No SmartCast Leads

Caryn Clark · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 1000

I've not received any SmartCast leads since Thursday, May 1. This is very very odd and has never happened before. I can see in the Daily Summary emails that there are many projects posted, but I've not been invited to a single one.

It's almost as if a switch has been turned off.

I just sent a note to customer service to look into it. I was just wondering if it's happened to anyone else?

Diane Havens · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 1281

Caryn --
That has happened to me once in a while. Usually after I get tired of deleting so much, I go and opt out of some lead types. I solve it by going back and putting no limits on my profile -- then they all come pouring back in.

Melba Sibrel · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008, 14:14 (GMT) Post subject:

Same here. No leads since about that same time. Guess it's 'cause I'm opted out of low-budget and pervy stuff. Oh, wait, no, I get that stuff in spite of the opt outs. Never mind. Rolling Eyes

Ron Reid · **Voice Talent** Joined: 20 Jun 2006 Posts: 98

Yep! Me too. Nuthin' in my inbox either. I just had a chat with Mike at V123 and he said it was because sometimes you just don't match up with the leads that are coming in...

...my guess is that there is a bug in the system and they are scrambling behind the scene trying to fix it.

Caryn Clark · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 1000

I'm not really opted out of anything Melba, so I don't think that's it.

Well, this is interesting. And, while I understand the sentiment of "well, perhaps you're not a match for any projects..." I don't buy that. I've always received at least one or two leads a day, and usually many more than that.

I'm glad to know it isn't just me though. I look forward to their response.

Erik Sheppard · **Voice Talent** Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1317

I had about 10 waiting for me this morning but I rarely audition and so I don't get spanked by SC.

Diane Havens · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 1281

Hey, I rarely audition, too, Erik. What's with??? I kind of miss all those lovely deletables. Hmm, I guess they gave them all to you 'cause they like you best.

Lee Gordon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1549

I was about to post something similar. I have had very few SmartCast invitations in the past 2-3 days. And the few I did get (only 6 since 5/1) were mostly ultra-crappy, low budget things that still have not filled their quota of demos. One especially crummy one requested 60 demos and in three days has gotten only two replies!
I see people posting demos on L&R and keep wondering when I'm going to get a crack at one of those.

Marilyn Taylor · **Voice Talent** Joined: 30 Oct 2006 Posts: 400

Same thing here, no leads since Thursday...I kind of don't mind, it's given me a chance to catch up on other stuff...like checking in with all my Savvy friends...I've loved reading recent posts, listening to auditions and just hanging out here today...I've missed you all.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008, 19:35 (GMT) Post subject:

I've had very few leads the past few days, but did just now get a call from a client who posted here 7 weeks ago and hired me for a small job here. Also, something else strange here lately is that I've gotten a lot of great ratings (5 stars)... well, that's not the strange part, thank goodness... but many of them are closing early and I'm hearing nothing back. So once again, the ratings often mean little when it comes down to indicating if you'll land it or not.

Bobbi Owens · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008, 21:45 (GMT) Post subject: RE: No Leads Since 5/1

Hi - Since I am no longer on these Boards - I thought I was the only one - (After receiving the 2nd e-mail below I decided to check who else might be having problems) So - I of course complained via E-mail and received this reply on Monday from Julian
-------
We had the chance to check into this and we believe that the reason why you might be receiving less invitations is because you have auditioned 721.92% more than other talents. We recommend you to check your stats regularly to compare your performance with the rest of the talents' and to always use SmartCast to your advantage.

Things are gradually going to pick up as your numbers get balanced.

Please remember that your highest return of investment is our highest priority. We love to hear from you, please feel free to contact our Customer Service whether you have a question, comment, or idea. We will work hard to make you happy
----------

I of course REALLY complained right after the e-mail and TODAY - I received from Steven -

As you may already know, this is happening to lots of people. I am currently working on seeing what adjustment was made to give you a better answer.

I heard your phone message, and understand where you are coming from.

Julian was not wrong in his reply to you, as it was factual based on how this system is working right now, so I will need to report this now, and explain what is happening.

So you guys are NOT the only ones and it looks like from reading your posts this started on 5/1 - So hopefully they will figure it out SOON - as it CAN NOT be the percentage thng - That's BEYOND ridiculous and wrong - Bobbi

Caryn Clark · **Voice Talent** Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 1000

Bobbi, thanks for sharing that info.

Just FYI, I've auditioned for 485.36% more auditions than other Premium Subscribers who speak my language. After being in the 35-40 percentile, I've been at the 65-68 percentile for about the past month or six weeks.

So, why the sudden change on May 1, I wonder?

I'm glad to know that Steven's looking into it though. Thanks for sharing that Bobbi!

September Day Leach · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Posts: 1526

How much does that percentile thing have to do with it, I wonder? I'm like you Caryn. I've submitted 356.18% more than the people who speak my language and I'm hanging in the 97th percentile right now and got 14 leads yesterday. Looking through them though, I see a lot required phone patch, so make sure you've got that box checked in your profile! But that's the worry about being rated. If percentile ranking does have a lot to do with receiving leads, getting rated low or not at all is very worrisome.

Diane Havens · **Voice Talent** Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 1281

Oh, there you guys go again -- thinking they have control over this site! Better ask HAL.

But consider this -- if rankings do really limit the amount of leads you get, why would anyone under the 50th percentile want to keep their membership up here? You'd be paying the same amount of money to be a second class subscriber. And if everyone under the 50th, or even the 25th, percentile suddenly dropped out -- wouldn't that plummet the formerly mid percentile people to the bottom of the heap, and then, wouldn't they want to drop out? And so on. Fewer subscribers mean higher and higher subscription rates.

Just a thought.

Lee Gordon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 1549

Well, I just checked and I have submitted 955.18% more auditions than the average user. And thanks to a few more 1 & 2 star ratings from knowledgable seekers like the same guy that gave Scott a 1, I have now dropped another point to the 48th percentile. So, since at least 52% of all people doing voice overs apparently are better than me, I guess I ought to either get out of the business or start answering those $50 & $75 jobs. Rolling Eyes

On the bright side, when I got home from the golf course today there were four SmartCast invitations waiting for me and three of them were worth answering. Actually, all four would have been worth answering but only three of them were still open.