Conquering Cold Call Terror: Hints for Freelancers

Welcome to guest writer, Sara Thurston, who provides some helpful tips on how to successfully undertake that most dreaded of tasks: cold calling.

OK, so I’m staring at the phone, knowing that I just have to do it.

And I don’t want to. I really, really don’t.

I have to call a total stranger to ask if they have freelance copywriting work.

I know they’ll scream curses at me and hang up. They’ll tell me to leave them alone. They’ll send the police to arrest me. There will be a trial. I’ll be a pariah throughout the world, and I’ll never, ever get work again.

So, being the masochist that I am (I’m a freelancer, after all), I pick up the phone and call anyway. “Good morning,” I say, smiling,  “I’m Sara Thurston, and I wanted to introduce myself to you. I’m an award-winning freelance copywriter and I love the work your agency does. If you need freelance help, I hope you’ll call on me.”