Cruel Irony #1: To Get More Sales, Stop Selling.


comment now!

I’ve been at this for ten years now. If that decade has taught me anything, it’s that a handful of cruel ironies govern your success. By which I mean, often, things you expect to work for you can actually hinder you, and vice versa.

One of these cruel ironies is this: “selling” yourself rarely leads to new clients.

Which seems odd, since I advocate cold-calling— especially when you’re just starting out or
times get lean. In fact, I built my business early on by cold calling.

But only AFTER I stopped making SALES CALLS.

An effective cold call isn’t “phone spam;” it’s merely introducing yourself to someone who could use your particular talents. I’m not talking semantics here.

Your cold call should literally be, “Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself and ask if you ever use freelancers to help with your marketing or corporate communications. Great. Here’s a link to my site, if you ever need me. Thanks.”

A cold call is the beginning of a conversation… that will lead to a relationship… that will lead to work. If it takes more than 90 seconds, and they’re not doing most of the talking, you’re talking too much.

So, how do you get new business without selling yourself?

If you’ve read the two previous posts, you’ve seen how you can get business without selling… through acts as simple as introducing yourself in the right circumstances and even firing a client. With the right approach, simple interactions can result in sales without going all “used car salesman” on people.

|comment now!

Comments

Leave a Reply