It Never Works

Let me be the first one to tell you that this is a lie. Simply put, cold calling can help you drum up new business. Are you going to make a sale every time you pick up the phone? Of course not. That being said, you are definitely putting yourself in position to land new clients.

Over the years, I have found some of my best clients through cold calling.

Everybody will be Rude to me

There is no denying that some people will hang up on you. Worse yet, some people will cuss you out and then hang up. But guess what? These people are in the minority. Even when I am told no thanks, most people are friendly and courteous in doing so.

Note: don’t let a few rude people stop you from cold calling in the future. If you get screamed at or hung up on, simply move to the next call.

It Takes a lot of Time

The only phone calls that take a lot of time are the ones that could lead to a project. Otherwise, you are probably on the phone for no more than a minute at the most. People who don’t have any use for you will not keep you on the phone for the fun of it.

By avoiding these misconceptions, you may find yourself falling in love with cold calling!

The more times you give out your phone number the better chance there is that somebody will eventually call to discuss your services. With this in mind, you have to be ready to discuss business at a moment’s notice.

Since a phone call can come at anytime, you must make sure you are always prepared. What does this mean?

• Have a “cheat sheet” at your disposal with information ranging from rates to past clients and much more
• Have a list of questions that you will ask any prospect who calls on the phone
• Answer the phone in a positive, friendly tone

If somebody calls you on the phone it is safe to say that they are interested in what you have to offer. As awkward as it may be on you the first few times, remember one thing: it is easier to take a phone call from a prospective client than it is to make a cold call.  Since the person is coming to you, you are the one in the driver’s seat.

Do I need a Dedicated Business Line?

This is a matter of personal preference. For many years, I have had a personal line and a business line. Personally, I would never go back to a one-phone setup. That being said, as long as you are willing to answer your personal line in a professional manner this should not pose a problem.

With this advice, you should find yourself better prepared anytime your phone rings!

This is something that you should expect from time to time as you get involved with cold emails and cold calls. Simply put, some companies will trust that you can help while others will be a bit more skeptical – especially since they have never talked to you in the past.

My advice is as follows: there is nothing wrong with providing a free sample to a potential client as long as you feel that it could turn into a paid gig. Unfortunately, there are people out there who collect as many free samples as they can from as many writers as they can find. When everything is said and done, they did not pay a dime yet have plenty of unique content.

Over time, you will become skilled at separating the pretenders from those who are truly interested in hiring you if you provide a high quality sample.

If you are going to add cold emails and cold calling to your marketing strategy, expect some people to request a targeted sample. This may not be something you want to do, but if that is what it takes to land the gig so be it!

With this call, I had to first get through the receptionist. She asked my name and I told her who I was and what I do. With no resistance, she passed me through to the company owner. Wouldn’t it be nice if things were always this simple?

Soon enough, I was giving the owner my pitch. After about 15 seconds he cut me off and said, “I really don’t have time for this today. Why would a need a writer anyway?” As you can imagine, this is a common response so I fired back with a quick “thank you for your time” and waited for his response. “What is your number, just in case I need something later this year?” I gave him this information and we parted ways.

Now for the funny part. It was not five minutes later when my phone rang. Guess who it was? He had overlooked the fact that he needed brochure content for an upcoming tradeshow. Not only did he need the content written but he was on a tight deadline. After a few minutes of discussing the project and negotiating a price, he told me to get started. I cannot help but wonder how he overlooked this detail during our initial conversation.

The moral of this story: don’t get upset or angry when somebody is rude to you during a cold call. You never know when they will need your services in the future.

Here are three potential cold email problems you are sure to face at some point in time.

1. No replies. Put simply, you are not going to hear back from most of the people you email. There are many reasons why somebody may ignore your email. Maybe they don’t want to hire a new writer. Maybe they don’t need a writer. Regardless of the reason, you cannot let this stop you from moving forward.

2. Not interested. In many cases, you will receive a return email. Unfortunately, it will not say what you were hoping for. Instead, you will get something like this: “Thank you for getting in touch but we don’t have any need for your services right now. We will keep you in mind for future projects.” As disappointing as this may be, not all is lost. Many times I have had people come back to me months later when they do need writing assistance.

3. A job is available but it may not suit your requirements. This is more common than many freelance writers believe. Don’t be surprised if you receive a positive response, but the job comes up a bit short in terms of your expectations. If this happens, you can do one of two things: turn the job down or attempt to negotiate a better project (this could mean many different things).

The solution to all of these problems is the same: never give up. Cold emailing is a numbers game. The more emails you send out the better chance you have of receiving a positive reply and landing a new client.

Recently, when working with a few members of my freelance writing course, I was able to come up with the three biggest fears related to cold calling. Once you get over these fears, you will become a master of the telephone.

1. The hang-up. To this, my response is simple: who cares? If you make enough cold calls you are going to get hung up on. While nobody likes this, it is no big deal. After all, you have more calls to make – it is essential that you don’t dwell on this and simply move on.

2. Not knowing what to say. No matter how much experience you have as a writer, once you are on the phone you may freeze up and not know what to say next. To avoid this issue, have a “cheat sheet” in front of you at all times. This is nothing more than notes that can help you push forward when searching for what to say next.

3. Wasting time on something that doesn’t work. There is no denying the importance of implementing a marketing plan that yields results. Just like anything, you should not expect every cold call to turn into a new client. Don’t be surprised if it takes 20-30 calls to get a positive response. There is a lot of rejection involved with cold calling. However, once you make a sale you will be hooked.

Don’t let any of these common fears hold you back!

During my time in the car, driving from one appointment to the next, I began to think about what I really needed by my side and what I could have left at the office. Here is what I came up with.

1. Samples. It is true that many clients want to see samples. That being said, most people never ask me for these when we meet in person. Instead, we talk about my experience and past work and agree that I will forward samples via email at a later time.

While you may never be asked to produce samples, you always want to have these with you just in case.

2. Resume. I keep a nice stack of resumes in a folder that I take to every meeting. Even if the client does not ask to see it, I always hand them one. Not only is this good for conversation during the meeting, but it gives the person something to hang onto and review later on.

3. iPad. Believe it or not, this is something that has saved me many times when meeting with clients. Although everybody has a computer in their office, most of my meetings tend to take place in a conference room. With the help of my iPad, I can show live samples and produce online information on the spot.

If you have been thinking about purchasing a tablet, the ability to take it with you to meetings may be the excuse you need to move forward.

What other items do you take with you when meeting with potential freelance writing clients?

But I don’t have time for marketing! This is a common complaint shared by many freelance writers. However, you should not let this complaint turn into an excuse. If you do, you could be harming your chance of future success.

Need more time to market your services? Experiment with these three tips:

1. Set time aside every day. For example, you may decide that you are going to work on marketing related tasks every day from 12 to 1 pm. When you have time set aside it is much easier to focus solely on this task, without ever missing a beat.

2. Create a marketing plan. If you don’t have a plan you won’t know what to do next. And when you don’t know what to do next, there is a good chance that you will end up wasting time while making no progress. No matter if you are a beginner or have been freelancing for many years, you need a marketing plan that you can rely on.

3. Set goals. By setting goals, you will find it easier to hold yourself accountable. In turn, you will always save time for marketing.

Are you comfortable with “face to face marketing?” In short, this is the act of marketing your services to potential clients in person. No matter the setting – from conferences to chamber meetings – you need to be comfortable selling and marketing yourself in a face to face environment.

Here are several tips to keep in mind:

1. Rather than brag about your accomplishments, detail your past work and explain how it can benefit the client in the future.

2. Let the other person do the talking. When selling your services, you may have the urge to do all the talking while letting the potential client do nothing more than listen. While there is nothing wrong with carrying your part of the conversation, don’t go over the top. Instead, let the other party speak so that you can better craft your responses.

3. Ask questions. Not only does this open up the conversation to both parties, but it will give you a better idea of what the person is looking for. You can then use these responses to better focus the conversation on the right details as you move forward.

At first, you may be intimidated by marketing your services in a face to face environment. However, once you become confident in yourself this can be a lot of fun.

What sets you apart from other writers? Why should I hire you instead of another freelancer?

These are legitimate questions – and you need to have legitimate answers.

If you are unprepared for the above questions, you may be taken off guard and subsequently lose out on a project. There are several basic answers you can use to address this common concern.

• Experience. Do you have a lot of experience in a particular field? If so, play this up as you negotiate with a potential client. By showing success in their field, you are doing your part in showing how you are better than other writers.
• Rates. This subject can be touchy but it is a definite selling point in many cases. If you know that your rates are lower than some or most of the competition, you can use this to your advantage. Of course, you don’t want to lower your rates beyond acceptable standards just to win a project.
• Communication. Let the client know that you will be available from the start of the project through its completion. This is one area in which many freelance writers suffer. By showing that you excel in this area you can get a leg up on other writers.

Before you are taken by surprise, make sure you know what sets you apart from other writers.