Q. When identifying a contact, how senior should you go? I’ve run into top names CEO, VP’s, but no marketing or creative names. It would seem that the most senior people wouldn’t be the one handling freelancers. Even an Exec VP of Marketing probably hands it off to an associate. I don’t want to bother the person for whom finding a good freelancer isn’t a headache. But is it worse than going in without a name at all?
When cold calling, do you ever find yourself asked about your familiarity with the company? It’s something I’d more than bone up on for a face-to-face, but it’s too time consuming when I’m trying to burn through a list. Then again, if I get questioned by a potential client, I don’t want to come up empty.
A. I wouldn’t worry about having to drill down to the exact right person initially. As discussed in the books, ask for “Mar-Com” or corporate communications in big companies, marketing departments in smaller one and go from there. Only if you’re doing REALLY targeted calling in one certain industry should you worry about getting so micro. As you mention, you don’t have time to do all that research if you’re trying to get through a list. Which is the answer to your second question as well. You don’t have time to delve that deeply into a company before calling them. And no, I don’t often get asked if I know what their company does, though if I was, I’d a) probably have some idea from the name, b) if not, just say this is a preliminary call to determine if there’s even any potential needs for what I’m offering.