Running Your Business

Prospecting is where most new freelancers fail, because hard work is no substitute for the proper techniques.  Here are ten painless prospecting tips for how to get through to decision makers and what to say to them when you do.

Number 1: The objective of a cold call is to set a meeting. Period.

Don’t try to sell yourself or describe your services in detail over the phone. Keep in mind that as a freelancer, you usually can’t convince an organization that your services are needed on the basis of a phone conversation. A meeting usually has to take place first. The purpose of a cold call is to set up a meeting, period. If you don’t keep that in mind, you can find yourself getting into technical discussions over the telephone. Such discussions almost never lead to a meeting or to an assignment, because the client feels no urge to spill his or her guts over the phone. And until the client tells you what the problem is, you can’t propose to solve it.

Number 2: Never leave a voicemail message for a prospect until you’ve spoken to them live.

Your prospects have their own set of duties and responsibilities to take care of. You should accept the burden of calling them back. What’s more, your prospects will never care as much about talking to you as you care about talking to them. When you leave a voicemail message, you climb out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger’s seat. Don’t forget that if you treat a receptionist or assistant with respect and talk to them on a personal level, they will usually be happy to tell you when you’d be most likely to get through to the decision maker.

Number 3: All you’re looking for is a chance to get in front of people. What could be easier?

The nice thing about this approach is that it allows you to relax. Sure, you’re worried about paying the bills. You’re worried about getting some quick assignments. You’re worried about generating some income. You’re worried about getting your freelance career going. But you accept as an article of faith that your career will never get going unless you get in front of people. All you care about is getting in front of people. You don’t have to do any hard selling. All you’re looking for is a chance to get in front of people. What could be easier?

Number 4: You can’t get hired until you get in front of a decision maker.

In selling freelancing, your first objective is to get in front of a decision maker. You can’t get hired until that happens, so you’ve got to discipline yourself to achieving that goal.

Number 5: Never tell the receptionist or assistant that you’re hoping for a meeting.

If the receptionist or assistant is screening the calls, your goal at this point is no longer to schedule a meeting. Your goal is to start the phone call. Your goal is to get through to the decision maker. So, by all means, don’t tell the receptionist that you want to talk to the decision maker in order to set up a meeting. The decision maker is going to think: “If I turn this phone call down, my life is going to go on as before and everything is going to be fine and I won’t have to waste my time or change my attitudes or deal with someone else’s personal needs.” You’ll never get through.

Number 6: Never assume that the person you’re talking to has no influence.

Everybody within an organization can influence how the organization feels toward you as an outsider. That goes for the receptionist, an assistant, or the president of the company. Anyone who becomes your enemy within the organization can make it harder for you to relate successfully to that organization. You want people within an organization, from bottom to top, to think favorably of you. An assistant’s chance remark about how nasty you were can have more impact than the president’s endorsement. So don’t make enemies!

Number 7: No matter how many times a prospect says they’re happy with their current provider, you still want to press for a meeting.

Your competitors sometimes make mistakes and blow a relationship up, but, typically, relationships fall apart over a period of time due to little things that they do wrong. Clients will put up with these things. In fact, clients usually don’t even realize how unhappy they are with their current provider, until a new provider with a fresh perspective is sitting in their office!

Number 8: The first answer to anything new is always NO.

People have a built-in inertia. They don’t want to change. The answer to anything new is always no. At least, the first answer is always no. You’re doing the organization an injustice to take the first “no” seriously. If you take a second “no” seriously, you may still be doing an injustice; you’ll probably need to give the decision maker an opportunity to turn you down at least three times, responding to each objection as it is offered.

Number 9: Very few people can say no five times.

In fact, about the only kind of person who can say no five times is a person who really means no. A person who really means no can say no all day long. You can ask such a person 10 different questions and give 100 different reasons to say yes, but the answer will always be no.

Number 10: When you know you’re not going to meet with the decision maker, shift from a short-term to a long-term strategy.

When you encounter a no based on a legitimate lack of interest in or need for your services, you should shift from a short-term to a long-term outlook. You’ve established some rapport with the decision maker over the phone, and an opportunity may arise in the future. Always ask yourself, “If I can’t accomplish what I first set out to accomplish, what can I accomplish?”