Frailwords

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There is an old adage in the business world that “employees don’t quit jobs, they quit managers.” The idea is rather basic and reminds us that it is most often the people and not the actual job that generates turnover.

I think this philosophy holds true to running a freelance based business. But consider it this way: “clients don’t quit projects, they quit freelancers.” Heck, a client might be using a freelancer to begin with because they quit an agency that was driving them nuts.

What I want to talk about here are some ways to develop a business based on clients that don’t want to quit. After all, if we effectively retain our clients we will spend less time searching for new ones. Not to mention that extremely happy clients will most often refer new business.

Here are four things to keep in mind:

1 – Learn to listen

As a customer of any type, one of the most frustrating things is to not be heard.

As a customer of any type, one of the most frustrating things is to not be heard. Many companies will turn to freelancers as an alternative to larger companies for this reason alone.

This is a point of real opportunity for the freelancer. We have the opportunity to create a personal experience. And this begins with listening. The more you listen to them, the more you will know how to tweak your services to suit their needs.

I am not suggesting we bend our business to fit every client. Instead I am suggesting that if we simply listen to the needs of our client we will quickly identify small ways to tweak things to make them exceptionally happy.

Never forget that your client knows their business better then you. So if you are called in as an expert in your niche, it doesn’t mean you rule them.

2 – Stick to your passions

I have written here on Freelance Switch about casting a vision and sticking to it before so I won’t repeat myself in depth. But I do want to point out that the more we stick to the things we absolutely love; the more likely we are to do a fantastic job. As a result, your clients will get a better product and be all the happier for it.

It can be very tempting to allow ourselves to be drawn into lucrative work that simply doesn’t strike at our core passions. For example, I am not a fan of SEO work. It might be tempting to sell people on those services, but I am not very excited about it, so I don’t even try.

Being a one man show means you have to be extra careful to only take on the type of work you will enjoy. Sure you might have to bend this at times, but hopefully over time your passions result in such great work that new clients line up and you have no trouble filling your schedule.

3 – Focus on results

Depending on the type of work you do this idea might present varying degrees of difficulty. But the idea is to make sure you’re always focused on the results your work will produce for your clients. This ties directly into listening, but almost always means trying to address the client’s bottom line. Let’s consider some examples.

Look for ways to help your client with a real focus on results and you will find that business owners respond very well.

Let’s say you’re a freelance accountant. It is one thing to simply do what you’re told, to track the money and generate tax forms. But what if you were to review things and help your clients understand how to more effectively manage their money and increase their profits. I imagine this is par for the course with larger business, but most likely a freelance accountant would work with smaller shops.

Another example might be a freelance web designer. Focus on results for your client by digging into their analytics to better understand their audience. And try to design around real tangible goals. In particular look for the points of conversion that will turn their visitors into paying customers. It seems so fundamental and obvious, yet many fail to take such a focus.

Look for ways to help your client with a real focus on results and you will find that business owners respond very well.

4 – Go above and beyond

One of the easiest ways to avoid losing clients is to go above and beyond. Providing that extra wow factor to your clients is a great way to make them feel they are getting great value for their investment in you.

One way to do this is to plan ahead. Come up with 2 or 3 bonus features ahead of time that can be somewhat generically applied to all clients. Prep them ahead of time so that your bonus feature has great value, but costs you very little in time or money.

This could be as simple as guided instructions for important follow up items after launching a new site. Or even a before and after assessment of site traffic after a rebuild. Things like this show value to the client and yet, can be very easy to pull off.

One of my favorite examples of this is using a Google alert for your client’s company name. And when you see interesting things come in send them an email. It gives you a reason to contact your client, and makes you look as though you’re watching out for them. Depending on how web savvy your client is this can be a simple and effective technique.

It might take some creative thinking, but look for ways to build a wow factor into your every day work.

Don’t get fired

After observing the shortcomings of agencies I really believe it creates an opportunity for freelancers to shine and avoid getting fired. I hope these ideas challenge you to build lasting relationships with your clients in new ways.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by disorderly.

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Marketing Graphic Design: How to Position Your Firm and Win Great Clients

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In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at firing clients and providing hosting. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Question 1

How do you deal with clients who refuse to accept that you’ve decided to end the relationship? We have a client that we formally terminated contracts with for a number of reasons, but this client refuses to accept that we are no longer interested. He has been very passive-aggressive, making very subtle, veiled threats, and then saying he needs us because we do such wonderful work.

We initially responded to his e-mails politely and firmly, but ignored his last two e-mails. We’re wondering if we should respond at all anymore. It’s a bit challenging, because this client and our company are in the same community, so we have the same circles of contacts and friends. We will certainly run into this client time after time and certainly don’t want to burn bridges.

We are concerned, however, about this client’s persistence and instability. How do we get it through his head that we will never work with him again even if he were the last person on the planet, without involving legal resources or having him wreak havoc?

Unfortunately, you’re already doing pretty much everything you can in this situation. Because you’ve already addressed his emails and formally terminated your contract, it’s acceptable to simply stop replying to his emails. You may also want to prepare a standard response, in case one of your shared contacts asks you about the situation, something along the lines of ‘it just didn’t work out.’ You may also need to prepare yourself for the fact that you’ll probably encounter this person at events in the future.

While it’s not common, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that an ex-client can essentially harass you. What’s worse is that if you are feeling uncomfortable or threatened by this ex-client, the only further action you can take is if he actually escalates the situation (such as through harassing phone calls). At such a point, you can have a lawyer draw up a letter, asking the individual involved to cease communicating with you or otherwise take legal action, depending on what is appropriate to the situation.

In most cases where an ex-client is having a hard time taking no for an answer, though, we are limited to repeating that word over again, and doing what we can to keep the situation polite.

Question 2

If the client needs web hosting and wants me to set it up, do I find a good web host for them since I don’t have my own hosting packages?

If your clients are asking you to handle web hosting, but you don’t normally provide that as a part of your services, you have a couple of options that depend on how closely you want to be tied to a given client in the future.

The easiest solution is simply to choose a good web host and recommend that host to your clients. You may need to give them some instructions for setting up their account so that you can do your work, but you can refuse to do anything further. You may find that some clients want an all-in-one solution: they want a finished product that they don’t have to worry about paying both a freelancer and a web host for. Such clients have a preference for having you handle setting up hosting and then passing the costs along to them in your own invoice.

In my own experience, I find that approach is less ideal. It sets you up to need to stay in touch long after the actual project is done, so that you can get another check each time a hosting bill comes due. The same is probably true of domain registration, as well.

One alternative that can be made very effective is to team up with a hosting provider — possibly a smaller company that is happy to work with you to find the best solution for each of your clients. There are pros and cons to working with a smaller host, of course, but it can be worth considering.

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In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at several questions from the same freelancer who is working with a tough employer. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

I am a web developer (who sometimes gets lumped in as a web designer, as I can kind of fly front-ends) and I have been working for a very small (me + the owner) graphic design company. I have been having a number of issues with him, due probably to a combination of me being new to freelance contracting on a mid-to-long term basis (I have contracted on ad-hoc work before). I would also suggest the problem is due to his inexperience at moving away from design and becoming a project/business manager and having had little experience working with freelancers.

So, I have a few qualms, issues, and queries to share here, feel free to publish any you want, answer those of interest, and ignore the rest.

My employer thinks that he should be able to pay a freelancer the same rates as he would pay a full-time employee (albeit an underpaid full-time employee). I have discussed this with him on a number of occasions, pointing out that, as a freelancer, I have to cover additional taxes (above the standard income tax), my operating costs (equipment, internet, communications bills), my own leave pay (as I am not granted any paid leave under the contract), my own insurance, etc. But, he refuses to revise his rate to allow for these expenses. Are there any online resources I can direct him to which explain the differences in contractor versus employee pay?

My employer is a web design company, and he is constantly distracting me by asking me to switch between projects at the drop of a hat. He does not understand (as much as I try and tell him) that doing so means that I am losing productivity as it may take an hour or longer for me to delve back into the original project to the same depth as before the distraction and to get my mind back into the correct gear. Even worse, he insists on talking to me about feature requests and bug reports over the phone (whilst I am doing other work) or having me come into the office (I work remotely) rather than writing the details down so I can refer to them at a later stage. Have you any suggestions on how I can manage him better?

My employer never provides me with a written specification for any project. Yet, he demands that I provide him with a solid and definitive quote before we commence the work. He keeps telling me that quotes (as opposed to estimates) are the standard within the design business, and does not agree with my replies that I can only provide estimates based on the provided information, and that those estimates will need to be adjusted as more information comes to hand, or, in the case of remedial work, the extent of the damage/work required becomes apparent. Are fixed quotes standard within the web design industry? Is it normal for remedial work (recovering and/or rebuilding an existing website) to also be done under a fixed quote? What is the current industry stance on fixed quotes versus estimates?

My employer has, on occasion, advised me that he has no work for me on a specific day. The terms of my contract state that I have a guaranteed per day minimum pay, so would it be wrong of me to still charge him for a day which I did not work, but I had been prepared to work (especially as I had 1 hour’s notice that I was not needed)? On these days, it is also not uncommon for him to still send me a number of emails, or SMSes, expecting a reply that day. Should I charge him (at the minimum) for the time it took to reply to these requests, or should I have pushed back and told him that I would handle those inquiries on my next paid day? I worry that I am giving up too much of my own time (outside of hours, or on these down-days) for no extra pay, on a job where the pay rate is so low that I would almost be better working at McDonald’s.

As you can see, a pretty grim picture. I have struggled, and strained, and tried to reinforce to my employer that he is running a losing business, and is only doing so because he is not charging enough for the work we do, and, as such, is not paying either of us enough. He has been through a number of people working in my role in the past (I am not sure of their reasons for leaving, but I can guess), and I am one good offer and half-a-heartbeat away from following their path out the door (which, for a small company like this one, where he is not web-savvy, would basically mean shutting him down until he employed someone new to repeat the cycle).

Contractor Versus Employee Pay

You are absolutely correct in requesting a higher pay rate as a freelancer: remind him that he is not paying payroll taxes and at the very least, you should be getting that amount. To be perfectly honest, I would walk away from a client who can’t grasp that there are differences between an employee and an independent contractor. There’s not a specific resource that I would say is guaranteed to change this type of client’s mind, unfortunately. You might consider looking at this article on what to consider when setting your rates in order to make sure that you’re covering everything, though.

However, based on your description of your work situation, it sounds like you are effectively an employee, rather than a contractor — at least in terms of what the IRS will think. You may want to sit down with this guy and tell him that by making sure that you’re actually more of a freelancer — including paying you appropriately — will insure that he’s not hit with the penalties that go along with misclassifying an employee as a contractor.

Managing a Client Better

Having a sit down with your client and telling him about how you can work more effectively — possibly framing it in terms of how your approach can save him money in the long-term — is likely the only way to get him to change his behavior. There’s no guarantee that it will get the job done, either. You might also ask him why he prefers to work in such a manner and see if you can describe your concerns in a way that works with what he needs to get done. He may feel that his time is too valuable to write up full explanations of changes and the phone is faster, for instance.

Quotes and Estimates

Fixed quotes are not necessarily the norm in web design: there are many freelancers who do provide fixed quotes (usually because they work on very similar projects over and over again) as well as many freelancers who provide estimates and then go from there. There isn’t a universal industry standard in this case. Since recovering a website or rebuilding it is often a fairly straightforward task, though, it is more likely to see a standard rate for such a process — although, once again, it can vary.

Guaranteed Minimums

If your contract states that you get a guaranteed minimum, you should absolutely take your guaranteed minimum even if you aren’t working. And if he’s notified you that he doesn’t have work for you that day, answering multiple emails and other messages can likely wait, unless he’s willing to bump up your daily minimum to at least cover the time you’ll spend on those messages. If you were a full employee and you took a day off of work for any reason, few bosses would expect that you would spend an hour or two on the phone with them despite being out of the office.

The Overall Situation

As a freelancer, you can take a hard line and refuse to work on any terms other than your own. It may be worth issuing an ultimatum to this client that you expect to be treated as a full contractor, which means operating on your terms on issues like how to submit revisions. From your description, such an ultimatum may mean that you’re looking for a new client, but it may also get this client to actually listen to you.

You say that you’re making marginally more than you might make at McDonald’s, though, and going looking for a new client or working arrangement may be a very good idea at this point. When a situation is not working out, despite having tried to talk to the client, sometimes the only thing you can do is let that client go.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Yuri Arcurs.

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In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, this week, we have two questions from the same freelancer, answered below. We’re looking at landing a first client and attending conferences. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

I’m just starting as a freelance website designer/developer (depends on how you define the job), and I mean just starting out. As in I’m still working at my full time job and still trying to find that first client, even if its for free.

So, I have a few questions for you:

1. How do you find that ever important first few clients? Do you just walk into their business with a proposal in hand saying, “So I see you don’t have a website.” Do you go onto job sites, like FreelanceSwitch, Elance and Odesk, etc, and try to find jobs? (This hasn’t worked yet either, sorry don’t mean to sound like I’m venting. You’re the good guys trying to help people, for which I thank you.)

2. I’ve seen several places on FreelanceSwitch suggest going to conferences. Where do I find things like this? I live in Kansas City and haven’t seen anything announcing this. Is there a website or newsletter I can sign up for regarding these conferences?

Again, I don’t mean to sound like I’m taking any of my frustration out on you guys, and I do thank you very much for the help you’ve provided. Also, if these questions have been answered already then I apologize for asking them again.

Thanks,
Matthew

Question 1

Landing that first gig is tough and it’s even tougher on job boards because you don’t have a portfolio that you can use to ‘prove’ to a prospective client that you really know what you’re doing. You can usually pick up a few really small projects that way, but nothing that will translate into full-time freelance income.

If you have a very specific sort of client that you’d like to work with, it’s easier. You can start networking with the goal of connecting with specific people, researching their needs and so on. You can attend events that you know they’ll be at, so that you can connect with them before walking into their business with a proposal (not an effective approach without a prior introduction, unfortunately). Talk to your own contacts and see who they know that need your services. Generally, getting hooked into a network is crucial.

Question 2

A network is going to do a lot for you in terms of finding conferences to go to, as well. There isn’t, unfortunately, one website or newsletter that collects all sorts of conferences in different places. A lot of them you simply have to know the right people to hear about.

In many cities, though, there are people stepping up and creating lists about specific types of events. Startup Digest, for instance creates a list of events in for several different cities that are useful for startups. There’s a lot of overlap in their lists with what freelancers are interested in, by the way. You’ll likely have to do a little digging to see who is collecting information in Kansas City — the sites collecting events in cities like LA get coverage, while smaller cities get less coverage.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Dennis Hill.

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I was called recently about a freelance job for a local corporate entity and met to speak with the marketing director. After a few days, I received an e-mail informing me I was one of six “finalists” for the assignment. The message contained a list of several advertising campaigns, a rebranding of the logo, signage and billboards. It said all finalists were to do these for a presentation in two weeks. My first thought was…not fit to be printed here.

I contacted the marketing director and asked if he was serious about asking for such an amount of work, in such a short amount of time, on speculation. I pointed out that no bid had been discussed and without knowing the fee structure, even working on speculation was too risky. He replied that I could do as much as I wanted, but the person who did the most would probably win the assignments.

I asked if he was willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement that indicated I was to retain the intellectual property. He replied that the legal department was “out of town” and wouldn’t “be back in time.”

I knew what they were trying to do, so I wrote up a marketing plan that showed why the outline they had handed out was flawed and how I would approach it. I did not design one thing they asked.

Watch Out for Idea Phishing

Showing up at the appointed time, I sat in the reception area with another designer and asked if she had done all the assignments.

“Yes!” she replied. “I really need the work!”

After she came out of the conference room, running by me with tears in her eyes, I was escorted in where several people sat, opened my portfolio and went over past campaigns that matched the corporation’s needs, then pointed out why their original plan was flawed. Several people nodded their heads in agreement as I spoke.

“Well,” asked a man I had never met, “where’s the designs?”

“I don’t work on speculation and I could not get a non-disclosure agreement,” I said in a professional manner. “My past work speaks for itself and I have plenty of recommendations if you doubt my professional abilities.”

The man was visibly angry. “Did you take your current position with the understanding you wouldn’t be paid for two weeks and you had to come up with a year of marketing initiatives?” I asked, knowing I was dead in his eyes.

He jumped up and stormed out of the room. The others in the room nodded sheepishly at me and slunk out.

I knew the former creative director, who had warned me that the man who had stormed out was idea phishing. I knew that before she ever told me, but wanted to play it out and show them I wasn’t going to fall for it. I felt better, but what about those other “finalists” who spent two sleepless weeks slaving to get the job with no mention of a fee? You can bet the best ideas were given to the lowest bidder to execute.

In Freelance, Everyone Is Gambling

One can argue that hiring a freelancer is a gamble. A new client is also a gamble for a freelancer. I have hired well-known freelancers who turned out to be unprofessional. A waste of time and money is aggravating. If you are working on a tight budget and timeline, a setback of a bad freelancer can be very costly. The same can be said for not being paid for a finished assignment by an unscrupulous client. But, are these tests that are popping up more and more frequently real tests for real jobs?

If you look for work on oDesk or eLance, you are more likely to find assignments that have “tests.” For a series of designs, the client might ask one design. If you are a writer, it may be writing an assigned piece of copy. Once the client has it, there is little you can do, as reporting suspected spam and phishing is limited on several sites. A good way to judge the sincerity of the request is to look at the record of jobs listed vs. the amount of jobs actually assigned.

How Do You Spot The Serious Clients?

A serious client respects your time and efforts and will consider your experience. You will rarely be asked to work for free for the always-insulting promise of “more work later.” If they truly want a test, it will have some rate of pay in exchange for the rights to the ideas rendered.

If you doubt a client, doing some research can shed a lot of information. Look them up on LinkedIn. What is their history? Are there former employees you can send a message and ask about the client’s history with freelancers? Are you a member of an organization where others might know about this client? Post to the group’s discussion board and ask.

Unfortunately, with the state of business and an abundance of freelancers around, clients can ask for tests and plenty will heed the call. They might not be the most professional of the lot, but that’s why many clients ask for tests…they can’t afford the reliable professionals. In the long run, you get what you pay for.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by ilco

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In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at promissory notes and networking clients. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Question 1

I am a freelance reporter based in the UK who has had trouble getting my American client (based in Florida) to pay for three months of editorial duties. Although she recently promised to pay me the whole amount due, similar promises have been broken before, which is why I’m wondering if I should write an IOU (promissory note). Do you have any experience writing these type of notes?

Carlos

Asking your client to sign a promissory note or an IOU can be a tricky matter — in much the same way that having them sign a contract is. The fact of the matter is that a signature on a note or a contract doesn’t actually mean that you’ll get the money. At best, your client will behave with integrity and pay you. At worst, you have an edge if you have to take the client to court for non-payment.

Since I assume in this case there’s already a contract in place, an IOU isn’t going to make a lot of difference, especially since taking an international client to court over non-payment is not a trivial matter. It’s rarely done, simply because a freelancer will likely spend more on the court case than she can collect. Asking for a promissory note may drive home the fact that you’re serious to your client and, if you think that signing a note will motivate your client, there’s no harm in trying. And if you don’t have a contract, asking for a promissory note will at least establish the situation in the event that you do want to try to take the matter to court or turn it over to a collections agency.

Question 2

I recently (as of Sept. 2009) started my own graphic design company. I have been a graphic designer for over eleven years, but I had worked only for small time print brokers, so I never got to work on any large-scale projects. Around September last year, the broker I was working for decided to close up shop on his print brokering business and focus on real estate. I figured this would be the perfect time for me to finally go freelance.

Here’s the issue: I am having a lot of trouble getting customers. I can’t go back and contact any of our previous customers because my old boss sold the business to his sister (she now gives me work and is virtually my only customer) and it wouldn’t be right. I also can’t go back and contact any of my previous employer’s customers for the same reason — you just don’t do that. Funny enough, they all liked me and my design and would flock to me in a heartbeat if they knew I was freelance now.

So here I am now. Hardly any money to start with but plenty of skills. Using fliers for local marketing costs money, so I can’t do that very often. What are the some of the best ways to market locally to get some start-up customers. I realize that this business is mainly word-of-mouth but I have to get the ball rolling. Right now, I hardly have a ball! My main client (my old boss’ sister) does get me steady, low-paying work (mostly typesetting) but it’s not enough to live on.

Any tips to get started locally would be GREATLY appreciated. Oh, also, I’m currently growing my online presence but that stuff takes a while anyway.

Damian

Setting aside a block of time for networking is going to be particularly useful for you. Go to any business-oriented event in your town that you can — check Meetup.com, the local Chamber of Commerce and everyone else. Just going and introducing yourself to the businesses in your area can be crucial to finding work, especially if you can walk into an event and tell all the business owners in the room exactly how you can help them.

It’s also reasonable to go around to local businesses during the day and introduce yourself. You don’t want to come off as overly salesy, but just by introducing yourself and explaining that you’re trying to get a better feel for the businesses in your area, you may be able to build some connections without spending money on fliers. I’ve landed new business just by going to the grand opening of an office space and telling them I’m interested to see who goes into the new building.

I’d also suggest thinking outside of the box. Approaching the new owner of the broker that you’re working with to see if both of you can grow your business together may be an option. Consider asking her if you can negotiate a higher rate if you’ll help her bring in more business. Among other benefits, this puts you back in contact with those customers that love your work, in a manner that isn’t going to leave you feeling icky.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by freddyfromutah

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Whether a freelancer is going through a slump or just looking to diversify their client base, finding new clients is an ongoing process.

Martha Retallick’s recent eBook the Freelancer’s Guide to Finding Clients is here you help you get proactive in finding clients rather than waiting for them to come to you.

What’s it about?

The eBook could probably be called the Freelancer’s Guide to Cold Calling as it focuses almost primarily on this. Whether it is cold-calling or cold-emailing, Martha dispenses advice on how she does it and her experiences.

In the following pages, I’m going to show you an outreach system that consists of processes, templates, software, and scripts that you can use as-is. Or you can use my system as the basis for creating your own. It’s up to you.

The eBook covers topics like how to make the initial contact and how to keep in touch with follow-up outreach programs that will hopefully turn a hot prospect into a long-term client.

Cold-calling = Kill me now

For most freelancers, myself included, cold-calling holds as much appeal as a being hit in the face with a bag of door knobs. It’s probably the last thing in the world we want to do with our time.

We reason that cold-calling has a high annoyance level and a low return. And after all, won’t it make us look desperate and slimy?

So why does Martha propose that cold-calling should be a part of every freelancers marketing efforts?

The simple truth is that you’re a smart, talented freelancer. And more people need to know just how good you are. One of the easiest and fastest ways to tell them is to pick up the phone and start introducing yourself.

Chances are – no matter how good your marketing is – there are plenty of businesses in your area that have no idea who you are. And like it or not, calling them on the phone is an effective way to introduce yourself.

The problem is, when it comes to cold-calling, it’s hard to do it well and even harder to make it enjoyable.

Getting real with your expectations

Martha speaks from experience and is realistic with her expectations when it comes to cold calling. She knows ahead of time that the majority of people are going to say no. Some will say it nicely whereas a small number may even be downright rude.

Matter of fact, there are days when I look at my phone and say, “It’s time to get some ‘No’s.’” And I’ll set a “No” quota and keep calling until I reach it.

Throughout her cold calling career she has tracked her success rate at about 3%. That means that after 100 calls she may only have 3 decent prospects. At first that may seem pretty low, but compared to an average direct mail success rate that hovers at about 0.2%, that’s not bad.

It’s is a numbers game. So, accept the fact that you’re going to be making a lot of calls.

Back when I launched by Web Design business I decided to do some cold-calling to drum up some clients. I made a list of about 20 businesses I wanted to call and picked up the phone.

I did about ten calls and have never tried cold-calling again.

In retrospect – and according to Martha’s advice – I should have never expected any interest in only ten calls. The reality was, it would have probably taken me about 100 calls to get a single prospect. For some that will feel like a lot of work for just one client. But you have to realize that one good client can be worth their weight in gold.

In my own business, cold calling has helped me find a much more interesting and better paying clientele than I’ve ever had before. So, if I can do it, you can too.

Conclusion

The eBook isn’t long, only 50 pages, but if you are having trouble getting over a cold-call phobia, it can certainly help.

Martha goes through her five-step process from how to plan for the call to putting it all into action. Included are scripts and email templates to work from as well as techniques to making the calls and how overcome nervousness.

The eBook retails at $24.95 and is available from the Western Sky Communications website.

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