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.

Cold Calling Alternatives: Email prospecting with Ed Gandia

If you're convinced you'd rather spend a lifetime eating broken glass than pick up the phone and cold call a prospect, you're probably in good company. So can you survive as a freelancer?

Of course. As with anything there's more than one way to skin a cat. Which is why although this blog focuses on cold calling, we'll occasionally offer viable alternatives.

Here's a link to what's shaping up to be an excellent (FREE!) series of videos on "warm e-mail prospecting" by Ed Gandia of International Freelancers Academy. Even if you're a hard core cold caller, Ed's video series will give you lots of good marketing pearls you can integrate into your approach.

One large caveat: Ed's first episode on the horrors of cold calling is so far from my experience, I don't know where to start. I was even more surprised to see all the anti-cold calling comments below.

In 460 calls and counting, I've never been hung up on, rarely been made to feel like I'm wasting prospects' time, and have had WAY better than a 1 percent response rate.

I suspect the difference is one of approach -- in the examples Ed describes, the salesperson is trying to snare a meeting or even a sale on the spot.

For the purposes of this blog, we're calling to gauge receptiveness and see if the client wants more info. If we secure a meeting, it usually comes after the client spends some time with our portfolio, not right there during the initial call. This approach doesn't seem to annoy people -- in fact they're often grateful the writer reached out.

Hate Cold Calling? Do This Instead | International Freelancers Academy

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.

New domain name ... SHINY!

So thanks to Tania Casselle and Darcy Lewis over at Freelance Success (FLX) who came up with an easy solution to my last-name, voice-mail conundrum.

I just bought a new (voice-mail friendly) domain and forwarded it!

Now instead of speaking in Navajo code-talk, can just tell prospects' voice mail:

"You can view my online portfolio and resume at zipline agency dot com."

For anyone who is wondering, forwarding is free (at least through GoDaddy) and if you call sales, they will walk you through the setup.

Last-name problem solved. And for only $1 a month. (Much easier than going to court or marrying some guy named Smith).

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?

Cold Calling Day Zero

(Plagiarizing a post from my Recovering Expat blog):

So for folks in the copy/commercial writing biz (which is where I get the bulk of my income), cold calling (a.k.a. calling total strangers on the phone without an introduction) is considered one of the fastest ways to build your client list.

According to Peter Bowerman (author of "The Well-Fed Writer," an awesome book I highly recommend if you're trying to break into this area), making about 1,000 cold calls at start-up should have your business running along pretty smoothly.

One problem -- it's absolutely terrifying! Which is why despite knowing this, I've waited nine months to attempt it.

See the little ticker on the right? Did you notice how it's been at "0" since January? That's me being a cold-calling wimp.

After a busy first quarter, I finally ran out of work this week, so I bit the bullet and started my 25-a-day, two-month cold calling program.

And you know what? It wasn't all that terrible. It even had fun and interesting moments. And while we'll see what happens in the next few weeks, so far it seems like a great way to connect with people who hire freelancers -- fast.

I started out following the little "script" in the Well-Fed-Writer, but actually, after a few calls, I rewrote it so it was a bit less formal and better suited to my personality. That helped me relax a bit.

The first few calls were terrifying.
After five, I took a little break to calm down.
After ten, I was still freaking out a little.
Around twenty, it started to feel like I had been doing this my whole life.
My nerves were totally gone by twenty-five.

A few people said thanks but no thanks. Most were VERY nice. One was a little grumpy, but hey. I was often grumpy when I had a day job.

A few said they rarely hire copywriters, but to send something for the file.

A surprising number seemed quite enthusiastic and said to send over materials and follow up in a few days.

At least two acted like they had been sitting around all their lives waiting for a copywriter to call (highly gratifying, and kind of amusing considering they hadn't even seen my stuff yet).

No one yelled at me.

No one asked what the hell a copywriter is.

Though I tripped over my tongue a couple times, I didn't say anything too embarrassing.

So I have a ton of resumes, clips and links to send out tomorrow. It's a great feeling to have the first day over with (which I'm assuming is probably going to be the hardest by far).

It's only 4:00, but am having a delicious Dales Pale Ale now to reward self.