(Cold)-Calling All Clients

Cold-calling, so-called because you call a potential client "cold" without any warming up by prior contact, is an alternative to the direct-mail approach. The good news is that, if you're calling locally, it's usually cheaper than direct mail. The bad news is that it requires much more perseverance to be effective. The other good news, however, is that, done properly, a cold call can be much more effective than direct mail.

Before you make your first call, be sure you know what you want to say and how you want to say it. Some experts recommend writing out a sort of "script" that you can follow during the course of your call. This is a good starting-off exercise to help plan your spiel, but be aware of the fact that following a script has its drawbacks. The main one is that the person you're calling doesn't know he's supposed to be following the script, too, and when he gets off track, so do you.