Cold Calling For Work?

If you write better than you talk, why not write to them?

If you google 'cold calling tips' you'll find that there are a lot of sites offering advice - both good and bad! I spent some time earlier this year cold calling various firms and my advice would be:

Research who you are going to call - find out as much as you can about them and keep some notes by you when you phone.

Try to find out the names of the key people you need to talk to - you will have, in all probability to get past the 'gate keeper' and knowing a name is more impressive than asking for a job title.

Write your own script for what you want to achieve - that is if you are trying to sell a thousand page book you will need to be able to talk fluently about it. Sound confidant.

If you are asked to phone back ask what would be a good time to catch the person - make a note of it, and their name, and make sure you do call back.

If the switchboard/gate keeper puts you through to someone ask who you are talking to - and what their job is.

Don't get put off by people who say "thanks but no thanks" and then hang up.


Hope this is of some help.

Hi,

When cold calling you are contacting one person at a time, which means you are wasting a lot of time. You need to start using leverage if you ever want to get anywhere and increase sales. Leverage is the ability to create something once and have it work for you time and time again with thousands of people. Using leverage allows you to work while sleeping.

nice comments are here. thanks for this topic here.

My approach:

"Hi, I'm Mathew Ferguson and I'm a freelance writer and editor. I was calling to see if I can send in my portfolio to get work from you guys."

Then it will go like this:
No, we don't use freelancers.
No, we are happy with the ones we have.
No, I don't feel like transferring you to anyone.
No, I'm a gatekeeper and I'm keeping the gate shut.
Yes, send it to me.
Yes, send it to [insert email address]
Yes, I'll put you through to X and they'll help you.

And rarely, Yes what have you done, I'd love to talk with you, when can we meet for a coffee.

I have a casual approach and I pay particular attention to address the mood of the person on the phone with me. Sometimes a freelancer calling is a welcome break and so that is time to be friendly and chat and not even mention your work much. Other times they are willing to look at your stuff and you simply say "I'll send it in. Thanks."

I email a very short cover letter with a very long project list (mine is four pages long and it is intended to crush writers I'm up against).

Cold calling has a low response rate and it is quite slow also. Don't be surprised if you can only get through three calls an hour.

You're better off networking than cold calling IMO. Good luck though. I've done some cold calling for other gigs and didn't like it very much.

Networking is my preference. It will seem at first that the networks are 'preaching to the choir', but there is some Murphy's law in place that says NETWORK, don't be the stealth writer and the editors will learn more about you. Having some decent networks in your resume/profile can show editors that you are serious. Some networks are indexed, so your 'profound' comments get attention for you in the search engines. Similarly. I learned from Maya Payne Smart that blogging my style gives me an online portfolio and gets attention for me from the search engines. Editors use Google too.

I would definitely recommend cold calling! Lots of times, the best jobs are the ones that aren't advertised--perhaps a company or publication could use somebody with your skills, but they aren't necessarily creating a help wanted ad for it. The key is to be persistent and develop a thick skin. My mother was highly successful as a PR freelancer for years, and got the majority of her business--and biggest clients--through cold calling. It's scary, but the more you do it, the better you'll get. It may take weeks to see results, so don't give up.

I've done business-to-business cold-calling for the past 10 years. I also do e-mail marketing campaigns.

If you are not the type to enjoy talking on the phone, especially cold-calling, which can be intimidating, then I would suggest an email blast campaign.

How do you run e-mail marketing campaigns without being spammed?

If you don't mind sharing...please let me know. Thanks.