Lessons Learned: Go For The $$$

Hey there, cold call aficionados. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately -- I'd like to say it's because I've been so busy with all the work my cold calls rustled up, but that's only part of it.

The good news: since about June 2011, I have only had a handful of days where I haven't hit my daily billing quota, which is a pretty good feeling. And when I start to run out of projects, I only need to email a couple of my "warm" prospects to refill the pipeline.

However, being busy with lots of new clients at once has definitely steepened my learning curve expo-freaking-nentially. I've found there's more to running a business than courageous marketing. And I've pinpointed a few of the flaws in my original approach that I'll be reflecting on in my next couple of posts.

So let's start with reflection #1: Quality, not quantity.

My little cold calling strategy, as outlined in this blog, is definitely designed to get you in front of a large number of prospects in a short time. In this respect, I think it works pretty well.

However ...

If I were to do it all over again, I'd be way more careful about the kinds of prospects I target -- and those I choose to work with.

When I started connecting with all of these new clients, it felt so good! Finally, I thought, I've crawled across the freelance desert. And so I said yes to just about any and every project -- even when the terms, fees and contracts offered weren't all that great.

Well, adieu to all that.

I soon found myself working for way less than my going rate. And resenting it like hell.

Generally, I was doing it for lovely, honest people who just didn't have much experience working with a writer. They were "newbies" as much as I was, and they really did not have a firm grasp of the time and money involved in producing a great piece of writing.

Then the payment issues started. Or rather the non-payment issues. One was worked out amicably. The other -- well, it's so touchy at this point I don't even dare discuss it in cyberspace.

Here's what I'd do differently -- and what I'll definitely do when I get around to making those other 550 cold calls:

* Invest in the Book of Lists. Contact only large companies that have a history of working with freelancers.

* Discuss fees early. When in doubt, quote high. Share examples of past projects you've worked on and the fees involved.

* If prospects balk at your fees, you can try some education. Remind them of the going rates for this type of work and that they're saving on payroll taxes, health insurance, benefits, etc.

* If the prospect is clearly never going to pay your fee, move on. Consider it a blessing that you've reached this sort of agreement.

Cold call pals, I know when you're a starving newbie, it can be really tempting to drop your rates. But I for one will be fighting that temptation tooth and nail from now on.

Charge what you're worth, period. That's a whole new aspect of courageous marketing for you.

Cold Calling 101

Here's my reply (from another board) to the oft-asked question --

How do I get started cold calling? Explain in 100 words or less.

Here's my method in a nutshell. Anyone who has read Peter Bowerman's book will see I'm following his recommendations pretty closely.

I'm still working out the kinks and I'm sure other folks do it way better. If you have your own methods, please share in the comments!

1. Prospecting. Start by compiling a spreadsheet of potential prospects. I use Google and Chamber of Commerce directories to search my area. My favorites are universities, nonprofits, hospitals, graphic designers, marketing firms and Web designers. Briefly visit each prospect's website, try to identify the decision maker and get an email address if possible.

2. Script. Mine goes like this: "Hello. My name is Sarah Maurer and I'm a local freelance (copywriter, writer, health writer) checking in to see if you have any occasional or ongoing needs for a writer to help with (marketing materials, fundraising, publicity, Web content, etc.)."

If possible, group your prospects by type (graphic designers, event planners, nonprofits, etc.) and call them all on the same day. This allows you to adjust your script to the client type and refine your approach as you go. Also, it's easier to notice patterns -- e.g., what they're looking for, what types of project they're working on.

3. Call. If you're not sure who to ask for, read your script and say, "Who would be the best person to speak with?"

4. If you manage to reach a decision maker, read your script and wait.

5. If the prospect is THRILLED to hear from you (happens all the time), say you'll send a link to your online portfolio and resume (your website). Ask what types of clips/samples the prospect is most interested in seeing and if there are any questions.

6. If the prospect rarely use freelancers, or if the company already has a go-to writer, offer to send your info "just in case your regular freelancers are maxed out and you're looking for someone in a hurry." Prospects will almost always agree to this.

7. If the prospect has "no need now" or never uses writers, I personally just thank them and end the call. Peter Bowerman recommends asking if there are any colleagues or associates who might need a writer (can't hurt).

8. If the receptionist offers to put you to voice mail, ask for the decision maker's name and email address (sometimes you'll get it, sometimes you won't).

9. When leaving a voice mail (and you will leave many), read your script. If you have an email address for the prospect, say you'll send a link to your online portfolio and resume. If not, leave your website address.

10. Keep notes in your spreadsheet about who you talked to, who you left voice mail for, and any other details you can glean about the company.

11. After you do your daily round of calls, follow-up with a brief email and a link to your website. I have templates set up in Mail for:
- Really interested prospects
- Prospects who hire writers infrequently or already have a regular freelancer
- Voice mail / message follow-ups
- Prospects I couldn't reach of by phone (basically an LOI)

12. If you get a nibble, suggest a meeting (preferably in person) to discuss their writing needs.

And that's about it. Sounds complicated, but it all flows kind of naturally once you start doing it.

Regarding follow-up, that's a question I'm still figuring out myself. At this point, if they don't give me a nibble, I don't contact them again. After the initial 1,000 contacts are done, I do plan to follow-up with some prospects, but I haven't thought that far ahead.

In-Person Prospecting: One Reader's Approach

Just because you're not into phone prospecting doesn't mean you can't engage in courageous self-marketing as a writer. In person networking through professional organizations, Meet-Ups and trade events in your specialty area are another great way to get your face out there.

Here's how one brave freelancer used a community event to approach marketing pros in her niche:

I was at a street fair recently, and a community hospital was exhibiting. I had tried to reach them with a letter of introduction, and didn't get anywhere. I asked one of the people working at the booth if they were from the marketing department, and not shockingly, they were. I said I was a medical writer and asked if they needed or used freelancers. The guy couldn't hand me his card fast enough, asking who else I wrote for. He said to follow up with him the next day, which of course I did by 9:30 a.m. We'll see if it turns into anything, but it was a very easy way to approach a potential client. I'm going to try it at future street fairs!

One huge advantage of prospecting in person: marketing research shows that clients are far more likely to hire someone they've met in the flesh.

Note: if you're actively cold calling, prospects will often dish about live networking opportunities in your area. As someone relatively new to Fort Collins, I've found this to be a huge windfall.

Marketing you can do while drinking a beer ...

While I wouldn't recommend drinking while you make the actual calls lest you get a bit TOO confident, here's some easy support work you can do in front of the TV -- or even while buzzed -- if you're having a bad day. Or just want to tie one on early.

1. Go to the website for your local Chamber or Commerce.

2. Look for prospects you might want to call. On many chamber sites, you can search by category (advertising, nonprofit, etc.).

3. Visit each company's website. Use a spreadsheet to record company name, phone number and (if you can pinpoint it) the name and email of an appropriate contact person.

4. Make sure the company is not a) someone you have already called, b) a subsidiary of another company that likely does its marketing or c) out of business.

5. Repeat 25 times, and you've got your cold call list for tomorrow.

This work is so mindless, it may feel like laziness at first. But believe me, if you're going to make 1,000 cold calls, you will spend a lot of time on it.

I usually save this exercise for days when I'm feeling run down, working late or just need a break from it all.

Wussy Prospect List Reaps Rich Rewards

Okay, so lest you feel like a total wuss for axing those client types that give you fits from the prospect list (whoever they may be for you), I must say that yesterday was probably my most productive day of cold calling ever.

And I think it was because I overhauled my list to eliminate all doctors' offices (which were starting to feel like my personal nemesis).

I actually took today off from cold calling because just about everyone I called and sent a link to yesterday wrote me back and it took forever to answer them all.

Quite a few were looking to set up face-to-face meetings. And one (who is an artist on the side) asked me if I'd be interested in reworking her bio (first paid gig if it pans out -- woot!).

One man wrote and asked not only for more info, but for tips on selling copywriting services to his clients.

So who did I call yesterday? Almost everyone was a graphic or web designer.

And weirdly enough, they were all in Cheyenne and Laramie. Those are little Wyoming towns about an hour up the road. I was sure they'd be a tough sell, but so far they've been very receptive. Maybe there are less copywriters trolling the phone lines up there.

So who's on your list that you dread calling today? I give you permission to delete them. Give them the ax and replace them with a different prospect you feel more confident about.

Prospect Lists for Wusses

A confession: I have not been taking my own advice.

I let several days go by last week without cold calling.

Part of it was looming deadlines, part of it was normal life drama, and part of it was, well, resentment because cold calling the past two weeks hasn't been going as smoothly as it was at first.

Unable to face another round of, "You do, um, WHAT?" I decided to prune my prospect list to focus on the types of businesses that have been most receptive to cold calling. These include:

* Marketing firms
* Graphic design firms
* Hospitals
* Universities
* Publications/Publishers
* Larger nonprofits

And I kept a few things that I just happen to like (e.g. microbreweries).

This made today's round of cold calls refreshingly smooth. It's just so much faster and less taxing when you're calling people who already know exactly what you're selling and can give you a yes or no on the spot.

And if you're an anxious cold caller, I would recommend starting out with these types of prospects.

So who did I cut? For the moment (until my sales skills are more honed and my skin is thicker), I've decided to give small businesses, medical practices and school districts a miss. I just haven't had much luck with them.

Anyone have any tips for selling projects to businesses in any of these categories? Might be a great opportunity for a guest post!

FIELD GUIDE: Medical, Dental and Chiropractic Practices

Nature of the beast: Family practices, eye doctors, chiropractors, dentists and other health professionals set up shop everywhere from cities to tiny hamlets. Most handle their own marketing and patient communications, unless they're affiliated with a health system.

Approachability Level: Fair. Unlike hospital administrators, doctors and other medical types vary greatly in their understanding of what a freelancer can do for them. This is client that may require some grooming and education. 

What they need from freelancers: Web content, newsletters, patient communications, articles, ads, ghostwriting.

Ask for: The person who handles marketing. Sometimes it's the practice manager, sometimes it's a doctor.

Potential to Become a Regular: I haven't had much luck with private practices, though I've heard other freelancers have. Anyone care to chime in?

Caveats: Some practices are owned by large health systems which handle their marketing. You can usually tell from the practice website whether it's independent.

Calling practices will make you very good at dealing with receptionists and other folks who are protective of the boss's time.

I've been surprised how few doctors have voice mail. Be prepared to leave a brief message and ask for the decision maker's email so you can forward a link to your site.

Can Internet dating make you a better self-marketer?

I hate Internet dating, and I only do it because I have trouble meeting people now that I work at home. In the month since I put up a profile, I have been on a slew of truly horrible dates (including one with a guy so creepy I ended up hiding in the ladies room in hopes he would get the message and bail).

But however painful it is, I'll admit Match.com has taught me certain life skills.

For one, it has given me a ton of practice talking up total strangers, breaking the ice and listening actively through even the most painfully boring of conversations.

These are good skills to cultivate if you're contemplating making the leap from prospecting primarily through LOIs to putting the real thing out there -- your voice, and ultimately, your face -- to clients.

I think Internet dating has also taught me patience (which I'll admit is not one of my virtues). Just like I may go out with 10 guys and see nothing I like, I may call 300 clients without a job offer. S'OK. That's just the way the game is played, and if you don't like it, try a different marketing method (or take down your profile).

During both dating and cold calling, it pays to admit you have absolutely no control over the outcome. For this reason, I give both dates and prospects complete freedom to behave irrationally.

They can ignore me for weeks or months and then call me up out of the blue.

They can express enthusiasm and then disappear for months.

They can pull the "I really like you, but the timing is bad" card and revoke it later.

Yup, marketing is a lot like the early stages of dating.  Can't say I'll miss either one of them when I'm happily coupled/rolling in assignments, but I'll never forget the lessons they have taught me.

Survived: First Client Meeting

So nearly threw up from nerves over first client meeting today. I'm mediocre at best face to face and really hate to sell myself.

But it actually went well.

The client was marketing director for a small independent hospital. He gave me some great feedback on my portfolio and talked about the types of projects he hires writers for.

He said he doesn't use freelancers very often, so it will be an irregular gig at best. However ...


He's been in health marketing for decades (all in this area) and knows everyone and anyone who might want to hire me. So I left with a list of leads and phone numbers and permission to use his name to get my foot in the door.


Really, he was so generous with his time and expertise, I was extremely grateful. Just sent him a gushing thank-you card.


Now taking day off from cold calling to reward self for going to scary meeting.

FIELD GUIDE: Health Systems

While I think hyper-analysis is usually the enemy of cold calling, I do want to talk about some of the different clients you're likely to encounter out there. I'll offer just a few quick pointers on how to approach them on the phone and what they might be looking for in a writer.

Since it's the one I'm most familiar with, I'll kick off with:

HEALTH SYSTEMS

Nature of the beast: One large umbrella company that operates hospitals, doctors' offices and often extras like a charitable foundation. Some local health systems are owned by even larger conglomerates, but generally each regional system does its own marketing.

Approachability Level: Excellent. Most health marketing folks know all about freelancers, so very little education will be required on your part. 


What they need from freelancers: Anything and everything. Press releases, articles for their newsletters, advertorials, brochures, patient letters, TV and radio spots, grant support, fund raising materials and internal communications.

Two off-beat projects I received through hospitals/health systems include an award speech and a ghostwritten fiction book. Both were exceedingly fun to work on.

Ask for: The marketing department (check online press releases for a name and contact info).

Potential to Become a Regular: High. I've heard of several folks making well over $1,000 a month from health system/hospital gigs. 

Caveats: The good news in Fort Collins is we have a large health system that produces tons of writing. The bad news: it owns just about every health facility in a fifty mile radius, which cuts down on the number of potential health system clients.

Some health systems (particularly smaller ones) write in-house, hire agencies or simply don't have the budget for freelancers.

Prospecting: Keys to compiling a strong call list

I've had several questions about how to compile a cold call list of 1,000 potential clients, particularly in smaller market areas.

While I'm hardly an expert, I'll share what's working for me so far -- and what isn't. Hopefully some of you more experienced cold callers can chime in with your own experiences.

Some quick background: I'm in Fort Collins, Colorado, population 130,000. I'm about an hour from Denver, the largest market in the Rocky Mountain region. So while I'm not in a huge city, I won't run out of people to call.

I started by compiling a list of marketing firms, advertising agencies, graphic design firms and web designers in my area. I did most of this initial prospecting by Google.

Since I have some real-world experience in health care and education, I also made lists of hospitals, school districts and private schools.

And finally, I added a few dozen companies I thought were fun or interesting (like our local microbrewery).

My initial list was about 120 prospects long. I started calling them one by one. It's turned out to be a decent list.

My learning so far:

• A strong cold call list makes all the difference. Cold calling is stressful enough. But it's even worse when you get passed around to five different people only to find out that the marketing department is in Pig's Knuckle, Arkansas. Or worse, the people who take your call act like you're speaking Klingon when you describe your services. 
• Call companies who have used freelance copywriters in the past. Your best source for this information? Other writers. It's a great reason to join a local writing group and network.
• Call companies that do a lot of writing. Before calling a company, take a quick look at its website. Is it producing web content, press releases, publications and newsletters? Are white papers posted? Does it engage in fund raising or receive grants? Does it issue an annual report? Is there a marketing department? All of the above are indications that a company may need a hand with writing projects -- at least occasionally.
• Some industries are an especially good bet. In my experience, marketing companies, publishers, web design firms, graphic designers, hospitals, universities and regional publications are most receptive. 
• Call the right person. If you can easily pinpoint the marketing or creative director on the company's website, by all means call this person directly (or ask for him or her by name).
• Call the right office. Many companies have multiple divisions. To avoid aggravation, call the main office/main campus/headquarters/administration.

A caveat -- while it's worth doing a quick scan of the prospect's website, don't go overboard with your research. Remember, the odds that a particular company will be interested in hiring you is about one in ten. Just gather enough info to increase your chances of getting through to the right person.

Questions I still have ...

• I have the worst luck with franchises and local divisions of national companies (they inspired the example above about speaking Klingon). Do franchises ever hire freelancers? 
• Does cold calling outside one's geographic area ever yield results? To find out, I may try calling some folks in Cleveland (where I grew up), and Denver and Cheyenne (each one hour away).
• Can you cold call clients overseas? After living in Asia for six years, I know of several English-language hospitals, financial services firms, law firms and so on that produce a lot of writing. Might they hire a freelance writer stateside?

How do you compile your cold call list?