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.
Entries Tagged as '"Diana Schneidman"'
Call reluctance in freelancing and consulting: Damaging self-talk and how to conquer it
January 23rd, 2012 · 5 Comments · Feature Article, cold calling for freelance and consulting
Tags:"Diana Schneidman"·"Stand up 8 times"·cold calling for consulting clients·cold calling for freelance·marketing for consultants·marketing for freelance
Maintain your momentum!
January 17th, 2012 · 2 Comments · Feature Article, Marketing
Marketing is easiest when I establish and maintain momentum. Some people establish a regular weekly schedule. For instance, they mark off Monday mornings on their calendar and consistently market on that day only from 9 till noon. That’s consistent but it wouldn’t work for me. I need day-to-day consistency to keep my marketing muscle toned. Here are four guidelines I’ve established for myself and attempt to stick with as much as possible.
Tags:"Diana Schneidman"·"Stand up 8 times"·marketing for consultants·marketing for freelance
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.
Tags:"Diana Schneidman"·"Stand up 8 times"·cold calling for consulting clients·cold calling for freelance
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.
Tags:"Diana Schneidman"·"Stand up 8 times"·cold calling for consulting clients·cold calling for freelance
My “Happy Everything” letter, 2011
December 23rd, 2011 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
Here’s the my annual holiday letter, 2011
Charge what you’re worth . . . enough already!
December 13th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Feature Article, How much to charge
Looks to me, based on what I’ve been seeing in my inbox for years now, that the most consistent, evergreen marketing topic aimed at freelancers and consultants is “how to charge what you’re worth.” Apparently our freelance and consulting fees broadcast our self-image to the world. The higher our fees, the healthier our respect for our own talents. According to the “experts,” that’s the sole measure of our worth. Their latest advice is to take our current rate and double it. Right now.
Tags:"Diana Schneidman"·"Stand up 8 times"·consulting rates·fees·freelance rates
Enliven your work!
December 7th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Feature Article, Living life well
Let’s stop the deadening, go-through-the-motions, throwaway tasks. Here are specific suggestions to trim your to-do list right now.
The writer’s best New Year’s habit
November 29th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Feature Article, creating content
My new habit is to save everything I write in a Word or Notepad file on my computer as I write it.
Twitter! The very very best way to use Twitter
November 23rd, 2011 · 1 Comment · Feature Article, Social networking
Twitter’s beauty is in its transparency. Internet marketers can boast all they want about successes we can’t actually see, but everything they do on Twitter is out in the open for us to evaluate (with the exception of direct messages).
Tags:"Diana Schneidman"·"Stand up 8 times"·twitter for marketing
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.
Tags:"Diana Schneidman"·"Stand up 8 times"·cold calling·cold calling for consulting clients·cold calling for freelance
