Agents - What makes a good Agent?

Just recently I decided to let go of my agent. I can honestly say that this process is one of the tougher choices I've made in my career, as I know how easy it is to 'blame' someone else for a lack of something in my life. Also, performers are notorious for 'not liking' their agents, so I've spent a great deal of time thinking about do I stay or go and why? Plus, it's not always that easy to find a replacement, but this will be my first time, so we'll see how it goes.

Well, I've been fortunate that I've managed to have some really good conversations lately. All have come to the same conclusion - let my agent go. At the end of the day, for me, it's an instinct thing. I'm not naive, I don't believe another agent will necessarily get me more work, but I would like a better working relationship. So I've learnt what I don't want and what I'm looking for.

Not wants:

- someone who gives me the brush off when I ring them
- someone who doesn't get all the information or rushes through it to make it difficult to get it all down
- someone I'm afraid to speak to or drags up mistakes from the past like a broken record
- someone who doesn't listen to the changes I'm making in my career and puts possible jobs I know I don't want or feel are not my type in front of me, even though I've told them they aren't the jobs I want
- someone who talks down to me
- someone who says, "You'd better get this one....", I think this was meant to be encouraging, but really?!

Wants:

- someone who'll get back to me, if they can't speak to me when I call
- someone who'll give me constructive feedback on my work and promotion material
- someone who is friendly and listens to the direction I want to take with my career and gives useful feedback
- someone I like
- someone who'll work with me to get the best out of the working relationship eg: suggest getting a show reel or new photos, etc.
- someone encouraging

So folks, I'm not sure I'll find, this utopia, but I'll shoot for the stars and look forward to hitting the moon - at least! If I don't ask, I'll never get it. Re-reading this through, it doesn't seem too much to ask!