Sorry its been a while since I did a video post guys. I have been super busy with getting married and buying a new house. To start up the video series again I decided to start doing some regular question and answer type posts, as those seem to be the most popular. If you feel like asking a question for the video posts, just send me a Tweet @DannyOutlaw
Today’s question comes from @bigmanstudios - “cold calling a business who’s site should be re-designed and trying to get their business - any suggestions?”
Q&A Video: Cold Calling Clients for Work from Danny Outlaw on Vimeo.
So I have never actually picked up the phone and called a business to try and get work. I cant really say if that works or not. My guess would be that it would have a very high “no thanks” rate. But, Im not really a phone person, let alone a good sales person. I think that an “in person cold call” would have a much better chance of getting you work.
I usually only do this sort of thing when I come across a small business that really catches my eye or that I feel strongly about. For example, there was a small coffee shop in this historic district of where I lived. My wife and I went there once a week and we really got to know the people who worked there and owned the place. One day I decided to check out their website. The thing was awful and looked like one of those geo cities websites.
Over the next few weeks I made a mockup home page for the coffee shop in my free time. Then on our next visit to the place, I sat down and showed it to the owners. Upon showing it to them, I went over how this design would help their business, why it was an improvement over the current design, and even offered some suggestions on how they could use the site to get more business.
The “meeting” went well, but in the end they decided against it, as this was right around the time the economy started to go South.
So does this cold calling thing work? In this case it didnt, but I have had several jobs over the years from this method. That said, I wouldn’t rely on it as being a way to regularly get work.
2 Comments
I have been considering an approach like this for a couple of companies I have dealt with recently who had shocking websites but wasn’t sure how to approach them without seeming to “sell” the idea to much. I think the mock up idea could work well in this situation - thanks for sharing your insight.
Phil
Doing a mock-up off you own back usually goes against the grain of what most established designers will tell you, ie. don’ t work for free in the hope of getting a job! But, as Danny said, if you really feel strongly about the site in question then why not?
I recently did this for one of my favourite bands that had reformed. They came back with the launch of a *shocking* website! I got in contact and told them so and did some mock ups of how their site could look. This got their interest and I’m now on hold to do their new site later in the year.
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