There are four things you need before you can start:

1) A telephone (so there it is, all out in the open…you suspected this, didn’t you? You have to speak with potential clients sooner or later, right? I’m just going to suggest you do it SOONER, that’s all. It’s painless, I promise.)

2) A prospect list

3) A way to manage that list

4) An 8-1/2″ x 11″ flyer promoting you. Keep this SIMPLE; just something you can print out as needed from your b&w laser or color inkjet, one side.

Are your palms sweaty yet? I’m going to assume you have a telephone, so let’s move on. Before you call anybody, you are REQUIRED to have a list of AT LEAST 300 company names and phone numbers. MINIMUM. Here’s why: You are going to be prepared to burn through about 60 calls per day. At that rate, you can afford to really screw them up. They weren’t probably going to call you anyway, right? RIGHT?! Get with me on this. If you show up on call day with only 10 names, now they mean something, don’t they? You start imagining the people behind every one of them, and what you would do for them, and what they would be like to work with. You’ll agonize over which one to call first, you may cross two of them off, and then you’ll make a sandwich and overthink some more. Pretty soon it will be two in the afternoon and if you don’t talk yourself right out of this whole deal you MIGHT make a call and get a busy signal. You might make three more calls and find out “we don’t use freelancers.” If you hang in there, you may hit an answering machine on call five. “Oh man! Only five more shots left. This isn’t working!!!! And those were my BEST prospects!”

TRUST ME. 300 company names and phone numbers. MINIMUM.

Here is where you get them:

http://www.superpages.com/

Click on Advanced Search. You have several options, including a Detailed, By Street Address, By Zip Code, By Phone Number, and More, which includes a By Distance search so you can prospect within a three, five or ten mile radius. I like By Street Address; that way I can make several appointments on the same block. PLAY with the categories and see what feels best to you; you can access a lot of information and build lists very quickly; there really is no wrong way to do it.

You can copy/paste 45 listings at a time to any simple word processor, then do a quick search and replace to clean up unnecessary extra words. You can use this method of generating a list with most of the major online yellow page directories.

There are plenty of other list sources; you may have one you’re more comfortable with; it makes no difference as long as you get your 300 names and phone numbers. Phone books are good, and “criss cross” directories are good (available at your local library).

Next, you need a way to manage your list and daily activity. You do this with “call sheets.” I recommend you print only six to eight companies to a page, complete with address and phone. This way you have plenty of room for notes and check marks as you talk to your prospects. Place your call sheets in a folder or loose leaf binder. Remember to do your promotional flyer.

On the third day, you may as well get it out of your system — go to a movie, ride your bike, have a picnic lunch, eat chocolate, have a panic attack, go quietly insane — because TOMORROW, you’re making calls.

Ready? When you are in sales mode, and especially hunter mode, there are only two things you need to concern yourself with:

1) Setting Appointments

2) Seeing People

That’s it. Everything else is secondary, put everything else out of your mind. Do not cherry pick your list and do not pre-judge anything. You have no idea how many millionaires with TONS of money to spend with YOU are running companies with the most unassuming names. “Bailey Associates;” indeed. “General Services LLC;” all just WAITING for a talented graphic designer to call them. And how many do you think actually do? That’s right, virtually none. So what do you think the freelance graphic designer “noise level” is at these companies? That’s right — there isn’t any. Is this starting to make sense?

60 calls will take you about four hours, and that’s what I want you to shoot for on your first day. Give yourself a one hour break at 30, then plan to address and send out some flyers after you hit 60. Make sure your portfolio is in shape; you should have one or more QUALIFIED appointments scheduled for the following day.

OK, back to class
You have no doubt noticed that you only have company names, and no names of any contact people. Perfect. “You don’t need no steen-king contact name.”

This is where I am going to tell you exactly what to say, and this is where you are going to ad lib “something better.” Don’t. Until you have put $30,000 in your pocket with THIS SYSTEM, don’t change it. Pay attention, this is deceptively simple:

When someone picks up the phone, you say: “Who would I speak to concerning graphic design at your company?”

And now the fun begins. Here is what you are testing for and listening for: If they (and this includes the receptionist) don’t understand the term “graphic design,” these are not your people. Politely move on. If you are feeling ambitious, you may test the response one more time to make sure; but only about one in 20 will move forward from here: “I was wondering who is in charge of your sales literature, identity programs, web site design, advertising (you have permission to make up your own list) — that sort of thing?” Still nothing? Move on.

OR, you’ll get: “That would be Cheryl Smith. She’s not here. Would you like her voice mail?” Yes, thank you. While you’re being connected, write down “Cheryl Smith” by the company name on your call sheet. At the end of her greeting, you say:

“Hi Cheryl, my name is [Dan Turner], I’m a freelance graphic designer here in [Sedona], I was calling to see if I could assist you with the development of your graphics. You can reach me at [phone number].”

Once in a blue moon, she will call you, but don’t expect it. If you are not swamped doing proposals in one week, call these people back and ask for them by name. Or, when you do this exercise again in five to eighteen months, you can start with these people.

When you DO get through, you say exactly the same thing as you were going to say in the phone message, with one important modification:

“Hi Cheryl, my name is [Dan Turner], I’m a freelance graphic designer here in [Sedona], I was calling to see if I could assist you with the development of your graphics — Are you the right person to speak with about that?”

Sidebar: The person asking the questions is the person controlling the conversation. The prospects first impulse is to get rid of you. Be gentle but firm and draw them out. Here are some good questions:

— “What type of graphic work do you generally do?”
— “Do you get into product literature or trade show exhibits?” (use your own specialties)
— “How often do you do that?”
— “How are you producing those things now?”

If the prospect is interested, she will take over the questioning and now both of you are in a conversation. I guess you don’t need ME anymore, do you?

It is during this part of the phone call that I determine whether or not I LIKE them, and vice versa. If I get bad vibes here, I don’t care how much they scream for me to come over, I’m moving to the next call.

You will discover that, once you are talking to a decision-maker, it is very easy to close for an appointment. TOO easy. These people LOVE artists. They would love to have you over and show you around and waste your time. If you haven’t been out in awhile, go ahead and get your feet wet. There are three pieces of information I’m looking for before I make an appointment:

1) Do you have a project I can assist you with right now? (has to be “yes”)

2) What is your time frame for getting it done? (if there is no deadline, there is no urgency — send them a flyer)

3) What is your budget? (a bit more tricky. If they tell you, you would really have to blow the sales presentation not to land this client. They are READY. Most of the time, they don’t trust you enough to tell you; that’s okay, you can set an appointment and go build more trust. If you determine that they won’t tell you because they don’t know, ask for a range; “What do you normally budget for this kind of thing,” or, “What did you spend last year for this?” If you just can’t get it out of them, take your best guess: “Does $12,000 to $15,000 sound about right to you?” They may well come back with, “Oh gosh, we were really hoping to come in under $10,000.” HAH!! No budget, huh? So now you know, and you can determine whether you want to see them (I vote yes in this case).

Sometimes the receptionist or the contact person will ask you to “send us something.” There are several ways to qualify these requests, none of which you need to know right now. 90% of the time people request literature because they can’t say “no thank you” and they can’t think of any other way to get rid of you. Verify their address and the correct spelling of their name. In cases where you are dealing with a receptionist who will not give you a contact person, do not send the literature. If you are speaking to the contact person, ask them for their email address. If you have an online portfolio, ask them, “If I were to email you the URL to my online portfolio, would you be interested in taking a look?” Of course they would. In fact, given the opportunity, many prospects will look at your online portfolio while they have you on the phone. Finish up by promising to “get something in the mail to you this afternoon.”

At the end of the day (NEVER in the middle of making calls), send them your flyer, two business cards and a short, boiler-plate cover letter, all in a #10 envelope. If applicable, email them your URL (your email will follow the same SHORT format as your SHORT cover letter).

Now go congratulate yourself for having had a great day and taking charge of your life and taking charge of your freelance business.

How long do you have to do this???
Let me give you some statistics. I have never had to make 60 phone calls a day for more than ONE day. I generally schedule 2-3 appointments from that and may send out 7-10 flyers. The second day, I make 30 phone calls (another 1-2 appointments) and go to meetings. The third day, I make 15 phone calls (now I’m scheduling 4-6 meetings because I’m following up on calls I made on the first and second days) and work on proposals.

How often do you have to do this??? I do this once, maybe twice each year, depending on what I want to happen. Virtually all of my long-term accounts (3-4 years) were generated this way. Once your freelance business takes off, and if you are particularly ambitious about landing new clients, make 5-10 calls per day just as a matter of routine. But be careful. Unless you are outsourcing the work, you will soon find yourself unable to keep up.

Okay, so now you have appointments. Next, I’ll teach you how to make a Sales Presentation…

• Next Workshop: The Sales Presentation  >>