You’re probably in one of two camps:

ONE: “Yuck,” right? You know that I and countless others built our commercial writing businesses through cold prospecting, but the mere thought of picking up the phone and calling a total stranger gives you the willies.

TWO: You’re okay with the idea of it, but just haven’t done enough of it, and haven’t exactly set the world on fire, results-wise, when you HAVE done it. So, you’d definitely appreciate boosting the productivity of your efforts.

Whichever camp you’re in, one thing is no doubt true: You Want More Work in Your Pipeline. And cold calling—yes, even in the digital age—can make that happen.

Done right, with proper planning and preparation, it can be one of the most effective, “cut-to-the-chase” strategies you can employ to build your writing business.

No, it’s not the only way to build your practice, but it’s a PROVEN strategy, and as such, should be in your marketing arsenal. As opposed to one that’s unused, underused, or outright abandoned because you hate the idea of it, are afraid of it, or don’t understand it.

SO, WHAT DID WE COVER IN OUR NEARLY 70-MINUTE CALL?

• Why cold-calling and “sales” in general have such bad reputations, and how to shift your own thinking about it

• How cold calling has changed and, how, if you’re still following the old rules, you’re likely missing out on a lot of great new prospects AND business

• How to make cold calls that get you through to your prospect, help you set appointments, and quickly move your prospect through your sales process

• What does and doesn’t work in cold-calling today

• Her unusual background (hint: not sales or marketing!), which should ease your mind if you think you need to be a “salesperson” in order to cold-call effectively…

• The importance of having the right mindset when you’re calling (and what that mindset is…)

• How your belief system will absolutely affect your cold-calling results and how to change those beliefs

• What I learned selling books door-to-door that absolutely helped me with cold calling

• Why you never have to like cold calling in order to be good at it

• Why one should cold call at all…

• Why people who say “Cold calling is dead” are dead wrong…

• Why email and networking absolutely have NOT replaced cold calling

• How to determine whom to call

• Why cold calling, in one sense, isn’t a numbers game, but, in another sense, is…

• The importance of improving your cold-calling skills, and how to do that…

• How to leave a voice mail that connects to what’s important to those you’re calling

• What you should I say when you call someone

• Why having a cold-calling script can make a dramatic difference in your calling results

• How to get past your prospects’ “gatekeepers”

• Strategies for ratcheting down your personal anxiety level before calling

• How to convince prospects to speak with you without them feeling you’re trying to ‘sell’ them something…

• Why commercial writing is no different from any other field when it comes to applying these principles

• How the “low-hanging-fruit syndrome” keeps us from calling success

• Why so many sales pros, entrepreneurs and businesspeople are uncomfortable with cold calling

• How to overcome your own fear and reluctance to make cold calls

• The top five things to keep in mind when cold calling…

And much more!