangum: Obviously you could do 100 or 50 on specific dates, but that I pretty positive.
• 1:43:58
  Ben Mangum: They don't have a setting where they can choose which up front, or again it's been a few years.
• 1:44:04
  Vipul Bindra: I actually started with honey book.
• 1:44:06
  Vipul Bindra: When I initial started, I took honey book, but then I was like they're charging so much money.
• 1:44:10
  Vipul Bindra: They were like 400 bucks or whatever a year back then.
• 1:44:12
  Vipul Bindra: I don't even know how much they are.
• 1:44:14
  Ben Mangum: Better.
• 1:44:14
  Vipul Bindra: Proposal was half of that.
• 1:44:16
  Vipul Bindra: Is it that or is it more?
• 1:44:17
  Ben Mangum: HoneyBook yeah, I think so, and I think their rates are going freaking up too.
• 1:44:22
  Vipul Bindra: But the issue with HoneyBook was, like you said it's great for what it does Because you know, like, say, I could split the 50 50 payment.
• 1:44:28
  Vipul Bindra: That's what I liked initially that it would be.
• 1:44:31
  Vipul Bindra: Have a specific date, like you sign the contract.
• 1:44:33
  Vipul Bindra: I used to be able to do like automatically two weeks or whenever the second payment was like it would automatically like that's your payment date.
• 1:44:40
  Vipul Bindra: But then I found very quickly that there was no way, uh, for me to um go in there and customize anything like the way the software design and the payment had to come through them.
• 1:44:52
  Vipul Bindra: What I like about Better Proposal is it integrates with Stripe.
• 1:44:58
  Vipul Bindra: So they still take the payment.
• 1:44:59
  Vipul Bindra: So at the end of the, when they sign the contract, it immediately is like make a payment like HoneyBook, but it's not coming through them.
• 1:45:06
  Vipul Bindra: It's integrated through Stripe, which is my payment platform.
• 1:45:08
  Vipul Bindra: I can generate invoices, it's all in one, so all the money stays through one thing.
• 1:45:13
  Vipul Bindra: So it's a lot easier to manage and I don't have a separate software in HoneyBook having any access to you know what I didn't like was my payments.
• 1:45:21
  Vipul Bindra: So if they don't like it, somebody does charge back.
• 1:45:23
  Vipul Bindra: I have no control over it and I think they still use Stripe or whatever on their backend, but you don't get any control over your payments from at least when I used it HoneyBook or yeah.
• 1:45:33
  Vipul Bindra: Honeybook.
• 1:45:34
  Vipul Bindra: I'm saying I think it doesn't matter but, I, think you can do QuickBooks.
• 1:45:40
  Vipul Bindra: Okay, so that may be new.
• 1:45:41
  Vipul Bindra: When I was there it was through HoneyBook directly, it doesn't matter.
• 1:45:44
  Vipul Bindra: They had a payment platform too under them.
• 1:45:46
  Vipul Bindra: They were honest about it.
• 1:45:47
  Vipul Bindra: But what I'm saying is you didn't have any access to the payment platform, like you couldn't see the details that you can have.
• 1:45:58
  Vipul Bindra: You ever used stripe, yeah, okay so, yeah, so you know, like you can go deep into who this person is a card fraud or not or whatever.
• 1:46:00
  Ben Mangum: I know who's paying me like they're.
• 1:46:01
  Ben Mangum: I've never done that.
• 1:46:02
  Ben Mangum: I've done like 95, maybe even 99 of my payments through honeybook, so but I have stripe yeah, so, and that's why I like stripe, because it's a large payment platform.
• 1:46:11
  Vipul Bindra: You know you can vet your who's paying you, which I mean generally.
• 1:46:14
  Vipul Bindra: They're good businesses regardless.
• 1:46:16
  Vipul Bindra: Like I said, I don't want to have risk because there's so much cost involved for me at least.
• 1:46:20
  Vipul Bindra: I have crew cost, of equipment cost.
• 1:46:22
  Vipul Bindra: I don't want to bear any you know losses or whatever.
• 1:46:24
  Vipul Bindra: We're a small company so, uh, it's just, it's just not worth the risk, is what I'm saying.
• 1:46:29
  Vipul Bindra: But this software, this platform I'm on third or fourth year now at this point, better proposals with Stripe has worked great for me.
• 1:46:35
  Vipul Bindra: The only negative is, like I said, it doesn't integrate with QuickBooks.
• 1:46:39
  Vipul Bindra: So I have to still manually go and, you know, attach all these invoices to QuickBooks.
• 1:46:44
  Vipul Bindra: But you know it is what it is, it's part of it.
• 1:46:48
  Ben Mangum: Have you ever used a firm?
• 1:46:49
  Ben Mangum: Have you ever had a client finance?
• 1:46:52
  Vipul Bindra: no, I think I don't know, even if I have it turned on, but I wouldn't mind it.
• 1:46:55
  Vipul Bindra: I don't, I don't care, because that's between them and a firm right, it's not it has nothing to do with me, so I wouldn't mind if they're that's again I oh yeah, there's no downside to you.
• 1:47:05
  Vipul Bindra: I was just curious if you know, I don't, I don't think, I haven't, not I know, I know people who do that all that's like I need to check.
• 1:47:12
  Ben Mangum: If it's turned on, they go for it because you can get, you'll get a piff, you'll get a payment up front and then or paid in full, whatever, and then they finance it.
• 1:47:23
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, for whatever I'm saying exactly.
• 1:47:25
  Vipul Bindra: It's pretty wild and I'm so glad.
• 1:47:27
  Vipul Bindra: See, this is why I wanted to have these conversations, because genuinely, I don't know.
• 1:47:31
  Vipul Bindra: So I need to go to pull up my Stripe account and make sure that these things are turned on Because, like you said I why would that affect me?
• 1:47:38
  Vipul Bindra: As long as if it's better for the client, why not?
• 1:47:41
  Vipul Bindra: You know?
• 1:47:42
  Ben Mangum: there's a specific setting though, so they don't have I don't think they have a setting or something like photographer, videographer, like it's either not an option or it's blocked for a firm, so you have to put like professional services or something like that or like something it kind of was a pain in the ass okay and uh, but did you turn it on?
• 1:48:05
  Vipul Bindra: did somebody take it?
• 1:48:07
  Ben Mangum: I have it.
• 1:48:07
  Ben Mangum: I've never done it, I've never got it um, but I know people who do like marketing yeah, and they.
• 1:48:13
  Ben Mangum: They'll get like 10k up front, but they're paying whatever, like 1500 a month exactly, and I think that's totally fair.
• 1:48:20
  Vipul Bindra: Obviously, anyway, we can help a client because, at the end of the day, you know at least the the scale we're talking about when we're not working on the marketing agency.
• 1:48:28
  Vipul Bindra: Uh, we're just genuinely trying to help people, man you're just trying to make them videos.
• 1:48:33
  Vipul Bindra: We're trying to help them make money and, if that is the way they can currently finance it and get it done and which is why I'm so try to be efficient when making videos faster.
• 1:48:42
  Vipul Bindra: For my clients, it's like the sooner I can get the video to them, the sooner they can implement it, the sooner they can make money to make more videos.
• 1:48:50
  Vipul Bindra: Right, I want them to have success, so that's why I try to do like a two-week turnaround, because I really want them to take advantage of the videos that we're making.
• 1:49:01
  Vipul Bindra: So, yeah, no, I would love to turn that on and as soon as we're done, I'm going to go check my Stripe, make sure I have that turned on.
• 1:49:08
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, try it.
• 1:49:09
  Vipul Bindra: If I don't, why not?
• 1:49:16
  Ben Mangum: It makes no sense.
• 1:49:17
  Ben Mangum: Why not to?
• 1:49:17
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, because I'm getting, like you said, paid in full up front.
• 1:49:18
  Ben Mangum: So yeah, for sure.
• 1:49:18
  Ben Mangum: Um, so I know you get.
• 1:49:19
  Ben Mangum: I guess all your business, or majority from referrals have you focused on like social proof or you know, outside of somebody just like hey, I worked with benja, he's great you should work with him.
• 1:49:31
  Ben Mangum: Like have you put in an effort to do like testimonials or try to do a case study, even though you're just making?
• 1:49:40
  Vipul Bindra: no, I mean, I do have some testimonials we made years ago and we put on our website, so they are there for, I guess, some cold person coming in.
• 1:49:46
  Vipul Bindra: Mainly what I try to do is ask, obviously, who sent them, so I know what their expectations are, because if it's a client.
• 1:49:52
  Vipul Bindra: I did an expensive video for I'm like okay, I hope they have the budget for that or they're lower end, so I know at least what they came through, because I'm pretty sure business owners love talking about money.
• 1:50:02
  Vipul Bindra: They probably know what my video costs with the other client, right, there's a very unlikely chance the other guy didn't tell him what he spent.
• 1:50:09
  Ben Mangum: I'm always worried about that when I raise my prices.
• 1:50:11
  Ben Mangum: No, yeah.
• 1:50:12
  Vipul Bindra: But it happens, your price is your price.
• 1:50:14
  Vipul Bindra: Funny enough, I have never raised my prices since I started a production company.
• 1:50:18
  Vipul Bindra: I think we're very fair.
• 1:50:19
  Vipul Bindra: We were always a premium option, but I've never raised my prices.
• 1:50:22
  Vipul Bindra: I need to, maybe 2026, we'll see Because, like I said, the money that was then doesn't mean half as much.
• 1:50:35
  Vipul Bindra: Uh, but luckily we've scaled so much that it hasn't affected me as much, but still um but um.
• 1:50:38
  Vipul Bindra: What was I saying?
• 1:50:39
  Vipul Bindra: I lost my train of thought no, just like I don't know.
• 1:50:41
  Ben Mangum: That was something I wanted to focus on this year, especially with trying to help more people with ads was, uh, I basically like you have to get, like, social proof clients.
• 1:50:51
  Ben Mangum: Oh yeah, you know.
• 1:50:52
  Vipul Bindra: So it's kind of social proof that I do is genuinely share like.
• 1:50:56
  Vipul Bindra: So, for example, somebody will come, come to me and they're like oh, we're a dentist or we're a lawyer or whatever.
• 1:51:00
  Vipul Bindra: So I could generally work with one of every industry.
• 1:51:03
  Vipul Bindra: I get a similar industry at least, so I can pull like.
• 1:51:06
  Vipul Bindra: It may not be, let's say, a ophthalmologist, but it may be a chiropractor or whatever.
• 1:51:11
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so I could pull something similar.
• 1:51:13
  Vipul Bindra: But I can be like hey, look, this is what we did for them.
• 1:51:15
  Vipul Bindra: This is what kind of the video look like the.
• 1:51:18
  Vipul Bindra: Is that what you're kind of?
• 1:51:18
  Vipul Bindra: Because my biggest thing is, uh, before that I'll always ask do you have a video?
• 1:51:23
  Vipul Bindra: I can see right that, because the main thing I'm looking for is they're showing me 100k video or 1k, because the expectations have to be matched.
• 1:51:30
  Vipul Bindra: I want to exceed their expectation.
• 1:51:31
  Vipul Bindra: But if their budget is 5k and they're showing me a commercial for 100k that I know roughly the production budget would be, I can't match the expectation.
• 1:51:39
  Vipul Bindra: I don't want to be part of it.
• 1:51:41
  Vipul Bindra: So what I will do is show me a video and then I'll look at the video.
• 1:51:44
  Vipul Bindra: I'm like, okay, I kind of get it now, and then I'll find either that was good enough.
• 1:51:48
  Vipul Bindra: Or if I don't, then I'll be like, look, let me show you something I've made Right, and here's a video.
• 1:51:54
  Vipul Bindra: And worst case, it's happened rarely.
• 1:51:56
  Vipul Bindra: But if I don't have anything that Ivan and I have, or they have, then I'll go looking into with my buddies, like maybe in our group or somewhere, like, hey, do you have something with I don't know surfing?
• 1:52:05
  Vipul Bindra: You know something I haven't done?
• 1:52:06
  Vipul Bindra: So then I can show that.
• 1:52:13
  Vipul Bindra: Point is I want to show them a real video where it's like is this what you're thinking?
• 1:52:15
  Vipul Bindra: So the answer is usually yes or no, but I try to narrow it down once I see the scope right, then I can be like, yes, okay, so this is what we've done.
• 1:52:21
  Vipul Bindra: Uh, we helped this client.
• 1:52:23
  Vipul Bindra: They made, you know, 10x money.
• 1:52:25
  Vipul Bindra: So I am giving them a proof, because I don't like to sign up with people don't know what as you, yeah, so so, yeah, so I am giving them an example.
• 1:52:33
  Vipul Bindra: Typically it was like hey, they were able to uh 10x their revenue, they opened a new practice, or uh, whatever, abc, whatever the the thing is.
• 1:52:41
  Vipul Bindra: Uh, I do try to do that.
• 1:52:43
  Vipul Bindra: So I want them to know realistically what somebody else was able to achieve.
• 1:52:46
  Vipul Bindra: But at the same time, I'm very upfront, like look, here's what I'm going to promise you, that I'm going to make a sick video, sick ass video yeah, I can't guarantee obviously any results, but these work.
• 1:52:57
  Vipul Bindra: The good thing for us is all these big companies that use video have spent hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in studies proving video works.
• 1:53:05
  Vipul Bindra: Right at this point, if you don't think video works, you can go read studies like it works.
• 1:53:11
  Vipul Bindra: There's not even a debate about it.
• 1:53:13
  Vipul Bindra: So, as a business owner, you need video or not should not even be a debate.
• 1:53:18
  Vipul Bindra: And if you do have that, then we need to start much lower, at a ground level, why they need to understand why it works.
• 1:53:24
  Vipul Bindra: But as long as they know that it works, I know I can make a good video at that price point, or that I'm not worried about my skill set, because the best thing about me is I'm going to go in which I've touched at this point every type of video.
• 1:53:35
  Vipul Bindra: I'll go make them the video and if I don't know, I'll be on the phone calling somebody who has and be like look, hey, I'm how much to hire, you come do it for me, right?
• 1:53:43
  Vipul Bindra: Because at the end they're going to get the best people to make that video, whether it's me, the crew that I typically work with, or new crew or somebody I know or whatever.
• 1:53:53
  Vipul Bindra: But they're not gonna.
• 1:53:54
  Vipul Bindra: Again, I don't put my reputation on the line personally.
• 1:53:57
  Vipul Bindra: I would get somebody who knows what they're doing.
• 1:53:59
  Vipul Bindra: They're guaranteed, even if it's not me, and I'm happy to then stand back and learn and direct, because I can still direct it and then learn.
• 1:54:06
  Vipul Bindra: You know how to do that specific thing.
• 1:54:09
  Vipul Bindra: I don't know.
• 1:54:09
  Vipul Bindra: I'm just, I don't even know at this point what that would be.
• 1:54:11
  Vipul Bindra: But rocket launch, for example, I've done work in nasa, uh, but I've not actually covered a specific rocket launch like I was talking with justin about.
• 1:54:18
  Vipul Bindra: So, um, then I would bring somebody who's covered, you know, rocket launches, like I want a dp that does that.
• 1:54:24
  Vipul Bindra: That was, I know we don't miss that shot, something like that.
• 1:54:27
  Vipul Bindra: I don't know, does that make sense?
• 1:54:29
  Ben Mangum: it does.
• 1:54:29
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, and I think for you, like, if you're not, or not for you for anybody, like if you're not promising x result or whatever, the proof is already, like they see your videos, they see how great they are and stuff like that, so that makes sense yeah, no, and I'm happy to show them what I have done in the past.
• 1:54:47
  Vipul Bindra: but ultimately my thing is for me, my reputation as as an I wouldn't do it anyway, if I don't think I can do it, I would just be like hey it may not be a right fit, and that's how I think I want the relationship to go Now to be real.
• 1:55:01
  Vipul Bindra: That is harder when you don't know someone, which is why I'm like if they don't know me, then I'm just another videographer.
• 1:55:07
  Vipul Bindra: Then, yes, they're just like oh you know, that person promised me this, this person promised me this.
• 1:55:13
  Ben Mangum: I don't know who to go with and you're promising me nothing, so they may not pick me, and that's okay, yeah that's kind of it's been a challenge with ads, to be honest, like sometimes you have there's, you can just feel there's less trust which like you have to do a better job up front, whether it's like it's either the content that they see from you or you're posting.
• 1:55:34
  Ben Mangum: Like you're posting valuable content that you send to them that's like actually valuable, and they're like oh, this guy's giving really good information, whatever, and then you have client results or client testimonials.
• 1:55:47
  Ben Mangum: So like you have to make sure you do that all upfront, cause I can tell it is different than referrals so absolutely, I guess you know we were talking about ads.
• 1:55:55
  Ben Mangum: I don't want to make ads sound like a.
• 1:55:57
  Vipul Bindra: It's not a silver bullet yeah, but it is a way like say it didn't work for me.
• 1:56:01
  Vipul Bindra: There's the opposite end of it, where I did try them and I'm, to be honest, not listening to.
• 1:56:05
  Vipul Bindra: I'm open to trying them again and see what that works, because I am, like you, trying to get people to pay me eight grand or whatever yeah and if those people exist on instagram, then why not you?
• 1:56:15
  Ben Mangum: know, I mean, you really don't even have to spend that much money either.
• 1:56:18
  Ben Mangum: However, if you do on bad, you will waste money.
• 1:56:22
  Vipul Bindra: So yeah, exactly well, that's why we know the expert.
• 1:56:25
  Vipul Bindra: Now, right, I'm gonna be calling you.
• 1:56:27
  Ben Mangum: I wouldn't say expert, but yeah, well, I mean.
• 1:56:29
  Ben Mangum: Well, I mean better than me, right?
• 1:56:31
  Vipul Bindra: It's funny enough.
• 1:56:32
  Vipul Bindra: That's what I'm saying.
• 1:56:34
  Vipul Bindra: I made ads for other people that have done really well because it's very different to the outlook where I'm like okay, what's the product you're selling, what's the service you're selling and generally the clients that you're working with, their product or services are good for Instagram because they're mass market and Instagram is mass market, so it's easy to sell.
• 1:56:49
  Vipul Bindra: It becomes hyper hard, at least for me, because I'm selling to specific subset of audience.
• 1:56:55
  Vipul Bindra: Right, my target audience is either marketing agencies or direct service-based businesses with higher ticket items or, worst case, the side item that I do is like I'm a DP director for other people, for people like you.
• 1:57:12
  Vipul Bindra: That is essentially it, so it's a very limited market that I'm trying to target, and the other thing is the footprints nationwide.
• 1:57:20
  Vipul Bindra: I'm literally on a plane every other week, so it's very expensive and I don't want to be running ads where the people I don't know, regular people are seeing my face, who have nothing to do with video or marketing or anything I've never done nationwide.
• 1:57:34
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, you gotta.
• 1:57:34
  Ben Mangum: I mean, I've only done local.
• 1:57:36
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, but um but I don't know how much uh business is in here for people to um and again.
• 1:57:41
  Vipul Bindra: There may be.
• 1:57:42
  Ben Mangum: Obviously there's a lot of business, but for people to like hire me, even you know yeah, so I guess that's why I was asking all those questions of like cause I've been debating on just trying to get more clients in the Orlando area, just try to get bigger Cause it's like I don't know, it could be a limiting belief, but naturally there's more people here, so more businesses feel like they need to be on social media and stuff like that Cause like honestly, sometimes in Ocala, the people that come to me they know they need to be on social media.
• 1:58:15
  Ben Mangum: That doesn't mean they're always the best fit client, but there's also a lot of people who are very much further behind.
• 1:58:19
  Ben Mangum: It's like slower, it's more rural yeah um, not anything wrong with that, but that's just kind of the nature compared to, like, what we sell, we sell, you know, social media content, whatever so it's my thing.
• 1:58:30
  Vipul Bindra: It's interesting.
• 1:58:31
  Vipul Bindra: You're gonna have to do something different eventually too, once everyone's on social media content, whatever.
• 1:58:34
  Vipul Bindra: So it's interesting, you're going to have to do something different.
• 1:58:35
  Vipul Bindra: Eventually, too, once everyone's on social media and they're doing the same thing Because what also frustrating sometimes can be with a client they're like oh my competition, they're doing this, I want to do that.
• 1:58:43
  Vipul Bindra: It's like lawyers, especially, oh my goodness.
• 1:58:45
  Vipul Bindra: They're like oh, they're all running these ads with this text animated.
• 1:58:50
  Vipul Bindra: I want to do the same thing and I'm like sure, on a production company side, we'll happily make you these.
• 1:58:54
  Vipul Bindra: But then why do you want to do the exact same thing?
• 1:58:58
  Vipul Bindra: Let's do something different.
• 1:59:00
  Vipul Bindra: Because, you know, because if everyone's doing the exact same thing, then at the same time your advertising, instead of being impactful, just becomes more noise in their, you know, in the scrolls that they're scrolling.
• 1:59:12
  Vipul Bindra: So I've tried and lawyers are the hardest one where they're like no, no, no, we just want to do this so I've done a ton.
• 1:59:18
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I've done a ton of these these things that they want.
• 1:59:21
  Vipul Bindra: These, um, I'm sure the audience has seen them.
• 1:59:23
  Vipul Bindra: They're like text stories, like I had this happen and this attorney got me 500k and they're just texting, they're animating and we'll do.
• 1:59:30
  Vipul Bindra: We have a we have a very good.
• 1:59:31
  Vipul Bindra: I've got very good animators that work for me, uh.
• 1:59:35
  Vipul Bindra: But the point is we can happily do that, but then the point is it's boring, it's like there's nothing to it.
• 1:59:41
  Vipul Bindra: It sort of matters where you're putting it let me put some personality to you, because that's who people like nowadays.
• 1:59:45
  Vipul Bindra: They're like businesses with personality, because you know we're all human, yeah, and they they're so scared, at least attorneys.
• 1:59:51
  Ben Mangum: I find that to put their freaking personality into it, oh yeah, and I'm like, come on, or the ones who do are so corny, they're like they have like a fake accident or something like who's got your back?
• 2:00:02
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, I don't know, like just some dumb shit exactly so.
• 2:00:07
  Vipul Bindra: So it's kind of like that can be a challenge.
• 2:00:08
  Vipul Bindra: So eventually I'm like people are gonna have to do something different, because if all roofers, like for example, are doing the exact same content, true then it'll become the same issue like currently.
• 2:00:16
  Vipul Bindra: The issue is there's 10 roofers.
• 2:00:18
  Vipul Bindra: I find one with videos.
• 2:00:20
  Vipul Bindra: I see their personality.
• 2:00:21
  Vipul Bindra: As long as it jives with me, made life easier right thank goodness, there was video.
• 2:00:26
  Vipul Bindra: once there's 10 roofers doing the same thing, the issue will will be I don't know who's now real, so I need somebody who's doing something unique or something creative, like you said.
• 2:00:35
  Vipul Bindra: That vloggy style already sounds very interesting to me.
• 2:00:37
  Vipul Bindra: I may pick that one because I'm like Ooh, that's, that's more real.
• 2:00:40
  Vipul Bindra: They're like this is versus.
• 2:00:42
  Vipul Bindra: You know, just hire me, we'll we'll build you a good roof.
• 2:00:53
  Ben Mangum: It's very easy to add your personality into more of like just documenting vlog style, but you can still give value and give good information.
• 2:00:56
  Ben Mangum: But, however, generally speaking, the information's the same in every industry, but you know, general statement, but without being corny, you can like add your personality to it by telling a story or telling your perspective, I don't know.
• 2:01:11
  Ben Mangum: Compared to like sometimes people try to almost like lawyers, like sometimes they'll like force their comedy into a skit.
• 2:01:19
  Ben Mangum: You know what I'm talking about?
• 2:01:20
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, and it's not even funny, maybe some inside joke or something.
• 2:01:23
  Ben Mangum: Yeah, like we'll fight for you.
• 2:01:24
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, I don't know, just some, I don't know, yeah, and they're usually as somebody who has in the past hired one of those tv attorneys man, they're so bad because you see them in the past hired one of those TV attorneys, man, they're so bad Because you see them.
• 2:01:33
  Ben Mangum: And the funny.
• 2:01:33
  Vipul Bindra: Thing is that you're very good at answering the phone.
• 2:01:35
  Vipul Bindra: So when?
• 2:01:36
  Ben Mangum: because you know you want to hear the same guy, yeah, yeah, type of guy.
• 2:01:40
  Vipul Bindra: So there was.
• 2:01:40
  Vipul Bindra: I wouldn't name the attorney, but you know.
• 2:01:42
  Ben Mangum: I'd hire someone.
• 2:01:42
  Vipul Bindra: Years ago.
• 2:01:43
  Vipul Bindra: So we need an attorney and relevant to this.
• 2:01:47
  Vipul Bindra: But you know, then you have this name that's coming over and over again call me, call me, call me.
• 2:01:51
  Vipul Bindra: And then, when the time comes, you're like, oh, let's call that guy.
• 2:01:53
  Vipul Bindra: And the, and first I was like I, I knew there was going to be a scam, because I'm like, oh, that, watch their team, it's a big team, right so, but no, the exact attorney answer.
• 2:02:02
  Vipul Bindra: I'm like dude, this is, this is good strategy on their part, because they want the same guy that you're seeing everywhere.
• 2:02:07
  Vipul Bindra: But as soon as you you talk to the guy, he's like oh, yeah, I can fight for you, same, same spiel.
• 2:02:12
  Vipul Bindra: But then, as soon as you sign the contract, oh, this is your attorney in my team right, that's the strategy.
• 2:02:17
  Ben Mangum: It's like yeah you get.
• 2:02:19
  Vipul Bindra: You see the guy, you see him everywhere, and then you go to talk to the same guy over the phone or whatever.
• 2:02:24
  Vipul Bindra: But when, as soon as you sign, you're like, hey, here's your specific attorney, and now it determines if they're good or not, depending on the attorney that they sign to you right.
• 2:02:33
  Vipul Bindra: Which may be good or bad.
• 2:02:34
  Vipul Bindra: I'm not going there, but the point I'm trying to make is yeah and again, that is a strategy, that's a sales strategy.
• 2:02:40
  Vipul Bindra: It's just not what I like.
• 2:02:41
  Vipul Bindra: I don't know if I would want to do that for me in.
• 2:02:43
  Vipul Bindra: I'm so happy for you, I've known you now a few years, seeing your success, seeing you grow I think you're doing, you, bro oh, come on, man, I'm trying to.
• 2:02:57
  Vipul Bindra: I'm like, hey, you're, you're having success too, and I I've learned so much.
• 2:03:01
  Vipul Bindra: This that's what I keep telling people.
• 2:03:03
  Vipul Bindra: It doesn't matter where anyone's at their journey.
• 2:03:05
  Vipul Bindra: I've learned so much in the past couple hours talking to you.
• 2:03:08
  Vipul Bindra: I'm ready to go out and apply this to my business and see if I can get some new leads and see if these ads work for me or not, and I hope somebody listening learned something, because I'm telling you sales, sales is the most important thing and if you can do them genuinely, then it doesn't feel like work, because you don't want to be a sleazy salesman and these type of genuine strategies do work and you're a perfect example of it.
• 2:03:32
  Vipul Bindra: Yeah, so I appreciate you coming here, being honest and sharing that.
• 2:03:36
  Vipul Bindra: Those with me.
• 2:03:37
  Vipul Bindra: Before we go, anything else you want to add or ask or say or, you know, shout out your instagram.
• 2:03:42
  Ben Mangum: This was like a refreshing format.
• 2:03:45
  Ben Mangum: I've been on a bunch of podcasts and it's cool not to feel like you have to perform or like tell your story perfectly or whatever.
• 2:03:52
  Ben Mangum: So this was nice and, uh, I hope by me going in detail with stuff, it wasn't too boring for people, but for the people that are interested it was actually helpful.
• 2:04:01
  Ben Mangum: So yeah, bro, this is fun.
• 2:04:03
  Vipul Bindra: Awesome.
• 2:04:04
  Vipul Bindra: So what's your Instagram?
• 2:04:04
  Vipul Bindra: Where can people follow you?
• 2:04:06
  Ben Mangum: At Ben C Mangum.
• 2:04:07
  Vipul Bindra: Please go follow him.
• 2:04:08
  Vipul Bindra: Way better Instagram than mine, but thank you again.
• 2:04:12
  Ben Mangum: You just got a post, bro.
• 2:04:13
  Ben Mangum: Look at all your crazy content.
• 2:04:14
  Ben Mangum: I will, I will.
• 2:04:14
  Ben Mangum: This place is amazing, that's my goal for 2025.
• 2:04:17
  Vipul Bindra: I'm going to try and be better about sharing content.
• 2:04:20
  Vipul Bindra: Like I said, I need to deepen my horizons and just not wait on just referral marketing.
• 2:04:24
  Vipul Bindra: Like I said, business has been good.
• 2:04:26
  Vipul Bindra: It doesn't mean it can't grow better.
• 2:04:28
  Vipul Bindra: Plus, my personal goal is to collaborate with more and more people, so hopefully this year again we get to collaborate, just like last year.
• 2:04:34
  Vipul Bindra: And if not worse, at least on ads.
• 2:04:37
  Vipul Bindra: I'm going to definitely be hitting you up, even though I don't know.
• 2:04:40
  Vipul Bindra: I'm more behind the camera guy, not the guy in front of camera.
• 2:04:45
  Ben Mangum: You're in front of camera Exactly Look.
• 2:04:47
  Vipul Bindra: I'm trying, I'm trying, don Exactly, look, I'm trying, I'm trying.
• 2:04:49
  Vipul Bindra: Don't get me the jitters.
• 2:04:50
  Vipul Bindra: Anyway, thank you again.
• 2:04:52
  Vipul Bindra: I said this was awesome, bro.
• 2:04:53
  Vipul Bindra: You're welcome anytime again, all right, thank you, hell yeah, thanks, man.