Cold Calling Fears – What is holding you back?

While most freelance writers despise cold calling, this is something I have grown to love over the years. In fact, I get a rush out of making cold calls from time to time. This may not be something I do every day, but here and there is fits nicely into my marketing plan.

Recently, when working with a few members of my freelance writing course, I was able to come up with the three biggest fears related to cold calling. Once you get over these fears, you will become a master of the telephone.

1. The hang-up. To this, my response is simple: who cares? If you make enough cold calls you are going to get hung up on. While nobody likes this, it is no big deal. After all, you have more calls to make – it is essential that you don’t dwell on this and simply move on.

2. Not knowing what to say. No matter how much experience you have as a writer, once you are on the phone you may freeze up and not know what to say next. To avoid this issue, have a “cheat sheet” in front of you at all times. This is nothing more than notes that can help you push forward when searching for what to say next.

3. Wasting time on something that doesn’t work. There is no denying the importance of implementing a marketing plan that yields results. Just like anything, you should not expect every cold call to turn into a new client. Don’t be surprised if it takes 20-30 calls to get a positive response. There is a lot of rejection involved with cold calling. However, once you make a sale you will be hooked.

Don’t let any of these common fears hold you back!