cold calling for freelance

Entries Tagged as 'cold calling for freelance'

Call reluctance in freelancing and consulting: Damaging self-talk and how to conquer it

January 23rd, 2012 · 4 Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting

What does your brain whisper to you (or even scream!) when you try to start phoning freelance and consulting prospects? Is it: I must always be perfectly prepared before I have the right to initiate contact with any prospective buyer. This self-talk message can totally talk us out of reaching out to possible clients, according to the authors. We convince ourselves that we aren’t sufficiently prepared and that the person we reach on the phone will ask us a tough question that will reveal us to be incompetent and even stupid.

What’s a better name for cold calling?

January 2nd, 2012 · 5 Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting

I’ve been puzzling over a fundamental issue for months—or truly, years now—and I’d like your input: Should I call “cold calling” by some other term? I use the term to label the activity of phoning the people most likely to become clients of my freelance and consulting services. I’m totally comfortable with the term but maybe another name would be more appealing to readers.

Why freelancing and consulting are like McDonald’s fries

December 26th, 2011 · No Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting

Some freelancers and consultants claim to be so afraid of rejection that they can’t phone potential clients and ask for an assignment. However, if you don’t ask for the sale, the answer is always NO. And even if you ask, the answer is not always YES.

Cold calling for freelance & consulting work is OK if…

November 16th, 2011 · No Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting

People tell me they hate being bothered by cold calls and therefore they would never stoop so low as to phone someone themselves for freelance and consulting assignments. However, I’d guess that the vast majority of the calls they receive are quite unlike the calls I make and fall far short of my criteria for justifiable phoning.

Should freelancers sell the ability to solve client problems?

October 25th, 2011 · No Comments · Feature Article, Marketing

In approaching prospects for freelance assignments, if you want to position services as solving client problems, point out problems that are universal rather than portraying the prospect in a negative light. Offering to solve problems unique to the prospect is not a winning idea. It’s a turnoff. An insult.

Courageous marketing doesn’t require all that much courage

October 18th, 2011 · 4 Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting

In freelancing and consulting, it’s not the cold calling for assignments that’s scary. It’s what happens after prospects engage in conversation with us. And it’s what happens as we undertake the freelancing or consulting assignment itself.

How do you compare to other freelancers?

September 13th, 2011 · No Comments · Feature Article, Freelance

Ed Gandia, founder of International Freelancers Day and a freelance writer himself, has just issued his 2011 Freelance Industry Report, which compiles August 2011 data on more than 1,200 freelancers in diverse professions around the world. The 53-page (!) report is impressive for the amount of data gathered and the timeliness of its release.

What’s your goal in phoning freelance & consulting prospects?

September 7th, 2011 · 5 Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting

The best reason to phone possible freelance and consulting clients (also called “cold calling” if you do not yet have a relationship with them) is to find out if they use freelancers or consultants to provide the services you offer. Then there’s the not-so-great reasons.

Multipurpose your freelance and consulting marketing

June 15th, 2011 · No Comments · Marketing, cold calling for freelance and consulting

When you make the effort to research a freelancing or consulting client before reaching out to them, why not multipurpose your effort by contacting them in more than one way?

Apples vs. oranges in cold calling: tips for going orange

May 24th, 2011 · No Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting

Many marketing coaches who work with freelancers, consultants and other solo entrepreneurs pontificate on the evils of cold calling. They set up cold calling for assignments as the most dreadful activity in the world as a straw man to make the alternative they teach—often emailing, magnetic websites / blogs or social networking—seem like a breeze in comparison. But there is an effective, pleasurable way to do cold calling.

Stand Up 8 Times Blog ~ Diana Schneidman

How to start earning money quickly as a freelancer or consultant