Do a little “rain dance”
Posted on June 22, 2008
Filed Under Water |
One thing that continues to amaze me is the seemingly karmic value of doing your cold calls. And I’m not alone. Join up a freelance writer’s discussion group, and the subject rears its head every now and then.
What do I mean? Well, if you put the effort in, you get results…but not always the results you’re expecting.
Last week, I decided to set aside Monday to make a few (25) calls. Some were cold calls; a few were touching base with people I’d already spoken to. All were short, and not very sales-y. “Hi, I’m Danny Thompson, and I’m a freelance writer specializing in [industry]. I just wanted to introduce myself and find out if you guys ever use freelancers to help with marketing or corporate communications.”
That’s it…that’s my script! Whether I get a yes or no, the calls seldom last more than 3 or 4 minutes.
Now, here’s the freaky part: while I occasionally get a few bites that might lead to paying work. But invariably, whenever I set time aside to make a few calls, I end up getting two or three gigs come in entirely unrelated to my calls.
I can’t explain it…but it happens too often for me to ignore. So here’s a strategy: forget the results of your calling. Make your calls expecting that every one will land you a “no,” if you want. For some reason, it will still end up getting you work, simply because the universe rewards focused effort.
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